We bought a new (built 2017) house with a finished basement, including a full bath that we rarely use. Occasionally the sewage ejector pump would go off and it was loud, but it was loud in our 2006 home, so we thought nothing of it - until the time it went off extremely loudly, with a shudder that literally could be felt through the house. I ran to the basement expecting to see burst pipes or something, but everything looked normal. My husband had been running the basement sink for a long time rinsing out something, so it was the most the water downstairs had been used since we moved in.
We called the builder, who told us to unplug the ejector pending a visit from his plumber - which was not the original plumber that put everything in.
Long story long, we were told we have a "quiet" check valve, so it should NOT be loud, ever. However, during testing (ran sink/flushed toilet), every third time the ejector went off, the entire pipe would violently shudder. They also blew through three quiet check valves where water (thankfully clean) burst through. They checked and/or replaced everything there is to check or replace. They even rigged a clear window to screw in so they could WATCH the water go through a section of the pipe when the ejector went off. They called someone in to run a camera and check that the pipe to the public sewer was fine (it was), plus they ran it into the house. They couldn't figure why there was an issue.
No clogs, although I was told the angle of the sewer exiting the basement wasn't quite right. They followed that by stating "lots of houses have angles like that and are fine" - which failed to reassure me. That said, plumbers from two different companies told me that not quite having a perfectly angled pipe exiting the premises was common enough and NOT a reason for this to be happening.
Every plumber has agreed everything looks fine. They even opened the pit up to see if there was something going on there. There was some sandy grit (which they also found in the quiet check valve), which I was told could have gotten in during construction (although they kept asking if we flushed cat litter - we don't).
A call to the rep for the quiet check valve resulted in a suggestion to try all the things that were already tried.
It has also been commented by every plumber that there was an oddly strong backdraft coming from the sewer line into the house. Also, that it was strange that after the ejector goes off, a decent amount of water flows back into the pipe. Because of the backdraft? The fact that the sewer line going out isn't at as big an angle as it should? Does the water or air back up greater each time the ejector goes off, until something sort of explodes on the third time it goes off, and THAT relives the air/water pressure, and that's why it's quiet again for a couple of sessions?
The original (installer) plumbing company was called in after the first plumber blew me off (he didn't know what to do, so he ghosted me), and they were able to replicate the issue, but then said things were loose, that the first plumber didn't screw in the check valve tightly enough, and that after they tightened everything up it was fine. Of course, that doesn't explain the initial issue, now, does it? And what if things loosened over time because of all the shuddering?
At that point, things had gone on for months, with no apparent solution, so we were at a loss in terms of what to try to make the plumbers do.
We've pretty much avoided using the basement bathroom except to minimally use the sink, but it still goes off periodically due to condensation that drains from the HVAC and a basement dehumidifier. It still periodically sounds louder than it should, but no house-shakingly, loud bangs. That said, the hard core noise/vibrations happened under stress - tons of water and the ejector going off multiple times in quick succession (something we're afraid to try with no plumber on hand). There's been no water leakage, although we still have a towel wrapped around the check valve as a precaution.
Any thoughts to the backdraft, water flowing back in, and noisy check valve? What should we ask them to do? Our warranty is up in late October, and I don't want to be stuck with a pricey plumbing repair because there IS something wrong and they decided to wait out the warranty to foist the problem on us. It doesn't help that my husband (who admittedly isn't handy in the first place) works long hours, so I'm the one dealing with the contractors.
While it shouldn't surprise me, it's been frustrating how extremely patronizing the plumbers have been - acting like I'm exaggerating things until they see it for themselves, and then trying to pass things off as normal when clearly they're confused by some of the things that are happening.
Thanks.
We called the builder, who told us to unplug the ejector pending a visit from his plumber - which was not the original plumber that put everything in.
Long story long, we were told we have a "quiet" check valve, so it should NOT be loud, ever. However, during testing (ran sink/flushed toilet), every third time the ejector went off, the entire pipe would violently shudder. They also blew through three quiet check valves where water (thankfully clean) burst through. They checked and/or replaced everything there is to check or replace. They even rigged a clear window to screw in so they could WATCH the water go through a section of the pipe when the ejector went off. They called someone in to run a camera and check that the pipe to the public sewer was fine (it was), plus they ran it into the house. They couldn't figure why there was an issue.
No clogs, although I was told the angle of the sewer exiting the basement wasn't quite right. They followed that by stating "lots of houses have angles like that and are fine" - which failed to reassure me. That said, plumbers from two different companies told me that not quite having a perfectly angled pipe exiting the premises was common enough and NOT a reason for this to be happening.
Every plumber has agreed everything looks fine. They even opened the pit up to see if there was something going on there. There was some sandy grit (which they also found in the quiet check valve), which I was told could have gotten in during construction (although they kept asking if we flushed cat litter - we don't).
A call to the rep for the quiet check valve resulted in a suggestion to try all the things that were already tried.
It has also been commented by every plumber that there was an oddly strong backdraft coming from the sewer line into the house. Also, that it was strange that after the ejector goes off, a decent amount of water flows back into the pipe. Because of the backdraft? The fact that the sewer line going out isn't at as big an angle as it should? Does the water or air back up greater each time the ejector goes off, until something sort of explodes on the third time it goes off, and THAT relives the air/water pressure, and that's why it's quiet again for a couple of sessions?
The original (installer) plumbing company was called in after the first plumber blew me off (he didn't know what to do, so he ghosted me), and they were able to replicate the issue, but then said things were loose, that the first plumber didn't screw in the check valve tightly enough, and that after they tightened everything up it was fine. Of course, that doesn't explain the initial issue, now, does it? And what if things loosened over time because of all the shuddering?
At that point, things had gone on for months, with no apparent solution, so we were at a loss in terms of what to try to make the plumbers do.
We've pretty much avoided using the basement bathroom except to minimally use the sink, but it still goes off periodically due to condensation that drains from the HVAC and a basement dehumidifier. It still periodically sounds louder than it should, but no house-shakingly, loud bangs. That said, the hard core noise/vibrations happened under stress - tons of water and the ejector going off multiple times in quick succession (something we're afraid to try with no plumber on hand). There's been no water leakage, although we still have a towel wrapped around the check valve as a precaution.
Any thoughts to the backdraft, water flowing back in, and noisy check valve? What should we ask them to do? Our warranty is up in late October, and I don't want to be stuck with a pricey plumbing repair because there IS something wrong and they decided to wait out the warranty to foist the problem on us. It doesn't help that my husband (who admittedly isn't handy in the first place) works long hours, so I'm the one dealing with the contractors.
While it shouldn't surprise me, it's been frustrating how extremely patronizing the plumbers have been - acting like I'm exaggerating things until they see it for themselves, and then trying to pass things off as normal when clearly they're confused by some of the things that are happening.
Thanks.
