Grinder Pump Alarm: What does it Mean?

E/One grinder pump stations come with alarm panels that will alert you if something goes wrong with the pump. Depending on when your E/One grinder pump was installed, the alarm panel could be a black box with a red light on top; a gray box with a red light on top; the custom-designed E/One Sentry enclosure, with the E/One logo on the front and red light on top; or even a small switch plate inside your home (usually in the kitchen or hallway) with a red light.

What does the alarm mean? Let's look at two different scenarios:

The alarm turns on for a few minutes, then turns off. We refer to this as a "nuisance alarm." If this happens, consider what was happening when the alarm turned on. Do you have a large spa tub or another appliance that uses a lot of water? Emptying a spa tub can send a large inrush of water into the grinder pump station. If the water level in the tank was close to the "on" level, then the large volume of water came from the tub, the pump may not have turned on quickly enough and the pump was overwhelmed temporarily. This type of alarm should turn off after 15 minutes or so.

The alarm turns on for a few minutes, then turns off, but it happens often. Repeated nuisance alarms may be more than a nuisance; they may indicate the early stages of your pump needing service. When the pump is working properly, you shouldn't notice much sound from the pump and not from the alarm panel. But if you're using a typical or reasonable amount water in the house and you get repeated alarms, you may want to call for service.

The alarm turns on and stays on. Service is required because the pump has stopped working. Never, never, never silence the alarm and leave it be. Don't turn off the breakers in hopes of clearing the alarm. Stop using water (or use as little as possible) and call for service. If you continue to use water, you will cause a backup into your home or yard.

Finding a Service Provider

E/One recommends contacting an authorized service center for repair. Using a non-E/One plumber or other pump repair may not be covered by the warranty.

First, start with your town or HOA. Some localities have their own service people or contracts with local repair businesses. If you're responsible for your own service, contact your local E/One distributor or call our Service Link at 1-866-539-9803 (in the US). Some of our distributors have their own service departments, or they can recommend a service provider.

More Information

Visit our web site for more information about grinder pump service. Download and print our Owners Guide for reference; there is space on the back to fill out your local service provider's contact information. If you'd like a copy mailed to you, contact us at eone@eone.com.

New Product: iota OneBox Operates & Monitors Grinder Pumps Remotely

The iota OneBox telemetry system from E/One Sewer Systems gives you complete command of your fleet of pressure sewer grinder pumps from your office desktop or a smartphone. Now you can improve customer service and take corrective actions as they arrive, while dramatically improving your response time and system efficiency overall. 

iota OneBox, available from E/One

Integrate OneBox into your SCADA network seamlessly and get the information you want about tank storage capacities, power failures, blockages, and faults … instantly! Get diagnostics for individual properties, streets or whole networks in real-time — cost effectively.  

OneBox delivers:

• Remote control and monitoring of individual grinder pumps
• Alerts even before the customer becomes aware of any faults
• Trend analysis, report generation, peak flow demand determinations
• Flow smoothing and maximized efficiency of downstream infrastructure

Developed for utilities by South East Water Corporation, one of Australia’s leading water utilities, the iota OneBox is now available in the United States exclusively through E/One Sewer Systems.

Contact E/One for more information about iota OneBox. See iota OneBox and WaterWorld magazine at WEFTEC 2014.

Case Study: Grinder Pumps Fuel Economic Growth

Southside sits in a rural area of Arkansas. Residents relied on septic tanks, which had a number of problems: some were a half-century old and ending their useful life, but more so, the shallow, soggy soil didn't perc well ... vital for septic systems.

Credit: Crist Engineers

"Improving the wastewater system represents the absolute top priority," was the urgent message of the 2009 Batesville Comprehensive Plan.

"Existing subdivisions couldn't grow anymore and were becoming unsafe due to raw sewage because of bad percolation," says Richardson. A new collection system was fundamental, he adds, "for growth both residential and commercial."

Credit: Crist Engineers

A gravity sewer system would have cause massive disruption and deep trenches. Crist Engineers, located in Little Rock, had designed pressure sewer systems before and chose E/One grinder pumps to do the job.

What were the results? Read the entire story on E/One's web site.

E/One Sewer Systems Business Earns ISO 9001:2008 Certification

Environment One Corporation (E/One) is proud to announce that certification audits and assessments of its Sewer SystemsBusiness have been successfully completed and that the company has been awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System Certification.

Audits and assessments executed by the international independent testing group INTERTEK yielded successful results and the recommendation for certification.  "ISO certification is important to us and represents another step in growing our international leadership and competiveness," said E/One President Eric LaCoppola.  “ISO 9001:2008 certification is the model for quality assurance and further exemplifies our focus on continuous improvement of processes and quality management."

ISO 9001:2008 is one of the most comprehensive quality management system standards covering all main processes within a company, ensuring that these processes are not only conducted under controlled conditions, but are also subject to continuous improvement. The certificate is only awarded to companies that can demonstrate their ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable requirements, placing customer satisfaction as a key component of those requirements.

Environment One Corporation is an operating company of Precision Castparts Corp. (NYSE: PCP), a worldwide manufacturer of complex metal parts and industrial products. With corporate headquarters in New York and regional offices and distribution throughout the industrialized world, E/One is a manufacturer and provider of: 

• Products and services for the disposal of residential sanitary waste. 
• Utility Systems for the protection and performance optimization of electric utility assets.

Grinder Pump Installation: Location, Location, Location

In the April 2013 issue of Onsite Installer magazine, the Basic Training article is about site evaluation and its importance for a successful installation. The article uses septic tanks in its example, but good site evaluation is also important for grinder pump stations.

Following E/One's installation instructions is important because installation problems will void the warranty. E/One specifies proper ballast, back fill, burial depth and finished grade.

WH101F grinder pump station

"Site Evaluation: The First Steps" makes the following points, which are also good points to keep in mind when installing grinder pump stations:

On the Property
The grinder pump station should not be installed in a low-lying area where excess water normally collects, swales, or traffic areas. If the station is installed in a low-lying area where water collects, this excess water can enter the station through the vent in the lid and cause the pump to run unnecessarily. Sand and small stones could also enter the station and cause excess wear to the pump stator. E/One's standard station is not traffic rated and should be installed out of the way of traffic.

E/One offers different lid options for floodplain and high flood areas — see the model WH101F grinder pump station (at right) as an example.



Panel Placement 
The alarm panel should be installed where it can be seen and heard easily by the homeowner. After all, the alarm panel's job is to alert the homeowner if the pump experiences any problems.

Incorrect panel location

The photo at right shows an example of where not to install an alarm panel — the panel is completely out of view from the homeowner.

If the panel must be installed in an area that is not easily seen or heard, E/One's Remote Sentry can be installed inside the building.


E/One Installation Instructions
Installation instructions for each model of E/One's grinder pump stations are available on the web site. We also have a video tutorial on our YouTube channel.

Questions about E/One grinder pump installation? Contact us via email or 518.346.6161, or contact your local distributor. We're here to help!

WEBINAR: Sewering the Sustainable (Re)Development

Join us this Thursday, March 14 at 2:00 pm ET for a live webinar with Rick Harrison and Michael Mendelsohn, and hosted by Hanley-Wood University.

The recognition and reduction of wasted land and resources in development design is key to creating a sustainable world.  

Rick Harrison of Rick Harrison Design Studio will discuss coved communities and how small-diameter pressure sewers enable curved street layouts inside of his new Prefurbia neighborhood.

Michael Mendelsohn of Mendelsohn Construction in Arizona will reveal how geo-technical site challenges can be profitably overcome with an environmentally sensitive sewering strategy.

Click here to register.

Webinar: Sewering the Sustainable (Re)Development

Join us Thursday, March 14, at 2:00 ET for a new webinar.

The recognition and reduction of wasted land and resources in development design is key to creating a sustainable world.  

Rick Harrison of Rick Harrison Design Studio will discuss coved communities and how small-diameter pressure sewers enable curved street layouts inside of his new Prefurbia neighborhood.

Michael Mendelsohn of Mendelsohn Construction in Arizona will reveal how geo-technical site challenges can be profitably overcome with an environmentally sensitive sewering strategy.

Click here to register.

New Video: Infiltration & Inflow Solutions

We have just released a new video, available on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/eoneninja

This video explores the real cost of aging and failing gravity sewers -- not only the repairs that will be required, but the added cost of treatment. E/One low pressure sewer systems can virtually eliminate I & I, saving tens of thousands for communities.