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    mscheater's Avatar
    mscheater Posts: 4, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Sep 23, 2011, 04:08 PM
    Smelling sewage from sewage ejection tank, any solutions?
    I have a sewage ejection tank in a little room all by itself under the stairs for the basement bathrooms.

    Sometimes you can smell a sewage-like odor in the stairs and now when the air conditioner (the furnace is next to tank but in a separate area) the whole downstairs smells bad. Any suggestions? We rarely ever use the downstairs bathrooms at all and the seal on the tank is good, and it has an exhaust pipe to the roof (it is only 7 yrs old).

    Thanks for any help!!
    ballengerb1's Avatar
    ballengerb1 Posts: 27,378, Reputation: 2280
    Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
    		  
    #2

    Sep 23, 2011, 06:35 PM
    That exhaust pipe is actually a vent stack and it can become clogged. Try getting on the roof with a hose and run water down the vent, it should partially fill the sewage pit and cause the pump to turn on. The tank lid is sealed to the pit and also sealed to the 2 pipes coming out of the pit. How did you test the seal?
    Milo Dolezal's Avatar
    Milo Dolezal Posts: 7,192, Reputation: 523
    Plumbing Expert
    		  
    #3

    Sep 23, 2011, 06:41 PM
    Sewer ejector has to be sealed so no fumes escape from the collection bucket / pit. Lid on the sewer ejector has seal around its perimeter which prevents the fumes from escaping the pit. It is possible that during the last service plumber didn't replace the seal and reused the old one. New seal has to be installed every time sewer ejector is serviced.

    Moreover, there are 3 holes in the lid: one for vent, one form electrical cords and one for discharge pipe. These holes have rubber seal that wrap tight around the pipe ( or elec. Cables ) and than fit exactly into the opening in the lid. Make sure these rubber seals are not damaged.

    With all seals installed, it should not smell like sewage in your service / utility room

    Question: Is the A/C condensation pipe discharging to the sewage ejector ?

    If you take a good photo of the lid and post it, I can inspect it for you.

    Back to you. Milo
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
    		  
    #4

    Sep 24, 2011, 06:07 AM
    We rarely ever use the downstairs bathrooms at all
    Could it be that the AC has dried out the trap seals min the bathroom and sewer gas is escaping from one of them? Just a thought. Tom
    drclartk44's Avatar
    drclartk44 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #5

    Sep 6, 2012, 11:10 AM
    Having the same problems, I have tried everything and I still get the smell. I'm thinking about re-locating the pump outside.
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