Hi Amy, We're doing shell beans, so I just caught your question on a bit of a break. I often macerate fruit overnight and see no problem doing that. I do refrigerate at this stage. It may not be necessary, but it suits my comfort level. (Not so much safety as quality.) One thing with peaches. I would be sure I had some ascorbic acid in the mixture for preservation of color. For a standard batch I'd stir in no more than 1/4 tsp. Any more than that and you risk bitterness. Even with lemon juice I'd add the ascorbic. Not necessary for something like raspberries, etc. but peaches and apricots are especially susceptible to browning. Carol

I did a quick search on Google using the search term septic tank and macerator and came up with a link to saniflo. If you read the page twoards the bottom you will find this, They are environmentally friendly; using less water than a normal toilet system. Ecology wise, the macerator could be seen as a primary sewage treatment system and a septic tank and/or municipal sewage treatment system as a secondary treatment I would assume from that statement they can be used with a septic tank. Plus if I remember correctly septic tanks have baffles to keep the solids from the leech field. Here is a link that might be useful: saniflo macerator

Before we begin I would like to clarify one point. The requirement to run a separate vent through the roof is not a manufacturers specification; it is a code requirement, which in this case is being emphasized by the manufacturer. You may run the vent in the manner you describe subject to some rules. 1. The vent must rise vertical from the sewage ejector containment until it reaches a point that is at least 6" high than the flood level rim of the highest fixture served by the ejector. You stated that you are using the ejector for a bathroom group (tub/shower, lavatory & watercloset) therefore the highest flood level rim would be the lavatory countertop. 2. At the top of that vertical riser you must install a "Sanitary Tee" with the horizontal line connecting on the side inlet and you must install a thread adapter and cleanout plug on the top of the sani-tee. 3. The horizontal line from the vertical riser to the outside wall must be run with a " per foot pitch rising upwards from the vertical line to the outside wall. The horizontal line must be supported at not more than 48" increments. 4. To prevent frost closure the horizontal line must be increased to 3" at least one foot inside the structure. (Some jurisdictions require 4" to prevent frost closure, check your local AHJ). 5. If the line will be passing through a masonry wall the line must be sleeved. To make a sleeve you first install a short piece of line at least one nominal trade size larger than the desired pipe through the wall and extending out a minimum of 1" on either side. The sleeve may be sealed to the wall by any suitable means, I.E. cement, tar/pitch, expansion foam, etc. 6. Once the desired line is passed through the sleeve the space between the inner wall of the sleeve and the external wall of the desired pipe must be filled with expansion foam. 7. On the end of the horizontal line you must install a Wye & 1/8 bend or Combo with the side opening in the vertical position and a thread adapter and cleanout plug on the exterior end of the horizontal line. (Careful here, you must use a Wye & 1/8 bend or Combo. A sanitary tee would be prohibited here). 8. Some jurisdictions will permit running an exterior vent line however that is becoming more and more rare and in all cases it detracts from your overall property value, however if you enclose it in a race as you suggest it is then considered an integral part of the structure and you will be okay. 9. If the total developed length of the vent line exceeds 40Â you must increase all line sizes by one nominal trade size. 10. After the vent line passes through the roof it must continue upwards at least 6" above the roof or in region subject to snow, 6" higher than the listed average snowfall for your jurisdiction. (The measurement is to be taken on the vertical line from the high side of the roof slope to the top of the line.) 11. If your house is built close to the edge of your property be careful here, the vent opening must be a minimum of 10Â horizontal from the closest property line. 12. A vent must terminate a minimum of 7Â higher than the floor of any deck within 10Â horizontal. Having said that, you should also be aware of the rules regarding where you can terminate the sewage ejection pump discharge line. Sewage ejector pumps used in residential service usually have a 1-1/2 or 2" discharge line and many people assume that they may connect it to any 1-1/2" or 2" drain line in the structure but such is not the case. Keep in mind that the discharge from the sewage ejector is propelled by a pump therefore the gravity flow line receiving the discharge from the pump must be larger in order to handle the volume by means of gravity flow. The code gives us some very strict requirements when sizing the discharge lines. Under the IRC sewage ejector pumps must be rated at the actual gallon per minute of the pump or 14.2GPM, whichever is greater. Once we know the Gal/min rate of the pump we must assign a value of 1.5DFUÂs (drainage fixture units) for each gallon per minute from the pump, therefore the minimum DFU load would be 14.2gpm x 1.5dfu = 21.3DFUÂs. We must then compute the pre-existing load on the gravity flow line and add that value to the sewage ejection pump load value to determine the combined load. Under the IRC a 3" horizontal branch line is rated for a maximum of 20DFUÂs therefore we cannot connect the sewage ejector to a branch line. Under the IRC a 3" main drain or house sewer line is limited to a maximum of 42DFUÂs. This means that if your house has a 3" main drain and sewer line all existing fixtures in the house may not exceed 20.7DFUÂs. Now let us consider the existing load: Lavatory 1dfu Tub 2dfu Shower 2dfu Tub/shower combo 3dfu Watercloset (1.6gpf or less) 3dfu Watercloset (greater than 1.6gpf) 4dfu Bidet 1dfu Kitchen sink 2dfu Laundry standpipe 2dfu Laundry sink 2dfu Bar sink1dfu From this table you will be able to compute the pre-existing load on your house main drain line. If the pre-existing load exceeds 20.7dfuÂs you cannot install a sewage ejector pump system unless your house main drain and house sewer lines are 4". Note: The Uniform Plumbing Code uses different DFU values for fixtures and pipes but in the end it works out exactly the same.

"Did my builder take a short cut?" Water doesn't run uphill, what is a better option in your opinion? What indicator did you notice that the builder might have cheaped out?