Frequently Asked Questions

A grinder pump is a submersible pump that collects wastewater from a building, grinds up the solids, and pumps it to the sewer system through small-diameter pipes.

A grinder pump may be needed if your community has a low pressure sewer system, your home is located below grade from the sewer line and you need to pump uphill, or your home is located far away from the sewer line and connecting by a gravity sewer line is not possible.

Grinder pump are also installed to serve the basement of a home when a bathroom, kitchenette, etc is added to a home and the wastewater needs to be pumped vertically.

All of the wastewater from the home (from toilets, sinks, dishwasher, washing machine, etc) flows by gravity into the tank. When wastewater reaches a certain level, the pump turns on automatically and pumps the wastewater to the sewer main. As it pumps the wastewater, it draws through a grinding mechanism, turning it into a slurry. The pump will turn off automatically.

No, the wastewater needs to be pumped to a sewer line or some form of treatment.

Typical operation is a total of 10 to 30 minutes per day for single-family residential homes. It is designed to turn on several times throughout the day (20 to 40 times for a single-family home), for 1 to 2 minutes each time. This will vary with water usage — the more water you use, the more often the pump will turn on.

A typical single family home uses approximately 250 gallons of water per day. The E/One will use between 9 and 20 kWh per month (60-240 kWh per year). Check your utility bill for the cost per kilowatt hour in your area. For example, if you pay 11 cents per kilowatt hour: $0.11 KWh x 120 KWh = $13.00 per year cost of electricity to operate the E/One pump.

The life expectancy of an E/One grinder pump is difficult to pinpoint. There are many variables that contribute to the life expectancy of a grinder pump, such as: proper installation, system design, system pressure, run time, and what items go down the drain and into the pump.

E/One grinder pump have been known to last well over 20 years in some cases. The published average mean time between service calls is 10 years.