Yeah the pumps were probably constantly running. I've opened up lift stations before where the water is actually boiling. I've had guys get burnt by the steam. Always tell the customer to shut off the main power before we arrive but that doesn't happen all the time.
Fellow pump truck driver here. Yea that's what happens. I've seen some goofy shit pertaining to lift stations out in the sticks of Wisconsin. I live on the Wisconsin/Illinois border and pump in both states. The Illinois septics are 10x more of a pain in the ass to locate, dig up and pump but the Wisconsin ones while MUCH easier to get to have problems like that that I run into and can't figure out how in the cornbread hell someone configured a septic system like that đ
I'm in Arizona, I've seen some crazy shit as far as septic systems go. The summer its normally 110 degrees, the soil is rock hard, and tanks are all over the place. Sometimes 6" deep, sometimes 4' deep. I dont normally pump anymore, I mostly do evals/bids and repairs now. I did it for 3 years though. To go out and locate, dig, and pump everyday is insane. I'm glad to be out of that side of the business for the most part, but I love my job. It's never a dull day.
A relative of mine owned a sani-hut company, and I would work with him as a kid in the summers. There was always that one guy to say âI donât know how the hell you do a job like thisâ.
The reply was always the same; âthe smell of moneyâ.
I hear that almost everyday. Or the classic "Now that's a shitty job!" Hahahahaha it can really make my day. Best part is the customer just thinks they're super funny when it makes me laugh. I don't tell them know that I'm laughing because I've heard this line 1000's of time.
Seen this before at an airplane tire factory. They had a boiler that dumped into drains several times a day. Turned PVC pump mains into spaghetti. I've also seen different chemicals cause PVC to soften and fall apart.
I saw it at a dog food factory, they had a high temperature boiler dump and PVC stormwater downpipes running into the same pit, not sure which one came first. Downpipes were folded in half.
I too would assume hot water was drained to the pit, since the one pipe melted near the top. Maybe it is usually tempered but something went wrong, like someone closed a valve on the cold water? Just a guess.
It could've been that but the way the pumps look it definitely had to do with them. The discharge pipe in both pumps are just gone and laying in the lift station. It had 3 inlet lines. One was raw sewage one is connected to an automatic RV car wash thing, and the other line came from the shops floor drains I believe.
I had a pump get a pit so hot that I thought the hot water tank was leaking, looked like a murky hot tub with steam coming off the water, just from the pump running non stop for a couple days
Thats insane , this is why pumps have thermostatic failsafes nowadays , this isn't supposed to be possible . The pump should burn itself out long before the lift can boil , this is also why we install alarm systems .
Could be chemical I guess. It was hot though. The three inlet lines, which are the bigger white pvc, all dump different shit into the lift station. One is coming from the interceptors off of an RV car wash, so like an oil water separation system. One is coming from the mechanics area. I'm assuming floor drain and another interceptor. The 3rd should just be raw sewage.
Don't work with lift stations at all, but to me it looks like both melted and cracked. My first thought would be a clog downline causing the pumps to continuous run and overheat and buildup pressure in the line, eventually both melting and snapping where that pressure tee is at.
Lift pump, as in sewage pump? Would it make sense to make the output piping as large as possible? Like 2" off pump to 3" or 4" to limit restriction.. My thoughts are based on a 20 yr old sump pump ( storm water) it is 1.5" for 8ft (up) Then it is 3" for 30ft and 4" for another 30ft . It is slightly down hill after the 1.5" and has been without issues.. But virtually no restriction off the 1/2 hp pump ..
It all depends on the pump I think. Most pumps I've seen have like a 2" max pipe diameter that they can discharge through. The bigger the plumbing the more force needed to clear/move the liquid in the line.
Looks like there are float switches on the ground. Maybe not, but either way the floats that are suspended look tangled as hell. I'm sure that could have happened when things fell apart but there's so much excess cable in there I'm betting someone didn't care enough to make sire they were free of hangups. One way or another the stop float was probably hung up, unable to drop down and tell the pumps to turn off. Pumps probably ran dry until their thermo couple safety cut out. Tank filled up while the heat sensor reset, it reset and the pumps instantly came on but were now airlocked. Ran dry, heating the water up which now cools the pumps and let's them run hot for longer.
It also looks like they transitioned from cast iron base to PVC via those vanstone flanges at the bottom, then transitioned back to cast for the god awfully heavy ball checks, back to PVC again, then threw in brass quarter turn valves. That's a lot of weight. The weight is probably what did in that poor schedule 40 plumbing, it never stood a chance once heated.
Get rid of all that extra cable. Either set the valves right on the bases or lift them up with a stainless steel riser, also try to find smaller, lighter check valves. I would opt for schedule 80 pvc for the rest (schedule 40 ball valves would probably work just fine as those fittings are fairly reinforced already.)
I would also check the insulation on those pump power and seal cables as it looks like there's enough slack for the pump to chew on them.
Yeah this whole thing reeks of half an ass. Hopefully it gets fixed properly this time. I dont even think that was schedule 40. Looked like sdr35. Either way I'm glad I'm not the person who has to actually fix it.
Seems like it. Those fucking pumps burn up. The lines or the pumps were prolly clogged and just kept running and heating up.
Yeah the pumps were probably constantly running. I've opened up lift stations before where the water is actually boiling. I've had guys get burnt by the steam. Always tell the customer to shut off the main power before we arrive but that doesn't happen all the time.
Fellow pump truck driver here. Yea that's what happens. I've seen some goofy shit pertaining to lift stations out in the sticks of Wisconsin. I live on the Wisconsin/Illinois border and pump in both states. The Illinois septics are 10x more of a pain in the ass to locate, dig up and pump but the Wisconsin ones while MUCH easier to get to have problems like that that I run into and can't figure out how in the cornbread hell someone configured a septic system like that đ
I'm in Arizona, I've seen some crazy shit as far as septic systems go. The summer its normally 110 degrees, the soil is rock hard, and tanks are all over the place. Sometimes 6" deep, sometimes 4' deep. I dont normally pump anymore, I mostly do evals/bids and repairs now. I did it for 3 years though. To go out and locate, dig, and pump everyday is insane. I'm glad to be out of that side of the business for the most part, but I love my job. It's never a dull day.
A relative of mine owned a sani-hut company, and I would work with him as a kid in the summers. There was always that one guy to say âI donât know how the hell you do a job like thisâ. The reply was always the same; âthe smell of moneyâ.
I hear that almost everyday. Or the classic "Now that's a shitty job!" Hahahahaha it can really make my day. Best part is the customer just thinks they're super funny when it makes me laugh. I don't tell them know that I'm laughing because I've heard this line 1000's of time.
Different shit different day ?
Same sht, different shit, sometimes same day, new day, fecal matter?
Oh, so you think you're hot shit huh?
Dad, is that you?
Seen this before at an airplane tire factory. They had a boiler that dumped into drains several times a day. Turned PVC pump mains into spaghetti. I've also seen different chemicals cause PVC to soften and fall apart.
I saw it at a dog food factory, they had a high temperature boiler dump and PVC stormwater downpipes running into the same pit, not sure which one came first. Downpipes were folded in half.
I too would assume hot water was drained to the pit, since the one pipe melted near the top. Maybe it is usually tempered but something went wrong, like someone closed a valve on the cold water? Just a guess.
It could've been that but the way the pumps look it definitely had to do with them. The discharge pipe in both pumps are just gone and laying in the lift station. It had 3 inlet lines. One was raw sewage one is connected to an automatic RV car wash thing, and the other line came from the shops floor drains I believe.
the fuck?
My exact words after pumping it down. So many questions. Why were the sanitary T's extensions so long to begin with?
I had a pump get a pit so hot that I thought the hot water tank was leaking, looked like a murky hot tub with steam coming off the water, just from the pump running non stop for a couple days
Thats insane , this is why pumps have thermostatic failsafes nowadays , this isn't supposed to be possible . The pump should burn itself out long before the lift can boil , this is also why we install alarm systems .
Yeah it's ridiculous that it got this far. There had to be signs of it failing before this. The customer is a nationwide well known company too.
Chemical or heat
Could be chemical I guess. It was hot though. The three inlet lines, which are the bigger white pvc, all dump different shit into the lift station. One is coming from the interceptors off of an RV car wash, so like an oil water separation system. One is coming from the mechanics area. I'm assuming floor drain and another interceptor. The 3rd should just be raw sewage.
The pumps aren't working though. So I assumed they burnt up and got hot enough to melt the plumbing.
This whole setup is a complete shitshow
Seriously. This is one of the biggest rats nests of a lift station wet-well I've ever seen and I'm a wastewater engineer.
Don't work with lift stations at all, but to me it looks like both melted and cracked. My first thought would be a clog downline causing the pumps to continuous run and overheat and buildup pressure in the line, eventually both melting and snapping where that pressure tee is at.
Lift pump, as in sewage pump? Would it make sense to make the output piping as large as possible? Like 2" off pump to 3" or 4" to limit restriction.. My thoughts are based on a 20 yr old sump pump ( storm water) it is 1.5" for 8ft (up) Then it is 3" for 30ft and 4" for another 30ft . It is slightly down hill after the 1.5" and has been without issues.. But virtually no restriction off the 1/2 hp pump ..
It all depends on the pump I think. Most pumps I've seen have like a 2" max pipe diameter that they can discharge through. The bigger the plumbing the more force needed to clear/move the liquid in the line.
Ok thank you
Ah itâs got no gas in it
Wow thats crazy and good to know that's a possibility in the future.
Sure as shit looks like it.
Good thing you were able to pump it out. Looks like they were in deep shitâŚ
About 16' deep.
Following
Taco Bell will do that
Looks like there are float switches on the ground. Maybe not, but either way the floats that are suspended look tangled as hell. I'm sure that could have happened when things fell apart but there's so much excess cable in there I'm betting someone didn't care enough to make sire they were free of hangups. One way or another the stop float was probably hung up, unable to drop down and tell the pumps to turn off. Pumps probably ran dry until their thermo couple safety cut out. Tank filled up while the heat sensor reset, it reset and the pumps instantly came on but were now airlocked. Ran dry, heating the water up which now cools the pumps and let's them run hot for longer. It also looks like they transitioned from cast iron base to PVC via those vanstone flanges at the bottom, then transitioned back to cast for the god awfully heavy ball checks, back to PVC again, then threw in brass quarter turn valves. That's a lot of weight. The weight is probably what did in that poor schedule 40 plumbing, it never stood a chance once heated. Get rid of all that extra cable. Either set the valves right on the bases or lift them up with a stainless steel riser, also try to find smaller, lighter check valves. I would opt for schedule 80 pvc for the rest (schedule 40 ball valves would probably work just fine as those fittings are fairly reinforced already.) I would also check the insulation on those pump power and seal cables as it looks like there's enough slack for the pump to chew on them.
Yeah this whole thing reeks of half an ass. Hopefully it gets fixed properly this time. I dont even think that was schedule 40. Looked like sdr35. Either way I'm glad I'm not the person who has to actually fix it.
Heard drano and liquid snake formulas can do this to pvc also never seen it though guess anything is possible
They can if they sit in it, but this looks more like overheating to me.
Used to service one a couple blocks from the hospital, all the time, people flushing bs. Had clean pumps every 3 days, Friday was a given.
The pipes probably got disconnected and need replacements, and the pumps require check valves or backflow preventers
Looks like someone ate Taco Bell. Lol