Septic Alarm went off

[check]

My pump chamber is set up with the floats zip tied to a section of PVC pipe which clips onto the filter basket that the pump sits inside. It has been my experience that the acidic atmosphere in the chamber causes the zip ties to get brittle and fail. This may be what happened with your alarm float, it's no longer tethered and just floating free.

Well, my hope is that the alarm inside the cottage is defective, and I will check that out first. But thanks for the idea, mapper - If the alarm box checks out, I will look at the float when things warm up (hopefully within the next month, but it looks like we are having a late Spring this year).

 

[oosik]

I have a system that is almost the same as yours - check. Two compartment septic tank - outlet filter on the second compartment of the septic tank - gravity flow into the 1000 gallon pump tank. Then 275 feet out to my pressure drain field. I have two floats in the pump tank.

Whatever - I've had two alarms in the fourteen years this system has been in operation. One when the power went off and I didn't have the control panel set to "auto restart". Easy to correct - just push & set the "auto restart" button. The second - for reasons only known to God - the two floats and their cords got tangled around the pump discharge pipe. Easy to correct also - long piece of quarter round molding and things were all straightened out.

Here at my location - I have four access manholes on my system. The inlet to the septic tank - the outlet to the septic tank - over the pump in the pump tank and the valve pit out on the drain field. The manholes are 24" green corrugated Johns Mansville industrial plastic pipe with industrial fibreglass lids.

The only thing I have to do to access any portion of my system is - remove the snow and lift the lid - this time of year. Makes my six month inspection/ maintenance routine pretty easy.

 

[MossRoad]

OK, SWMBO says I can稚 leave all my TBN friends out there hanging like that, because some of you are probably OCD and will be up all night trying to figure this out. So forget about 展hat the Heck is Making These Holes? and get on with it.

Here is how we left things. SWMBO went down to the basement and ran a garden hose into a stand pipe that was close to the main exit of our sewage system from the cottage. She then turned on the water, and let it run, watching the standpipe to see if it overflowed or not. She had one hand on the garden hose valve so that she could turn it off instantly if the standpipe started to overflow, which would of course indicate that the pump tank was not working. Meanwhile I was outside with my ear to the ground, listening to hear if the pump came on.

Lo and behold, after a while the pump came on and stayed on for maybe 10 or 15 seconds which is about what you would expect, and then shut off! There was nothing wrong with that system at all! The alarm was going off for no good reason.

So, we covered the pump tank area with the snow again (for insulation) and headed back down south to go home. I will leave it like that for now, and just unplug the alarm, until it gets warm enough to dig the alarm wires up, or maybe I can just work on the alarm itself from the inside. Either way, the important point is we do have a sewage system which seems to function, which is a big deal. You can imagine what it would be like going up to the country place in the middle of the winter and being unable to run any water or to use the toilets.

OK, that痴 enough for now. It is bedtime anyway.

Something caused the alarm to go off. As other's have mentioned, they have a 2nd float up higher than the ON/OFF float for the pump. That 2nd float is for the alarm. If, for some reason, the pump did not drain the tank and that caused the alarm float to raise up and trigger the alarm, there is(or was) a problem at some point. That is considered a "good reason", and it should be checked. You're assuming there's a defective alarm, when, most likely, at some point, the pump couldn't drain the tank for whatever reason. Best to open it up, inspect all the parts, clean and test. Good luck. No one likes to deal with that, but it has to be done.

 

[oosik]

Moss Road is absolutely correct. The alarm went off for a reason. Good or otherwise. You are very fortunate - this is not on a home that you must depend upon daily. DO take the opportunity to check it out thoroughly this summer.

 

[MossRoad]

...
Lo and behold, after a while the pump came on and stayed on for maybe 10 or 15 seconds which is about what you would expect, and then shut off! There was nothing wrong with that system at all! The alarm was going off for no good reason.
....

That kinda reminds me of what caused the Three Mile Island incident...

None of us wants to touch radioactive material or poop. :laughing:

Three Mile Island accident - Wikipedia

 

[sd455dan]

Something caused the alarm to go off. As other's have mentioned, they have a 2nd float up higher than the ON/OFF float for the pump. That 2nd float is for the alarm. If, for some reason, the pump did not drain the tank and that caused the alarm float to raise up and trigger the alarm, there is(or was) a problem at some point. That is considered a "good reason", and it should be checked. You're assuming there's a defective alarm, when, most likely, at some point, the pump couldn't drain the tank for whatever reason. Best to open it up, inspect all the parts, clean and test. Good luck. No one likes to deal with that, but it has to be done.

Makes sense

Wondering if his system has the long vertical fine mesh filter that some 2 tank set ups have that is actually under the middle access cover (mound) system

Failing to remove it and wash off with a garden hose every year or so will result in the filter plugging up and an alarm condition eventually

 

[oosik]

That IS another thought sd455dan. I have a long, ridgid, fine mesh vertical filter on the outlet of my two compartment septic tank. Allows only liquid to enter the pump tank. Depending upon how your control panel is set up - either a low water alarm in the pump tank or, heaven forbid, overflow out of the access manhole on the second compartment of the septic tank.

 

[zzvyb6]

Glad I live on a hill. Be careful your phone doesn't fall in when you bend over to take a down look. Spam calls are bad enough...

 

[grsthegreat]

i also believe its the top alarm float . every system ive worked on has either 2 or 3 floats. the lowest float was for off. the middle float is the run float and the upper float was the alarm float. ive seen these floats get jammed up or tangled up in the pump and alarm wiring alot of times because they wernt zipped tied properly. Only opening the cover will tell.

 

[mapper]

My age, inclination and financial situation are such that when, this sort of situation arises in our household, I call my friendly septic service guy and let him take care of it! In my younger years I was very much a DYI as much as possible, still am for many things but for that really unpleasant stuff - I know a guy:laughing:

 

[teejk]

My age, inclination and financial situation are such that when, this sort of situation arises in our household, I call my friendly septic service guy and let him take care of it! In my younger years I was very much a DYI as much as possible, still am for many things but for that really unpleasant stuff - I know a guy:laughing:

Same for roofing and lately any plumbing job that makes me rake my shoulder blades on the bottom of a cabinet. But you do raise a good point. With modern septic systems a qualified pro will be your best friend. They have seen everything, know where to look and know what has to be done.

 

[flewism]

I have a similar system, house was built in 1990 and the pumps been replaced at least 3 times only get 6-8 years out of the effluent pumps and the alarm goes off. It is an hour job for a pro after the tank is pumped out.

 

[mapper]

Same for roofing and lately any plumbing job that makes me rake my shoulder blades on the bottom of a cabinet. But you do raise a good point. With modern septic systems a qualified pro will be your best friend. They have seen everything, know where to look and know what has to be done.

My pump went out a couple years ago, called my septic guy, he showed up in less than an hour. Had everything he needed on the pumper truck, including the replacement pump. Took him less than an hour to replace it. Cost a bit more but by the time I acquired a pump, picked up the plumbing bits needed and the special filled wire nuts etc. , it would have been at least a day or two later before I would have been done. (Not to mention a trip or two back to town for what I missed the first time)

 

[JK22]

That IS another thought sd455dan. I have a long, ridgid, fine mesh vertical filter on the outlet of my two compartment septic tank. Allows only liquid to enter the pump tank. Depending upon how your control panel is set up - either a low water alarm in the pump tank or, heaven forbid, overflow out of the access manhole on the second compartment of the septic tank.

I have the same system and my alarm goes off much more frequently when this filter gets clogged. But first we start hunting for a running toilet.

 

[PILOON]

OK. that's why I keep my outhouse active, 'just in case'. LOL.
Dang those septic systems that act up.
Generally it is not 'if' but its 'when'. Long live one that is simply dependent on gravity.

In my neck of the woods most folks still have that little house with the crescent moon in the door just for those occasions.

A telephone booth, AKA outhouse, is still an acceptable alternate option.

 

[check]

OK. that's why I keep my outhouse active, 'just in case'. LOL.
Dang those septic systems that act up.
Generally it is not 'if' but its 'when'. Long live one that is simply dependent on gravity.

In my neck of the woods most folks still have that little house with the crescent moon in the door just for those occasions.

A telephone booth, AKA outhouse, is still an acceptable alternate option.

That might be an idea for us, Bob, but we do have a couple of beat up old outhouses at the rental property 500 yds. away. (Water system is shut down over there and lines are drained in Winter.). Have to check and see what the local bylaws say.

 

[check]

Same for roofing and lately any plumbing job that makes me rake my shoulder blades on the bottom of a cabinet. But you do raise a good point. With modern septic systems a qualified pro will be your best friend. They have seen everything, know where to look and know what has to be done.

Well, it’s not rocket science for me. I was there in 2002 when the system was installed new, and when it was pumped as part of the regular maintenance program. More recently, by the way, the original pump did fail a couple of years ago, and so we replaced it with a sewage pump that I happened to have available. (Which is one reason why I did not think the problem was likely to be the pump.). I was present at the repair back then, and my guy was very experienced with these things. (I will use him again if I ever need him.)

 

[check]

That IS another thought sd455dan. I have a long, ridgid, fine mesh vertical filter on the outlet of my two compartment septic tank. Allows only liquid to enter the pump tank. Depending upon how your control panel is set up - either a low water alarm in the pump tank or, heaven forbid, overflow out of the access manhole on the second compartment of the septic tank.

Gheez I hope that’s not the problem! But it may very well just be tangled floats, which I will check out when the ground thaws. (Keeping in mind that the pump it self and it’s float are both functioning effectively right now, as evidenced by our little test.)

My money is on the alarm box itself, which is fortunately inside the cottage. I can easily open it up and do a continuity test, to see if this float switch is in fact activated. And if it’s not, then I will simply need a new alarm box. Here’s hoping!

 

[check]

i also believe its the top alarm float . every system ive worked on has either 2 or 3 floats. the lowest float was for off. the middle float is the run float and the upper float was the alarm float. ive seen these floats get jammed up or tangled up in the pump and alarm wiring alot of times because they wernt zipped tied properly. Only opening the cover will tell.

Mine only has 2 floats, and as I said earlier I will be checking them out when the snow and ice go away.

And thanks again for all the great suggestions, guys! It is nice to know you have a TBN community behind you when you need it!

Now if only I could get rid of them pesky attack beavers that keep setting up shop under my big old boathouse...

 

[Katahdin]

I have a similar system, house was built in 1990 and the pumps been replaced at least 3 times only get 6-8 years out of the effluent pumps and the alarm goes off. It is an hour job for a pro after the tank is pumped out.

I had a similar problem. Turned out the pump was 120V and the wiring was 240V. The pumps were burning out every 6 years.

I discovered the cause after my wife ordered a different brand pump, she works in waste water engineering and was the subject matter expert. The new pump had overload protection and would stop running after a few seconds. When I looked at the pumps spec-sheet I saw it was 120V and I was sure my wife made a mistake, because I knew the wiring from the house was 240V. My wife was right, the original pump was 120V, and it was wired wrong when the house was built.