[A Little Short]

When wiring a 120V sewer pump with alarm, how many wires do you need to run?
I guess my question is how many wires for the alarm?

I was asked to quote for wiring one and don't know how the alarm wires. I do know it has to be on a separate circuit from the pump and from what little I know has to be plugged in at the house.

Is it just a single signal wire or what?

 

[Whidbey]

Do you know how many floats there are? It also depends on how the system is set up. Sometimes the floats are wired in series so you wouldn't need as many wires going down to the pump chamber.

 

[T&K]

The systems that I have worked on have been fairly simple. There is a circuit for the pump that the "start" float switch is plugged into, and the pump plug is "piggybacked" onto the float plug. It's the same for the alarm. The alarm initiate float is plugged into a receptacle, and the alarm plug is piggybacked into the float plug. The alarm can be whatever type, audible or visual, or both.

 

[rewire]

a basic setup is one float turns pump on, one float turns pump off and one float is high level alarm.

 

[Hmacanada]

When wiring a 120V sewer pump with alarm, how many wires do you need to run? I guess my question is how many wires for the alarm? I was asked to quote for wiring one and don't know how the alarm wires. I do know it has to be on a separate circuit from the pump and from what little I know has to be plugged in at the house. Is it just a single signal wire or what?

You really need to know what the control set up is. As re wire said the more complicated ones can have up to 4 floats in my experience . And a basic set up may just have 2 . One to start stop the pump and one for high level alarm.
I have done controls with two pumps that alternate operation every cycle as well.
All depends on control box if any.

 

[Hmacanada]

I can't seem to find a sample of a neat all in one control I did once , but you get the idea I'm sure

 

[josh5879]

Agreed every system is different you really need to have this planned out before you bid.

 

[A Little Short]

Well this was just from a phone conversation with a plumber. He just needed something to put in his quote. I told him that I would just be guessing without knowing what pump he was putting in.

He wants me to wire everything, but for now he was just needing some idea of what it would run.

 

[Hmacanada]

Well this was just from a phone conversation with a plumber. He just needed something to put in his quote. I told him that I would just be guessing without knowing what pump he was putting in. He wants me to wire everything, but for now he was just needing some idea of what it would run.[/QUOTE

If he is supplying pump and controls .
Days labour x 2 , should cover your ass

 

[josh5879]

Just clarifying what does sewer pump mean would help. Is this for a residential basement? For an outdoor pump tank pumping towards a septic? Something else?

 

[Hmacanada]

Just clarifying what does sewer pump mean would help. Is this for a residential basement? For an outdoor pump tank pumping towards a septic? Something else?

Shredder pump , it chews up schitt and paper and such . Could be in house in a sewage tank or outside in a pumping chamber pushing out to tile bed or up to street level sewer line

 

[Hmacanada]

Just clarifying what does sewer pump mean would help. Is this for a residential basement? For an outdoor pump tank pumping towards a septic? Something else?

Sorry , just caught on . You were asking for more info.
Getting tired I guess.

 

[woodchuck2]

a basic setup is one float turns pump on, one float turns pump off and one float is high level alarm.

This is the most common i have worked with although i have done a couple where one float turns the pump on and off depending on level and the 2nd float is for the high level alarm/light.

 

[A Little Short]

Just clarifying what does sewer pump mean would help. Is this for a residential basement? For an outdoor pump tank pumping towards a septic? Something else?

Well I wasn't listening very good when I was talking with him as this wasn't the main reason we were speaking.

I think he said he was putting in a new septic tank and field line at a small rural Church. He just said it was about 40' from the building where the panel is to the pedestal for the control box.
So I'm guessing the tank is probably up hill from the building and needs a pump to get it to the tank.

 

[josh5879]

Ok so it sounds like your question is regards to having an alarm in the church building in addition to the audible/visible alarm on the control box. The standard I've seen is a a NO relay in the control box triggered by the alarm.
As I said u gotta plan the specifics for yourself, a start would be googling Rhombus pump down controllers, or looking on usabluebook.com .

 

[woodchuck2]

Quote:
Originally Posted by josh5879
Just clarifying what does sewer pump mean would help. Is this for a residential basement? For an outdoor pump tank pumping towards a septic? Something else?

Shredder pump , it chews up schitt and paper and such . Could be in house in a sewage tank or outside in a pumping chamber pushing out to tile bed or up to street level sewer line


X2 or as we see around here next to lakes the Town/County enforce that the septic be placed up the hill away from the home if not at least to the side. I do not know what the set back is from the water though. I have also seen where the ground has severe water saturation due to springs and the property needs to be built up above grade so a pump station will need to be installed to push up to the infiltrators.

 

[Shockdoc]

When wiring a 120V sewer pump with alarm, how many wires do you need to run?
I guess my question is how many wires for the alarm?

I was asked to quote for wiring one and don't know how the alarm wires. I do know it has to be on a separate circuit from the pump and from what little I know has to be plugged in at the house.

Is it just a single signal wire or what?

Four conductors w a ground. Alarm is only two conductors. Many guys just run two runs of 2 wire UF.

 

[chicken steve]

Here it could be anyone who wires a tank, plumber, excavator, septic company, OR sparky

My personal pet peeve is a splice in a methane atmosphere

Don't do it

Just say NO

~CS~

 

[MTW]

Thankfully all the septic installers hack their own wiring in around here. We just bring a 12/3 to their control box and call it done.

 

[wendon]

12-2 UF for the pump and 14-2 UF for the alarm. Our state code requires separate circuits for the pump and alarm.