Lifting Sewer Waste Water

[heitjer]

All,
you guys are always full of ideas. I am planning my shop with a rest room and just noticed that the place where I am planning it is ~ 2 feet lower than my drainage system.

Any ideas or solutions? Is there an good recommendation, sewer pumps?

*heitjer*

 

[inveresk]

I have a cottage that is a few feet below the level of the septic system. When I renovated recently, I used a packaged system from Liberty Pumps. Includes chamber, pumps, alarms, etc.

Liberty Pumps : Simplex Packages

An overchamber was available as an extra that I bought that houses the connections under a watertight cover.

 

[jenkinsph]

You can buy a small lift station package for $400 to $600 at a plumbing supplier. It looks similar to a plastic trashcan with a cast iron sewage ejector pump and float built into it. A small 1/3 hp unit should be plenty for your shop. These have a four inch inlet on the side and are made to be buried with a 2" pvc pipe rising vertically to connect to your sewer line. Most also have a vent pipe about 2 inches too.

They are simple to hookup, if you see one at the supply house you will get the picture right away.

 

[Bedlam]

Maybe this will help.
Yahoo! Image Detail for - http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5042564/204756_Full.jpg

 

[Dmace]

Depending on how far away your shop is from the septic tank you may be able to get away with an "up-flush" toilet but those are mostly for basement bathrooms and should be within 10-15ft of the septic tank. If further, then one of the pump tanks shown above would work fine. Talk to your local septic/well company, they may have cheaper alternatives through local vendors.

 

[Jaylegger]

Easiest solution are toilets with self contained integrated macerators and pumps such as those from Saniflo, I put "SaniPlus" in my basement about 14 years ago and have never had a problem with it, works as good today as when first installed. The SaniPlus can pump up to 15 feet vertically.

Here's a link to the installation manual which provides all the info you need regarding vertical and horizontal runs.

http://www.saniflo.ca/pdf/install/PLUS_US.pdf

 

[tulenutn2o]

Here's one for ya. My shop is maybe 80' from septic. Not sure I have enough fall to level of inlet of tank. will any of the macerator type systems allow me to pump uphill at a constant rise? I'd like for the pump basin to be right outside my shop, deep enough to allow me to rum pipe under gravel driveway without issues. Any thought? I'm just not familiar with this equipment.

 

[Jaylegger]

Here's one for ya. My shop is maybe 80' from septic. Not sure I have enough fall to level of inlet of tank. will any of the macerator type systems allow me to pump uphill at a constant rise? I'd like for the pump basin to be right outside my shop, deep enough to allow me to rum pipe under gravel driveway without issues. Any thought? I'm just not familiar with this equipment.

The Saniflo system requires any rise to be vertical and positioned within 18" of the pump. A sloped rise/run is not possible. So basically you pump straight up to whatever height is required to provide the minimum 1/4" per foot gravity fall to reach the inlet to the septic system.

 

[jenkinsph]

Here's one for ya. My shop is maybe 80' from septic. Not sure I have enough fall to level of inlet of tank. will any of the macerator type systems allow me to pump uphill at a constant rise? I'd like for the pump basin to be right outside my shop, deep enough to allow me to rum pipe under gravel driveway without issues. Any thought? I'm just not familiar with this equipment.

Actually when you run the sewage through a pump it is macerated into a liquid form. From the lift station to the sewer line is much like any other water line installation and needs to be deep enough to prevent freezing in winter. Should not be a problem with this passing under a driveway

 

[Kays Supply]

I have many lift pumps in and a few homes totally on sewage lift pumps. Some pump as far as 600ft. I have been installing them for over 30 years. The Gould cast iron pumps have held up for many many years. The larger the catch basin / pit, the longer run time , the longer the pump will last , and the better it will clear the pipe at each pump cycle. The larger the pit the less trouble with floats. My 2 cents worth.

 

[teg]

Really wish I had a photo of my neighbors "throne" which sat a couple feet up in the air. It basically was a straight line into the sewer pipe. Just a basement toilet for his shop... not for guests. Had to watch your head since the clearance was tight...

 

[heitjer]

Excellent Information - thanks guys!

My shop will be about 100 ft away. I definitively will go with a "bigger is better" approach.

 

[gwjd]

ide go with a lift due to the fact that any kind of water closet solution would not work for a utility sink and imo that is a must have

 

[jenkinsph]

Excellent Information - thanks guys!

My shop will be about 100 ft away. I definitively will go with a "bigger is better" approach.

I would wonder what you mean by that? For a workshop with limited use a small lift station in a can will work well for this purpose. I have seen them work for many years with a whole house depending on them. The ones I am thinking about had Zoeller cast iron pumps in them.

 

[Kays Supply]

You don't need a bigger pump, just more volume per cycle. If you decide on a Zoehler pump, be sure and use float switches. Their switch, that is made into the pump, will fail in just a couple years.

 

[ctgoldwing]

I have many lift pumps in and a few homes totally on sewage lift pumps. Some pump as far as 600ft. I have been installing them for over 30 years. The Gould cast iron pumps have held up for many many years. The larger the catch basin / pit, the longer run time , the longer the pump will last , and the better it will clear the pipe at each pump cycle. The larger the pit the less trouble with floats. My 2 cents worth.

I work for a very large plumbing distributor. We sell Goulds, Liberty, Sani-flow, Little Giant, Zoeller, Hartell to name a few. You can't go wrong with a Goulds or Zoeller unit.

 

[heitjer]

I would wonder what you mean by that?

Sorry for this - I meant a bigger tank, creating less on/off cycles but larger volumes to be pumped.

 

[heitjer]

I think I need some design pointers as I am starting to read up on this.

I found this system for example: SaniPlus

Page 3 picture 6 shows the 'lift' and then then 1% fall in the line. I guess this is not possible for me as from the shop to the sewer is a 100 ft distance with 1 ft higher inlet than shop floor.

Are these systems not for me?

 

[Kays Supply]

1 foot of head isn't going to be a problem. That is basically no head. You are basically going to be pumping flat. More reason for a longer pump cycle to be sure and wash out the solids.

 

[CurlyDave]

Maybe someone with more experience than I can chime in, but I see a potential problem with insufficient use.

In a workshop situation, with only one part-time user, even the smallest lift pump may go weeks without activating. At 1.6 gallons per flush and a 50 gallon tank, you are looking at 30 flushes per tankful. I can go several months if not a year on 30 flushes in my workshop.

I would be seriously considering a "comfort bush" outside the back door and a small electric water heater for hot & cold hand washing draining into a gravel sump.