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View Full Version : Need a sink drain pump for high temperature



Polish Wizard
02-03-2023, 12:11 PM
I guess I can't ask a more odd question than this, but I'm sure I will sometime.

To clean various maple components I want to use very hot water, and that is only available in the block basement under a mobile home where my hobby maple project lives.
The main sewer drain to the septic system is roughly 4-5 feet above the basement floor.

I'm considering installing a single laundry tub, but I'll need to also install a drain pump to lift the grey water above the main sewer for gravity flow to take over.
I checked the hot water temp and found it around 130 degrees.

Most of the inexpensive drain pumps aren't capable of handling hot water, and certainly not as a continuous flow - or the internal thermal protector will apparently trip.
These all seem to be designed similar to a utility trash pump which to me means they rely on cool water flowing through them, as well as the housing being submerged, to keep the unit cool.

A friend mentioned a company called Saniflo since they make equipment approved by health departments for commercial use, but their equipment all require the unit be vented - and not just with a typical mechanical automatic vent.
This will be a problem for my application.

Has anyone had the need to install a similar system, and what did you use?

NhShaun
02-03-2023, 12:16 PM
As long as you have a good fine screen for the drain/pump feed you could probably get away with a pump used for beer brewing. Though it's only gray water you don't really need a "food grade" pump. But they are rated for pretty high temperatures and should be able to handle the 5 feet of head you are requiring. The flow should be plenty to keep up with your water source you are cleaning with, As long as you're not dumping a bunch of full buckets in at once.

Hillcrest Maples
02-03-2023, 06:10 PM
Could you drain into tractor supply style metal stock tank and just use a cheap harbor freight submersible sump pump once that water cools down?

Polish Wizard
02-04-2023, 09:52 AM
The beer wort pump is an interesting concept.
The usual inexpensive drain pumps (that don't require a vent) seem to rely on a built-in electric switch to sense head pressure in the drain pipe between the sink bowl and the pump body ---
requiring a certain length of pipe to hold sufficient water volume (weight= head pressure).
Not sure how to make a suitable on/off switch for this beer pump concept that won't have the pump running dry.

The other style of drain pumps (that require a vent) look like they are basically a bucket with a lid -- all to enclose a fairly normal trash pump with float switch.
I don't know what makes them more capable of handling hot liquids.

Simplest (and most obvious) idea is to cut back the water temperature to meet the cheaper drain pumps' max 120 degree limit and hope for the best in pump function and cleaning abilities.