septic field frozen

   / septic field frozen #81  
Hey all,
I need some additional advice, I live in Canada where it gets to -30 Celsius during the winter months . .

V8. I read your thread current up to today's date. But most of the contributors good intentions seemed to defy the simpler logic in my opinion.

Lets start with the Canadian winters. I live in southwest Wisconsin. Last winter was a cold year and we saw frost down from 6 to 6.5 feet. In Rochester MN they had 7+ feet of frost. This year was far warmer than last . . yet we had nearly 6 feet of frost again. You can't insulate a septic field . . Septic fields work because they "cook" . . not because they avoid cold.

V8 . . A couple of questions you asked posters were smart points. Like why is the field ice If the line from tank to field is potentially frozen? Nobody answered that did they lol.

I read 4 pages on this thread and one of the best posts was at the end before I posted. It was: from

"jix" "Soft water requires salt..salt is antibacteeriologic, ergo if you run a salt-type water softener backwash into your septic tank, you kill the heat producing bacteria. (and get your DF laterals plugged.) Salt backwash must NOT go into the septic system! "

I personally have no reason to consider that you use too little water. Too little water doesn't freeze a field but too little bacteria will.

No one has asked you a simple but important question. In the winter . . is your septic tank covered with snow? If it is . . and you can't see the vent pipe . . then your bacteria are not "cooking"

enough to generate any heat to melt the snow on the vent pipe.

A good septic system sends water to the septic field. But its more than just water . . . its bacteria water . . and it continues to work in the field pipes and in the field exhaust. That's why septic field grass is always green there (water and fertilizer).

Whether its salt or soap or bleach or antibacterials or etc. etc. it doesn't sound like you have enough "cook" going on. There are several solutions possible and none include digging.
 
   / septic field frozen #82  
having the septic tank pumped once a year is necessary, too..to keep solids out of the field laterals..no flow causes freezing, if you failed to do this, have the laterals flushed at 500 gals per minute by a pro. a crushed drain tile can be the issue. if that is the case, flushing the laterals will reveal that.
 
   / septic field frozen #83  
having the septic tank pumped once a year is necessary, too..to keep solids out of the field laterals..no flow causes freezing, if you failed to do this, have the laterals flushed at 500 gals per minute by a pro. a crushed drain tile can be the issue. if that is the case, flushing the laterals will reveal that.

I am confused by your statement. The writer had a new septic system (couple years old). There should be no way for to get past the tank . . because that is what the multi chamber tanks prevent . . plus the screen to catch anything. The need to pump a tank every year would indicate a failure of the system entirely. To have solids in the laterals would mean the lift pump would be able to do something other than fluid pumping . . Which it can't and that drain back when the pump is off would be able to flow solids back . . which it can't. I don't understand how solids could ever get in laterals in a pump up mound system. Your tank would be backed up.
 
   / septic field frozen #84  
Whoa Axelhub..I said it becoz it is almost always so...not always so. Yes, you do need to pump septic tanks routinely. How often depends on how big it is, how much goes into it, what goes into it, whether it is connected to a garbage disposal, and how much paper is used, yada yada.
Now, by your leave, I am going to bed. Goodnight all.
 
   / septic field frozen #85  
Whoa Axelhub..I said it becoz it is almost always so...not always so. Yes, you do need to pump septic tanks routinely. How often depends on how big it is, how much goes into it, what goes into it, whether it is connected to a garbage disposal, and how much paper is used, yada yada.
Now, by your leave, I am going to bed. Goodnight all.

Greetings jix. A need to pump a new style septic system frequently (like once a year) is a septic system that is not working properly. Pumping once every 3 years ok. But my reason for being confused by your prior statement was that in systems designed to pump up to a drain field which were built in the last 5 and 10 yearsin the last 10 years . . I don't understand how solids could ever get to laterals as you were mentioning. There are too many places in the system which stop that from happening.

In old gravity feed systems that did not have screens and catch chambers . . . yes there it was a possibility. But those were the systems of decades ago.

Also the statement: " have the laterals flushed at 500 gals per minute by a pro." . . . . huh ??? Who has got a residential water well system that can feed even 30 gallons a minute ?
 
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   / septic field frozen
  • Thread Starter
#86  
Well winter is just around the corner and I had the company come out and check out my system they feel that it is working properly and there is no issues with the installation. They feel my issues are:

being in a wild open field with no shelter, inadequate covered field and not enough bacteria.

This winter i will either blanket the complete field with a round bale or use insulated tarps and cover with square bales to keep the tarps down.
 
   / septic field frozen
  • Thread Starter
#87  
Well winter is just around the corner and I had the company come out and check out my system they feel that it is working properly and there is no issues with the installation. They feel my issues are:

being in a wild open field with no shelter, inadequate covered field and not enough bacteria.

This winter i will either blanket the complete field with a round bale or use insulated tarps and cover with square bales to keep the tarps down.
 
   / septic field frozen #88  
Well winter is just around the corner and I had the company come out and check out my system they feel that it is working properly and there is no issues with the installation. They feel my issues are:

being in a wild open field with no shelter, inadequate covered field and not enough bacteria.

This winter i will either blanket the complete field with a round bale or use insulated tarps and cover with square bales to keep the tarps down.

Our septic field in Wusconsin is down just a little less than 2 feet from the surface while the pipe coming from the tanl goes from 7 feet derp to 2 fert deep over 100 feet of run. We don't cover anything and our temps can get diwn to -30 f.

I was always told tjat tje old gravitu systems needed lots of air flow so they had 2 or 3 open vents. Our pump up system has no air bents after the tank but it still benefits from ground above it exposed to the air.

Just serms to me your bacteria is not plentiful enough. Hope things go better for you this year.
 
   / septic field frozen #89  
I feel your frustration about the freezing up of your septic field. I suggest that the reason is that effluent water is remaining in your weeping bed lines and that that is because, for some reason, it cannot run out. This is possibly because the surface water table is too high; or that there is insufficient gravel under them ; or that the soil is too impervious to allow effluent to drain out; or that the lines do not have the right slope to drain.
To determine which is which, you need to dig a test hole near the field and measure how far the water rises in the hole after a period of time. If the water table is less than 20 inches below the level of the bottom of the field tiles, then you must relocate the field. If there is no problem, you must do a percolation test by putting a lot of water into the test hole and timing how long it takes to seep away, which should not take anymore than twenty minutes. If it is too slow to drain away, then you must relocate the field to another area wshere the ground is more permeable IE not clay.
If that is not the problem, then the field tiles insufficient slope in their run. If that is the case, you need to reinstall the tiles so that they slope downwards not less than 1 inch per foot of length.

The basic problem is that effluent water is not draining into the ground fast enough to avoid being frozen in the lines. I would say that you should call the installer to do a test hole test and call this to his attention. In my area, a septric system installer must have a license to install a septic system, and the system must be inspected by the authority issuing the licence..Before the field is covered. If it is installed icorrectly, the installer must repair it, or forfeit his licence. A test hole procedure is the only way to determine what is wrong for sure. There is no other way. Your installer must hot put you off with guesswork. If he does not perform a test hole evaluatuion, then push has come to shove. You then must inform the government and they should step in and force the installer to do ir correctly, or cancel his licence.

In my fairly involved experience, setting your situation to rights will be expensive..in the order of thousands of dollars to correct it properly.

Not the quick fix that you would like, I know, but in the end it is the only one. Heating the ground with electrical heat trace will cost you plenty and will add to your electrical bill hugely. Your only recourse is to assess what is what accurately.. a test hole procedure will separate the bull *** from the facts. You may have to get another installer to do it right allover again, and then sue the first guy in court.

Good luck V8only. IMO none of the possible steps you have suggested will actually work. Been there, done that.
 
   / septic field frozen #90  
Eat things with more "HOT" sauce. :laughing::laughing::laughing:
 
 
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