Effluent pump not pumping properly

[Dangerops]

Hello everyone, long time lurker here, never had an account because I like to research as much as I can before needing to post, hate to be the guy that posts about a topic already covered but ill be danged if im not at my wits end here with my septic pump.

House built in '63, my wife and I bought it in 2021. Septic tank, with effluent pump in basement and a venturi style pump out in back yard pumping out to ground surface. Septic pumping has always been an issue since we've been here, it would work for 6 or 8 months at a time without giving issues, and then it would just lose prime and I would fight for a long time to get it to prime and pump and then it would work again for a while.

2 years back the red lion pump ran all night without pumping, figured the pump was cooked after that. No worries I bought a little giant be series 1/2 horse pump just in case. Put the pump in and again couldn't get it to prime and pump. Ended up putting the old pump back in just to try and get it pumped and it worked again for a little bit, but again ran all night some time later. Ended up installing the new pump again, and on the suction line in the basement put a garden hose fitting in between 2 ball valves to help with both priming the pump casing and priming the suction line, and it works like a hot damn doing it that way, but only for a couple minutes when the good flow out of the pump out turns itself into nothing and the pump cavitates and no liquid moves. I used to be able to trust the pump to do its thing but now I have to help prime it every night and sometimes shut it off to prime it again before it pumps low enough to shut off. Started having this issue sometime late winter this year and still haven't figured it out. I've redone all my fittings, all joints are Teflon and pipe doped, even wrapped electrical tape around them to see If that would help but nothing. It's gotta be sucking air but I just can't figure out from where.

Sorry for the long post, but im really hoping someone might have an idea I can try, thank you for your time, im sorry if this has been covered before, google only shows you what they want you to see so there's only so many ways a person can change the wording of a question before a guy gives up.
Thanks!
Derek H

 

[Reach4]

Septic tank, with effluent pump in basement

common.

and a venturi style pump out in back yard pumping out to ground surface.

Odd. So removing ground water so that it does not flood the basement, right?

and then it would just lose prime and I would fight for a long time to get it to prime and pump and then it would work again for a while.

So that submersible ejector or grinder pump is in a sealed basin in the basement floor. There is a vent, probably through a 2-inch pipe, making its way to the roof. That basin receives sewage from basement fixtures and that sewage will be pumped to the septic tank.

You don't usually use the word prime for a submersible pump, but there is an "air lock" condition that can occur if the sewage pump pumps the pit dry, and there is not an air bleed hole above the pump and below the check valve. For a sump pump, that would be a 3/16 inch hole, angled to point the spray downward. I don't know if it is usual to upsize that hole a bit where there are some solids present.

2 years back the red lion pump ran all night without pumping, figured the pump was cooked after that. No worries I bought a little giant be series 1/2 horse pump just in case. Put the pump in and again couldn't get it to prime and pump. Ended up putting the old pump back in just to try and get it pumped and it worked again for a little bit, but again ran all night some time later. Ended up installing the new pump again, and on the suction line in the basement put a garden hose fitting in between 2 ball valves to help with both priming the pump casing and priming the suction line, and it works like a hot damn doing it that way, but only for a couple minutes when the good flow out of the pump out turns itself into nothing and the pump cavitates and no liquid moves. I used to be able to trust the pump to do its thing but now I have to help prime it every night and sometimes shut it off to prime it again before it pumps low enough to shut off. Started having this issue sometime late winter this year and still haven't figured it out. I've redone all my fittings, all joints are Teflon and pipe doped, even wrapped electrical tape around them to see If that would help but nothing. It's gotta be sucking air but I just can't figure out from where.

This section seems to not be talking about septic pumping or ground water being pumped away from flooding the basement, but to a suction pump being used to provide water to the house. So can you clarify-- is there sewage pumping to the septic tank, basement ground water being pumped to the yard, and pressurized water from a well to supply the fixtures and faucets?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Dangerops]

common.

Odd. So removing ground water so that it does not flood the basement, right?

So that submersible ejector or grinder pump is in a sealed basin in the basement floor. There is a vent, probably through a 2-inch pipe, making its way to the roof. That basin receives sewage from basement fixtures and that sewage will be pumped to the septic tank.

You don't usually use the word prime for a submersible pump, but there is an "air lock" condition that can occur if the sewage pump pumps the pit dry, and there is not an air bleed hole above the pump and below the check valve. For a sump pump, that would be a 3/16 inch hole, angled to point the spray downward. I don't know if it is usual to upsize that hole a bit where there are some solids present.



This section seems to not be talking about septic pumping or ground water being pumped away from flooding the basement, but to a suction pump being used to provide water to the house. So can you clarify-- is there sewage pumping to the septic tank, basement ground water being pumped to the yard, and pressurized water from a well to supply the fixtures and faucets?

Thanks for the reply, sorry for the confusion, it is not a submersible pump. I have a shallow well jet pump that supplys water to my faucets, nothing wrong in that department. And an effluent pump in my basement, right beside my shallow well jet pump. My septic pump pulls the liquid up from the septic tank, and pumps it outside, just to a surface discharge. I can see the liquid being pumped from my patio door, that is how I know when it pumps decently and when it doesn't. I do have sump pumps for ground water as well but again my issue is with my septic pump losing prime and cavitating, even after I prime the pump casing and the suction line. I hope that clears it up a little bit

 

[Dangerops]

I tried to post a photo but it says its too big for the servers

 

[Valveman]

I tried to post a photo but it says its too big for the servers

Go to Paint. Resize to 25% and save as a jpeg. Then it will take it.