Septic Alarm went off

   / Septic Alarm went off
  • Thread Starter
#41  
Katahdin said:
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.
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Wow, what a bad break! You should maybe post a complaint online about that installer!🤨
 
   / Septic Alarm went off #42  
check said:
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...

View attachment 595644
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the more basic systems use 2 floats. The lower one cycles the pump, the upper one is the tank full alarm. Ill bet you its the float. Ive never seen an alarm go bad. The alarm has no brain. It uses the float to complete the cycle. Theres no mechanical way inside the control to complete the cycle. Ive wired up lots of septic control systems .. but only work on new systems... cant stand the odor of used systems... most of the newer units use 4 floats. They have redundant off and on floats to help protect system and keep it working should a float fail.
 
   / Septic Alarm went off #43  
check said:
Wow, what a bad break! You should maybe post a complaint online about that installer!��
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The home was built 19 years ago and the cause was likely a communication mix-up between the electrician wiring the new home and the excavator installing the septic system, effluent under the bridge I guess!
 
   / Septic Alarm went off
  • Thread Starter
#44  
grsthegreat said:
the more basic systems use 2 floats. The lower one cycles the pump, the upper one is the tank full alarm. Ill bet you its the float. Ive never seen an alarm go bad. The alarm has no brain. It uses the float to complete the cycle. Theres no mechanical way inside the control to complete the cycle. Ive wired up lots of septic control systems .. but only work on new systems... cant stand the odor of used systems... most of the newer units use 4 floats. They have redundant off and on floats to help protect system and keep it working should a float fail.
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That is good to know. Maybe I can retrofit a dual float system for the alarm if indeed the float itself is the problem. Will keep you posted!
 
   / Septic Alarm went off #45  
We have a little treatment system made by Multiflo. It has an alarm that would go off now and then for no reason. I fixed it by cutting the wires to the audio alarm. It got annoying and I got tired of calling the septic guy out. We pay a yearly fee to have them come out and check it every year and clean it as needed. It also reduces the cost of getting the pump replaced. I hate paying yearly fees for stuff like that but like others have pointed out, who wants to deal with that stuff. Luckily mine is much lower than the house so as long as the lines aren't plugged up, no problems in the house.
 
   / Septic Alarm went off
  • Thread Starter
#46  
OK, OP here. I have now opened up the alarm box (which, fortunately, is inside the cottage), and tested the wires going out to the float. Joy! That circuit is open, meaning the float switch is off, as it should be. (Remember we tested the functioning of the pump earlier, by running water enough to fill it up and then listening carefully outside to hear the pump star and stop after the water ran for a while.)

So, the problem is inside the alarm box, which is of course very simple, and as far as I can tell consists of a buzzer (the dark shadow in the corner), a light (the white thing with the green terminal connectors), and two terminals/switches (one of which silences the alarm buzzer, and one of which tests the alarm buzzer). My guess is that one of these switches is defective, or MAYBE the buzzer itself.

Next step is to check and see if I can get parts for this thing.

One thing that confuses me is why there is a (hot) wire which coming from the receptacle plug and going down into the cable that goes out to the float switch. Why would we need power to go out to the float switch? Is there some sort of step-down transformer?
 
   / Septic Alarm went off
  • Thread Starter
#47  
Oops! Here are the photos. IMG_0896.JPGIMG_0898.JPG
 
   / Septic Alarm went off
  • Thread Starter
#49  
teejk said:
Just looked for that manufacturer on-line and came up empty. Any other details that might lead you to the OEM wiring diagram?
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Try boshart.com. I called them and they have the 850H high level alarm, but now it seems they only send 9V DC down the line to the float switch “in order to reduce the risk of electric shock”. My (16 year-old) alarm sends 110 AC (I think!)

Will have to call them again about this, and hopefully get a wiring diagram. (Hope they are open tomorrow.)
 
   / Septic Alarm went off
  • Thread Starter
#50  
check said:
OK, OP here. I have now opened up the alarm box (which, fortunately, is inside the cottage), and tested the wires going out to the float. Joy! That circuit is open, meaning the float switch is off, as it should be. (Remember we tested the functioning of the pump earlier, by running water enough to fill it up and then listening carefully outside to hear the pump star and stop after the water ran for a while.)

So, the problem is inside the alarm box, which is of course very simple, and as far as I can tell consists of a buzzer (the dark shadow in the corner), a light (the white thing with the green terminal connectors), and two terminals/switches (one of which silences the alarm buzzer, and one of which tests the alarm buzzer). My guess is that one of these switches is defective, or MAYBE the buzzer itself.

Next step is to check and see if I can get parts for this thing.

One thing that confuses me is why there is a (hot) wire which coming from the receptacle plug and going down into the cable that goes out to the float switch. Why would we need power to go out to the float switch? Is there some sort of step-down transformer?
Click to expand...

OK, went up and did a few tests this weekend. The two switches (one for "Test" and one for "Silence" both showed the correct impedence when using the switches. And now the warning buzzer seems to work intermittently when all switches are off/open. (Actually, it kind of hums like it wants to come on but can't.)

And Boshart was not open this weekend, so I will have to call tomorrow. Seems like a lot of money for a box with 2 switches, a lite, and a buzzer! ($173)
 
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