sewer holding tank

We are buying a house that has a holding tank with a macerator. Once the toilets are flushed everything goes to the holding tank, is macerated, and once it gets to a certain level is pumped up to the city sewer lines and out. Has anyone heard of this type of system? Who do you get to service it?

Plumbers and electricians. I sounds like you have a single pump system which is a BAD idea when the pump takes care of the entire house. I hope it has a "high water level alarm" so you will know when the pump has failed and can stop using water in the house until it is repaired or replaced.

These have been used for a long time. It is required if you end up constructing a building where the plumbing (or at least some of it) is below where the sewer line in the street is. You've heard the saying 'S*** doesn't run uphill'. You need the pump to make this happen. By far, the preferable situation is to let gravity do it. Then, you can still flush a toilet when the power fails. But, people build houses where they can, and then have to live with the consequences. As you can imagine, since it is a nasty repair job, when the pump or tank needs to be serviced, it is not cheap. Because it is mechanical, it will break eventually. Be VERY careful about what you flush down the toilet, as man-made things can and will clog up the pump, requiring service.

Sewage Pumping Station

I had a grinder system similar to "http://www.sammplat.wa.org/GrinderPumpFlyer.pdf when I lived in Western New York.

Mine went over a 500 foot run to the Sewer Manhole thru a dip in the woods with a 30 foot total lift in that run.

Mine was a 2 stage grinder , 2 HP in a 100 Gal vertical tank that we buried in the basement floor that only triggered the pump about 1x or less per day. It was alarmed but No Problems for over 12 years before I moved.

Built it right and you should not have any issues. Don't cut corners on this.

quote; Built it right and you should not have any issues. Don't cut corners on this

It is ALREADY built. They are buying a "used house".

Their concern should be if it was put in by a makeshift handyperson or in a very small holding tank that will cause Pump wearout.