Last fall we had a full bathroom installed in the basement. It drains into a grinder/sump in a barrel (I think it is a 30 gallon drum) dug into the basement floor. It pumps up into the main sewage line which goes out to the septic system in the yard.

Also feeding in to the main sewage line from the first floor of the house is a kitchen sink, bathroom sink, toilet, shower, and clothes washer drain. There is a vent line from the main sewage line that extends through the roof.

When the system was first installed, we noticed that at times the bathroom toilet upstairs would siphon (drain) when the sump pump ran. Not every time, but often. The installer told us that air was working out of the system, and that the problem would go away.

That was the status for most of the winter. Now that spring has hit, things have gotten much worse. Now water is being blown out of the traps in the kitchen sink and bathtub, and the toilet is burping large bubble of gas (and if you flush the upstairs toilet at the same time that the sump starts running, you get a small fountain) and then siphoning.

The plumber has been giving us a hard time about coming out and inspecting the system.

Is this a case of:

Needing to clear the vent pipe with a plumbers snake?
A problem with the septic holding tank?
A problem with the install?

Any advice you can give me is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Joe

 

A problem with the install, sounds like a venting problem.