Floor Drain

[Master Brian]

I have a sewage ejector pump in my basement. I have thought about installing a floor drain off of this, so that the condensation off of whole house humidifier and a/c coil can drain into it, vs the sump pump.

Is this a good idea? I know one key problem with floor drains is if the water evaporates out of drain, you get sewage gasses and I really only want these items to drain into it during the winter.

Also it looks like there are several options out there. If I go this route, what is the best option? I will be tying into a 4" PVC pipe.

Thanks

 

[SRdenny]

I know one key problem with floor drains is if the water evaporates out of drain

That's what trap primers are for.
They also make floor drains with built in back flow preventers which would be a good idea in a basement application.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Leejosepho]

I have my greywater sump set up to overflow into the sewage sump if its own pump ever fails, and I drain a bathroom sink into the trap feeding that overflow line to be sure it (the trap for the overflow line) does not ever dry out. Maybe you have some other fixture or discharge that could similarly serve as a "trap primer" for your new line.

 

[Master Brian]

Hmmm....

I agree the backflow is a good idea and will most likely do that. The bonus is that being as this floor drain would feed into a sewage ejector pump, the only way it would backup is if that backed up, which I understand is possible, but at least this is isolated from the rest of the house through it's own backflow valve!!

I will look to see what I can use to keep the drain primed. Maybe I could drain the future bathroom sink to drain into the trap The other option would be to just let the condesation from my A/C coil and the humidifier to drain into the trap. I had planned on leaving those draining into my sump, so that I can use that water for plants along the north side of house. Or I can install a primer valve. Hmmm.... I suppose I could also just occaisionally dump water down the drain and something else suggested using mineral oil to top the drain off with, which slows down the evaporation of the water and it doesn't go rancid. The last two are a bit cheesy though. I want this done right so I can forget about it.

My setup is that the floor drain would be lower than floor grade, but higher than my sump pit, that way even if the sewage ejector backed up, I would have the sump to pump the water out. But if any flooding ever occured, I would have 2 pumps to handle the flooding. Then I also have a 2nd (original) sump accross the basement.

 

[Redwood]

Brian are you on sewer or septic?

 

[Master Brian]

Sewer, why do you ask?

 

[Redwood]

If you were on septic groundwater being pumped into the system would be a big no-no. it still is with sewer but not like septic.

 

[Master Brian]

If you were on septic groundwater being pumped into the system would be a big no-no. it still is with sewer but not like septic.

I suppose that makes sense. I know that groundwater shouldn't be pumped into the city's sewer....at least I know they wouldn't be happy with that. It's actually the reason I have the water going to the sump pit first. I just figure in case of a bad flood where my sump couldn't keep up, I'd rather have a backup system in place. Right or wrong.

I'm actually amazed at the number of these older houses in my area that still have "floor" drains on their patios and such that lead directly into the city sewer system. All they channel is storm water....