septic tank pump questions.

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zappy

zappy

Senior Member
Location
CA.
Looked at a job at a trailer park. In this tank in the ground was a pump at the bottom. There's a 10-15' cord & plug on it. The tank has a concrete lid that seals it when where finished.

The old pump that they removed was jerry rigged. There's a 3/4" pvc pipe poking in the side of the tank, about 6" down. They just cut off the plug, wire nutted the cord to the wires coming out of the pvc. So to me the only way to have a outlet for the cord&plug is to mount a box where the pvc comes in, and install a outlet inside the tank. What do you think? Thank you.
 
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zappy

zappy

Senior Member
Location
CA.
Another question

Another question

The customer wants a light to tell them when the pump is on. The guy at the counter said to wire the pilot light in series with the pump, but when I did that the voltage at the pump goes from 120v to 108v. The light comes on but the pump doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?
 
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benaround

Senior Member
Location
Arizona
Zappy, I'm pretty sure that the inside of the tank is a Class1-Div.2 location, so the proper

materials would be needed for the wiring inside.
 
iMuse97

iMuse97

Senior Member
Location
Chicagoland
zappy said:
The customer wants a light to tell them when the pump is on. The guy at the counter said to wire the pilot light in series with the pump, but when I did that the voltage at the pump goes from 120v to 108v. The light comes on but the pump doesn't work. What am I doing wrong?
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parallel pilot light on the load side of switch, just like they used to do on dark room occupancy lights. I'm thinking the same as Frank. Watch for the right materials. A company I was with did a lot of sewer plants and you don't want to have nuch exposed metal inside that tank--just PVC coated materials and "explosion-proof" boxes, etc. No cheap solutions here.
 
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hillbilly

Senior Member
zappy said:
Looked at a job at a trailer park. In this tank in the ground was a pump at the bottom. There's a 10-15' cord & plug on it. The tank has a concrete lid that seals it when where finished.

The old pump that they removed was jerry rigged. There's a 3/4" pvc pipe poking in the side of the tank, about 6" down. They just cut off the plug, wire nutted the cord to the wires coming out of the pvc. So to me the only way to have a outlet for the cord&plug is to mount a box where the pvc comes in, and install a outlet inside the tank. What do you think? Thank you.
Click to expand...


What type flexible cord is on the pump...rating?
Does it detach from the pump?

steve
 
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hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
I typically install a piece of PVC from the pit to above ground just adjacent to the pit. Run the float switch cables (usually a start/stop setup), the motor cables and the float alarm cable up to the control box mounted above grade just outside of the pit. No connections made in the pit. The control box has a light/alarm for high level (if the pumps quit working) and controls duplex pumps that come on at different levels.

I've never had anyone make me use x-proof wiring. I just duct seal the conduits to prevent air movement.
 
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hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
Oh yea, the light can't be in series, must be parallel. :)

I would check to make sure the float switchs are motor rated if you don't have a controller. Actually, I'd probably tell them they need a control box.
 
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ozark01

Senior Member
I normally run a section of 2" PVC from the pit to a PVC junction box with a receptacle in it mounted on a post . You need the 2" so you can get the plug of the cord into the junction box. Some of the pump cords have a air vent in them so the internal floats can work so the ends can't be cut off.
 
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hurk27

Senior Member
Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
If this pump has a integral float, thats part of the pump you wont have access to the switched side of the float and wont be able to wire a light to come on with the pump, if the switch wires does come up to the power connection then wire the light with the motor (parallel)
I do small lift stations two different ways, one is to use a Arlington post with a single 20 amp receptacle/ with a inuse cover, just outside the pit, <<<it last the longest, if I have to install a receptacle in the pit(owner don't like the post), I use a cord cap filled with dielectric grease (both front and back) and plug in the float and pump. in small tanks single pump, we always get pumps with plugs on the cord, I don't cut them off as it can void the warranty.

For commercial installations, the pump almost always comes with stripped cords, as well as the floats, there is always 3 to 4 floats (lead, lag, bottom stop, and high alarm which is some times combined with the lag)

these are almost always piped from the pit to a control box, and sealed for air between the tank and control box, we use almost all SS R3 cabinets. and if not supplied build our own controls with alternating relay to share the pump load, along with hour meters or cycle meters or both and such.:D
Cell link monitoring with subscriber service is done by others.

So far I have never been required to go explosion proof, the only reason we air block is to keep the fumes out of the controls, as on cold mornings the moisture from the pit will condensate all over the inside of the control panel and corrode everything, and while working in the panel it helps keep the smell out;)
 
quogueelectric

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
Why is the word alternator switch screaming out to me right now. This sounds like a pretty important pump. The right job will cost him a few thousand dollars .
 
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hurk27

Senior Member
Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
quogueelectric said:
Why is the word alternator switch screaming out to me right now. This sounds like a pretty important pump. The right job will cost him a few thousand dollars .
Click to expand...


I have no idea, I got the idea of a small single pump installation from this statement in the OP:
In this tank in the ground was a pump at the bottom
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yes for a trailer park it would seem there would be two pumps but......

code would only call it a trailer park if there was five trailers or more?

Last installation I did with panel build was over 9k so go from there:confused:
but that was for the US park dept, for the Indiana lake shore:D
 
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hurk27

Senior Member
Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
ozark01 said:
Around here you are not allowed to put the receptacle in the pump tank.
Click to expand...

Here is the Arlington post I use, it's great for many things, pools yard lights and more:

attachment.php
 
Pierre C Belarge

Pierre C Belarge

Senior Member
Location
Westchester County, New York
In our jurisdiction, the health department requires a separate certificate for them, in addition to the municipality certificate. So the building department, electrical inspector and the board of health all inspect these types of installations.

The inside of the tank is classified as a Class 1, Div 2 location, by the building department and the health department. No wiring unless suitable for the location is permitted in the tank. There is typically a PVC stub in the concrete for the float cords to exit the tank. From that point, there are many different methods used by the different contractors around here.
 
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hardworkingstiff

Senior Member
Location
Wilmington, NC
Pierre C Belarge said:
In our jurisdiction, the health department requires a separate certificate for them, in addition to the municipality certificate. So the building department, electrical inspector and the board of health all inspect these types of installations.

The inside of the tank is classified as a Class 1, Div 2 location, by the building department and the health department. No wiring unless suitable for the location is permitted in the tank. There is typically a PVC stub in the concrete for the float cords to exit the tank. From that point, there are many different methods used by the different contractors around here.
Click to expand...

Out of curiousity, what do you reject during an inspection?
 
Bobhook149

Bobhook149

Senior Member
hardworkingstiff said:
I typically install a piece of PVC from the pit to above ground just adjacent to the pit. Run the float switch cables (usually a start/stop setup), the motor cables and the float alarm cable up to the control box mounted above grade just outside of the pit. No connections made in the pit. The control box has a light/alarm for high level (if the pumps quit working) and controls duplex pumps that come on at different levels.

I've never had anyone make me use x-proof wiring. I just duct seal the conduits to prevent air movement.
Click to expand...


Thats the way i do it.
 
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