Sewage pump issue

[Jeff H Young]

a pump that was basicaly completely capped off wouldnt blow breaker? i mean an 1/8inch hole isnt much Im not a pump or motor guy and not that good at diagnosing. post 1 ( water moves around dosent pump out breaker kicks after awhile) Question to Reach 4 are you thinking the pump might be good ?
I dont want customer to needlessly buy a pump but I think that if pump is good theres gotta be a total stoppage and again not being a pump or motor expert wouldnt figure that a stopped line would draw less current than an open free pipe. Im very much suspecting a bad pump. please share the outcome fullysprinklered its a help to my data base (knowledge)

 

[John Gayewski]

a pump that was basicaly completely capped off wouldnt blow breaker? i mean an 1/8inch hole isnt much Im not a pump or motor guy and not that good at diagnosing. post 1 ( water moves around dosent pump out breaker kicks after awhile) Question to Reach 4 are you thinking the pump might be good ?
I dont want customer to needlessly buy a pump but I think that if pump is good theres gotta be a total stoppage and again not being a pump or motor expert wouldnt figure that a stopped line would draw less current than an open free pipe. Im very much suspecting a bad pump. please share the outcome fullysprinklered its a help to my data base (knowledge)

Depends what breaker he's talking about. The integral ones trip when hot due to deadhead.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

a pump that was basicaly completely capped off wouldnt blow breaker? i mean an 1/8inch hole isnt much Im not a pump or motor guy and not that good at diagnosing. post 1 ( water moves around dosent pump out breaker kicks after awhile)

Contrary to what you would think, the deadheaded centrifugal pump would draw less current than one pumping water. I understand that it contradicts what feels right.

Question to Reach 4 are you thinking the pump might be good ?

I don't think the pump can be good. I may have missed something, but I think it would take two faults for the pump to be good -- clog and weak breaker both. Put a clamp around ammeter around the hot wire at the breaker to see what the current is.

Now if I can presume a very viscous slurry at the bottom of the pit that is partially locking the rotor, I guess that could cause both non-pumping and high current.

 

[FullySprinklered]

Yeah, the house breaker trips.

Looking back at my records, I replaced that pump in Nov of 2018. Customer did a phone sale on the pump at the supply house and I don't have any other invoices for any parts. The shut off valve and the check valve must be original. Only tank I ever saw that had a porthole in the top, the size of a dinner plate. Big enough to lose your flashlight in.

The bathroom was originally stubbed up in the middle of the basement somewhere. They decided to put it against the outside wall on the end of the house. So, that left the bathroom without proper vent, and a very awkward drain situation where they tied it in to the 2" washer line about a foot downstream from the trap which was below floor level.

I think the broken checkvalve might be our culprit, causing the pump to get over worked. This could have gone on for years. It's possible that the washer could have been back filling the tank through the discharge pipe, the little flapper in there being non functional. Not sure about that, but it could explain a lot.

Guess I'll go with a new pump. According to her invoice she paid $537.22 for the existing one three years ago. Hate to give her the news about that. No further charge for labor. She's already paid for all the head scratching.

 

[Jeff H Young]

well it sure sounds like pump pricey for just one bath . while your replacing it might want to review the specs and if its the best pump for the job? I like to hear the end of the story

 

[FullySprinklered]

well it sure sounds like pump pricey for just one bath . while your replacing it might want to review the specs and if its the best pump for the job? I like to hear the end of the story

I told her to go ahead and order the pump. Should be in early next week. Surprisingly, it's cheaper than it was before.
If it ain't the pump I'll have to fall on my sword.
Thanks for the input from everyone. I'll update next week.

 

[TunaBreath]

Were you able to examine the pump impeller at all or is it not visible? The pump could have sucked up something that damaged it. I would clean the pit out too if you can (garden hose and shop vac).

Also, in regards to centrifugal pumps drawing more amps - give a centrifugal pump an uninterrupted flow path and it will draw as many amps as it the flow path will allow. Think of it this way, if water is around 8lbs/gallon, the less restrictive the flow path the pump has, then the more weight the pump will move. Now, a closed discharge valve or stuck closed check valve will result in low amps due to no weight being moved. However the "churning" action from not having a flow path will result in overheating of pump (bearings, packing if it has it).

This is opposite of a positive displacement pump - on a PD pump, no flowpath results in high amps as a PD pump attempts to move the same volume with each rotation/stroke.

 

[Fitter30]

Dead heading a pump lowers amperage.

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/amps-kilowatts-follow-gpm.37889/

 

[FullySprinklered]

Yep, it was the pump. Purring like a kitten now. Identical to the bad one, 1/2 horse Zoeller, 3-year warranty. Put the first one in November of 2018. That's three years and two months. Knock me down with a feather.

 

[John Gayewski]

Yep, it was the pump. Purring like a kitten now. Identical to the bad one, 1/2 horse Zoeller, 3-year warranty. Put the first one in November of 2018. That's three years and two months. Knock me down with a feather.

Nice.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Yep, it was the pump. Purring like a kitten now. Identical to the bad one, 1/2 horse Zoeller, 3-year warranty. Put the first one in November of 2018. That's three years and two months. Knock me down with a feather.

Glad to hear The zoehlers arent cheap but Ive used them several times I put one in for my brother he has a small guest house with a full time tenant and laundry on it for his whole family about a 40 foot run uphill from pit and 8 foot rise changed pump once since jan 03

 

[FullySprinklered]

Glad to hear The zoehlers arent cheap but Ive used them several times I put one in for my brother he has a small guest house with a full time tenant and laundry on it for his whole family about a 40 foot run uphill from pit and 8 foot rise changed pump once since jan 03

They charge by the pound for the Zoellers.