Sewer pump venting

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Griva

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Hello,

Can somebody who knows the International Plumbing Code 2000 (this is the code that was in place when we applied for the permit) tell me what are the requirements for the ejector pump venting?
We had a rough ins installed in our basement for the future bathroom - the plumber only ran one vent stack through the roof - so we assumed that the pump will be hooked up to it.

And now I am being told that the ejector pump requires a separate vent.

Thank you in advance.

griva
 

Clayton

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Clayton

Under normal circumstances in a single or 2 family house with a standard grinder / ejector pump - the vent from the ejector sump and the vents of the fixtures draining into the sump are all allowed to connect together with the rest of the vents in the building.
If using a pneumatic ejector then the air relief from it would have to be vented seperately to the outside.

Of course the installation instrucions of the pump and the Inspectors interpretation of the plumbing code has final say if you can tie them together or not. That doesn't mean you can't question their reasoning or interpretation of the code, just be polite about it.
 

Griva

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Clayton, thank you so much for responding.

Do you think it will make sense for me to get the copy of the codes and have it handy when the inspector arrives - or it will be an overkill? - I don't want to make things worse.

Thanks again,

griva
 

Clayton

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Clayton

Its always a good idea to have a copy of the code. In the IPC you will not find it in black & white where it says "You can connect your sump vent with the rest of the building vent system." It is more to the fact that it does not prohibit it. Keep in mind that for the sump vent and the building subdrain vents to connect with the rest of the building vent system, everything must be installed and sized according to the code to allow for that connection.
Your plumber only ran one vent through the roof (although legal, not a good idea) so it has to be sized correctly for all the fixtures in your house plus the basement fixtures and the sump altogether. If it is undersized you can't use it with out enlarging it. If that vent is too far away (over 40' in pipe length) from fixtures or the sump then it will have to be enlarged one pipe size bigger than the minimum size already required over its entire lenght. The connection of the subdrain and sump vents into the building vent system would have to be made at least 6" above the flood level rim of the highest fixture vent it is connecting too.
There is something else that should of been done that could possibly have prevented you from having a problem now. The IPC requires that the connection for the vents of the "future fixtures" that were roughed-in to have already been installed, labeled, and inspected with the rest of the roughed-in plumbing originally done.

Although I said it is not in black & white in the IPC / it is in black & white in the commentary to the IPC.
 

Griva

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Thank you very much for your very detailed explanation.

Actually, the situation is not that bad - the rough ins I am talking about are totally separate from all others - they were added to accomodate our future basement bathroom, so there are only 4 fixtures that will be using this through-roof-vent: toilet, sink, shower and sewage pump.
The distance from the farther fixture (that happens to be the pump) is about 10-12 feet.

All this was installed during the house construction - and of course it was inspected with the rest of the house system.

Considering what you told me and all above, I think we will take a dive and connect to pump to the vent along with 3 other fixtures.

The reason for my question came from the answer on the other forum - I asked some questions about connecting vent pipes for the ejector pump and one of the replies mentioned that I must have a separate vent for the sewage pump.

Thanks again for you time and help.

g
 

Deb

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Deb

It is so easy and simple. Just call your inspector and ask him/her what the code is. That way you do not need to have a copy of the code handy. IMHO, I do believe that it would in any way be helpful to have a copy of the code handy to quote to the inspector--they all carry code books. And, ultimately, their interpretation of that section of code is the only one that matters. So, rather than make a mistake or anger the inspector, call him/her and ask them how they want you to do it.
Deb
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