Septic woes

[kpinnc 16,220]

Just now, Handy Don said:

If that were me, I’d make sure to hide the evidence and flush the other sock

 

Exactly how my knuckleheads think! 

 

Leave no evidence! Mom made dad a cake? The only way they voluntarily wash the dish it was on! 

[rmaynard 16,699]

22 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

I should add that if one relies upon a garbage disposal unit to get rid of kitchen scraps, that can require more frequent septic pumping, as a lot of food scraps break down very slowly. It may help to use a septic-type disposal that grinds food into smaller particles to aid digestion, but it's still better to compost kitchen scraps rather than rely on a disposal unit.

 

'Do not put anything into a disposer that you would not eat yourself', is what my plumber told me when we got our first garbage disposal. 

Also, my septic tank has no filters or screen. Just seems like something that was thought up to create another wasted cost for a homeowner.

[Blue Chips 410]

57 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

'Do not put anything into a disposer that you would not eat yourself', is what my plumber told me when we got our first garbage disposal. 

Also, my septic tank has no filters or screen. Just seems like something that was thought up to create another wasted cost for a homeowner.

 

Good advice on what to run through the disposal and what not to put through it.

 

Regarding an effluent filter on the outlet of a septic tank, it's not mandated everywhere, but it's highly recommended. It protects the drain field by blocking solids suspended in the water that could clog the drain field and shorten its life. Not all solids float or sink to the bottom; a lot are suspended in the water and can escape the basic separation process and make their way into the drain field. Here's a quick explanation of TSS (total suspended solids) and why a filter is a good idea:

 

https://septic.barnstablecountyhealth.org/sample_parameters/view/total-suspended-solids  

 

I've seen first-hand the glop that the filter catches, and I would not want that in my drain field. Filters are typically made of plastic and are washable and reusable. They are not expensive and it only takes a few minutes to change or clean the filter when you check (or pump) the septic tank. If you don't have a filter on the outlet of the septic tank, one can be easily retrofitted.

 

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 02:15 PM by Blue Chips

[peter lena 9,559]

@kpinnc  usually have mine pumped out  every 4-5 years , just the 2 of us , also  regularly add  a concentrate   cleaner /  enhancement , over holiday  times , been here  45 years  with  no  real issues , also  have a  note pad  on cellar wall  , for  any  problem  or  related  service date .   my central  a/c  is also in the cellar  , great for regular service  , and  note sheet  , for upcoming  filter change and coil  flush down .  installed that while still working  30 +  years ago , stay after it , pete

[WHX?? 53,356]

How they build them these days is so much different from years ago. Mine was put in the early 80s and nothing like what's done now. You guys probably know this but they are sized by no. Of bedrooms. Pumper dude told me once a municipal system is 90% efficient. Ours are 30 at best. 

Interesting about the butt wipe KP... i never used to use septic safe but never had a problem. That's all she tries to buy now. I don't use septic safe stuff in the camper and it comes out completely disintegrated. Just assumed it did that in the tank. 

[Handy Don 15,218]

1 hour ago, WHX?? said:

it comes out completely disintegrated. Just assumed it did that in the tank. 

Do you put that blue stuff in the camper tank? That fosters breakdown.

[ohiofarmer 3,383]

they made me put in a 2000 gallon tank. Also put in a split leach bed that you are supposed to switch each half year . when you flush 1.6 gallons, the flush water goes about three feet I would suppose. Total of 1800 feet of leach line plus another 200 feet of perimeter line. 

  I built the entire thing myself with the backhoe at extreme limits of reach and shoveling the last bits out to level things up. I made custom rebar holders to hold the pipe elevations true while I backfilled the trenches with gravel. made the holders from motorcycle tubes as heavy duty rubber bands.

  The septic tank was priced with delivery and install and the guys said I did a great job

[kpinnc 16,220]

5 hours ago, rmaynard said:

Also, my septic tank has no filters or screen. Just seems like something that was thought up to create another wasted cost for a homeowner.

 

Actually I like the filter. It's just a screen in front of the leech entry, so it greatly reduces the amount of solids that may get into the leech line in case the solids tank is overfilled. 

 

My water side was relatively clear, but my filter had some sludge on it, which means the filter kept it in the tank. Since cleaning the leech system requires additional work (and expense), I'm glad my filter is there. 

[Racinbob 12,431]

The state requires baffles on both the inlet and outlet around here. I like it because there are no filters to maintain and they are very effective in keeping the floating scum out of the leech field and are no maintenance. We had it pumped and inspected when we bought the place in 2019 and probably will again come summer just for piece of mind. The tank and leech field are way overkill for this house, especially with mainly just the two of us. I have never been one to dump any of the aftermarket snake oils in it and never will. I agree a properly maintained system will take care of itself. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Racinbob

[WHX?? 53,356]

6 hours ago, Handy Don said:

blue stuff in the camper tank?

No just the no stink powder but we never fece in the camper ... just midnight pee. She uses tp ... KP.s three women thing I guess. 

 

I didn't have any of that interior piping Bob. Just a concrete slab where the red line is. Slab is laying at the bottom of the tank now and will forever. When pumper dude saw it he had me go down there and pound 3" pvc in the outlet and add that outlet tee with the drop tee. Fairly easy at the time. I didn't add the inspection cleanout but could have there was a concrete plug right above it. There was other concrete plugs presumably for optional inlets that I then  hyromented in as that's where roots were coming in. I took it upon myself to add the tee  & grade cleanout where the inlet is but pumper told me not to add the down pipe. He then ran his suck hose all the way down the drain field & could hear stones getting sucked up. 

 

So what he does is drop a clear tube down to check how much sludge is on the bottom. If over so many inches he has to pump it. For a extra $125 of course. if not he doesn't have to pump it and save  me money. Since we are empty nesters there never is over a inch but I have him pump it anyway and look around in there with his mirror. Some pumpers now they have a camera and can even look down the drain fields. 

6 hours ago, kpinnc said:

I'm glad my filter is there. 

Is the manhole right over that filter? Is it like a big plastic screen?

I don't have any of that but new systems do. Buddies newer system even has some kind of basket filter thingy ??? at he inlet. I think he might even have two separate tanks? 

Edited 16 hours ago by WHX??

[kpinnc 16,220]

58 minutes ago, WHX?? said:

I don't have any of that but new systems do. Buddies newer system even has some kind of basket filter thingy ??? at he inlet. I think he might even have two separate tanks?

 

The right side of your diagram looks just like my tank, T split and all. The left side has no T and there is a 3/4 petition wall between the two. The filter is just a plastic strainer that fits most of the length of the side going to the leech field. You just turn it 90 degrees and it comes out for cleaning. 

[Beap52 1,749]

When the toilet paper shortage was at it's peak, I worked for a landlord whose renters began using paper towels--cheaper and available but not sewer pipe friendly.  He added a clause to the  rental contracts that sewer line blockage removal may be added to the renter's charges.

 

In our subdivision of nine houses, two of us have expensive septic systems because for some reason our soil didn't perk however our neighbors could utilize the typical single tank systems.  Ours had two tanks, one the black water that flows into a gray water tank that  has an electric pump that pumps the water into two inch lines that the installer drilled small holes at pre-determined distances in.  We've had no significant problems in the past twenty years and have had the black water pumped only once five or six years ago. One of the disadvantages of the pump in tank, is that occasionally the float will hang up and the alarm will let the neighbors know that I'll soon be popping the top off of the tank to dislodge the float.

 

Below is a filter that I clean twice a year that goes between the two tanks. I prefer to clean, which I did a couple of minutes ago, during the cold season over the middle of summer due to insects (some kind of nasty little flies)  that seem to thrive in the hold I have to reach down into to unscrew the filter. 

[Beap52 1,749]

13 hours ago, WHX?? said:

No just the no stink powder but we never fece in the camper ... just midnight pee. She uses tp ... KP.s three women thing I guess. 

 

I didn't have any of that interior piping Bob. Just a concrete slab where the red line is. Slab is laying at the bottom of the tank now and will forever. When pumper dude saw it he had me go down there and pound 3" pvc in the outlet and add that outlet tee with the drop tee. Fairly easy at the time. I didn't add the inspection cleanout but could have there was a concrete plug right above it. There was other concrete plugs presumably for optional inlets that I then  hyromented in as that's where roots were coming in. I took it upon myself to add the tee  & grade cleanout where the inlet is but pumper told me not to add the down pipe. He then ran his suck hose all the way down the drain field & could hear stones getting sucked up. 

 

So what he does is drop a clear tube down to check how much sludge is on the bottom. If over so many inches he has to pump it. For a extra $125 of course. if not he doesn't have to pump it and save  me money. Since we are empty nesters there never is over a inch but I have him pump it anyway and look around in there with his mirror. Some pumpers now they have a camera and can even look down the drain fields. 

Is the manhole right over that filter? Is it like a big plastic screen?

I don't have any of that but new systems do. Buddies newer system even has some kind of basket filter thingy ??? at he inlet. I think he might even have two separate tanks? 

Fifty years ago the contractor I worked for built a septic tank, on site, out of poured concrete for a house we were building.  He laid a cement block wall where the red line is.  The porous cement block wall was to act as a filter to keep solids from entering the lateral line field.  I don't remember if he left a block out in the wastewater area to allow transfer of the water or if the entire wall was was cement blocks. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Beap52
additional thoughts

[8ntruck 8,347]

I've got a time bomb in our septic system.  A couple years ago the inlet line to the tank was plugged.  Turns out that the pipe was also cracked just before it entered the tank.  Called a plumber to get the pipe replaced.  

 

As the plumber was sizing the job up, we discovered that the inlet line was 2" LOWER than the line to the drain field, making the working water level half way up the inlet pipe!  I'm  glad that I didn't open the clean out plug in the basement.

 

Seems the system was installed that way.  We dug through the paperwork  and found the papers related to the install.  The neighbor kind of chuckled and said that the contractor was probably drunk at the time and didn't set the tank deep enough.

 

So, I've either got to raise the inlet pipe 3 or 4 inches, starting inside the house, or put a crock and lift pump between the house and tank.