Caution! Electricity can be very dangerous, especially if you are inexperienced. Always use caution when working with electricity and turn off the power supply/circuit breakers when testing components or making any adjustments within the electrical system. If you are not 100% confident you can perform any of these tests safely, call a professional.
1. Grab your Sharpie! Write useful information on the control panel using a permanent marker. List pump amperage and voltage readings, model numbers, purchase and service dates, warranty expiration dates, etc. This can be very helpful when troubleshooting or when ordering new equipment.
2. Important documents. Keep copies of all documents and receipts in a common location. You would be surprised how much time and money can be saved by having all these details at your fingertips. Keeping records is almost like stashing money.
3. Manual operation. Most control panels these days have HOA (Hand/Off/Auto) or MOA (Manual/Off/Auto) switches. These switches allow a homeowner the ability to pump the system down and clear the annoying alarm. It can also buy time for the service tech to come out. Often times, sewer problems happen after business hours and using your HOA or MOA switch to pump the system down can save some serious money by avoiding an expensive after-hours emergency call at overtime rates. To run the pump manually, move the switch from the normal operating “A” position to the “M” or “H” position.
4. Visual Inspection. If problems occur with your system, the control panel is a great place to start looking. It doesn’t require any special skills to open a control box and perform a visual inspection looking for corrosion, disconnected wires, burned up parts or wires, tripped breakers, blown fuses, and even bugs or rodents. Save money by either making the repairs yourself if you are comfortable or by providing specific information for your technician about the problems you have discovered.
5. Clean it up. When you open a control panel it should be clean and tidy and free from debris. If you need to clean dust, dirt, bugs, etc out of your panel turn off the breaker and use a shop vac with a small nozzle to do the job. Also, try to identify the source of the debris and see if it can be fixed.
6. Avoid nuisance noises. When installing pump control panels with a motor contactor or VFD (Variable Frequency Drive), try to avoid installing on walls adjacent to living spaces. Contactors tend to make a thud when opening and closing. VFD’s tend to whine all the time. So having this installed opposite a bedroom or living room might be a nuisance for the person living there.
7. Silence the alarm. If you’re waiting for a technician and your alarm keeps going off simply turn off the breaker and disconnect one of the two wires that power the alarm speaker. Don’t forget to hook everything back up once repairs are made!
8. Test your alarm. The alarm should be tested regularly, just like you would with a smoke detector. The alarm is in place to protect your home from sewage backing up or leaking from the top of the tank.
9. Seal your panel. Always seal your conduit leading into the control panel. The vapor and gas from a septic tank can cause serious corrosion. Use products like duct seal, or other approved conduit sealing means.
10. Auxiliary alarm. Many control panels have auxiliary alarm contacts that allow for the placement of a remote alarm. If you are concerned you may not notice your septic alarm going off, utilizing the auxiliary contacts to place an alarm somewhere else might be the solution you need. This can be accomplished by running wires from the panel to a remotely located alarm or to a Wi-Fi alarm that can send alerts via text and/or email.
11. Separate control and pump circuits. Most pump control panels have the option to use separate circuits for controls and pumps. This is highly recommended as it provides much greater protection for the system owner. For example, separate circuit breakers will allow the alarm to work independently from the pump. With only a single circuit, if the breaker is tripped, the alarm will not have power and it may be too late to prevent damage by the time it is noticed.
If you have questions about Control Panels please do not hesitate to call our experts at 855.329.4519.