Private Pumping Station

giraffe69

I've never been in this position but would ring the water company to see what they have to say about it.

davidmcn

brentcloning wrote: »

If it's a couple of hundred quid every know and again to fix a pump, that's something I'm comfortable with. Would this be something that home insurance would cover if anything more serious happened?

If you mean the cost of cleaning up the sewage flood after the pump breaks down, yes. But not the cost of, say, replacing the pump because it's old and knackered.

ArchtiectBOX

I agree with the above, a new pump will be thousands, not hundreds.

AylesburyDuck

In your posts i've seen lots of "i'm guessing" i'm assuming",
What does your solicitor say is the next steps?
Surely you are paying him so you dont have to guess or assume!

brentcloning

In your posts i've seen lots of "i'm guessing" i'm assuming",
What does your solicitor say is the next steps?
Surely you are paying him so you dont have to guess or assume!

The solicitor has contacted the vendor to ask if they know any information although he mentioned that he thinks they'll tell him they knew nothing about it. He advised that a drainage survey would clarify things. I have contacted the water company to see if they knew why it wasn't adopted.



Really I was just asking if anyone has been in the same situation, is this an issue that should make me rethink wanting to buy the house, etc?

teneighty

The OP needs to wait and see exactly what is installed and how many properties the system serves.

I had a single domestic pumped system installed last year on a project, it was quite large as it had quite a high lift and long run to get to the nearest drain and the whole system including the chamber was £1500 so it is unlikely a new pump alone would be "thousands".

I've got a property on a shared private sewage treatment plant owned by the local council. I pay an annual charge to the council for the sewage treatment and when the time comes for maintenance the cost will be shared between the properties that are connected to it.

ProDave

ArchtiectBOX wrote: »

I agree with the above, a new pump will be thousands, not hundreds.

No it won't

The smallest pumping stations COMPLETE including the holding tank buried in the ground start at just over £500 https://www.drainage-systems-online.co.uk/domestic-sewage/?p=1

Sewage pumps start at £240 from this supplier picked at random https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/pumps/sewage-and-wastewater-pumps/sewage-pumps/hippo-vertical-discharge-pumps.html

So a bit more expensive than my grey water pump.

capital0ne

I had one for 12 years - no problems with it, but it was always a worry, for example power cuts, altho, there is a reservoir it has to empty every now and then, you definitely don't want it to overflow and ruin the electronics.
Next, be careful with what goes down the loo,, sink or washbasin, anythin like say a sock, material, a small chicken bone, wet-wipes, etc, will jam the masher (the grinder to smash up solids so the flow - nice!)
Also no fat or anything too greasy cold also jam it.
You need a good contractor to service it every year, topping up oil in the pump, checking electrics (water and electrics isn't a good environment). They must also have a 24hr emergency call out.
Next tell any visitor staying with you that you have a pump so they must not just chuck things down the loo like wet wipes, cotton wool, sanitary towels and so on.
Follow that and you'll be fine.
A new pump/masher (Flygt are an excellent make) cosy IRO £1500 plus of course fitting
Personally I would never buy a house with a sewerage pump, even though mine never had a problem.

EachPenny

ArchtiectBOX wrote: »

I agree with the above, a new pump will be thousands, not hundreds.

It depends entirely on the type of pumping station installed at the OP's intended purchase.

The first factor is whether it is a dry or wet well pumping station. Then whether the motor and pump are integrated or separate components. The cost is further affected by the design head requirement and volumetric capacity.

'Thousands' would be the typical budget for a pump in a mains sewerage pumping station serving a catchment of many hundreds of people. 'Hundreds' would be the typical budget for the pump in a small system serving a handful of properties.

But if there are especially challenging circumstances applying at the property the OP is looking at then the budget might need to be something around the £1000 mark. Unfortunately nobody other than the current owner of the property (possibly) has any idea about what a replacement pump might cost in this case.

brentcloning

The first factor is whether it is a dry or wet well pumping station. Then whether the motor and pump are integrated or separate components. The cost is further affected by the design head requirement and volumetric capacity.

Thanks for this information. I've decided the best thing to do is get a drainage survey done so that I know exactly what type of pumping station it is, and the maintenance cost associated with it. If it's in the 100s I'm comfortable with that.

Edit: I know that the pumping station is under a manhole, and that's most likely a We Well Pump station if my research is correct. I don't know if that's good or bad though.. xD