Washing machine pump maintenance advice

DocQuincy

During summer we had our washing machine plumbed in in the cellar and it has a macerator pump fitted (Grundfos Sololift2 C 3).

While the electrics were being sorted (rewiring was done for other work carried out at the same time) the plumber had left the pump switched off and not told us. We put a wash on and caught it part way through. The washing machine was draining into the pump — which was not on and water was escaping. We switched off the washing machine and I bailed two buckets of water out (maybe 20l or so). Thankfully, the corner the washing machine is in is on a slight decline and the water collected in the corner without getting any of the things we have stored down there wet.

I know modern washing machines use less water but it does make me wonder if the the pump breaks in the future and leaks out a full wash cycle worth of water without us noticing, while it likely wouldn't be an insurance claim, it would be a pain to have to deal with if it's much more water that what I cleared up before.

I just wanted some general advice really since I've never had a pump like this before:

1. What is the average lifetime of a pump like this? Would you replace it after x number of years even if it hasn't broken down?
2. The person who fitted it says it shouldn't need any maintenance. Is this true? Do they not need checking every so often for accumulation of material? I have checked the manufacturer's website but can't find anything.
3. Is there anything I can do to mitigate the amount damage from water escape in case of failure? According to the spec on the site it has “Venting valve with overflow protection”. What is this? It does look like there is one unused bit you can connect a pipe to. Is it possible to gravity feed overflow to a bucket underneath or something? Sorry, I know nothing about these things so that may be a silly question.
   

Thanks.

FreeBear

DocQuincy said: Is there anything I can do to mitigate the amount damage from water escape in case of failure?

You can get an assortment of alarms that detect escaping water. If the macerator has a holding tank, a simple float alarm should work quite well. It could be wired up so that if the water level rises, it sounds an alarm and kills the power to the washing machine.

Section62

DocQuincy said:

1. Is there anything I can do to mitigate the amount damage from water escape in case of failure?
   

If the only thing connected is the washing machine then using a macerator with no failure protection is a bit of an odd approach to start with.  Even with maintenance you can never predict when a failure might happen.

In preference I'd use a 'dirty' rated lift pump, with fully sealed pipework. That way if the additional pump failed or was switched off the washing machine pump wouldn't be able to empty the contents of the drum all over the floor.

Alternatively the washing machine could be adapted/connected to a controlled electrical supply interlocked with a float switch so the washing machine pump is stopped if the macerator/second pump has failed.  But that would need some expertise to set up and would be beyond the skills of the average plumber/electrician.

DocQuincy

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not really sure what to do, if anything, and how much it would cost.

The company we used have a very good reputation in the local area so if this needs doing I am surprised they didn't recommend anything.

Is having a float alarm or lift pump a) expensive and b) something your average plumber can do?

I will take a another look at the pump as I am wondering if the “overflow protection” would allow a simply pipe to be connected that can control where the water flows to. As I said, it does look like there is an unused connection but this may be nothing to do with it. That would surely be cheaper since we'd just be talking a pipe and container. I might see if I can contact the manufacturer direct.

Since this is in the cellar an escape of water isn't too bad — but surely people run these in upstairs bathrooms, etc where a leak would be far more destructive.

knightstyle

Had a washing machine in a cellar years ago and had it empty into a dustbin, also had a small pump with a float switch in the dustbin pumping the water up into a drain.Worked well for years and if there were problems with the pump we could see the dustbin was not emptying. It took about 3 washes to fill the bin and we could empty it with buckets if necessary.