Laundry Standpipe & ejector pump

[Jeffb23]

Hi,

I have a basement laundry set up with a sink draining to an ejector pump, with the laundry draining into the sink. I would like to re-plumb so the washer has it’s own standpipe rather than draining into the sink - it’s just a cleaner setup. Existing piping into the ejector pump is 1-1/2”, so I should upgrade to 2” for the standpipe (I think Massachusetts code actually allows 1-1/2” for laundry standpipes, but seems risky of overflow). Was thinking I could keep the existing sink trap and replace the horizontal going into the pump with 2” to run to the standpipe and tie the sink in with a reducing tee or wye (not sure which fitting would be correct for this application). Any advice is appreciated!

 

[WorthFlorida]

Looking up the 6-CIA & 506158 it seems the sump pump can handle washing machine load and looks like it's a five gallon tank. The 2" requirement is for gravity fed stand pipe connected to the house plumping, not to a sump pump. You cannot discharge into a pipe that leads to a smaller pipe, that is a 2" draining reducing down to 1.5" does nothing other than it can back up. As of now the sink acts like a reservoir and it holds water if the pump cannot discharge fast enough.

Before you start replacing things, disconnect the p-trap from the sink at the tailpiece and swing the trap toward the front of the sink. If possible, insert the washer discharge hose into the tailpiece and run the washer. You want to see if the pump can handle the load and if discharge water backs up on the 1.5" trap. You might need to add or temporary change the pipe to something taller. Washers discharge usually at a fast rate and it may overwhelm the set up. If it works out with no problems the problem would be how to connect two drains to the tank. If the washer comes from the left, placing a wye on the trap arm may fit but if the water discharges at fast rate it can suck water out of the sink trap. Note, if the discharge hose is placed too low to the floor for this test, the water in the washer may siphon out.

The other solution is to cut concrete and bury a much larger sealed sump basin. My home in Illinois was set up that way. The sewer pipe was about three feet off the floor going through the basement wall and the washer was at the other end if the basement.

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[Jeffb23]

Thanks. I actually worry more about the pump filter getting clogged with lint/hair from the laundry and the line backing up than I do about the pump/tank being big enough to handle it. When it's clean, all water drains from the sink before the pump switches on, but when it's dirty the sink backs up and drains slowly. I typically have to clean it out once every few months. I'm not going to dig up the floor, if it came to that I'd just keep it draining into the sink. Would piping it as shown below be acceptable? Red lines could be 2" and blue 1-1/2". Do I need to add venting to the sink & standpipe or is the vent at the pump enough? I would have to tie it to the pump vent or use an AAV as there is no other vent in this area.

 

[Jeff H Young]

need venting . Depending on code may require 3 inch to pit . drain pipes for wash machine and sinks are 2 inch in my code trap arm 1 1/2 for a sink . but if you have IPC you'll need 3 inch after combing the 2 branches

 

[Reach4]

Massachusetts uses UPC

 

[Jeffb23]

Right. And based on 248CMR (Massachusetts code), a 2" laundry standpipe + a utility sink would be a 2" line. After looking at the code, it would seem my current setup falls under the "individual fixture pump" provision, since the laundry draining into the sink is looked at as one fixture. That may explain why the sink does not require it's own vent now. So if I replumbed, this is no longer a single fixture pump so I would need to vent? What is the best place to add vent(s) in my diagram? I figure it's probably easier to use an AAV for this application rather than tie to the vent serving the pump, if that's even allowed.

 

[Jeff H Young]

UPC doesn't pass like your drawing either. still need vents

 

[WorthFlorida]

Right. And based on 248CMR (Massachusetts code), a 2" laundry standpipe + a utility sink would be a 2" line. After looking at the code, it would seem my current setup falls under the "individual fixture pump" provision, since the laundry draining into the sink is looked at as one fixture. That may explain why the sink does not require it's own vent now. So if I replumbed, this is no longer a single fixture pump so I would need to vent? What is the best place to add vent(s) in my diagram? I figure it's probably easier to use an AAV for this application rather than tie to the vent serving the pump, if that's even allowed.

Discharging into a pump negates the 2" requirement. Only the sump needs venting as per manufactures instructions. The sink and washer are only a few feet from the above ground ejector with a vent.

Thanks. I actually worry more about the pump filter getting clogged with lint/hair from the laundry and the line backing up than I do about the pump/tank being big enough to handle it. When it's clean, all water drains from the sink before the pump switches on, but when it's dirty the sink backs up and drains slowly. I typically have to clean it out once every few months. I'm not going to dig up the floor, if it came to that I'd just keep it draining into the sink. Would piping it as shown below be acceptable? Red lines could be 2" and blue 1-1/2". Do I need to add venting to the sink & standpipe or is the vent at the pump enough? I would have to tie it to the pump vent or use an AAV as there is no other vent in this area.

The drawing is ok but how are you going to use a 2" pipe to the ejector tank that is made for 1.5" fitting. A reducer may cause problems. There are sump tanks with 2" inlets. If you have a HE front loader they use only a few gallons of water per fill anyway. As long as the vent is 8' feet from the traps venting is good. About the tank and you have the height, you can drill a hole into the top lid to accept a 2" fitting. For the elbow use a long sweep.

Have you tried what I suggested doing a test run to be sure the pump can handle to load? From your comments it seems that it can? You'll still need a lint filter of sorts since the pump impeller could get clogged up with lint.

 

[Jeff H Young]

worthflorida , so running 2 fixtures off a trap arm unvented wont be a code issue? just asking so that washer dumps water down it cant suck trap dry on sink and it passes code ? just wondering I could understand it looked at either way.