# Septic tank power



## te12co2w (Jun 3, 2007)

How do you get power into a septic/lift tank that is covered with dirt? I don't like anything I have done or seen. Junction box in the tank at the access gets covered with effluent when the pump fails. I have installed conduit risers above ground level on concrete tanks/ but people don't seem to like the looks of those. Any ideas?


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

My septic has two tanks. The only pump is in the clean water tank, that pumps the filtered water up to the mound.

In the clean water tank, j-box is under cover, above high water alarm float.


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## te12co2w (Jun 3, 2007)

The last one we got involved with was a tank that had lost power, and alarm power. The liquid was covering the junction box. It was nasty. Also hard to get down in there past a junction box that took space away from the access lid. The gas company cut through the wires when they were trenching for their pipe to the house.


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## samgregger (Jan 23, 2013)

Maybe a small pedestal like some of the POCOs use for splices?


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Use a small pedestal or a pvc pool light deck box that has conduit entries on the bottom.


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## Jack Legg (Mar 12, 2014)

Helmut said:


> My septic has two tanks. The only pump is in the clean water tank, that pumps the filtered water up to the mound.
> 
> In the clean water tank, j-box is under cover, above high water alarm float.


 That's how mine is. Its a bad environment for any kind of jb or splice. I got about 10 years out of mine before the box crumbled away. 

When we do repairs, I put it back in the same location. Inside rots away, outside gets beat to death by lawnmowers usually.

Flower pot underground splice box might not be a bad idea

I've seen them different ways, female cord end on the uf to plug the pump into, receptacles, cord ends cut off the pumps and floats and spliced.

nothing lasts


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## Jack Legg (Mar 12, 2014)

MechanicalDVR said:


> Use a small pedestal or a pvc pool light deck box that has conduit entries on the bottom.


Good idea but the plumbers usually say "just give me a receptacle, I cant modify the cord or piggyback plug, no warranty if we do that"


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Jack Legg said:


> Good idea but the plumbers usually say "just give me a receptacle, I cant modify the cord or piggyback plug, no warranty if we do that"


If it has a plug run a 2" pvc sleeve into the top of the tank to a pedestal and feed the cord through it to a receptacle with an in use cover on the pedestal.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

Jack Legg said:


> That's how mine is. Its a bad environment for any kind of jb or splice. I got about 10 years out of mine before the box crumbled away.
> 
> When we do repairs, I put it back in the same location. Inside rots away, outside gets beat to death by lawnmowers usually.
> 
> ...



This is why you need to get the jb out of the tank.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I'm yet to send a septic ejector pump in for warranty, out it comes and right into the dumpster. Little disposable piles of garbage.

I don't even know how many in tank receps or j boxes I've ripped out.


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## telsa (May 22, 2015)

You need to totally re-think your whole approach.

Stop providing a receptacle just for the pump. Provide a 2-G receptacle for both the pump AND convenience power. The latter is pitched, by you, as being essential for the service tech and the owner's own use.

The extra expense of an in-use 2-G receptacle scheme is pitifully cheap.

It also means that:

You can mount a 2-G deep box with dual 3/4" hubs facing the ground, facing the top and one to the back, 5 in all.

One of the hubs is to be mounted to a GRC run, a stub mounted into a plug of concrete poured in place. ( one sack will do fine ) This will hold the puppy proud of the soil, firm and sweet. 

If corrosion is a nightmare, you can paint it with polyurethane, a couple of coats.

The other hub is used to bring in power from the Service panel// sub-panel. It can be PVC or GRC sprayed in polyurethane.

This entire prep can be performed back in your shop// shed and brought to the site.

If necessary, the first hub can also have a quarter-turn sweep running out of it... off to another load// alarm scheme.

Other than the first few feet, the entire raceway would be in PVC.

You'll find that the customer finds an in-use bubble covered receptacle to be MUCH more optically acceptable than otherwise.

A few flower pots located right behind this stub out can be most charming.

With double GFCI receptacles, inform the customer that he can shift the plug over should one device crap out, they being the weakest link in the system.

BTW, it's not a bad idea to CHAIN GFCI receptacles for this type of run. Should the gas crew trench across the underground feed, they'd trip the GFCI circuit number one.

That's a CHEAP way to provide an alarm circuit for power loss to this branch circuit, dontcha think ?


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

I've seen ejector pits with the integral J-box mounted to the side of the tank, with a separate cover.


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## te12co2w (Jun 3, 2007)

MechanicalDVR said:


> If it has a plug run a 2" pvc sleeve into the top of the tank to a pedestal and feed the cord through it to a receptacle with an in use cover on the pedestal.


 This one is what I have done several times. We get snow here, so I always recommend a riser of 3 '. Some are ok with that and some are not.


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## te12co2w (Jun 3, 2007)

MTW said:


> I've seen ejector pits with the integral J-box mounted to the side of the tank, with a separate cover.


 I have never see one of those, but I have seen pictures.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

te12co2w said:


> This one is what I have done several times. We get snow here, so I always recommend a riser of 3 '. Some are ok with that and some are not.


Yeah man! :thumbsup:

This is what covers them out her eon the shore:


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## te12co2w (Jun 3, 2007)

telsa said:


> You need to totally re-think your whole approach.
> 
> Stop providing a receptacle just for the pump. Provide a 2-G receptacle for both the pump AND convenience power. The latter is pitched, by you, as being essential for the service tech and the owner's own use.
> 
> ...


 That sounds ok. The factory cord caps would have to be removed in this scenario. Yes? That wouldn't worry me but it would void any warranty.


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

I haven't done one for years, but we used to mount them inside the tanks right where the cover was removed.

Installed plastic Jboxes with those little strain reliefs, sealing locknuts and silicone for the just in case you knew was gonna happen. We would just cut all of the cord ends off and then splice everything in the plastic box with weatherproof wire nuts.

I have no idea how long they lasted though, didn't work for that outfit long enough to know.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

te12co2w said:


> I have never see one of those, but I have seen pictures.


They are the cat's meow. Kind of a no brainer to use one.


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## JohnJ65 (May 8, 2008)

If there is only a pump and float switch I will usually install an Arlington Gard-n-Post with a outlet and WR cover next to the manhole. I will cut a notch in the manhole cover for the motor cord and float cord to come out. 

The ammonia in those tanks eats up copper like no tomorrow. 

Last summer I was asked to rework one which had high and low level alarms, a pump and float and an aerator pump for the first time. 

I installed a 12x12 PVC j box with the outlet inside and the 2" conduit into the side of the plastic tank like others have suggested in posts when I was searching. The 3/4" conduits go back to the alarm box that is attached to the side of the house. 

Just what I came up with, not pretty but it works.


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