Thread: Not sure what this is ??

Just needing a litlle help, can anyone explain to me what exactly this does?

Looks like a bad installation with problems of a sump pump to drain the low spot in the yard.

Yup. Yup. Yup. looks like a sump pump system/trash colector.

Best

Ron

How exactly should I explain this to my client. This is in the front of the home.

First, I would figure out why the heck it is there. It seems like an extremely bad idea to have a house that has drainage issues that rely on an electric pump to correct. (Think Katrina)

A sump pump system can be installed at any location. some times
sub-structures have limited access or thats just the place the installer put it.

as long as it works thats what counts.

as to why its there.

1. was the sub-area dry when you inspected it?
2. if dry did you see water marks on the foundation system?
3. how is the home sitting on the lot? below grade?
4. is there a sprinkler system in the yard?
5. is the home at the bottom of a hill?

These are just some things that the home may need a sump pump.
Is the unit in working condition?

Hope this helps

Best

Ron

I'm really not sure why this would be there. This is a home with no basement, it is built on a ridge(this is a pic of the side of the home) I would think the water would have no problems draining away from the home

I had a house on the top of a hill. had standing water. a lake under it.

Is what it is. some things like may take a lot of work to find out just what
is the problem. just report the condition and let a contractor deal with it.

If you dont known you dont known.

Best

Ron

It catches the rain water and sends it to the fire Hydrant in the front yard .

No basement , probably ledge,,no drainage, curtain drains around house pitch to sump? Everything but the electric seems ok, didn't even look like a GFI.

Are you sure it is not a sewage pump? Was the city sewer line at the rear of the property or at the street?

Originally Posted by Vern Heiler

Are you sure it is not a sewage pump? Was the city sewer line at the rear of the property or at the street?

I don't think a 2" discharge with a gate valve would be a sewage ejector. Unless it has a grinder in it.

Fwiw... All the ejector pumps I've seen have a 2" discharge. It's always made me wonder what goes on in there to grind up my dinner into such a small package. The ones that really fascinate me are the RV macerators. They discharge through a garden hose (Preferably a different one than you use to fill the water tank )

Originally Posted by David Bell

I don't think a 2" discharge with a gate valve would be a sewage ejector. Unless it has a grinder in it.

As Matt said, all that I have seen and installed are 2".

Matt, many of the toilet passages are less than 2", so your dinner is already packaged .

Sewage effluent pump, pumps to a drain field.
Sewage ejector pump, pumps up from the basement to an elevated drain line.
Sump pump, pumps excess water out of a sump.

Does the home have a septic field? next to be discussed is the safety issues of the electrical connection

If this is a grinder pump for the home it does not necessarly mean the sewer is higher than the home. some hilly areas have sewer under pressure and all the homes must have a grinder pump to overcome this pressure, If this is the case a check valve would also be neede and should have a manhole cover access for service.

I cannot answer specifically what the tank is; but the first thing plugged into the outlet into which the other plug is plugged looks like an auxiliary float switch. I have one on my sump pump because the one that came with the pump failed. It basically looks the same as the regular float switch (black and bulbous). It attached somewhere in the sump and is used to trigger the pump when the water gets to a set depth.

On a commercial project I worked on years ago, the civil engineer got the f.f./slab elevation wrong (building too low) which meant the sewer would not gravity-flow from the building to the street. Rather than tear the building down and start over, we put in a lift-station about 20' away from the building, in the parking lot. Sewage gravity-flowed from the building to tank...lift-pump coupled with high outlet solved the 'elevation' problem from tank-to-street. Run the water in the home and stand by the tank and listen for the pump to 'run'. If it doesn't come on and the pump is verified as 'working', then it's likely a sump-pump for rainwater or high-ground water table (ie: a de-watering well).