Wipes and pumps

Grallert

Hi all

I've been maintaining the mechanical systems here for almost ten years now. Here, is a small campus of a girls boarding school. All of the building's waste is piped to a single pit about 5' in diameter and 15' deep where it is pumped up and over a short distance to our main and on to the treatment plant operated by the city. Our campus never shuts down. During the summer months while the girls are on summer break we host the Tanglewood Music Company fellows. These folks are young adults coed. I think you can imagine what gets in the sewer system and how it effects the pump. For years we've been using Gould pumps I forget the model. It's a 1/2 HP non grinder. We've tried grinders but they're no match for the stuff they encounter. This summer season has been particularly tough. I have three pumps only one operates at a time the others are waiting their turn and all three have been rebuilt in a months time. Wipes, lots of wipes. Nothing I can do to stop the kids from using them.

The outfit that rebuilds my pumps after they fail has recommended a Pentair Myers VR2 series pump. I've looked at it and it seems promising. Have any of you used these? The price is right considering the initial cost of our Goulds and the cost of rebuilding them every time they come out of the pit. Any insight would be appreciated.

M

Jamie Hall

I never did find a good solution to that problem…

Grallert

I never really minded pulling the pump a couple times a year. It's a stinky nasty job but is forgotten amongst all the other jobs. But three time in a row and the memory is still fresh LOL

Pumpguy

I'm wondering if a pneumatic sewage ejector might be a solution to this problem?

These use air pressure to displace the effluent that flows by gravity into a vented collector pot that is fitted at the bottom with inlet and outlet check valves. A level controller activates the compressor to displace the effluent through the outlet check valve. Maximum compressor pressure dictates how high the effluent can be lifted.

Expensive to be sure, and nothing like what you have now, but with these, no effluent goes through a "pump" as such.

Grallert

Those are interesting pumps! Likely not in our budget and would require a complete reengineering of the system it looks like.

Mad Dog_2

The Muffin Monster is the only solution...grinds up EVERYTHING and will reverse itself. Mad Dog 🐕

Jamie Hall

Pneumatic ejectors do work rather well. What makes them fail— and trust me, they do fail, is anything which holds one of the check valves open. They still need to be maintained, and they will fail… just differently

I've used and specified Muffin Monsters. They also work very well and are, perhaps, a bit less subject to problems than open vortex pumps. However, they are not a cure all — and again there are things which will clog them, particularly — like all forms of grinder pumps — when they get a little worn (my favourite used to be panty hose; I've heard that spandex type fabrics will do just as well).

Mad Dog_2

The great thing about the MM is its high grade stainless & reversing....a Nasty woodchipper...grinds bone, wood, everything. Mad Dog

Grallert

https://www.pentair.com/en-us/flow/myers/myers-products/myers-grinder-pumps/myers-vr2-series-automatic-grinder-pumps.html

I don't know if this will come through but if it does check out the video.

We don't see anything near what's in the video but periodically wipe, underpants, masks for a while there tampons of course. But no hopes and dreams thank God.

Intplm.

Myers/Pentair is a great name in pumps. However, I have to agree with what @Mad Dog_2 says above.

This problem is going to continue and surely become a greater inconvenience to you and others as time goes by. It's just not going to stop.

The Muffin Monster company, (they may have been bought out by a company called "Sulzer"), is your solution.

I would look into them. They may just have what you are looking for. If not. I would have a very frank discussion with Myers/Pentair.

Grallert

So I pulled the ejection pump out again yesterday morning. Forth time in a month. You guessed it more wipe. I dropped in the Pentair/MyersVR2 pump. Fingers crossed.

This is extremely unusual. We do get wipes and underpants occasionally but this is not normal. We did get a long run of waste line descaled a few months ago. Quite a long way from the pit. I wonder if that freed up a collection of debris sending it along the pit… Anyway time will tell. On the bright side I did make a set up with a tripod and pullies to make pulling the 100lb pump easier. Wish me luck:)

Intplm.

Good move installing the tripod. Normally you should not have to use it.

Keep posting as to the results over time.

Grallert

I'm hoping to never have to use it again! LOL Time will tell. I'll schedule a time over one of our breaks to pull the pump and inspect the cutter, just for fun :)

JohnNY

I have a client with a 14-foot deep ejector pit and a sub-surface commercial kitchen on premises. The pumps are custom made and cost about $45,000 to pull, rebuild, and reinstall twice a year. No engineer has been able to come up with an economical solution for the grease and wipes that this sump pit receives daily.
The client will not hear of not using wipes and we've learned to stop suggesting it. It's a nice check every 6 months for all the contractors involved but it feels like a professional defeat for us plumbers.

Grallert

I'm happy to say confidently that here the kitchen is blameless. The issue we have is a revolving student body numbering about 150 all summer. All responsible young adults who lover their wipes I guess. Then 200+ teenaged girls from all over the world all school year. No way to monitor what goes down the drain. We can only rely on the kindness of our fellow residents. Thankfully the cost of pulling this pump and rebuilding it is small potatoes, but it adds up. And contrary to what lots of folks think small private school like our, especially girls schools, don't have a money tree. I joke about installing 78 bidets.