This feature in Pumper reports noteworthy conversations that take place at the Pumper Discussion Forum, an online forum for industry professionals found at www.pumper.com. Pumper Discussion enables exchange of information and ideas on septic and drainfield installation and maintenance, trucks and equipment, portable sanitation, chemical and additives and much more. Information and advice in “Overheard Online” is offered in good faith by industry professionals. However, readers should consult in depth with appropriate industry sources before applying such advice to a specific business situation.

QUESTION:

A customer called to tell me their lift pump alarm is coming on and there is a bit of water on the ground around the lift pump chamber. The tank is 1,000 gallons with another tank beside it for the lift pump. The tanks are connected with a sewer pipe with a built-in Polylok filter. Each time I pump the tank, I clean the filter. Could effluent cross through the filter and fill up the pump chamber heavily enough to fry a pump?

I’ve always examined the chamber and it is very watery. I’ve assumed the pump would handle all of this. I’m thinking either the wiring is bad, the float is stuck, the pump is burned out or the field is just full of water. I’m wondering because the last time I pumped the tank, this other chamber was not pumped. Only the septic tank was pumped and the filter rinsed.

Should I pop the cover on this chamber and pump out the bit of water in it, even with the effluent filter there? Or am I wasting my time? I’ve always thought the pump would handle this little bit of stuff.

---

ANSWERS:

We pump [the lift pump chamber] every time. The hose is already out and solids do settle out in there. You are located in Canada; are you sure it isn’t frozen? That’s happened daily here this winter.

---

You need to get the cover off and see. I normally pump down the chamber to see what is going on and to test the pump and floats. With a lot of mound systems in my area being more than 10 years old, I see pump failure rates going up. The average pump life seems to be about seven to 12 years. Also, the 2014 winter being as cold as it was, I had one that blew the coupler when the line to the field froze. There can be many reasons the dosing chamber alarm is on. Until you pump it down and see, it is just guessing.

I charge extra for the pump tank. I have to pay by the gallon to dump, so extras are extras. Many of my customers elect not to empty the pump tank. I do inspect a pump tank when I pump and use a sludge sampler so I can advise when to pump the dosing tank. Normally the recommendation is every other or every third regular pumping.

---

For my customers with lift pump chambers, I install a float bypass switch so I can manually turn on the pump to make sure it’s not a float switch problem. If the system pumps down and the high water level goes away, you know the problem is a bad float switch. If the pump is still not running, you will probably have to pump out the tank to get more serious about locating the problem.

I assume you checked the pump circuit breaker first to make sure you have power. I also have a tee in the outlet pipe, leaving the lift tank with a small inspection cap just under the surface that can be removed just outside the tank. If water squirts out of the top, you will know the pump is working and the problem is farther out.