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Sewage Ejector Pump vs Sewage Grinder Pump: Which is Better for a Home or Small Business?

If you’ve got a home or a small business and need a sewage pump, you’re naturally going to want one that works, and hopefully works for a long time. But unless you’ve got significant plumbing experience or know someone who does, you might not know the first (or last) thing about your options: do you need a sewage ejector pump or a sewage grinder pump, and are the pros and cons of each? We’ll answer these questions and more in this article to help you figure out whether an ejector or grinder is the better choice for your residential or commercial environment. You can find our full list of recommended sewage pumps here.

What’s the best sewage pump for my home, townhouse, or duplex?

If you need a stsandalone sewage ejector pump, it doesn't get better than the Zoeller M267
If you need a stsandalone sewage ejector pump, it doesn’t get better than the Zoeller M267

If you’re the proud owner of a single family home, townhouse, or duplex, first of all, congratulations! Second, you won’t need a sewage pump at all unless you’ve either got a below-grade toilet (e.g., a basement toilet) or if you have a septic tank system. In both of these cases, there will already be a sewage pump installed in your home unless you’ve bought a distressed or gutted property. Whatever the reason, if you’re installing or replacing an existing sewage pump, your first big decision will be between installing a sewage ejector pump or a sewage grinder pump.

The P382LE51 is one of the best preassembled sewage pump systems currently on the market
The P382LE51 is one of the best preassembled sewage pump systems currently on the market

We typically recommend ejector pumps for most residential family-owned homes unless a.) you need to pump sewage a long distance to get to a gravity sewage main, b.) you need a lot of lift to get from your basement pipes to the discharge out of your home, or c.) you’re pumping into a pressurized sewage system. There’s another scenario, d.), if you have a septic tank and your family members frequently use your home’s toilets as trash cans (i.e., to flush things that shouldn’t be flushed), because this makes any toilet in your house a potential source of clogs rather than just the basement toilet. However, as it’s much easier to keep track of what your family members do than what tenants, employees, or customers do (see below), this scenario is the least risky.

Presuming you’re getting an ejector pump, you can choose between standalone units and pre-assembled sewage systems, which include the sewage basin and a few additional accessories. Pre-assembled systems cost more than equivalent-powered standalone pumps, but last longer and will also be faster to install and troubleshoot if you develop issues in the short or long term.

Our favorite  standalone sewage ejector pumps include the Zoeller M267 and Liberty Pumps LE51A. Our favorite pre-assembled systems include the Liberty Pumps P382LE51 and Liberty Pumps P372LE51.

Which sewage pump is most reliable and affordable for a small business (e.g., a restaurant, office, center, or company building)?

If you're serious about your small business, you'll want a sewage grinder pump like the PRG101A to keep it running 24/7
If you’re serious about your small business, you’ll want a sewage grinder pump like the PRG101A to keep it running 24/7

If you’ve managed to carve out a living with a small business, regardless of field or income, we tip our hats to you! It gets harder every day, and we have tremendous respect for anyone willing to give it a try. With that in mind, if you need a sewage pump, you’re going to want one that’s as cost-effective as possible, and in the world of sewage pumps, that means a grinder pump. Although they cost significantly more out of the box, they pay for themselves by providing decades of reliability, which is something you’re simply not going to get from ejector pumps without a lot of luck.

When your money is your livelihood, spending a few hundred dollars now to save tens of thousands over the next 10 to 20 years or more in plumbing fees, labor, and replacement pumps is a wise investment for any small business owner. A sewage grinder pump will be able to just about anything a sewage ejector pump can do, but it will also be able to process all kinds of things employees, clients, and customers shouldn’t flush down your toilets but do. We’re talking about feminine hygiene products, towels, rags, underwear, diaper wipes, diapers (yes, people do try to flush these), and pretty much any other fabric-based solid capable of fitting through pipes. Instead of stopping your pump cold by jamming the impellers and requiring an emergency plumbing call or several hours of excavation and cleaning with a shut down business, you can simply keep going  as your grinder churns through your clientèle’s bad judgment.

Our favorite standalone sewage grinder pumps include the Liberty Pumps PRG101A and Liberty Pumps PRG102A.

Are there any must-have accessories when buying a sewage pump for my home or small business?

If you have a financial interest in keeping your sewage system working for your small business (and if your customers and employees appreciate flushing toilets, you do), we’d recommend having a backup power system on hand for when power outages strike. For us, that means either an inverter generator or a large-capacity generator; they’ll also be able to power a range of appliances or utility pumps, such as the sump pump you’re depending on to keep your basement dry. You can buy a 3100 watt inverter generator here or a 3000 watt large-capacity generator here. We’d also recommend buying these even if you “only” want to keep your home’s sewage pump running; as noted, you’ll also be able to power appliances like your fridge and freezer, television, microwave, and sump or other drainage pumps, which can reduce the damage to your home or business during a flash flood by tens of thousands of dollars.

You can read our reviews on a range of recommended sewage pumps here. You can buy the Liberty Pumps PRG101A grinder here on Amazon. You can buy the Zoeller M267 here.

If you find our work at PumpThatSump helpful, you can put our relentless reviewing of every pump and fixture on the market to the test by shopping via our links above for whatever you need to make your house a home. Despite being self-employed, we promise not to spend it all on health insurance.

Sewage Grinder Pumps vs Ejector Pumps FAQ: What’s the Difference, and Which Do You Need?

We’ve reviewed a number of sewage pumps in the last year, including sewage grinder pumps and sewage ejector pumps. But what’s the difference between both kinds of pumps, and which kind is the better choice for your home or small business? We’ll answer both of these questions and more below. If you’re in a hurry, the long and short of it is that while both are designed to handle sewage (i.e., urine and feces), grinder pumps can also handle flushed trash, making them a better, though more expensive choice for crucial (e.g., commercial) situations; you can typically get away with an ejector for most residential situations.

What is a sewage ejector pump?

A sewage ejector pump is a submersible utility pump capable of processing solids. Essentially, it’s a beefed-up sump pump. They’re frequently described as high volume and low pressure solids handling pumps, because they can push sewage quickly  but without much pressure  from a home into a septic tank or a sewer main that operates by gravity flow. They don’t have grinding blades, but make use of quickly-rotating impellers that draw raw sewage vertically up and under pressure from the inlet to the outlet, which then connects to a discharge pipe.

A sewage ejector pump can typically handle solids up to 2 inches in diameter, and range in power from 3/10 horsepower to 2 horsepower. They can typically pump sewage at volumes of up to 10,000 gallons per hour (166 gallons per minute) for short distances (under 700 feet) with maximum head pressures of under 30 feet. They are sold as standalone models and as pre-assembled simplex or duplex systems (which include sewage basins). Pre-assembled systems are more expensive than equivalent standalone systems, but last longer due to their design and are also simpler to install. Overall, ejector pumps are cheaper than grinder pumps, which will be discussed in detail below.

Quality examples of standalone sewage ejector pumps include the Zoeller M267 and Liberty Pumps LE51A. Quality examples of pre-assembled systems include the Liberty Pumps P382LE51 and Liberty Pumps P372LE51.

What is a sewage grinder pump?

A sewage grinder pump is like an ejector pump on steroids.  Like ejector pumps, they’re designed to process sewage. However, unlike ejector pumps, they also include grinding blades (hence the name) designed to grind sewage and other objects into slurry and slush before discharging it. They’re frequently described as high pressure and low volume pumps because they’ll push sewage more slowly than ejector pumps but can do it for much longer distances, to much greater heights, and can support much higher pressures at the sewer main.

A sewage grinder pump can easily handle 2 inch solids, and will also be able to handle difficult artificial solids, like feminine hygiene products (pads, tampons, etc), rags, towels, diapers, diaper wipes, napkins, underwear, and a range of other things that shouldn’t be flushed down toilets but often are.  They range in power from 1 horsepower to several, and can typically pump sewage at volumes of up to 3,000 gallons per hour (50 gallons per minute) for very long distances (multiple thousand feet) with maximum head pressures of 40 to 120 feet or more.

Like ejector pumps, sewage grinder pumps are sold as both standalone units and as pre-assembled simplex or duplex systems with sewage basins. As with ejector pumps, pre-assembled systems will cost more but will also last longer and be easier to install. Overall, grinder pumps are more expensive than ejector pumps, but can typically do anything an ejector pump can do with greater longevity.

Quality examples of standalone sewage grinder pumps include the Liberty Pumps PRG101A and Liberty Pumps PRG102A.

Do I need a sewage ejector or grinder pump for my septic system?

The short answer is: it depends! As you can see, both types of pumps are used for handling sewage, but while their abilities can overlap to some degree, there are clear differences between the two that make them suited to different sewage environments.

If you own a single family home that connects to a municipal sewage system (the most common configuration), you won’t need a sewage pump at all unless you have a below grade plumbing system (e.g., a toilet or shower in the basement) that can’t drain into the city sewage pipes through gravity. In such a case, a sewage ejector pump will probably get the job done (pumping sewage against gravity) just fine. You might want to install a sewage grinder pump if whoever uses that toilet (e.g., your teenage children or in-laws) regularly flush things that shouldn’t be flushed. A grinder pump will keep such things from clogging the pump impellers.

Similarly, if you own a single family home but use a septic tank (a common occurrence in rural, out in the country environments), you’ll need a sewage ejector pump at the minimum to pump sewage to the tank. As above, you might want a full-on grinder if your family members are busy using your toilets as trash cans or garbage disposals. However, unlike with the below-grade toilet that runs to the municipal sewage system, your risk of clogging will exist with any toilet in your rural home, as they’ll all feed sewage to the septic tank through the sewage pump, making the pump much more important here than with the municipal below-grade scenario. This is the point at which we’d recommend most home owners buy a grinder pump instead of an ejector pump.

If you have a home located a long distance from a gravity sewer main, if you need a lot of lift (max head), or if you need to pump sewage into a pressurized sewage system, you’ll need a grinder pump, as these are all specialties of grinder pumps.

The best sewage pumps for landlords

If you’re a landlord and have tenants in their own single-family home or duplex situation and need a sewage pump due to below-grade or septic tank scenarios, save yourself some time and install a sewage grinder pump from the start. When it’s not your family, but groups of strangers, you can’t trust them to use your sewage system the way it was intended to be used, and the first time you get a call about a clogged toilet, you’ll either have to come over yourself or get a plumber to do so, and you’ll regret not having gotten a pump that acted as a 24/7 on-call plumber ahead of time. That’s the kind of security a good grinder pump can provide. Similarly, if you need to pump sewage for a long distance to a gravity drain sewer main or to a pressurized sewer main, you’ll again want a grinder pump from the start.

Choosing a sewage pump for a small business

Finally, if you’ve got a small business (e.g.a, a restaurant, a dental office, a counseling center, an accounting or tax company) and need a sewage pump, there’s no question that you’ll want a sewage grinder pump instead of an ejector pump. Your time is your money, and your money is your livelihood; spending a few hundred extra dollars now can save you tens of thousands over the years in plumber fees, labor, and replacement ejector pumps. And again, if your business is located a significant distance from a gravity sewage main, if you need a lot of head, or if you’re pumping into a pressurized system, you’ll need a grinder pump.

You can read our reviews on a range of recommended sewage pumps here. You can buy the Liberty Pumps PRG101A grinder here on Amazon. You can buy the Zoeller M267 here.

If you find our work at PumpThatSump helpful, you can support our relentless reviewing of every sump pump on the market by shopping via our Amazon link for whatever you need to make your house a home. Despite being self-employed, we promise not to spend it all on health insurance.