Septic pump and alarm

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vilasman

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I've never had to wire for one before and the wonderful electricians that started this job put the pvc in the ground but no wire. I am guess that a septic pump will take a 220 amp circuit but I have no clue about the septic overflow alarm.
Anybody had to fool with these things before?
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

The alarms I have dealt with are low voltage devices which use a float switch mounted in the wet well. Also unless it is a high head or capacity pump it will more than likely be 120V.

edited for spelling.

[ February 14, 2005, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: electricman2 ]
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

I have installed several of these pump systems. First thing you need is the manual because every system is different. If you can't get your hands on the manual a good place to start is the nameplate to found out what the pump needs as a source. The alarm will normally be internally tied in if it's a manufactured system. It not purchase an alarm that will work with you pump source voltage. If you are going to design a system there are to many variables to cover here. I personally like the systems made by Watchdog. Heres the site http://www.basementwatchdog.com/
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

We have one county that requires them on any ejector pit. Most of the ones we deal with have the 12/2 UF from the pump motor and the 14/2 UF from the float switch already ran in to the house. We have had to run our own feeds. We have never had to install the pump or alarm float even tho I know how. As this is the septic system's installer's job. The float should be clamped about a foot above the pump float or motor if the float is built in. the alarm is just a low voltage class2 transformer with a buzzer and a light and a silancer button to turn on a simple lockout relay that will reset once the float drops out again. Almost all these alarms are supplyed by the septic installer and are kind of high for what they are :eek:
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

This is one that is electronic:
108708_lg.gif


Here's another:
MiniTM1.jpg
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Hurk. If it is crap and water it's the plumber's. If it's electric it's the electrican's. I'm tried of other trades trying to take any of our work period.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Out here the septic control systems are installed by the septic tank folks and wired by a electrician.
They are normally sold as a package from a company such as Orenco.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Wayne that's how it's mostly done here too. There are some exceptions.

Highvoltage,
I'm not sending a guy 30 miles to install 2 runs of UF from the basement to the pit in a trench that the septic contractor dug.
He is well capable of the task.
Besides that, as busy as we are, I wouldn't even want to try to coordinate the schedule. Too many variables involved.

Believe me, there is no food missing out of my mouth over the issue. Sometimes we need to do what makes sense for the Job. And the septic guy will want to do it right, because no matter what the problem is, he is the first to get a call to go and look at it.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Septic guys around here can't pull Electrical permits. Personally I don't care if it is 10 feet of wire to be installed and 100 miles away. It is our work no matter how you look at it. We all thought at one time to let the HVAC guys run their own low voltage wires. Now they have 90% of the work. I won't give an inch on this and if I see them doing electrical work of any kind I will report them to the local inspector. If the inspector doesn't enforce I'll write the state.

[ February 17, 2005, 09:28 PM: Message edited by: highkvoltage ]
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

What does milage or feet have to do with electric ?Make deal with them,you dont touch **** and they don't touch wires.As long as they paying by the hour i don't care if the job is to replace a bulb and if it takes 3 1/2 hours each way and 1 hour to change bulb.Don't forget time to write bill and dougnuts.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

The septic guys don't like the elctricians doing the install, they often have to fix the wiring. And vice versa. The Orenco control panels have color coded floats and such, pretty easy to wire.
but some of the new control panels are complicated with dosing pumps, timers and so forth. Out here the gravity systems are a thing of the past.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Let me see. Okay first you wire a 12-2 and a 14-2 both from the septic housing to the house. The 12-2 hard wires to a receptacle for the pump to plug into. Thuis circuit needs to be dedicated. Second the 14-2 is wired to another wire entering the home connected to the lowvoltage portion of the alarm. The alarm line voltage side is connected to another circuit plug and corded. At the outside receptacle the 14-2 from the float plugs into the back of the 12-2pump plug and both get plugged into the 12-2 Outlet for the pump motor. How does this work?
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

No the alarm float does not plug into the receptacle for the pump. :eek:
The alarm float will just have a SJOW cord that has the wires striped at the end it does not have a plug on it. We install a PVC box inside of the top of the ejector pit and hard wire the 14/2 UF to this SJOW cord. we use the Ideal twister's as they have dielectric grease in them and stand up to the moisture. the 12/2 UF get's wired in the pit also I install a WP box with a inuse cover ans seal all connections with dielectric grease. Even the prongs on the plug. and any open holes in the back if the receptacle. The alarm is a self powered unit and will get it's power from where this unit plugs in inside the house. It has to be on a circuit that the pump it monitors is not on the same circuit.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Im sorry, I assumed wrong. I assumed that the 14-2 was the same wire as the one that piggy backed into the 12-2. I wondered how that worked. Didnt seem right. I know the 12-2 is for the motor on the pump. I assumed the 14-2 was for the float switch. What is the second plug that piggy backs into the first plug for?
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

I have never seen this on a ejector pump as most have a sealed float switch on the pump, But with a sump pump this is the float switch that turns on the motor when the level of the water gets to a preset hight in the sump pit. The main reason these are not used on a ejector pump is the paper can hang on them and weigh them down preventing the pump from running. So you should not have this with a ejector pump or someone used just a sump pump that shouldn't be used. There should be only one cord and plug for the pump motor and the smaller two-wire cord for the alarm float. :D
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

So, Whats attached to the low voltage side of the alarm?
Click to expand...
MiniTM1.jpg
See the black thing that looks like a bobber on the right of this image, with a coil of 2-wire SJOW cord connected to it? This is a float switch that has a lower rating than a float switch for a motor. It only has two conductors in the cable and it is connected to the pipe that is connected to the pump at about 6" above the motor with about 4" of cable between the pipe and the float. The float just acts like a switch that turns on the alarm until the water level goes back down.
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Ok, this is what I have. A 12-2 and a 14-2 ran from the septic housing to the home. In the home I connected the 14-2 to the lowvoltage side of the alarm. and plugged the alarm into an outlet. Outside of the septic is a 12-2, I attached the box and recepticale to it and pluged both plugs into it. In the septic is the 14-2, and I placed a box on the inside wall of the housing and attached the 14-2 to the wire stripped and just dangling around in there. I just (for some reason) assummed that the stripped wires went to the second plug which was piggy backed. I now see that the second plug is not the loose wires dangling. Where is that second plug wire going? Who is that masked man?
 
Re: Septic pump and alarm

Ok, so I just used a piece of wire to attach to the float switch (which is the two wires stripped in the tank) and run it to the low voltage side of the alarm. I see. That is all the 14-2 is there for.
 
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