New septic pump "kicking" in every few minutes

[pablo2007]

In May, my septic alarm went off in the basement. I pumped the water, then realized that the wiring was almost gone, even if the pump was still pumping. The initial problem was that the connection to the pipe that brings the stuff up to the leech fields got disconnected. The pump was pumping with the stuff going nowhere. To make a long story short: After emptying the tank, The plumber said that the pump was weak and needed to be replaced. They replaced everything, including the old pump. My leech fields are way up on a hill, about 300 feet from the septic tank. They did not install a check valve with the new pump, because they said that it would freeze in the winter, and the old pump did not have a check valve either.
So, everything is brand new. The problem I have is that the pump "kicks in" just about every other minute for about two minutes. Stuff gets pumped out (I could see the top of the pump and the water going down), but effluent comes back right away bringing the level of the water back to where it was again (I am told this is how it should be). The energy meter spins like crazy. With the old pump (it worked fine for 15 years), my electric bill was about $125 a month. Now, with the new system, it is $230. The pump work even when there is no one using any water or the toilets! So far, three plumbers, three months and almost four thousand dollars later, my system is not efficient, my electric bill is out of control and no one seems to be able to do anything about it. I need help, please...

[suemarkp]

Without a check valve, some amount of effluent will flow back into the tank when the pump stops pumping. You need to make sure the float that triggers the pump to begin pumping is much higher than the float that turns the pump off. If the two are too close, the pump will run almost continually yet do nothing (effluent will go out, pump stops, some amount will backflow back in).

If there is plenty of float range once the pump has stopped and the effluent has backflowed, perhaps the high float switch is bad telling the pump to run when it should not be running.

[pablo2007]

Thank you, Mark. If that is the case, shouldn't they have done that already when they installed the pump? It's true, the technicians that put it in looked like they were 12 years old, (my aplogies to all the aprentices out there). They were concerned more with...not falling into the empty septic tank than finding a solution.
Should I call a septic tank specialist or another plumber that has experience with this?

[suemarkp]

I have a hard time hiring people because many are not very thorough, and a significant fraction have no clue what they're doing. Many people work by rules of thumb. The correct float setting will be unique to the size and length of the pipe you're pumping the effluent into. I would hope they were smart enough to figure this out, but maybe they forgot, maybe they didn't know what they were doing.

I'd try someone else.

[pablo2007]

Thank you....I will call someone else, and let you guys know.

[Fischer]

Did they replace the pit where the effluent collects? If they did and the pit is too small it will continue to do this. If not it's probably just adjusting the float level. It could be the lower float, or the upper float cut off. Easy to adjust if you look at the mechanism, unless there is no adjustment for the shutoff. If that's the case you need a pump that will pump the pit lower and allow for enough back flow not to turn it on again.

If it has an adjustment, try lowering the float cut off to empty the pit more before it shuts off, or the upper float to activate at a higher pit level, unless it's very close to the upper level of the pit, or a combination of both. These adjustments will take more effleunt out of the pit and the backwash will not be sufficient to kick in the pump.

Another thought on the pit. Depending on what kind of bottom the pit has, sometimes the pump is put on a block to keep the intake from sucking up debris, which could limit the fluid levels, check that also, and if there's a block under the pump, replace it with a smaller one and then adjust the float.

[pablo2007]

Thank you....I called another specialist. He came over and thank God, was nice enough to spend about an hour here and not charge me anything. He said that:

1. the pump MUST have a check valve with a weep(?) hole, so it won't freeze.
2. The pump was installed wrongly and the floats were wrongly placed.
3. Because it has been running almost continuously since it was installed about a month ago, he said that the pump seems weak and not pumping right. He is afraid that the new pump ($1,200 installed) has weakened just because it was not installed properly. (Sometimes when it pumps out stuff, it vibrates terribly.)
4. We went and looked for the D-box up on the leechfields, and could not find it. How many D-boxes should I have? I found three small holes covered with cement lids, two pipes in each of them. Any of the three the D-box? The leech field seem okay, clear of plants, etc. I will call the dept of public health to see where the D-box might be located. He said to run a simple test after finding the D-box: open it, and when pump runs, see if there is water coming in.
5. The new plumber said that for $650 he could install a check valve and adjust the floats, but he is afraid that the new pump is already "spent."
Although it is in warranty, I suspect that the company that installed it won't even talk to me (As I said before, they charge $500 every time they show up). I decided not to pay for the pump that is not working, put a stop on the check. If I am up to $4,000 in payments for a thing that doesn't work, I will pay when it does.
6. What do I do next? Winter is coming and this thing is still not working...