Gluing drain lines in septic field?

[Keoke]

Hi folks, we are having a new septic field system installed. The contractor tells me that there is no need to glue the 3 inch PVC lines in the leach field together and a slip fit is enough here. I am skeptical of the no need for glue joints on leach field pipes idea. He is, however, gluing the 4 inch pipe coming into septic tank. Am I being over cautious here?
Appreciate your feedback.

thanks again,

 

[Plan_B]

I had a system installed about 2 years ago and the contractor just put the field lines together by giving each pipe end a good kick with his boot into the preceding pipe. I guess that once the the completed line is burried, there is no movement to separate the joints. As I always have an "inquiring minds want to know" attitude, I put two sections of pipe together and gave the ends a kick and I am telling you I don't think I could get them apart with out some help.
/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[MarlandS]

Well unless your leach field pipes are different there than here they either have two rows of holes or three for the water to leach out of into the rock and there's no pressure so why would you need to glue the joints?

 

[engineer]

is the piping being installed 'gasketed'?
If the pipe is gasketed there is no need to glue (i.e.: PVC SDR35)

However if the pipe is not 'gasketed' (i.e.: Scedule 40), typically SCH 40 pipe is not recommended for a buried installation.
SCH 40 pipe is supposed to be glued. The problem especially here in the northeast is the freeze/thaw cycle affecting the expansion and contraction of glued pipe. SCH 40 tends to break under this conditon due to the joints being glued, the 'gasketed' pipe joint will allow the pipe to expand and contract without breaking (usually).

Please understand that while not usually recommended, using SCH 40 PVC underground is quite common.

engineer

 

[inveresk]

Your contractor is right.

 

[beenthere]

Drain fields (before plastic pipe) used to be clay tile set close end to end on a bed of gravel, with a piece of tar paper over the top of the seam between tile. The seam is where the 'water' drained away. Not common to 'glue' the drain field together, and if laid right with gravel then there is no place for it to go, and 'leaking' at the joint just contributes to its duty as a 'drain' field, the way I see it.
I think you can relax. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Donman]

Funny that this question comes up now. Just this past weekend at a family gathering my brother in law said that he was getting septic juice seeping in at his basement wall. He had his tank pumped but a short time later it happened again. Finally after testing every option, he cut out a section of his deck and then proceeded to dig up his pvc line until he found a joint that separated. It was not glued and some settling must have occurred over the years - just enough to leave a 1/4 inch crack in the joint. During toilet flushes and washing machine cycles, the water moved fast enough to allow the system to work without problems but when the flow slowed down to a trickle it would not jump the gap but instead went to the lowest point - his basement wall. Needless to say the repair was glued!

 

[inveresk]

Donman, that doesn't sound like the drain from the septic tank to the field (which is my understanding of what we're talking about) but the drain to the septic tank from the house (which has to have watertight joints). Your point is still valid though. In most cases, I find the location of the septic tank here (in North America) too close to the house. In the UK it must be a minimum of 15 metres away (50 feet) in case there is leakage or problems with the septic tank.

 

[Deerlope]

Leach field PVC is usually 4" preforated, There is a "bell" on the end for the next piece to slide into and they slide in about 3-1/2" so glueing is not necessary, but it can be glued if you insist. I would not go that route because by not glueing it allows for just a bit of flex as the ground moves. The 4' PVC has a crush strenght of 270psi and can withstand temps to 180drg +-.

 

[Highbeam]

A toilet flush will put a bunch of flow into the tank all of the sudden and since the tank is always full of liquid, an equal amount of water must get pushed out to the drainfield so the drainfield does see surges.

I would rather the joint be glued. If it pulls apart for any reason then it will be a point discharge because the pipe seperation will allow the drain rock and surrounding dirt to come in and at least hinder flow to the rest of the drainfield.

I can't see why it would hurt to glue the joints. It can only help.