Replies

1. 
   BillHartmann | Jul 08, 2005 04:24pm | #1

   It is done all of the time.

   They are call sewage ejectors and sewage grinder pump.

   And when they are a little bigger they are sew lift stations.

   Small plastic tanks and pumps used to put baths in a basement where they are below sewer level.

   And larger yard tanks and pump where the whole house is below sewer level.

   And for hilly areas there are forced main systems where the each house grinder pumps feeds into a small plastic main. When the house system runs it pushes everything in that line downstream a little.

   And I understand they they are used in septic systems where the tank is below the leach field level.

2. 
   constantin | Jul 08, 2005 04:56pm | #2

   As Bill stated above, unless you want to pump, your sanitation line has to be pitched between 1/4" to 1/8" per foot all the way to the sewer service for gravity to work its magic. Don't pitch less or more, as stoppages will result.

   In our case, as the street sewer sits a mere 4' below ground... so we couldn't exit our sanitation line below the footings, which also entailed putting a grinder sump pump into the basement for the effluents down there that are then pumped up to the sewer line of the house.

   Send as much out of the house as possible via gravity. My father could sing many songs about the travails of grinder pumps vs. tampons and other fibrous things that get thrown into the loo. Sooner or later, the fibrous things win and you have a smelly and expensive repair job on your hands.

1. 
   _fred_ | Jul 09, 2005 06:50am | #3

   thanks for info. I hear about sumps all the time but never heard of a grinder pump. is it a costly set up?

1. 
   constantin | Jul 09, 2005 02:38pm | #4

   Sump pumps are usually vane-based pumps that can only deal with relatively small solids coming through. That's why you see the small straining holes in the bottom of them and that's also why very close attention has to be paid to what they pump - too many solids (paper and other fibres in particular) and they'll gunk up in no time.Grinder pumps can deal with larger objects by pulverizing them first, IIRC. Like many pumps, they'll list the largest object that they'll pass w/o problems. Because of their considerably heavier construction to do the grinding, grinding effluent pumps are more expensive than the regular type.What it comes down to for me is that no-one may throw anything into the basement toilet that hasn't gone through a human first, with the exception of toilet paper. That should maximize the life of the pump. Any tampons will, most likely, not get passed and the guilty will be punished via a DNA test when the pump fouls.