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11/13/10, 06:08 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 3,540
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Septic alarm just went off at my rental property...
Renter just called; says a red light and an alarm just went off at my Delaware rental (I live in Florida).
This house was just built 15 months ago; what in the world could be wrong? It is a low-pressure pump mound system. The tanks are off the corner of the house, and the mound is about 50' away at the front of the property.
I told him to push the button to turn off the alarm, and to go about his business as usual. I will call the septic service man on Monday AM.
Was I wrong to do this? Could 2 days of "whatever's wrong" be bad? Should I have called out an emergency guy RIGHT NOW?
__________________
...'o shame on the mothers of mortals, who have not stopped to teach; of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes; the sorrow that has no speech... from -'Voice of the Voicless', Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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11/13/10, 09:52 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Carthage, Texas
Posts: 12,261
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Guess I learned something today... some septic systems have 'actual' alarms, a red light even! instead of it just backing up and not working.
I could have some real fun if there were lights and sirens going off regularly...
__________________
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming
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11/13/10, 10:48 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Appleton, Washington
Posts: 79
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Jill....When I lived in Marysville, WA my alarm went off and to make a long story short, I had to have to pump replaced. The pump was for pumping the liquid to the drain field.
Rod<---in Appleton, WA
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11/13/10, 11:41 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Illinois
Posts: 8,264
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I've never heard of a septic alarm. What did the septic guy say when he came?
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Moms don't look at things like normal people.
-----DD
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11/14/10, 12:23 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NE Oklahoma
Posts: 146
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ours has gone off several times, usually it was the pump  we got a bad system - been through three pumps in three years) but luckily it was still under warrenty, so check it out.
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11/14/10, 12:25 AM
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MN
Posts: 7,610
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Mond systems use a pump in the tank to lift the settled fluids up to the sand layer above the tank, where the liquid seeps out as it would in a regular leach field.
The mound is used where the water table is high (water in the ground doesn't drain away) and/or you have tight clay soils that don't allow much water to flow through the natural soils. Not enough perk on the perk test.
So they make a mound of sand over the septic tank, and pump the liquid up to the top of the mound.
If anything goes wrong with that pump/ water levels, a warning sounds.
It could be lack of power to the pump (friend had a dog that liked to pull the wires off the house that went to the mound....), or the tank is full & not draining away because the pump is shot, the float that controls the pump isn't working right, etc. etc. etc.
--->Paul
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11/14/10, 07:51 AM
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More dharma, less drama.
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,490
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Could be fire ants in the electrical system, too.
Reset and call the company. Not a big stressor.
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Alice
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"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
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11/14/10, 08:38 AM
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Flying Farm Nubians
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW-VA
Posts: 910
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Mine does that after heavy usage. Float gets stuck. Inside control box is two plugs, pump is plugged into float control. If you plug pump directly into electric for a min it pumps down and float frees itself up. If alarm is going off, it means liquid box is 3/4 full. Try not to use washer or dishwasher until fixed and limit showers or septic will over flow.
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11/14/10, 09:54 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Hill Country, TX
Posts: 720
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If this happens to us, we flip the breaker at the box, wait a little bit to reset it, and plug it back in. We have an aerobic system. That starts the sprayer going in the pasture and empties the tank more.
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11/14/10, 10:20 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: WI
Posts: 1,245
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Over the years, our alarm has gone off three times.
First time was our first year out here, and first year with a mound system. We kept the mound mowed, then winter came without much snow and it froze up. We learned our lesson that winter.
Second time a pipe in the liquid tank cracked, thus anything the pump was pushing was just flowing back into the tank. Called septic co and $150 it was fixed.
Third time was the float. Over the year enough layers of goo built up on the float, thus not letting it up to trigger float. Pulled the pump, cleaned off the float and all has been well since.
__________________
Remember the good times, for they are fewer in number and easier to recall.
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11/14/10, 10:48 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 3,540
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OK, well, like I said, the system is only 15 months old, and no more than 2 people have ever lived in the house at one time. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home, and was built to code with permets, inspections, etc. So I'm fairly certain that it is still under warranty (crosses fingers). Of course, the company that installed it seems to be out of business......but the system they installed is a good one; SJE Rhombus
I will call a different local septic company on Monday AM to go look everything over....I just dread being taken advantage of because I'm out-of-state and will just have to believe what they tell me over the phone....groan....
__________________
...'o shame on the mothers of mortals, who have not stopped to teach; of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes; the sorrow that has no speech... from -'Voice of the Voicless', Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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11/14/10, 11:11 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Idaho
Posts: 129
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I realize this isn't helpful for the problem, but it is another reason for sawdust toilets. Shameful in my opinion to wash our poop (can I say that ?) away with precious clean water.
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11/14/10, 11:13 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Quinlan, Tx
Posts: 1,565
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Ours has gone off several times. Once it was a bad pump, once the alarm was hosed, and a couple times grease was floating in one of the tanks and had to be removed. If you were there I'd say to check for grease or shut it off and turn it back on again. As long as it isn't backing sewage up it should keep long enough to wait for your septic guy to get there.
Texican it is quite a sight with the red light flashing but that alarm is down right annoying.
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11/14/10, 05:13 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northeastern Oklahoma
Posts: 5,021
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The first time my alarm went off was during a heavy thunderstorm. After it calmed down some, I went out and started looking around (not really knowing anything but just trying to see if anything looked "off"). There was some kind of suction hose that ran up the outside of the pipe to the control box, and it had come off. I just pushed it back on and reset it, and it was fine. It could be some little something like that.
The next time it was again due to all the thunderstorms we get here and the clay soil. Somehow one of the lids (there are three) had gotten pushed loose (figured it was the brushhogger), and all the rain water had caused it to overflow since it drained too slow due to the clay. Ugh, that was nasty, but fairly inexpensive to take care of. Good luck!
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11/15/10, 09:46 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Dwelling in the state of Confusion - but just passing thru...
Posts: 8,092
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Not possible.... Alice....the rental property is in Delaware;
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alice In TX/MO
Could be fire ants in the electrical system, too.
Reset and call the company. Not a big stressor.
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not Florida......or Texas or below the Mason-Dixon line.
See the distribution chart for fire ants in the U.S.
http://www.extension.org/pages/Geogr...n_of_Fire_Ants
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11/16/10, 10:50 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: north central WA
Posts: 2,055
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could it be the pump is not turned on? When we bought our house we had the tank pumped and inspected (apparently they didn't inspect the pump sigh). So we started with an empty tank. A few months later our alarm went off. Turns out the pump was seized and had not been working at all. So it takes a couple of months to fill the first tank when the pump isn't working. Ours had an external power switch mounted on the side of the house so you could shut power off to the pump. Sure would be great if the switch on yours was just not in the on position!
__________________
Trisha in WA
Visit my blog @
Diamond Belle Ranch
What else does a man have to do in his short time here on earth than build soil and feed people~Forerunner
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11/16/10, 11:29 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: northcentral MN
Posts: 14,383
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Check the breaker for the pump. It might be something that simple.
__________________
"Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?" Hobbs
"I'm not sure that man needs the help." Calvin
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11/16/10, 01:11 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Quinlan, Tx
Posts: 1,565
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trisha in WA
could it be the pump is not turned on? When we bought our house we had the tank pumped and inspected (apparently they didn't inspect the pump sigh). So we started with an empty tank. A few months later our alarm went off. Turns out the pump was seized and had not been working at all. So it takes a couple of months to fill the first tank when the pump isn't working. Ours had an external power switch mounted on the side of the house so you could shut power off to the pump. Sure would be great if the switch on yours was just not in the on position!
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Trisha our guy who put ours in filled that tank with water so it wouldn't seize. Bet your guy should have too.
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11/16/10, 01:23 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: north central WA
Posts: 2,055
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NostalgicGranny
Trisha our guy who put ours in filled that tank with water so it wouldn't seize. Bet your guy should have too.
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Well, the sellers did all that. So who knows what they did.
__________________
Trisha in WA
Visit my blog @
Diamond Belle Ranch
What else does a man have to do in his short time here on earth than build soil and feed people~Forerunner
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11/16/10, 02:33 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ocala, FL
Posts: 3,540
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Just got the report from the septic guy. The control box was improperly wired and they had by-passed the timer and wired directly to the pump.  Pump had burned up.
Cost to re-wire, dig down and run the proper wiring, and replace the pump: $1575.00.
I have contacted the builder to ask who the sub-contractor was that did the initial install; hopefully someone will take responsibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
Turns out, the Septic Control Box wiring/installation falls outside of any Inspector's realm......the "septic inspector" inspects that the tanks, lines, and mound are set up correctly. The "electrical inspector" inspects the HOUSE wiring and breaker box. No inspection was done on the septic control box wiring.  It was the responsibility of the INSTALLER to know the specs of that particular box. Hopefully, they will have the character to admit their mistake.....
__________________
...'o shame on the mothers of mortals, who have not stopped to teach; of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes; the sorrow that has no speech... from -'Voice of the Voicless', Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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