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  1. #1
    Seth Hughes's Avatar
    Seth Hughes Guest

    Default Not sure what this is ??

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

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Plano, Texas
    Posts
    4,245

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

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

    Jim Luttrall
    www.MrInspector.net
    Plano, Texas

  3. #3
    Ron Bibler's Avatar
    Ron Bibler Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

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

    Best

    Ron


  4. #4
    Seth Hughes's Avatar
    Seth Hughes Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

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


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Plano, Texas
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    4,245

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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)

    Jim Luttrall
    www.MrInspector.net
    Plano, Texas

  6. #6
    Ron Bibler's Avatar
    Ron Bibler Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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


  7. #7
    Seth Hughes's Avatar
    Seth Hughes Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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

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  8. #8
    Ron Bibler's Avatar
    Ron Bibler Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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


  9. #9
    Denny L West's Avatar
    Denny L West Guest

    Talking Re: Not sure what this is ??

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


  10. #10
    David Bell's Avatar
    David Bell Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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.


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Charlotte NC
    Posts
    2,304

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

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


  12. #12
    David Bell's Avatar
    David Bell Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    Quote Originally Posted by Vern Heiler View Post
    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.


  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Oregon
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    2,365

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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 )


  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Charlotte NC
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    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    Quote Originally Posted by David Bell View Post
    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 .


  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southern Vancouver Island
    Posts
    4,607

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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.

    Last edited by John Kogel; 01-28-2010 at 09:25 PM. Reason: Looked at the date of the OP :>)

  16. #16
    JORY LANNES's Avatar
    JORY LANNES Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

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


  17. #17
    Stacey Van Houtan's Avatar
    Stacey Van Houtan Guest

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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.


  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Cincinnati area
    Posts
    34

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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.


  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    La$ Vega$, Nevada
    Posts
    51

    Default Re: Not sure what this is ??

    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).

    Glenn R. Curtis CMI
    La$ Vega$, Nevada
    Inspecting Nevada since 1982

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