ᐅ Difference Between Lifting Stations and Pump Stations: Is It Really Necessary?
Created on: 1 Oct 2022 21:41
H
HTPProXy
Hello everyone,
I am building a turnkey single-family house with a basement on a sloped plot. When I signed the contract, a macerator pump system for 2,750€ was included in the offer because the black water has to be pumped into the sewer, which is located above the basement level.
The day before yesterday, I received an email from the construction company asking me to confirm the additional cost for sanitary installations. The attached PDF showed that the macerator pump system was removed from the offer and replaced by a pumping station, which is significantly more expensive at 11,000€.
When I asked why this is suddenly required, I received the following explanation:
The following feedback: Due to the building’s position and the site conditions, it is not possible, as usual and included in the contract, to drain from the building by natural slope (sewer pipe slope to the inspection chamber).
Instead, a pressure pump system must be installed: all wastewater from the house is collected in a chamber and then pumped under pressure through a pressure line into the sewer.
Reason: The channel of the existing site inspection chamber is higher than the sewer pipes, which come out of the basement wall at frost-proof height.
Is a macerator pump system not a pressure pump system, whereas a pumping station is? The model proposed to me was described on the manufacturer’s website as follows:
No more performance is possible. In the wet installation variant, the XYZ can handle very large amounts of sewage-containing wastewater and is especially suitable for commercial and industrial use.
That made me a bit suspicious. What I am building is a single-family house with a basement apartment, so there will be 2 kitchens and 2 bathrooms, plus 1 guest WC. Doesn’t the pumping station sound a bit ‘oversized’ for that?
Now the last point, where I am unsure: The originally planned macerator pump system was to be installed in the basement floor slab. The new pumping station is to be installed in an external chamber instead. Does installation in the chamber offer any advantages? On the one hand, I would then have the chamber lid in the garden, right(!) next to the terrace, and on the other hand, the chamber apparently needs to be vented from time to time. If it were installed in the floor slab, nothing would protrude from the ground and venting would then be done via the roof. Wouldn’t installation in the floor slab be more practical for me?
For what it’s worth: the basement is being constructed as a watertight concrete structure (“white tank” method).
Thank you for your help!
Stefan
I am building a turnkey single-family house with a basement on a sloped plot. When I signed the contract, a macerator pump system for 2,750€ was included in the offer because the black water has to be pumped into the sewer, which is located above the basement level.
The day before yesterday, I received an email from the construction company asking me to confirm the additional cost for sanitary installations. The attached PDF showed that the macerator pump system was removed from the offer and replaced by a pumping station, which is significantly more expensive at 11,000€.
When I asked why this is suddenly required, I received the following explanation:
The following feedback: Due to the building’s position and the site conditions, it is not possible, as usual and included in the contract, to drain from the building by natural slope (sewer pipe slope to the inspection chamber).
Instead, a pressure pump system must be installed: all wastewater from the house is collected in a chamber and then pumped under pressure through a pressure line into the sewer.
Reason: The channel of the existing site inspection chamber is higher than the sewer pipes, which come out of the basement wall at frost-proof height.
Is a macerator pump system not a pressure pump system, whereas a pumping station is? The model proposed to me was described on the manufacturer’s website as follows:
No more performance is possible. In the wet installation variant, the XYZ can handle very large amounts of sewage-containing wastewater and is especially suitable for commercial and industrial use.
That made me a bit suspicious. What I am building is a single-family house with a basement apartment, so there will be 2 kitchens and 2 bathrooms, plus 1 guest WC. Doesn’t the pumping station sound a bit ‘oversized’ for that?
Now the last point, where I am unsure: The originally planned macerator pump system was to be installed in the basement floor slab. The new pumping station is to be installed in an external chamber instead. Does installation in the chamber offer any advantages? On the one hand, I would then have the chamber lid in the garden, right(!) next to the terrace, and on the other hand, the chamber apparently needs to be vented from time to time. If it were installed in the floor slab, nothing would protrude from the ground and venting would then be done via the roof. Wouldn’t installation in the floor slab be more practical for me?
For what it’s worth: the basement is being constructed as a watertight concrete structure (“white tank” method).
Thank you for your help!
Stefan
The offered pump station is from Kessel and features two pumps. It would be located about 1.5m (5 feet) from the house, right next to the utility room. I assume the control system will be installed there.
Thanks to your posts, I feel much more reassured and will agree to the upgrade, albeit with some gritting of teeth due to the additional costs.
Thanks to your posts, I feel much more reassured and will agree to the upgrade, albeit with some gritting of teeth due to the additional costs.
k-man has already covered most of it. You could have seen it from the start, but be glad you don’t have to pump the rainwater.
We use a double pump station from Jung ourselves, and it works without any issues. Make sure the ventilation from the shaft is located far enough away from the terrace. Here, there is a second outlet (for example, for a DN110 sewer pipe) that is connected to a small ventilation stack. The first outlet is then for the vacuum valves and supplying the pumps.
I don’t know which Aqualift you have or how it is set up in your system, but I would recommend mentioning this, just to be safe, since the terrace is nearby.
Edit: Just read about venting "over the roof," which is also a good solution if that’s possible for you.
We use a double pump station from Jung ourselves, and it works without any issues. Make sure the ventilation from the shaft is located far enough away from the terrace. Here, there is a second outlet (for example, for a DN110 sewer pipe) that is connected to a small ventilation stack. The first outlet is then for the vacuum valves and supplying the pumps.
I don’t know which Aqualift you have or how it is set up in your system, but I would recommend mentioning this, just to be safe, since the terrace is nearby.
Edit: Just read about venting "over the roof," which is also a good solution if that’s possible for you.
D
drjack200017 Nov 2022 20:45Hello,
We moved into our house last year and had the same issue (I also found help here in the forum). Our house is built into a slope. The street is at least 5 meters (16 feet) below the sewer line.
In our case, this was also solved with a pumping station. The wastewater flows by gravity from the house into the pumping chamber.
The pumping chamber is a large plastic tank that contains a twin pump system. When the water reaches a certain level, the pumps alternate and pump the water under high pressure to the inspection chamber at the street and then into the sewer.
Right next to the house, we have a small control cabinet with the equipment installed. There is also a ventilation pipe in the garden.
We installed the chamber lower than the lowest wastewater outlet in the house (for us, the floor drain in the shower).
If there were ever a technical problem, in the worst case, the water would flow into the garden.
However, that would require quite a serious failure. I would only consider this during planning.
There is also the option to install a backflow preventer before the pumping chamber. We were advised against this.
If the valve gets stuck, water will definitely flow back into the house.
Our rainwater/surface water drains into the garden by infiltration.
We have the system installed by Jung Pumps. After one year, there have been no problems.
I have heard too many bad stories about sewage lifting stations. If something goes wrong here, you have the problem inside the house, not outside.
We did not notice any odors. The cover is hardly noticeable. According to the meter, the pump runs 1-2 times a day. We have heard it maybe 10 times in the past year. It pumps for a few seconds and then stops. Our pump handles 18 m³ (635 cubic feet) per hour. You had also asked about the capacity.
Good luck,
Mark
We moved into our house last year and had the same issue (I also found help here in the forum). Our house is built into a slope. The street is at least 5 meters (16 feet) below the sewer line.
In our case, this was also solved with a pumping station. The wastewater flows by gravity from the house into the pumping chamber.
The pumping chamber is a large plastic tank that contains a twin pump system. When the water reaches a certain level, the pumps alternate and pump the water under high pressure to the inspection chamber at the street and then into the sewer.
Right next to the house, we have a small control cabinet with the equipment installed. There is also a ventilation pipe in the garden.
We installed the chamber lower than the lowest wastewater outlet in the house (for us, the floor drain in the shower).
If there were ever a technical problem, in the worst case, the water would flow into the garden.
However, that would require quite a serious failure. I would only consider this during planning.
There is also the option to install a backflow preventer before the pumping chamber. We were advised against this.
If the valve gets stuck, water will definitely flow back into the house.
Our rainwater/surface water drains into the garden by infiltration.
We have the system installed by Jung Pumps. After one year, there have been no problems.
I have heard too many bad stories about sewage lifting stations. If something goes wrong here, you have the problem inside the house, not outside.
We did not notice any odors. The cover is hardly noticeable. According to the meter, the pump runs 1-2 times a day. We have heard it maybe 10 times in the past year. It pumps for a few seconds and then stops. Our pump handles 18 m³ (635 cubic feet) per hour. You had also asked about the capacity.
Good luck,
Mark
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