Need advice

[Hot shot]

Septic alarm went off
First time it has done
What do I need to look for
Full tank or what
Can I still put water down drain, wash clothes etc.


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[Hot shot]

Kicked breaker off too
Reset breaker and 5 minutes later light went off
Wife did wash 3 loads of clothes back to back and had dishwasher on
She said she’s done that before but I’m not so sure about that
Hopefully it won’t happen again

 

[The Cobbler]

if the breaker popped I'd be suspect of the pump . when you reset the breaker, the pump came back on and pumped the sewage , then the light went out.
but there's a reason why the breaker popped

 

[Hot shot]

That did cross my mind


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[kberjian]

I agree with The Cobbler. I have had a similar issue before my sump pump died. Left me in a ****** situation. I would change the pump before it fails and causes more issues.

 

[65ranchero]

Depending on the system it sounds like the 2nd tank is full because the "gray water" ejector pump is starting to fail

 

[kd3pc]

I would at least read the manual and see what sets the alarm. Sewage is not much fun to clean up, and this light seems to point to something that needs attention, and I would suggest to the wife she cut back on choking the system until you get a chance to check it out.

How old is your system and when was the last time maintenance or pumped out? Engineered system or just a standard tank and drain field?

In our part of VA, the alarms are taken pretty seriously, as backups can destroy the grinder and pumps.

PS, you might set some 5 gallon buckets, bathtub and so on aside to clean things up with after you swap a pump....or it fails in the middle of the night

 

[nadogail]

Good luck in finding the cause of the alarm and correcting it.

Alarms are warnings that are not to be taken lightly.

 

[Hot shot]

House with built in 99
I think it’s a standard system
It may have another pump on it because the drain field is uphill of the tank
I’m not sure how that works

 

[matt_i]

House with built in 99
I think it’s a standard system
It may have another pump on it because the drain field is uphill of the tank
I’m not sure how that works

If the drainfield is uphill of the tank it damn sure has a pump

I don't know your particular system however a classic alarm (the red light) for industrial pump systems is a high level switch that's independent of the switch(es) which start and stop the pump. When high level changes state its alerting to the condition that the fluid level is higher than it ever should be if the pump is working.

I would investigate asap and not put it off, 20-ish years is a good time to swap it ahead of an emergency problem situation and associated premium labor costs that always seem to follow those situations, if you ask me. Its lived a good life.

 

[Hot shot]

I got this from the health dept when I had the garage built.
Would the pump be a pain to change out


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[rustyjames]

Shouldn't be to difficult of a job changing the pump, worst part would be disconnecting the compression fitting, don't drop your tools! Probably not going to be very pleasant though.

 

[The Cobbler]

I agree with above.... and have a garden hose handy so you can hose stuff down as needed into the pit. and have windows open with fans taking the odour away ! LOL

 

[Mr. D]

If me, this would be hired out.

 

[CraigStu]

If the drainfield is uphill of the tank it damn sure has a pump

...

I would investigate asap and not put it off, 20-ish years is a good time to swap it ahead of an emergency problem situation and associated premium labor costs that always seem to follow those situations, if you ask me. Its lived a good life.

..I agree. At this age I would go ahead and replace everything. Sensers, pumps, switches etc. This is kind of like car batteries. One no start for one's wife is no way near worth trying to get another 6 months use from a battery. Two houses ago we were on a well. At 20 years I called the people who installed it and asked them to install a new pump. And that is just nice clean water.

 

[yeldogt]

It sounds like the pump is failing ...

When the pump fails obviously it's not pumping anything out of the pit up to the field. The warning light is telling you the water level in the tank is above where the pump should have started.

When you reset the breaker -- you got lucky and the pump restarted. It was able to pump out the excess and the 190 gallons as described on the permit. Modern washers don't use the amount of water as the old one so you can do a couple loads and the dishwasher with 190 gallons.

You don't want to mess around with this ...it's going to fail.

They require specific pumps ... don't go cheap on the pump. Get the correct one ...

I have had these pump pits .... one of mine had twin pumps. Most only have one ..

 

[Hot shot]

I’m going to look into getting it replaced

 

[tstaude]

My septic alarm went off about two years ago, my problem ended up being a corroded connection in the outdoor box adjacent to the tank.

Double check all your connections, especially the outdoor ones.

 

[Hot shot]

Got the pump replaced today
The tank with all the sludge in it was 98% full. Holy ****!
Shouldn’t have waited 14 years to get it pumped
This is the pump they replaced it with


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[Crfdell]

Pump your holding tank every 3-5 years. Not doing so can cause solids in the field bed that can plug up the drainage which can be big bucks.

 

[like2wheel]

Zoller pumps are great, but thier switches ****.
My tank alarm (luckily Grey water) would go off seemingly on the coldest, windyest (sp?) day every winter. Always the switch. I kept spares. Then bought an extra pump, & just rotated when one went out.

Then I changed to a remote switch, & haven't had a problem for several years now. Knock on wood.