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Ejector Pump Use Question

1K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  3onthetree 
#1 ·
I'm trying to understand how the ejector pump is being used in the building I'm currently helping manage.

The building is 3 stories and there is a garden/basement unit too. The garden unit was built approx 10 years ago (although the building is a century old). In the garden unit there is a sump pump and an ejector pump.

The owner of that garden unit is telling me that the ejector pump is used for the entire building. But is that even possible? My understanding is that it's used to pump water/sewage up out of the basement level only. The units above ground would not need this.

But when I look at it, there are 3 tubes going into the ejector pump hole through the lid. One is the vent, one is actually pushing the waste, so what's the third one for?
 
#2 ·
How large is the ejector pit? There are a small number of cities where sewage for the entire building has to be stored until an off peak hour when the ejector pump kicks on.

Otherwise putting the entire builindg sewage through the ejector pump isconceivable but a waste of electricity and pump life.
 
#3 ·
I can't say exactly the dimensions but it looks to be a pretty standard sized pit.

There are a small number of cities where sewage for the entire building has to be stored until an off peak hour when the ejector pump kicks on.
This is definitely not the case here. We recently replaced the piggy back float switch and it's not timed for after hours. It simply kicks in when the water level is high enough.

I'm suspecting that the unit owner is trying to get the building to pay for repairs to it claiming that it's a common element but it does not seem to be doing anything other than pumping waste from his unit. I'm just not really sure how to prove that.
 
#4 ·
The third pipe has to be picking something up. By IPC code only things that cannot be drained by gravity can go to a grinder pit. 1 pipe is the vent one pipe is the discharge the third your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps you could dye test the drains? You might want to check with the building department and see if any plans are available.
 
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