Sewage pump basin patch or replace?

Users who are viewing this thread

wwh

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Denver
I've found several problems with our recently installed sewage pump basin, the biggest of which is a gaping hole where the 4" inlet pipe enters (see picture). It looks like the pipe was too low to meet the hole and the installer just hacked the hole bigger (and split the grommet). The white material you see above the pipe is the sticky side of duct tape applied to the outside of the basin before it was buried. I'm assuming this is totally wrong and that the inlet pipe interface should be water-tight?

img_1041.jpg

Unfortunately, I didn't catch this before the concrete floor was poured, so is there any chance of patching this hole? Perhaps a chunk cut from a plastic bucket and glued in with JB Weld Waterweld? Or is that hopeless?

Other minor problems with this install:
- This is an 18" diameter x 22" deep basin, and the pump's minimum "on" depth is 13", at which point the water is backed up into the inlet pipe.
- The gasket that seals the lid is missing chunks (maybe the fault of the concrete guys). Could I just put a bead of silicone (or that gasket maker stuff) around the lid to seal it?

Thanks for your advice.

- Bill
 

Hackney plumbing

Homeowner
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
3
Points
38
Location
Alabama
Its a bad install. if I had the bread $$$ I would rip it out and use a better quality/deeper basin while I was doing it. I dont know what brand pump you have,I might would keep it for a back up and use somthing different. I build sewage grinders that work and refuse to work on any system more than once that doesn't meet my specs. Its a nasty mess when they fail so its not the place to try and save a dime.
 

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,599
Reaction score
1,037
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
A tethered float should be adjustable to lower the turn on point. The water should never get high enough to enter the inlet pipe before it turns on, and the distance your pipe is below where it should be is not enough to have made a difference.
 

Hackney plumbing

Homeowner
Messages
1,130
Reaction score
3
Points
38
Location
Alabama
A tethered float should be adjustable to lower the turn on point. The water should never get high enough to enter the inlet pipe before it turns on, and the distance your pipe is below where it should be is not enough to have made a difference.

From what the original poster posted the inlet to the basin is below the pumps minimum on setting. That means there is no adjustment left. That means the basin is not deep enough.
 

Ballvalve

General Engineering Contractor
Messages
3,581
Reaction score
45
Points
48
Location
northfork, california
Seems to me that nobody answered the guys concern. Typically, a basement water infiltration basin could be made of wire mesh, as it is just a manner of keeping the gravel out of the basin. It may not look nice, but I believe it is irrelevant. Leave it alone.

My pump basins are often 55 gallon heavy duty plastic barrells. If I was foolish enough to ever build a basement, I would have a HUGE basin to keep the pump from cycling often.
 
Last edited:

Cacher_Chick

Test, Don't Guess!
Messages
5,458
Reaction score
213
Points
63
Location
Land of Cheese
The OP said this is a sewage basin/pump system.


If the water table ever comes up, you will have groundwater flowing into the basin and the pump will cycle until it burns out. Someone just posted of the exact problem a few weeks ago.

Whoever did that is a hack. The only way proper way to fix it is to replace it.

Almost all standard basins come with the hole 12-14" below the rim. This can lead to problems if the installer does not take this into consideration when planning and laying the pipe.

When you consider a scenario given 4 inch pipe with 4 inches of concrete over it, if the water closet is 20 feet away, 2% grade cannot be accomplished without a different basin.

The good news is that it should not be hard to cut out the area around the basin and pull it out.
 
Last edited:

wwh

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Denver
Replacement it is, then...

Full replacement was my inclination. Since this is for sewage, even if the pump can be configured to never allow the water to reach the pipe, I would think the smell could still seep through this hole and up through the floor. And if the water ever reached this opening and got into the dirt, who knows? It's expansive clay -- maybe the bucket would pop out of the floor.

Now if I can just get those responsible to make it right...

- Bill
 

Ballvalve

General Engineering Contractor
Messages
3,581
Reaction score
45
Points
48
Location
northfork, california
a viable fix is sanding all the mating parts and slipping a 3" neoprene roof vent rain sleeve over the pipe and using elastomeric paste or silicone or polyurethane to seal the junction.

If the crap makes it to the pipe, you have bigger problems, because your toilets are overflowing. Or flowing into the basement.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks