pooperpumper pumping!

 

On our last trip to the cabin in February, we discovered that the sewer pipe had frozen. 

Say what?

We've heard of water pipes freezing, but sewer pipes? Yep: it's possible.

The cabin sits below the grade of the city sewer line. That means we have to pipe that poop uphill into the sewer. That requires a pooperpumper, a grinder pump in the basement, to grind and then pump that poop uphill into the sewer. Part of the plumbing involves a check valve that, upon the pooperpumper emptying the poop sump, the pump stops, the water in the pipe begins to reverse flow, and the check valve closes, preventing the poopwater in the pipe from sloshing back into the sump. That prevents triggering the pump to cycle over and over and also, I imagine, keeps sewer gases from seeping back into the house. However, it also keeps the pipe full of poopwater. Without a steady stream of new steamers, the pipe can freeze.

Theoretically, the pipe should be buried deep enough (below the frost line) to not have to worry about this, but the sewer line is shallow (~2 feet) at the street (and it is oftentimes exposed going down the hill after major rain events) and therefore more susceptible to freezing.

To solve this, the plumber installed a side valve that allows us to turn the pooperpumper off and then drain this pipe before we leave or when we winterize the place. When we come back, we can then turn the pooperpumper on and be on our way.

This is a bit of a drag since guests will have to do this on the fringe-of-winter months. We did find an awesome housekeeper that will be able to handle this (and she keeps the whole house). We should also be able to connect up a smart plug to be able to turn the pooperpumper on and off remotely, but we won't be able to open and close the valve remotely, at least not with more plumbing work. Regardless, it's all working again. 

I feel like we need to stay there a few more times to work out the bugs before turning it over to guests. One thing is clear: Although it's glorious to stay up there during the winter months, it sure is challenging with the driveway, the pipes, the snow and ice on the roof, and whatnot.