How to choose a fecal pump for a summer residence: an overview of the types and rules for selecting equipment

Nikolay Fedorenko
Checked by a specialist: Nikolay Fedorenko
Author: Maxim Fomin
Last update: August 2019

The overwhelming majority of domestic summer cottages are not connected to a centralized sewage system. In many villages and horticultural partnerships it is simply not provided. And sewer sewage and flood water must be pumped out somewhere.

Therefore, its own fecal pump for giving will not hurt. We will find out which model is better to choose, because the assortment range of sewage pumps is extensive.

In order not to make a mistake with the purchase, it is necessary to compare the characteristic features of different pumps with the upcoming operating conditions, as well as evaluate the feasibility of acquiring an intra-house sewer installation. A short review of the best manufacturers will help you choose a reliable unit for the cottage.

Why do you need a fecal pump in the country?

Choosing a model of fecal electric pump should be based on specific needs. There is no large volume of sewage in the country house. The owners of the city come only in the summer and often exclusively for the weekend.

Most of them install a street toilet or a cesspool on the summer cottage, which is enough to dispose of the resulting sewage.

Fecal (sewer) pumps in the country are used for pumping and pumping liquid media:

  • contaminated with organic and fibrous inclusions of drainage;
  • flood waters from the basement;
  • sewage from cesspools and septic tanks;
  • mud deposits from sewer and drainage systems;
  • clean water for watering the garden;
  • emptying the well when cleaning it.

The scope of use of pumping equipment in the country is huge. With the right choice of model, it will be possible to solve most of the problems that arise when pumping (pumping) water masses in the economy.

Sewage pumps
The assortment of fecal pumps is huge. Before going to the store, it will not hurt to understand all the nuances of various types and carefully assess your needs in terms of using this unit in the future

If the pump is selected with errors, then it will be possible to use it only to solve any one problem. And the rest of the time she will be lying in the garage, taking up space and constantly interfering.

Often a fecal pump is also used for organizing in the country forced sewer system. Standard sewage is usually designed taking into account the gravity drainage from the country house to the septic tank.

However, it is not always possible to organize such a scheme. Due to the relief of the VOC site or the entry into the centralized sewage system available in the village, it may be higher than the exit from the house.

Sewer Pump
Pipes cannot be laid at the required angle. And then for the forced pumping out of gray and black waters from the internal sewage system, it is necessary to install a pumping pump

A variant with redevelopment and reconstruction of a country house is also possible, when the configuration of pipelines changes inside a residential building. But in most cases in the country a fecal pump is used for pumping cesspools, septic tanks and meltwater from the basement.

Types of sewer electric pumps

Fecal pumps are divided into domestic and outdoor installations. The first models are chosen for installation near toilets and sinks. They are designed for forced pumping of sewage through sewage pipes to the septic tank.

Such units can be designed to connect one or several plumbing fixtures. The second category of sewage pumps is more familiar and they are most often bought for summer houses.

Types of installation method
Depending on the design features and installation method, all models of fecal hydraulic pumps are divided into three groups: surface, submersible and semi-submersible

Fecal should be clearly separated for drinking water and drainage pumps. The former were originally designed for grinding solid feces and small debris.

The second and third are designed for pumping water, only pure or having fine fractions. If a rag or food debris gets into them, then these electric pumps will simply break.

Group # 1: surface aggregates

Surface faecal pumps provide a dry installation method.To work in automatic mode, they are mounted next to the storage collector or in manhole. In fact, this is a small pumping station of several separate parts.

Surface model
At the cottage, a surface pump for dirty water is most often used in a portable version, it is assembled and turned on as needed, and then they are put back into the utility room

This type of hydraulic pump for sewage is the easiest to maintain and operate. He himself is installed in the country next to the cesspool or drain hole, and the hose connected to it is immersed in the fecal masses.

Choosing this pump, special attention should be paid to the maximum possible suction depth. The passport usually indicates 8-10 meters. If the pit is deeper, then this pump will not be able to raise drains from it.

But here it is necessary to take into account not only the dimensions of the tank from which water is pumped out, but also the distance from it to the pumping equipment. Each horizontal meter of hose reduces the unit's depth capabilities by 10 cm.

Platform fecal pump
Low-power models are a compact unit and for short-term operation they are installed on the floor or the ground near the sewage tank

More powerful installations require a stable platform. They are mainly mounted in a room where a similar platform can be easily and securely fixed to the floor.

The main disadvantage of a surface sewage pump is the inadmissibility of its operation in a humid environment. Only a retracting hose can be in the water; the unit body must be on the ground and in a dry place.

To operate such a pump is allowed exclusively not in rainy weather, but it’s better to erect a small canopy for it, otherwise moisture will get inside the casing, which will inevitably lead to a circuit.

Surface models are cheap and easy to maintain, but quite noisy. If the pump is selected for installation in a utility room or basement, then this is the best option. But for working on the street and pumping feces from a septic tank, which is far away from the country house and buildings, it is better to purchase a submersible analogue.

Group # 2: semi-submersible kits

Semi-submersible pumping equipment consists of an electric motor installed in a dry place and a working chamber immersed in drains. In a single whole they are connected by a rotating shaft.

Semi-submersible pump
In summer cottages and in general in domestic conditions, semi-submersible pumps are rare, they are structurally complex and in terms of operation - they are mainly chosen for pumping stations of industrial level

If a semi-submersible hydraulic pump is purchased for a summer residence, then you can mount it by:

  • fastenings on a wall of a drain hole;
  • Installations on a platform floating on drains;
  • installation in an extension next to the drive.

Another potential problem with the semi-submersible model is the lack of a shredder in the standard kit. And without it, the pump will quickly fail when pumping garbage and feces from the sewer system.

The grinder for such a installation is installed additionally, in the form of a nozzle. And this increases the cost of equipment and the complexity of its maintenance.

Group # 3: submersible hydraulic pumps

This modification of suburban fecal pumps involves the direct immersion of the entire unit in a pit with sewage. And so that the installation does not break down in an aggressive and active sewage environment, its sealed housing and all working parts are made of cast iron or stainless steel.

There are models with a plastic casing on sale, but for a long time it will not last in sewer drains. Submersible equipment for pumping out feces can be used both for one-time work and in automatic mode.

In the second case, the sewer pump for giving should be chosen with a float and automation. Upon reaching a predetermined level of liquid in the sewage tank, the pumping equipment is first turned on, and then, as sewage is pumped out, it is turned off by a float device.

Submersible Pump Installation
Installation of a submersible fecal pump is carried out directly at the bottom of the drain pit or is suspended at a height of 10–20 cm above it (+)

The presence of the float eliminates the work of the pumping equipment “dry”, which significantly extends its life. Submersible pumps are chosen for those who require efficient and reliable equipment.

Many of these models are equipped with a built-in chopper. He stands at the input and grinds all incoming waste to a state in which it simply is not able to lead to breakdown of internal mechanisms.

Compared to a surface competitor, a submersible pump is less noisy and consumes less power. All its power is spent on maintaining pressure in the discharge head pipe. He also does not have to spend energy on the suction of wastewater from the bottom into the working chamber through a hose.

When operating a submersible installation, water absorbs most of the noise generated by the electric motor. But the unit is more difficult to operate and costs more than a surface model of similar power. Equipment immersed in sewage is initially more technologically advanced and complex than equipment remaining in the air.

House sewer installations

Fecal pumps are also called small-sized pumping stations, which are designed to be built directly into the sewage system inside the country house. Structurally and by the principle of operation, such pumps resemble analogues from washing machines.

Sewer installation diagram
First, the effluent in such a household installation is accumulated in a small tank, and as it is filled, it is pumped out by an internal submersible pump into the sewer pipe (+)

Similar models of fecal pumps belong to the premium segment of plumbing and cost a lot. However, thanks to them, toilets, showers and washstands can be installed almost anywhere in a residential building. They calmly pump wastewater, even through upwardly sloping pipelines.

The design of this pumping station originally laid the principle of self-cleaning. It is undemanding in terms of maintenance, it is enough only occasionally to flush the tank from mud cover.

It also has a charcoal filter and a check valve. The first eliminates the appearance of sewage amber in the room, and the second does not allow the return of sewage from the sewer back to the drive. Fecal toilet pumps prevent the occurrence of blockages and provide forced drainage.

How should I choose a fecal pump?

The passport of a sewer pump for a summer residence contains a lot of technical characteristics. And all of them must be considered when choosing this technique. The first indicator is the operating temperature of the pump, i.e. temperature of drain drains.

Sewage pumping equipment can be:

  1. Designed to work only with cold and warm water up to + 45 ° C.
  2. Designed for pumping effluents with temperatures up to + 90 ° C.

For pumping water from the cellar and fecal sewage from a street septic tank, a pump of the first category is enough. But for the smooth functioning of the forced sewage system with a mass of plumbing in the country house, you will have to select a model from the second group.

Automation, chopper and body material

Constantly monitoring the state of the fecal pump and controlling its operation manually means it is irrational to spend your time. The cottage is always full of activities. Therefore, the technique should immediately be selected with a float and thermal relay.

The first will control the level of effluents in the pumped out pit, turning the pump off / on as necessary, and the second will prevent the motor from overheating.

Chopper Pump
Some fecal pumps can handle solid waste and pebbles without a chopper, however, only the presence of a cutting mechanism guarantees a long service life for such equipment

Structurally, the grinder is made in the form of:

  • two-blade knife;
  • impellers with a cutting edge;
  • combined mechanism with multiple blades.

The impeller is the cheapest option for the grinder, but the performance of the pumps with it is the lowest. A knife with a pair of blades located perpendicular to each other is more reliable and productive.

However, the most advanced is the combination of three cutting blades and a perforated blade. Passing through a similar grinder, solid fecal fractions turn into a homogeneous ground mass.

Additional selection tips and the best options for fecal pumps with a grinder are presented in this article.

According to the housing material, the pump for pumping sewage in the country is best chosen from metal. Stainless steel and cast iron will last several times longer than plastic. This nuance is especially important for submersible equipment, which is constantly located in aggressive dirty waters.

Lifting Height, Power and Power Supply

The higher the performance indicated in the passport, the faster the pump will pump drains. However, the more it will consume electricity. A rake in a country house is rarely done when it is bulky, therefore a low-power unit is often enough to work in a summer cottage. He pumps out the drains not in 5 minutes, but in 20, but there is nowhere to rush out of town.

The best version of the pump for the pump in terms of power is 400-500 watts. This is a productivity in the region of 140–160 l / min. Such performance characteristics will make it easy to cope with the pumping of sewage from a drain or cesspool, and with getting rid of excess water in a country cellar.

The pressure numbers indicate the maximum height to which pumping equipment can lift faecal fluid through a pressure pipe. But when calculating this indicator, it is necessary to take into account not only the vertical section of the highway, but also the horizontal.

In addition, atmospheric pressure, the material of manufacture and the cross-section of the pipes, as well as the temperature of the effluents and the size of the impurities in them, should be taken into account.

Pump specifications
In a simplified calculation of the desired pressure, the footage of the horizontal section is divided by ten and added to the length of the vertical pipe segment, and then all this increases by 20–25% - the figure obtained should be less than that indicated in the data sheet (+)

Some models of sewage pumps are powered by a single-phase network, while others from a three-phase. The first group is cheaper. As a rule, for giving it is recommended to choose just such a fecal pump. It will cause less problems with connecting to the mains. And if necessary, it can be powered from a portable generator.

Manufacturers at a Glance

At choosing a fecal pump it is better to give preference to models of well-known manufacturers. They specialize in such equipment, so their technology is always on top. And in case of breakdowns, parts for repairing such pumps are always much easier to find.

Among the variety of brands for use in the country are:

  1. Pedrollo vortex - a series of "VXm" with low power (Italy).
  2. Jilex - The Fecalnik series (Russia).
  3. Sfa - compact grinder pumps for the home (France).
  4. Grundfos (Denmark).
  5. Marina-speroni (Italy).
  6. Calpeda (Italy).
  7. Vortex (Russia).
  8. Belamos (Russia).

It is worth saying that Russian pumps are in no way inferior to imported counterparts. They were originally developed for domestic realities with voltage drops, etc.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

A selection of the following videos will help you navigate the variety of types of fecal pumps so that you make the most correct choice of equipment for a summer residence.

Grinder operation principle in Grundfos SEG:

How to choose a fecal sewage pump:

Overview of a submersible pump with a grinder:

Living in a country house outside the city, most of us do not want to give up the benefits of civilization in the form of a shower, toilet and other plumbing. But all this can be used only if there is a septic tank or cesspool on the summer cottage.

However, if the farm does not have a fecal electric pump for cleaning them, then constant calls to the sewer machine will cost a considerable amount. At the same time, your own pump can be used not only for pumping sewage, but also for irrigation and disposal of melt water in the basement in the spring.

Looking for an effective fecal pump for a summer residence? Or have experience using such installations? Please leave comments on the article and share your impressions of the use of sewage pumps.

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Visitors Comments
  1. Denis

    We have been using this thing for a year now, have purchased a small fecal pump, since it is much cheaper than calling a cesspool machine. We pump out the sediment from the septic tank only in the warm season. But once pumped out and in the winter, when there was a warming, after which it was washed and put in a dry place. According to technical standards, deposits should be removed at least twice a year. I advise you to use a float switch so that the pump does not work “dry” and its motor does not burn out.

  2. George

    We have a submersible pump from Grundfos in the country. It seems to have been working for the fifth year already and I am quite pleased with it. It is installed without dancing with a tambourine, he does not need any special service. He didn’t cost so that it was really cheap, but he needed the thing, so he bought it. The pump runs quietly, unless you specifically listen, you will not notice. It works stably, without failures. Useful thing.

  3. Alexander

    My situation is the following - parents have a septic tank in a private house. The septic tank is purchased, has three compartments and an exit to the filtration field. Once a year, according to the rules, it needs to be pumped out and cleaned. The problem is that the arrival of the cesspool machine to the septic tank is problematic - they did not think it through during installation. There was an idea to pump out independently using a fecal pump. Submersible will not work for me, since the septic tank pipes are 160 mm. So we need a surface pump that can pump feces from a depth of 2.5 meters. Which one is suitable? And is it possible in such a situation to limit oneself to a drainage pump?

    • Expert
      Nikolay Fedorenko
      Expert

      You can use both a surface fecal pump and a drainage pump. It already depends on your preferences, which will be more practical and more profitable specifically for your case.

      So, for example, when installing a surface pump, strict restrictions on the height of the transferred fluid must be observed. This means that you have to determine the level of installation of the system yourself. To install a drainage pump, you will not have to observe such subtleties.

      But in any case, you should choose pumps with a high-quality cutting edge (chopper), I recommend choosing Pedrollo models from the price / quality ratio.

      For a complete understanding of the operation of such pumps, I advise you to watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2ERNsHjq-A If you still have questions, then ask them here.

      • Gennady

        We have a country house, with permanent residence. The house has a shower, toilet, the kitchen has a sink and another one in the bathroom. Initially, the former owner brought out the stock of feces and the entire drain into the cesspool, which is located one and a half meters from the house.

        These are the usual three concrete rings. Depth is approximately 2.5-3.0 meters.Do not tell me which pump is better to install for pumping feces? And what brand do you recommend (in terms of the budget option)? We want to pump out a section, the length of the drain hose is about 60-70 meters.

        And will there be any inconvenience in terms of smell? We will mainly use it in winter. We were advised to do this in the winter season, the suckers. Thank you in advance for your reply.

  4. Gennady

    We have a country house, with permanent residence. The house has a shower, toilet, the kitchen has a sink and another one in the bathroom. Initially, the former owner brought out the stock of feces and the entire drain into the cesspool, which is located one and a half meters from the house.

    These are the usual three concrete rings. Depth is approximately 2.5-3.0 meters. Do not tell me which pump is better to install for pumping feces? And what brand do you recommend (in terms of the budget option)? We want to pump out a section, the length of the drain hose is about 60-70 meters.

    And will there be any inconvenience in terms of smell? We will mainly use it in winter. We were advised to do this in the winter season, the suckers. Thank you in advance for your reply.

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