Sunshine?

I learned it takes a village to fix a sewer system.  As I said, my sewer alarm went off fleetingly before Sister Connie came at the end of October.  I checked the sewer filter, pinched a finger while putting the concrete cover back in place, and the alarm had mysteriously stopped.  Since I was about to have company plus go into the hospital for a procedure plus get ready for midterm elections, I put off figuring out what might have caused the alarm until later. However, the morning after I got home from my procedure the alarm went off again and didn't stop.  I remembered from the plumber who had originally installed my system that I had approximately a week after the alarm before I'd better have the system pumped.  (He told me that and to never dump dead bodies into the septic system.)

The alarm is set off by a float in the septic system warning the first compartment is filling up w/ effluent and in danger of backing up into the house. (Yuck)  I'd just had the system pumped on it's regular 3 year cycle last year so I knew there was some bigger issue.   I called the Sewer Sucker company.  They came out the next day.  The worker sucked each compartment separately, cleaned all of the filters, and reported the system looked good (so to speak). The alarm though was still going off. He said there was no electrical current reaching the pump and suggested calling an electrician.

Found an electrical company who could come out by the end of the week.  Nice guy who thought maybe I'd had a lightning strike nearby.  He showed me the charred looking electrical connection.  He thought the Sewer Sucker company would fix bad pumps and/or defective floats but after calling his own company was told those kind of companies don't do that work anymore and neither do electricians.   The electrician fixed the charred electrical connection but the alarm was still going off.  He suggested calling an excavating firm.  

Called a local excavating firm who got back to me within a day.  Unfortunately that day was election day and I was pretty busy.  The caller said they don't work on septic electrical systems in the rain but Friday might be a dry day and they would come out then.  I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before the election - looked like I would be in for more truncated sleep nights until this got fixed.  The next day after the election I got a call  from the excavating company.  It looked like a few hours of dry weather.  Could they come out to fix my system?  (Need they ask?)  Super nice fellows who told me more than once they were soooo happy I'd had the system sucked ahead of time.  They thought my problem was a failing 20 year old pump and float.  They replaced them, tested the alarm system which now is quiet and only shines a green light,  and drove off w/ my thanks.  Talking w/ them I also found out, since it's only me here, after the system is sucked out it may take as long as a month before the systems fills enough to activate the pump again.  Sounds like it takes a village to fill my system too.