How To Wire a Septic Tank Pump & Alarm System 

Probably the best video I’ve found as far as electrical for Aerobic septic system. Thank you very much.

Good for you knowing how to do all of this and explain it at your age, impressive 👏💪

You have the best tutorials on how to install things. This video and your others have saved me much money and time.

Awesome video, just what I needed.

Great video! I always wanted to learn how the septic alarm works. This is a perfect video for it. Now I just need to learn how to add a wifi plug so I don’t have to run to the basement to turn off the alarm every time. My septic alarm goes off pretty often. I checked everything out, but they all seemed to look fine. Thank you Ben.

Great video. I'm getting read to build a house and am going to have to put in a sewer grinder pump for the public service line. The quote they gave me was over $6,000 for the pump, basin, excavation, pipe, and wiring. That was crazy so I'm doing it myself. My plan is pretty similar to yours with the electrical box setup. Very nice video and will help me out a lot. Thanks!

Where is the link for the box?

Thanks ben im an electrical contractor trying to learn how to wire septics. I know all the codes and that there needs to be 2 dedicated circuit so i appreciate your videos

Great Tutorial. Helped me a lot. Thanks.

Thanks for good tutorial.

Thanks Ben! this was a great video. I've had my septic wiring splicing always rotting out on me for years. I've used your idea almost to a T and moved all connections out of the tank using the same box enclosure with the receptacle and it turned out great.

Nice video bud. My only concern is you have groundwater coming into your pump chamber. Once you start using it your leach system is going to get overloaded and it will cut the life of the system in half. Might want to spend a little and seal it then spend a lot to replace it down the road

I've scene electrical outlets "weather tight" style outlets with the covers over them installed inside the riser of the septic tank itself and they will slice the cover for the wiring to fit with cover shut. I always laugh when I see that cause after a few years they burn out. But I realy like this idea spcialy where your tanks are in the woods kinda and having that post with the box isn't such a eye soar in the middle of a customer's yard. Makes changing out a pumpnor Floats much easier in the future

Thanks for the video!

#2 Breaker Spot for the pump for the #2... poetic

Did you just run screws directly through the back of the enclosure box into the post? And then screws through the back of the single gang box into the enclosure box?

Great looking install. But there should be no opening for ground water to enter the tank. If there were, effluent from the septic tank would leach into the soil without going through the filter bed.

Excellent Do you just snip the bare ground on the alarm wire at the junction point outside in the box ? Thank you

I seen many electricians...but you are going to go far..and ty for this video...i was having trouble...and if you could pla tell me what's inside the piggy back.switch😎⚡

Did you run your two wires in conduit the whole way back to house or just for risers?

Hello Ben & Y-tubers---great video & entertaining helper ! Wonder if you or someone could shed some light on what I'm trying to do. I have a new septic pump; and want to hardware a simple monitor light (placed inside the house) so I know (can see) at a glance if the float switch has stuck on from crud in the tank. This has happened before---luckily I caught in time before the pump burned out. I have a Siemens 220V LED light--2 wires coming off it. My prob IS---I've tried to wire that light to the float switch--so that the light comes on when the PUMP comes on---then goes out when the pump stops. I've tried MANY combinations of connecting those 2 wires from the light to the float switch AND the pump power cord with no luck. I even opened up the relay part of the float switch; and tried the various combinations of connecting the light with no luck. IOW's--I've played with hooking up the 2 wires from the light to various combinations of the black, white & green wires on both the pump power AND the float switch--can't get that light to come on when the pump kicks in. Any feedback / help from ANYONE would be most appreciated !!! Thx in advance

How deep did you bury the feed wire?

Good video

Nice job and clearly explained....

I see u bought a zoeller 267. I can tell u exactly whet to expect from it. Water leaks into the switch compartment & corrodes the non-water resistant float switch & relay (if it's a 3 phase motor) & all the electrical connections. I just bypassed the float switch, replaced the relay & sealed everything best I could with silicone. Hoping for another 5 years from it.

Hey there, any chance you could point me to where I could buy an exterior enclosure similar to the one you used? Thank you.

Ben, I don't know what state you live in, but I'm in New Hampshire, and this is not how you wire an Effluent Pump & Pump Alarm. In fact, as a Septic & Sewer Professional with 20 years of experience, I can tell you in all honesty, I have probably done over a thousand pump installations, and it's always best to "hard wire" all of the electrical connections inside the Electrical Junction Box. In other words, no plugs or outlet inside the box, which means you cut the plugs off the ends of the cables. By the way, you should absolutely run the Electrical Conduit into the bottom of the Weatherproof or Watertight Junction Box, and the Duck Seal you used outside the box, goes inside the box, and I always use weatherproof or waterproof wire nuts, which you did not do. Cutting a slot or slit in the bottom of the box for the cords or cables is not a good idea, and is certainly not how the pro's do it. Not to mention, you installed your Electrical Box too high, because you hardly have any cable for the Alarm Float inside the box, and typically you need about 6 inches. Plus, the Pump Alarm Float is low voltage anyway, and doesn't require a 14 gage wire, you could use bell wire or thermostat wire... it's just activating a switch. Again, I'm in the Northeast United States, and here in New England, we worry about snow and below freezing temperatures, which is why it's definitely a good idea to install all the electrical outside the Pumping Station or Pump Chamber, and using a pressure treated 4x4 or 4x6 is the way to do it. That part of your work is correct, and although the Electrical Box you used is much larger or bigger than I would use, that's not a problem either. I'm glad too see everything is easily accessible for future service, so to be fair, you did do some good things. Nevertheless, you really want separate dedicated circuits for both the Pump and the Pump Alarm, with nothing else plugged into the outlet for the alarm, and in case of a power outage, I recommend a generator to all my customers. Keep in mind, when the power goes out the Pump won't work, and if you have a well, you won't have water either, but a generator can power both the Septic System and the well.

How would I wire an alarm to a pump that only has the float switch and not a secondary float ? Thanks

This is a very nice video. Thank you. Please do not allow kids near stuff like this. It's a risky thing to do as we know that kids can put themselves into trouble in a jiffy - Wam!

Hello Benjamin: Please tell me the brand name and model number (or part number) of the electrical box enclosure that you are using. Thank you very much, Paul

Thanks, my septic pump will trip the ground fault after only be in the tank about two and 1/2 years... But if a plug the pump into a non- GFCI, the septic pump works and drains all of the sewer water.....

My alarm was ripped out by accident, is the alarm basically just to tell you when the tank is ready to be emptied? I don’t have money to get it re wired in. You think if I just get my tank emptied every 2 years I’ll be ok for now not to replace the alarm?

Great video! Do you have to use two separate wires for the pump and alarm or can you tie into the pump wire with the alarm wire?

SQUIRREL 🐿

I'M BAFFLED: Perhaps somebody can explain how the pigtail outlet works. It is just a plain outlet with a break in the Line conductor. This break can be closed by an "ON" float switch. There is no relay in the pigtail cord. When the "ON" switch completes the circuit, current flows through the pump since the pump float is up. But why doesn't the power stop as soon as the "ON" float drops a bit? What we want is for the current to flow until the pump float drops and the tank is emptied. If there is a way to accomplish this without the use of a simplex control panel I want to do that instead of replacing my broken and expensive control panel.

It looks like Home Depot installed

It's named UF WIRE if you're going to do the Work get familiar with the material.. Also you cannot run UF within a conduit that's why is named UF.. Need to understand the NEC.. before doing any electrical work. Any wires being used in a septic tank needs to be Yellow Jacket wire. The recepticle should be a GFCI weather resistant receptacles not a household receptacle, and if it's named weather resistant is to be daisy chained with a GFCI.

Geez. Keep your kid away from the open tank! Omg if he ever fell in there you’d never get him out on time!

I would use tamper resistant screws and or bolts to hold on all septic system covers in place. Once in use the system will produce toxic gases. Children should never be able to get into a system cover. Children could be overcome by fumes if they were to fall in and possibly drown. Young adults may be developmentally capable of understanding the risks a septic system involves - children are not and should not be exposed to systems. Please put your child’s safety first. Teach topics at developmentally appropriate ages.

SQUIRREL!!!

This is absolutely terrible. Hire an electrician and do it right.

I'm sure you've got some people confused. You called the alarm wire low voltage then you called it the wire coming from the house. Yes it is coming from the house but you should have shown the receptacle being wired up and explained that is where the main power is coming from. Don't get me wrong this was a great video but most people watching this are probably looking for nohow and they may be confused.

Good video