# Sump/Ejector Pit Not Vented! How to Fix?



## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

I don't see a cast iron vent. What vents do you have in the basement? What plumbing fixtures go to the pump basin?


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

Check out a more detailed picture.










You can see the cast iron pipe going through the basement slab next to the pit. From there it angles into the pit. It also looks like it is venting the basement sink. It then follows the PVC pipe up to the ceiling and continues with it up into the kitchen and then through the roof. 

There are no other vents in the basement, only that cast iron pipe.

Currently the washer, basement sink, and the basement floor drain tiles drain into the pit. 

I am debating connecting the pvc pipe from the kitchen into the cast iron pipe with a 45, and making sure it is up high enough to prevent any backflow.


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## LateralConcepts (Jun 6, 2010)

I'm assuming by looking at your picture, the ejection line is on the left and the so-called "vent" is on the right.

Looks like a disaster waiting to happen if you ask me. There's no rigidity to the set up. It should be re-plumbed in order to not only make it "plumb", but eliminate the abundance of fernco's. It also appears there are check valves on both sides. There should only be a check valve on the ejection line. Also, the existing "vent" is tied right back into the ejection line. 

The vent should come up high and be wye'd into the existing galvanized piping with no-hub couplings. Everything else should be solvent weld fittings. Include a PVC union 24" or so above the lid for future servicing. The ejection line should also be re-plumbed. Again, to make it rigid use glued fittings. If it doesn't line up, use 22's offset to line it up. A check valve and ball valve should be installed also about 24" above the lid.


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

So the pipe on the right leaving the pit is intended to be the vent? I always thought it was the discharge line for the battery backup. 

So if I am understanding the above post correctly, I can take the line on the right, bring it up high with no check valve, and wye it into the cast iron pipe?


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## broox (Nov 30, 2010)

These are the thoughts that occur to me:

1. If the pump tank itself is draining and filling properly it is not necessarily the tank vent that is the problem.

2. If air is coming through the p-trap upstairs when the pump turns on, I think that you need a vent to atmosphere on that end of the plumbing system.


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. 

I am going to start by venting the sink 1/2 floor above to the cast iron pipe and see if that corrects the problem. If it does not, I am going to reconfigure the pipes leaving the pit to contain a vent pipe to the cast iron.

I am going to tackle this problem this weekend. Ill post my solution or impending disaster either way.


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## broox (Nov 30, 2010)

To split hairs, the "cast iron" pipe you keep refering to looks like galvanized steel to me. :thumbsup:


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

broox said:


> To split hairs, the "cast iron" pipe you keep refering to looks like galvanized steel to me. :thumbsup:


Agreed. I commented that I didn't see one too.

How many pumps are in the basin? Typically, the pumps I'm around have the vent connected to the lid of the sump. You have 2 pumps? I wonder if your real problem is that your 2" line to the sewer is resticted.


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## braindead (May 31, 2010)

The only thing that I can say that whoever put that mess in should not be allow to breed!!, most of what you have should be ripped out and re-installed by a PLUMBER!


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Totally agree that's a mess and it needs to be completely redone. That being said, you can use an air admittance vent on an ejector if the plumbing is properly configured. That would save some hole-cutting and running a vent if all else fails. I'll have to look around, but Studor does have a diagram on their website showing the required configuration.


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

There are two pumps inside the pit. Sump pump and backup. Backup line is the one on the right. 

I really do not know where to go with this one. Been talking to different people and I get a different answer from everyone. I keep thinking that I am going to try to somehow logically hook the system into the "galvanized steel".

Right now i am leaning towards hooking the line that runs to the sink 1/2 floor above to the galvanized steel where they touch, essentially where the ferncos are. See if that quick fix will work.

If I cut the galvanized steel my only worry would be properly supporting the pipe, before and after.


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## LateralConcepts (Jun 6, 2010)

ChodaZ said:


> There are two pumps inside the pit. Sump pump and backup. Backup line is the one on the right.
> 
> I really do not know where to go with this one. Been talking to different people and I get a different answer from everyone. I keep thinking that I am going to try to somehow logically hook the system into the "galvanized steel".
> 
> ...


That being said, disregard my original post. I assumed the pipe on the right was a vent. If there are 2 pumps in the basin I'm not comfortable with telling you how to re-plumb it. I'm sure there are others here that would be more helpful. That "galvanized" pipe is a vent. Don't tie the ejection line into that.


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

LateralConcepts said:


> That being said, disregard my original post. I assumed the pipe on the right was a vent. If there are 2 pumps in the basin I'm not comfortable with telling you how to re-plumb it. I'm sure there are others here that would be more helpful. That "galvanized" pipe is a vent. Don't tie the ejection line into that.


Agreed. You'll just make a loop on your pump system. Think about this, if both lines are pump lines, then you have no vent. Judging from the tank lid laying on the floor, I'd say your sump is venting into the room.


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

There is a clear plastic cover over the pit which was installed and sealed by the company that put in my radon system. When the pump ejects water to the sewer it always makes the sink upstairs gurgle. 

When I say I am going to tie into the galvanized pipe, I mean as a vent only, and not as a means to drain wastewater. I would bring a new pipe out vertically and connect it into the galvanized pipe with a wye.


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## 12penny (Nov 21, 2008)

chodaz....not a plumber, carpenter by trade. My question is why does your sump pump discharge to the city sewer? Thats not allowed in my area. Sumps should pump water to the exterior of the building.


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## LateralConcepts (Jun 6, 2010)

12penny said:


> chodaz....not a plumber, carpenter by trade. My question is why does your sump pump discharge to the city sewer? Thats not allowed in my area. Sumps should pump water to the exterior of the building.


12penny - this is waste water. Not ground water. If you notice in the picture there's a floor drain and laundry tub tied into it. Sewer's overhead.


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

2 reasons. 

1. Thats how it was configured when I bought the home. 
2. It doubles as the ejector pit, which has the washing machine discharge.


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## 12penny (Nov 21, 2008)

Thanks...guess I'll stick with my current trade.:yes:


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

ChodaZ said:


> There is a clear plastic cover over the pit which was installed and sealed by the company that put in my radon system. When the pump ejects water to the sewer it always makes the sink upstairs gurgle.
> 
> When I say I am going to tie into the galvanized pipe, I mean as a vent only, and not as a means to drain wastewater. I would bring a new pipe out vertically and connect it into the galvanized pipe with a wye.


attach a 1.5" vent to the plastic lid and tie it into the galv. pipe at the ceiling.
Does the sink that gurgles have a vent?


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## ChodaZ (Jan 10, 2011)

The sink that gurgles does NOT have a vent. It was suggested in an earlier post that maybe venting that sink would correct the problem.


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

ChodaZ said:


> The sink that gurgles does NOT have a vent. It was suggested in an earlier post that maybe venting that sink would correct the problem.


It just might


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