Homeowners: Do you have an E/One grinder pump?

E/One is looking for homeowners who have E/One grinder pumps installed at their homes. Whether they’re 6 months old or 26 years old, we’re interested in your opinions and experience. Please send an email to eone@eone.com with your name, city/state and the subject line “Homeowner Survey Signup.” We will NOT sell your email address to anyone – all contact information collected is solely for the purpose of knowing who uses our grinder pumps.

Sewer System Technology: Vacuum Sewer vs Pressure Sewer

At first thought, a vacuum sewer system sounds like an easy, convenient alternative to a gravity sewer system. Vacuum sewers require shallow trenches, small mains, and can be used in flat or rocky areas. No individual pump stations are required at each home. But they aren’t ideal for every situation or every location, and require regular maintenance.

How a Vacuum Sewer System Works
Vacuum systems use differential air pressure to move wastewater. The system consists of one or more vacuum stations, collection system piping, valve vaults and vacuum interface valves. The sewage is transported in small diameter pipes placed at variable grade and deflection underground. The wastewater is drawn to the station and pumped to a wastewater treatment plant. Vacuum interface valves regulate the entry of wastewater and air from the valve vault into the collection system piping.

Vacuum System Disadvantages
There are a number of disadvantages to vacuum systems. First, while the mains are small and require shallow burial (just below the frost line), they are limited to approximately 20 feet of head. The sewer lines must have a specific profile of pockets or running traps, so installation requires the same attention to grade as a gravity sewer main.

The biggest disadvantage is system size. The central vacuum stations require a large capital investment, so a system for less than 50 homes is not economically feasible.

Pressure Sewer Systems
Pressure sewer systems use pump installed at each home to grind wastewater and move it to the sewer system. Pressure sewer mains are also small-diameter pipes that are buried just below the frost line, but follow the contour of the land – therefore, they don’t require the pockets or running traps that vacuum systems need. Head is limited by the capabilities of the grinder pump installed at the home (185 ft for E/One pumps), allowing for uphill pumping.

Small systems are also economically feasible. A few homes – or even one home – can connect to the sewer system at a reasonable cost. E/One’s grinder pump does not require preventive maintenance and boasts an average mean time between service calls of 8 to 10 years. Visit the Case Studies section of E/One’s web site to read more about communities that have used E/One Sewer systems.

How do I know which size grinder pump to choose?

E/One grinder pumps are available with a variety of tank sizes. To determine which size grinder pump station is needed, you’ll need to consider a few factors:

• Wet well and discharge piping must be protected from freezing
• Model and basin size must be appropriate for incoming flows, including peak flows
• Appropriate alarm device must be used
• Suitable location

Daily flows above those recommended may exceed the tank’s peak flow holding capacity and/or shorten the interval between pump overhauls. E/One should be consulted if higher inflows are expected. The final selection will have to be determined by the engineer on the basis of actual measurements or best estimates of the expected sewage flow. The recommended flows for each of E/One’s grinder pump stations are available in the Product Catalog.

Article: The Athens Alternative

The May/June issue of Government Engineering magazine features an article about Athens, Tennessee. Athens replaced its failing gravity sewer system with an E/One low pressure sewer LPS system.

Challenge

The gravity sewer had been constructed during the 1960's. The system experienced huge amounts of infiltration and inflow, causing overflows and leading to a moratorium on new sewer connections in 1990. As a result, economic growth in the town suffered. Renovation of the wastewater treatment plant helped, but was still not a solution.

Solution

Railroad Avenue is a relatively flat but rocky area with high water tables. The Athens Utility Board (AUB) decided to abandon the gravity sewer system in this area and install a low pressure sewer system with E/One grinder pumps.

Results

In 2003, with the gravity system, pump stations in the area recorded nine overflow events for a total of 500,000 gallons of water overflow. After the LPS system was installed, there were zero overflow events and zero gallons of infiltration. Records indicate that 27.5 million gallons per year less flows to the treatment plant. This translates to a yearly savings of $89,212 in treatment costs alone. And, because stop-ups have also been eliminated, AUB has experienced fewer maintenance requirements and less overtime, providing additional cost savings.

Installation costs also offered a savings of 25 to 35 percent versus gravity, even with the cost of the gravity system abandonment included. Directional drilling had been used for much of the installation of the main, which offers little disruption to homeowners' yards.

Future
AUB is planning to attack other problematic areas and is considering grinder pumps for other areas of the town.

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Product Spotlight: "Upgrade" Grinder Pump

E/One offers a pump to replace existing pumps in low pressure sewer systems. Called the "Upgrade," this pump is a drop-in replacement for centrifugal or other SPD pumps. The Upgrade is designed to fit into virtually any open-wetwell grinder pump tank and is a complete replacement for all of the troublesome components of a centrifugal pump, including slide rails, pump/motor, float switches, piping and motor control devices.

More information about the Upgrade pump is available on E/One's web site.

Grinder Pump Repair: Why not Call my Plumber?

We’re often asked if any plumber can repair an E/One grinder pump. The answer is “probably not.” While some plumbers may have experience working with sump pumps and septic tanks, grinder pumps are different and should be repaired by a trained service center.

We’ve heard E/One grinder pumps referred to as “throwaway pumps,” meaning that instead of being repaired, they must be replaced. This is not true at all. There are thousands of E/One grinder pumps that were installed in the 1970’s that are still in operation. Have they been serviced in some way? Likely. But we do hear from homeowners who have never needed repair on their pumps, even after 25 years of operation. The average mean time between service calls? Eight to 10 years.

E/One has a network of sales and service providers around the country. We recommend that you contact the distributor closest to you for service and/or repair. Our distributors are trained and can diagnose your pump’s problem – and tell you whether the pump requires repair or replacement. Contact information for E/One’s distributors is available here, on E/One’s web site.

E/One Declares War on Failing Septic Tanks

Environment One put out a news release yesterday about its war on septic tanks.

Once popular and considered an easy solution for homeowners not connected to a municipal sewer system, backyard septic tanks are posing a serious danger to drinking water supplies and the quality of life for millions of people around the country. In observation of Earth Day’s 39th year and Environment One Corporation’s 40th year, E/One is escalating its mission to deliver a higher environmental quality of life to new and existing communities around the nation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said “leaking, malfunctioning, and worn out septic tanks are responsible for most of the groundwater pollution in the U.S. today.”

Every year, more than 70 million people flush more than one trillion gallons of water and household waste into more than 20 million septic tanks all around the country. As reported in the Canter & Knox study “Septic Tank System Effects on Groundwater Quality” done for the EPA, an average of 40 percent (8 million) of these septic tanks do not function properly. The tanks fail eventually, dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of raw, untreated wastewater and other toxic materials into the ground, and at times into the nation’s water supply.

But drinking water is not the only problem. Thousands of lakes, streams, rivers, bays, estuaries, and other bodies of water are being threatened and polluted every day. The systematic failure of septic tanks around the country has a negative economic and personal impact.

Click here to read the full release on E/One's web site.