How to find septic lines?

[raykos]

Hi all,

A couple of years ago I bought a JD 2305 with a FEL & backhoe. Now, I would like to build a combination garage/shop for it. Where I'm thinking on building may put a portion of the garage over my septic lines distribution box, but I'm not entirely sure. My house was built in '68 and the township doesn't have any records or plans for the septic installation.

I have an idea of where the box is at, but I would like to be 100% sure. So I guess I may be using the backhoe to find the distribution box. Besides digging verrrry carefully, are there any other suggestions about how to dig for or find the distribution box?

Thanks,
Ray

 

[mrutkaus]

Well not practical now cause ground is frozen, but probing with some sort of steel rod might work.

Assuming you have plastic/concrete pipe a metal detector wouldn't work for the pipe but I bet there is some rebar in the distribution box!!

Mike

 

[Tig]

Come spring time you may find the snow thinner and then the grass greener over top of the septic due to the heat.

 

[tommu56]

Most people probe for them with a 3/8 or 1/2 driven in to the ground rod come up with a a test grid. You should feel the tank (solid hit) and drain field feel rod hitting the rocks. Work at it and you will gain a feel the disturb soil (dug out) and virgin (not dug), Also lay down and look across the ground some times you can see the depression in soil from the lines being back filled and sinking a little when looking across it.

When you do find them take notes and pictures.

tom

 

[wedge40]

Septic tank, septic lines or both? I've seen septic cleaning guys us a metal rod to find line and the tank.

Wedge

 

[Kernopelli]

Been there done that...can be a pain. The best way I have found was as previously mentioned. I have a dedicated tool I made just for this purpose, a 4' steel rod with a T-handle on top. I have found that a chromed rod about 3/8"-1/2" with sharp point works best. When used after a continued wet period, like spring, you can push it into the ground and find/trace your lines.

 

[zzvyb6]

The Miss Dig operation came by my place and put an RF signal generator on the drain line in the house. Then he went outside with his RF receiver and marked the entire line and field drain tiles with spray paint. All done in 15 minutes. The main drain line and tank #1 were under the (former) swimming pool concrete deck.

BTW: my first use of a front end loader: Since the kid didn't want to clean and maintain the inground pool, I filled it in with dirt, stones and gravel. Now its a rose garden.

 

[LBrown59]

The Miss Dig operation came by my place and put an RF signal generator on the drain line in the house. Then he went outside with his RF receiver and marked the entire line and field drain tiles with spray paint. All done in 15 minutes. The main drain line and tank #1 were under the (former) swimming pool concrete deck.

Did this tell you how deep any of it was burried?

 

[anojones]

I probed for mine as well- it helps to stand out there and look for a long time until you can start to visualize the changes in the ground- then start probing. It was a pain- probably be worth the money to have someone with the radioactive stuff find it.

 

[WantedWolf]

I like the RF idea posted by zzvyb6, if it works.

Not my idea and Iv yet to try it but I read on TBN about using a steel fish tape and a metal detector. If the lines are plastic and theres no treasure in your yard it might just work.

 

[wfontjr]

tell my son not to ride the 4 wheeler over there, he will find it shortly

 

[dqdave1]

Don't use your backhoe to explore or you will be doing repairs. You can locate where it comes out of the house and probe with metal rod till you hit tank; then just continue.

 

[jimmer2880]

I know many don't believe in this, but many years ago, my uncle - a life-long farmer showed me how to use coat hanger to find electric and water/sewer lines.

Take a wire coat hanger. Cut off the twisty part & the hook. Cut the rest of it in half so that you have 2 equal halves. Straighten each piece. Then, put a 90deg bend about 4-5" on each piece.

Make a very loose fist, like you would hold a stick straight up in the air. Place 1 of the hanger pieces in each hand. Make sure they can move freely.

Slowly walk towards the direction where you think the lines are. When you get close, they will start to cross. Make a mark in the dirt when they are pointing directly at each other. Then, do the same thing from the opposite direction. Depending on how deep the line is, you should end up with marks betweed 2 & 4 feet apart. The line is somewhere between the 2.

I never would have believe it until he showed me, AND I did it. It really works. Of course, Ms Utility, etc are better, but how much fun is knowing EXACTLY where the pipes are

 

[ampsucker]

called digsafe and the water guy came out to mark our main. he used the "witching" technique. i basically had to harass the guy into putting a few blue marks on the ground with his spray can. he wanted to verbally tell me where his wonderful technique showed the line to be. of course, it would have been on me had he been wrong. finally, he marked a small section before he left. that's all i wanted - CYA.

it doesn't matter when it's somebody else's butt on the line. if you have to break what you fix, i would go for the scientific, physically defined ways to locate the lines and leave the witching to the "gifted" ones who can do it for a living and then they pay to fix it if it isn't right....

amp

 

[philbuilt]

I know many don't believe in this, but many years ago, my uncle - a life-long farmer showed me how to use coat hanger to find electric and water/sewer lines.

Take a wire coat hanger. Cut off the twisty part & the hook. Cut the rest of it in half so that you have 2 equal halves. Straighten each piece. Then, put a 90deg bend about 4-5" on each piece.

Make a very loose fist, like you would hold a stick straight up in the air. Place 1 of the hanger pieces in each hand. Make sure they can move freely.

Slowly walk towards the direction where you think the lines are. When you get close, they will start to cross. Make a mark in the dirt when they are pointing directly at each other. Then, do the same thing from the opposite direction. Depending on how deep the line is, you should end up with marks betweed 2 & 4 feet apart. The line is somewhere between the 2.

I never would have believe it until he showed me, AND I did it. It really works. Of course, Ms Utility, etc are better, but how much fun is knowing EXACTLY where the pipes are

I second Jimmer it works just practice on stuff you know and you soon will be a believer. We use Dig safe but I always check for myself using this method.
Phil

 

[Cat_Driver]

...I know many don't believe in this, but many years ago, my uncle - a life-long farmer showed me how to use coat hanger to find electric and water/sewer lines.

Called dowsing and I use it all the time, works great..


Dowsing Instructions - Programming Your Subconscious To Use A Pendulum

 

[Lasgambler]

I live in an area where people pay "witchers" to search for water well locations. I have been with witchers on diff. properties and really don't have much faith in what they do because some places the water table is at 4 to 8 hundred feet or more However, with that said I have found septic lines by witching.
I had a large remodel where I needed to connect a bar sink on an island cabinet. I witched it and cut the slab, told one of my guys to start digging. He dug down about 30 inches and came to tell me there was no sewer pipe there. I witched again and told him to keep digging. He found the sewer line about 6 inches down. I Then found one of the neighbors septic lines for him.
I used 2 pcs. of half inch hard copper cut 3 inches long to hold in each hand. for the witching rods I used 2 braising rods. It worked for me and I had alot at stake cutting the slab open in my clients living room.
Who knows Maybe I got lucky twice. Terry

 

[PILOON]

I once had access to an electronic device that worked great.
It found my tank to perection. Essentially it was a metal detector.

But what also works great is the first (light) snowfall!

Since the tank emits some heat due to the bacterial action you generally can easily see the outline of the tanks, pumping stations and lids fairly well as the immediate surfaces will be warmer and melt the snow.

Also I've done enough construction and landscape projects that very often by simply examining the landscape.

-The tank will always be close to the bathroom, always downhill never closer than 6ft.
rarely street side and locate the main stack vent as it will usually be where the sewage leaves the house.
-the field will always be downhill from the tank, nice flat generally better groomed than souroundings, no trees, frequantly slightly protruding but very flat and grass grows better there!
-also far from a well but never close to waterways.

 

[ampsucker]

practicing dowsing on something you know is exactly the problem with the unscientific proof aspect of the phenomenon. having a preconceived idea of where something is will automatically effect your actions subconsciously.

no double blind scientific study i'm aware of has definitively and repeatably verified that dowsing or any other devination method practiced througout the centuries works with anything approaching reliability.

WikiAnswers - How does a water dowser work

i stand by my previous post: if the results will cost you money, i recommend trying something with a better track record.... otherwise, you can just guess where it is and have about the same statistical odds of being right based on geographical clues, common sense, and making an educated assumption or two.

amp

 

[2manyrocks]

An older gentleman told my Father where to dig his well in the 1960's by dowsing. Struck water at 500' or so and has been providing water since then.

Once your find your septic lines, plant daffodils to mark the lines and the box corners.