# 4am lift station call



## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

I should remember more about this stuff than I do... too much sniffing glue I guess. 

I turned off the alarm, tried running both pumps on hand, contacts worked, but nothing from either pump. Pit is pretty low, so I'm not terribly concerned at the moment. However when people start waking up and ****/shower/shave...

I've spent time working on three phase controls, but that was over a decade ago.

I think I'm going to call my sparky guy, let him figure out unless anyone has any suggestions before I head back out.

Seems odd both pumps would fail when both were tested a couple of months ago so my first ASSumption is something in the controls. Sucks cause I don't think there is any place around that would have a new pump. Last one I replaced was a week out, but IIRC it was some odd ball.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Fixed.


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## wharfrat (Nov 1, 2014)

What happened to be the issue?


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## Fatpat (Nov 1, 2015)

I maintain 55 different pump and lift stations over a 5 square miles area.

7 out of 10 times it's an electrical issue.


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## marc76075 (Nov 24, 2010)

Tripped overload?


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Electrical was my best guess... wanted to get back there before I called my electrician. I was finally able to get both to work on hand. My best guess is the basketball sized grease chunks were messing with the floats. Once I pumped it down it functioned good on auto. Going to have it pumped out tomorrow and every six months or so. About 50-60 units on this station.

New to me and the out-of-town MGT property company. Nice thing is they are loyal, and never question a bill.


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

If a tank is subjected to a healthy dose of FOG on a regular basis, scheduled pumping and jetting of the floats is essential. Otherwise, one can expect alarms in the middle of the night. Seems obvious, but only after the fact.


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

FOG on any pump system is a ***** and must have scheduled cleaning all the time like Plumbus said. Another really good question is why isn't there an interceptor catching the grease before it makes it into the pump pit, or is this residential ?


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Residential. New property to me and the new MGT company. We're going to do pumping preventative maintenance starting at 6 months... go from there.

Hey, on the bright side I charged accordingly. No hair off my scrotum.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Alarm tripped again


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

power wash the whole pit with dawn and then get a pump truck out there to suck out the grease


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

justme said:


> Another really good question is why isn't there an interceptor catching the grease before it makes it into the pump pit?


Even the best interceptors aren't 100% effective. I've seen CI rot downstream, though not as fast as upstream.


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## justme (Jul 4, 2012)

Plumbus said:


> Even the best interceptors aren't 100% effective. I've seen CI rot downstream, though not as fast as upstream.


interceptor doesn't have anything to do with rotting cast iron at least in this situation. Pumping grease is really hard on pumps , it causes spinoff which burns up bearings . The pumps are spinning but nothing is pumping which causes the alarms to trigger. One of the worst things an Engineer or plumber can do is install a system to pump grease if there is any other way to get it done . But since this is residential nothing can be done other than clean the pit and pump it out every once in awhile


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## Plumbus (Aug 4, 2008)

What I was referring to is the fact some grease gets through and when it does along with the rest of the cocktail in say a restaurant, it creates havoc with iron pipes.


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## Toli (Nov 7, 2015)

Some soaps,laundry soaps I think, can build up in a pit and make the floats grow as well. I see that in residential settings more than grease.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

Long day... got most of the grease knocked off the floats, so it's working good for now. We found a septic company that will suck it out and pressure wash it Thursday. I wouldn't mind washing it myself, but work has been coming in like crazy so this will have to be a subbed out job.


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## SHEPLMBR70 (Feb 25, 2016)

Tell them to stop dumping grease.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

SHEPLMBR70 said:


> Tell them to stop dumping grease.


LOL! One thing I've learned is you can tell tenants to not do something 'till you're blue in the face and they will still do it. In a single family situation it's a tenant charge, but in this set up there's no real way to point the finger.


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