no sump pump

[John Dirks Jr]

The sump pit is there and the plumbing is there. Where is the wire for the pump? There was no breaker labled for it at the panel either. Should I have tried to remove this lid? Is there a reason why a pit would be there but not a pump?

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[SonOfSwamp]

  John Dirks Jr said:

The sump pit is there and the plumbing is there. Where is the wire for the pump? There was no breaker labled for it at the panel either. Should I have tried to remove this lid? Is there a reason why a pit would be there but not a pump?

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I think it's a poop pump, not a sump pump.

Of course, I could be wrong,

WJ

[randynavarro]

Looks like a pooper-pumper to me also.

The sealed lid and the 3" (I'm assuming) discharge line tells me that (although I can't recall right off hand if a 3" line is even required for a sewage pump - I'd have to look that one up.)

Hopefully there was a backflow preventer on the 3" line?

And, yeah, where is the power cord?

[Garet]

When I see ejector pumps I run the plumbing fixtures leading into them until I hear the pump kick on. Probably 1/2 the ejector pumps I find are installed wrong in one way or another, usually related to the discharge pipe. I've never seen one with a discharge pipe larger than 2".

[StevenT]

Most likely, that ejector pump is being fed from below the slab. The 3" line is the discharge. The 2" line is the vent. There should be a pump inside the tank.

Flush the toilet, it should come on.

I would not open it.

Should be GFI protected.

[John Dirks Jr]

It's not an ejector. The small line discharges to the exterior through the back wall. The large is for radon ventilation and it goes up through the roof.

Also, there was no fan in line for the radon mitigation aspect.

[Scottpat]

  John Dirks Jr said:

It's not an ejector. The small line discharges to the exterior through the back wall. The large is for radon ventilation and it goes up through the roof.

Also, there was no fan in line for the radon mitigation aspect.

It could be a passive radon system, a fan could be added later if radon is a problem. I see systems like this in two towns that I work in; they both require builders to install passive systems when the home is being built.

No need to guess what it is. Just simply say you don't know.

I don't think I have ever seen a sump pump in a radon pit?

[waynesoper]

That's actually a good idea! I have seen many cases where the radon system was not working due to water filling up the hole.easy install too.

[Les]

Scott,

In our area most radon mitigation systems are in sump pits with pumps intact and operational.

[John Dirks Jr]

If it were stand alone radon mitigation pit, would it need the smaller pipe?

[Les]

No. to be effective it can have only one point of entry for air.

[John Dirks Jr]

  Les said:

No. to be effective it can have only one point of entry for air.

That's what I thought.

There was also a dedicated receptacle just above the pit where the sump pump would have been plugged in. It is just outside the frame of the picture.

[StevenT]

  Les said:

Scott,

In our area most radon mitigation systems are in sump pits with pumps intact and operational.

Les,

I don't run into many radon systems where I am. The passive system idea makes sense, as does the sump pit/pump. My question is, does the sump pit (container) act as a plenum to collect the gas? Is the discharge pipe simply attached to the sealed lid/cover?

[Scottpat]

  Les said:

Scott,

In our area most radon mitigation systems are in sump pits with pumps intact and operational.

I guess our water table is so low and we have so much rock that is why I have not seen sump pumps. Makes complete sense to have one though. Does the EPA address sump pumps in radon pits?

[Neal Lewis]

  Les said:

No. to be effective it can have only one point of entry for air.

It certainly could have more than one suction point through the floor, using the same radon fan.

The 3 inch pipe looks like schedule 40, which generally isn't used for radon piping around here. The pipe is required to be clearly marked for radon.

[MMustola]

Was the house preped for a bathroom in the basement? It's possible that it is a sewage ejector system that is not being used.

[Bain]

  Neal Lewis said:

  Les said:

No. to be effective it can have only one point of entry for air.

It certainly could have more than one suction point through the floor, using the same radon fan.

The 3 inch pipe looks like schedule 40, which generally isn't used for radon piping around here. The pipe is required to be clearly marked for radon.

How is the pipe labeled for radon different from schedule 40, Neal?

I've never actually looked that closely at mitigation-system pipes around here, but I think they're typically PVC.

[Neal Lewis]

It's usually a thin wall type, which I guess is PVC.

[Jeff Beck]

Around here, fro Radon remediation, I usually see a 4" pipe (and sometimes larger!) with a sight gauge manometer that shows that the system is working.

I honestly don't know if the manometer is used in passive systems or just active systems.

It looks to me John, like you have a sump pit, plumbed but no pump. I once saw a builder who had installed two sump pits and put a pump in only one. The AHJ made him put a pump in the second pit.

Once the punch list was checked off and the Occupancy Permit granted the builder sent a laborer back to retrieve the 2nd pump[:-yuck].

Jeff Beck

[Les]

PVC is the material description, Sched is the wall thickness. Passive can have an indicator, but my experience is that they do not.

My observation was the sump would be under a vacumm and the second smaller pipe would be introducing air from where-ever and not allowing radon gas to be vented (as a passive system) I should have said a single source being the air from under slab via sump.

I have seen single fan systems with two pickups. Tough to balance and costly to install.

Systems installed in active sump pump pits must have end of suction pipe above water level at all times, and the foundation drainage feeder pipes must be above the water level at all times so gas will be vented to exterior. Usually the radon guy does not consider that so the system is worthless. The manometer will show several inches of vacumm and folks think that is just dandy. It ain't rocket science.

[Erby]

Here's some info to help you.

http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/consguid.html

See the part about using the sump pit for a suction point.

I'd think the sump pump discharge would need a backflow preventer but I'm not a mitigator.

I'd guess this one is a sump pump pit and discharge line with a passive radon pipe installed but no pump or radon fan installed yet. Sealed cover would be to help reduce the radon entering the home.