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Had quite alarge power surge yesterday (480v according to the power supplier) and a few houses have blown washing machines, cookers, etc. Our sewage pump has a fault and instantly trips the fuse breaker. We've only been here 4 months and not had a sewage pump before. All we know is it has an alarm for when the levels get too high and we share a septic tank eith a neighbour.
Anyone got one and know what we should do? The power said they will repair or replace any items damages from the power surge but in the mean time we dont even know if we can flush a toilet.
I assume you're in the UK, it's a domestic supply and the surge was the result of a neutral fault on the network.
Contact the distribution network operator responsible and press them for an answer.
Some even send a van around to see what can be repaired in the spot.
If it's part of a treatment unit / plant it is either pumping an airator though or a paddle stirring, this increase the O2 and it hence aerobic digestion of the sewage. It will still be fine for quite some time without the pump running but still get it done soon.
The septic tank is about 50 meters away on the neighbouring property so we dont have any kind of treatment here. Just a pump and im guessing a very small tank.
Are you close to a river? You know what to do😉hope you get it sorted soon
The septic tank is about 50 meters away on the neighbouring property
AHH, it more of a pump station to lif it to the tank. These are quite small probably around 100 odd litres. You will have to hold off flushing. :/
It probably something like this
https://www.sumpsandpumpsdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Z100-Sewage-Pumping-Station-Compact.html#SID=20
Yes looks a little like that one. Its completely full so have to wait for a plumber to come out tomorrow. Hopefully they can fix or replace it the same day.
Cant even use the shower.
Our business septic tank is higher than a couple of cabins we built. We had a small pumping tank built in which sounds similar to yours - a ball valve sounds an alarm if it gets too high if the pump is jammed. We overspecced ours so it'd be good for a few days if the pump did jam/got damaged. Hopefully that's similar with you.
If you have easy access you can always pop the top off and see how much space you have left!
TS
If the sewage pump is now known to be that critical you should make sure you have a spare for the future! Good luck!
Had a look inside and its completely full. I need to look into some kind of manual overide for power cuts or failures.
You can fit Surge Protection Devices to avoid these types of problems. Quite a quick fix, but you'll probably need an electrician to fit it. Not much use short term but after the immediate issue is resolved it's worth considering,
It sounds like you are in the sh!t op
Might be worth investing in something like https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb843pmp-400w-mains-powered-multi-use-pump/820xf to use as a backup, you'll need enough hose to get it to the septic tank too.
How much does it cost to fit a surge protection device to a consumer unit?
talk to TT pumps https://www.ttpumps.com/ to get a technician out to have a look and replace the unit.
Do you have any details of the existing pump unit? normally the details would be provided by the previous owner as part of the pack that comes with the house sale? If you know the pump manufacturer you can get someone out to repair/replace.
if the pump serves the whole property there should be 24hr storage provided if its been built to building regs standard. (this is a sensible volume not a 'go nuts use teh power shower/bath etc' volume) 120l/per person per day. or thereabouts.
you can get a seweage tanker out to pump out the chamber in the interim.
moody sewage. or similar. depends where you are - google is your friend here.
you`ll need to get it pumped out to fix the pumps anyway.
How much does it cost to fit a surge protection device to a consumer unit?
Depends on what your electrician will charge. The units themselves aren't expensive but do take up room in the CU, unless you put them in their own separate enclosure.
Update.
What a chaotic week. We got an emergency plumber out to drain the tank and install a new pump. The new pump broke after 3 days due to a faulty float switch; it would blow a 13amp fuse as soon at it swiched on. The plumber kept saying it wont be the switch and must be blocked. We ended up calling the manufacturer who was happy to inspect it as long as we brought it too them, so we managed to remove it and took it to them. They wanted to keep it for a few days but when we explained our situation they kindly inspected it the same day and confirmed the float switch was faulty and gave us a replacement. We got home with a couple of hours of daylight left so we installed it ourselves. Seems to work fine now. Damn hard work to remove it due to being underground and weight 47kg.
Our septic tank is tiny; about 50cm wide and 150cm deep. Due to where the pipes are, it fills every day and pumps out to a shared Klargester which gets empied every 3 years. So we need some kind of back up system so we can at least flush toilets while waiting for a repair or replacement pump.
Im thinking of having a second larger tank. Then in the event of our pump breaking, we could use a portable pump to empty our tiny septic tank each day into the larger one while waiting to for the underground pump to be fixed.
Anyone know of a portable (not submergable) dirty water pump?
https://www.marispumps.com/browse/surface-mounted-pumps/
Talk to these guys.
Installing a bigger manhole before the existing pump chamber just means more to pump out. Can you use the temp pump to over pump from the existing pump chamber?
Installing a big cesspool for the odd occasion it breaks might be expensive.
Is your current pump a single pump setup? Normally for these purposes you would have a twin pump setup with a duty and standby (IE one fires, then the other, etc.) So if one fails the other is there. These are normally alarmed so you know if one fails.
Might be worth looking at a better pump setup rather than a separate tank?
Theres not enough space in the current tank for 2 pumps.
In my old house we had a shared septic system for 8 apartments in a barn conversion. When the old system failed we had to replace it with a water treatment plant. Now drains to a septic tank and then is pumped to a water treatment plant and into a herringbone drainage system.
It’s reliant on a small pumping station and when we specced it I insisted on a spare pump as part of the install. Whilst it’s a pain to replace it we know we have an instant replacement in place. For £400 it was well worth it when spread across 8 houses and ensures everyone can still use their toilet and shower even if it fails. I used to test it it every 6 months.
Thankfully I’m now on my own septic system and don’t have to cope with 7 other houses. Having the yearly conversation when system was emptied of ‘ no we don’t put cotton buds, wet wipes and condoms down the toilet ‘ became quite tiresome
Ours only pumps our house so we dont uave to worry about what other people flush.
I could just buy another pump as a spare; thats not the issue. To install a spare pump i need to empty the tank into something and i have no means to do that. So really need a way to empty our tank into something for emergencies for a few days while waiting for a spare to be fitted or the original repaired.
A small composting toilet outside can be a good backup and outside loo.
A small composting toilet outside can be a good backup and outside loo.
Could do, though a backup pump will alow us to use showers too. And we still need a way to empty the tank in order to get the pump to repair/replace it.
mjsmke
Full Member
Theres not enough space in the current tank for 2 pumps.
Well yes you might need a new pump set. But if you are looking at digging a new separate tank for temp storage you might as well slap a proper pump setup in it? You can get battery backup for power outages. And an alarm. And a suitable size for the temp storage.
Emptying need to be to the downstream klargester or via a tanker for proper disposal (can do get an agreement from the adjacent landowner to overpump to the klargester on a temporary basis on the odd occasion you need to?)
The problem is still that we need a portable pump to drain the current tank in the event of a failure. It would need to be done the same day so cant wait for a truck to come out and do it for us. Then again the next day, and so on.
In a few years i should be able to get a much bigger system in but will need to save up for that. I can get a second tank and just keep it above ground for emergencies. Right now i just need a portable pump for emergencies. After a week of no toilets or showers, i just want a portable pump for emergencies.
OK, much bigger job to fit a replacement pump than I thought, maybe a better strategy is for a secondary system for while you await a repair?
You can get a chemical camping toilet for £50-£100. Or a bucket toilet for less.
Showers? Anything at work, local Leisure centre or do you need something at home?
or just buying and keeping in a shed a second pump? I don't know how difficult refitting a pump to a tank is, but if the failure event is once every decade, a couple of hours work might be fine in that ocurrance
edit : ah I missed
And we still need a way to empty the tank in order to get the pump to repair/replace it.
a couple of hours work might be fine in that ocurrance
Yes. But need to drain the tank first to do that.
Refitting a pump while the tank is empty is pretty straight forward. While its full of sewage is not easy. The only way is to drain the tank into something first. So I need some kind of surface pump with a hose each end for that and a large container. Then ill just use that each day till the main pump is repaired or replaced.
We once had a plumber unblock a drain in our old driveway and he used a pump to empty that into another drain further up the drive to be able to get to the blocked part. I need kne of those pumps but dont know what its called. It would need to be able to handle waste not just water.
Can you not just divert the shower water into a water butt for the garden? Some kind of valve you can switch in case of a future problem with the pump?
Can you not just divert the shower water into a water butt for the garden? Some kind of valve you can switch in case of a future problem with the pump?
Showers on the ground floor so pipework is underground. Would be a good though if the shower was upstairs.
Man portable petrol powered pump like the fire brigade use for emptying cellars and such like?
Ok , expensive but ticks the boxes of still being able to use water in the event of an extended power cut. Can empty you tank if pump failure occurs . Is external so no space issue. Could be fitted with wheel s , 29in of course .
Cheap crap (sic) answer is to keep number of sewage tanker company handy and a spare pump, if the pump fails call them out then replace the pump.
Expensive but better solution is to get a bigger chamber with twin pumps.
Wrong solution that a friend's dad used when we were teenagers was to use a slurry pump to spread it on the orchard (they lived on a small holding). It stank.