Sir, are you a vegetarian?

[jinman]

This strange question came from my aerobic septic system service guy today. "No, we love meat," was my answer. He then told me that our filter was the cleanest one he had ever seen. He had been told that undigested meat was a reason for extra sludge. I could see he wasn't fooling. He was really puzzled how we could have such a clean system. He asked how old it was and how many times it had been pumped. When I told him it was 10 years old and had never been pumped, he just shook his head. "Amazing!" he said. I then said that we put all our laundry grey water into a separate system and that probably is the reason we have such a well-working system. He agreed. No soap or bleach in the tank lets biology do its job well.

When he checked my sprinkler heads, one of them was clogged. I recently cut some tree roots out of the clear water tank and am still getting some root pieces that clog the sprinklers. He went to his truck and brought me a new sprinkler head that he said was designed to pass larger particles. He just gave it to me for no charge and flushed the pipe before putting it on.

All-in-all, I was pretty happy with this regular service check. What's not to like?:thumbsup:

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

The wife is a vegetarian diet coach. I'll pass this on to her, as another selling point for potential clients. :laughing:

 

[magicheater]

Did not know septic pumpers checked sprinkler systems! Where is the "clear water tank" in the system? Is this a part of the septic? Never heard of that before.

 

[dcyrilc]

I'm right there with you Jim. That's why we raise cattle. Better meat.:thumbsup:

 

[Egon]

[QUOTEHe had been told that undigested meat was a reason for extra sludge. ][/QUOTE]

Were his sources really creditable??

When Septic Tanks Quit Working
Unfortunately, if the bacterial process is reasonably efficient for taking care of the normal human by-products, it was never well suited to other discards such as simple cooking grease, that can hinder system operation, let alone strong household cleaners, and other chemicals that might kill the working bacteria. These shortcomings can be further complicated by lack of proper maintenance and inflows of wastewater beyond the original specifications.

An excerpt from a Google article. Of course I cannot verify credibility.

 

[20 20]

This strange question came from my aerobic septic system service guy today. "No, we love meat," was my answer. He then told me that our filter was the cleanest one he had ever seen. He had been told that undigested meat was a reason for extra sludge. I could see he wasn't fooling. He was really puzzled how we could have such a clean system. He asked how old it was and how many times it had been pumped. When I told him it was 10 years old and had never been pumped, he just shook his head. "Amazing!" he said.

Back in yesteryear folks would put a dead animal{woodchuck road kill etc.} in their septic. This built up the bacteria, just like eating meat would. I would suspect being a complete vegaterian septic would clog easier??

I then said that we put all our laundry grey water into a separate system and that probably is the reason we have such a well-working system. He agreed. No soap or bleach in the tank lets biology do its job well.

I wanted to do this when we put our septic system in and sure enough codes doesn't allow it{of course what they don't know...... well that's pretty much anything. } I even argued and most agreed but know one wants to change a law :confused2: :drool:

 

[Bird]

Down in the country, we had the same kind of aerobic system. Ours had to be pumped after 4 years. And I can tell you why it was different from Jim's. In the first place, all discharge from the house, including the washing machine water went into the system, and secondly, after a big crowd, big feed, etc. for the family for a Thanksgiving dinner, a day or so later, the sewer drain stopped up. The line went straight out behind the house several feet, then turned 90 degrees and into the first tank. I discovered the elbow at that turn had settled and became low enough that the elbow itself stayed full, and then it had become clogged with grease. It's a great system, and the fact that ours had to be pumped after 4 years was our own fault (well, a little bit the fault of the installer).

 

[jinman]

Did not know septic pumpers checked sprinkler systems! Where is the "clear water tank" in the system? Is this a part of the septic? Never heard of that before.

The aerobic system has a raw sewage aeration tank, an effluent filtration and chlorine treatment tank, and a clear water tank that holds 500 gal. The raw sewage tank has an air pump that bubbles and swirls fresh air up through the raw sewage to aid bacteria to decompose the waste just like a city's sewer dept. does. When the clear water tank gets nearly full, a float turns on a submersible pump and sprinklers pump the water out onto the ground through a 2-head sprinkler system just like the ones people use to water their lawns. There is no odor whatsoever and the chlorine ensures no bacteria escapes the system. Grass around the sprinkler heads is "happy grass."

Here's a picture of my system when it was being installed.

EDIT: I found a brochure picture too. The brochure doesn't show the fresh water tank because some places would require an absorption field rather than sprinklers.

 

[smstonypoint]

Back in yesteryear folks would put a dead animal{woodchuck road kill etc.} in their septic. This built up the bacteria, just like eating meat would. I would suspect being a complete vegaterian septic would clog easier??

I seem to recall a neighbor way back when adding horse manure to his septic tank to facilitate decomposition.

Steve

 

[jinman]

I seem to recall a neighbor way back when adding horse manure to his septic tank to facilitate decomposition.

Steve

My engineer who approved my system suggested that I could get it started by flushing a 5 lb bag of dry dog food down the toilet to "feed the buggies" and get it going. An interesting side note is that in the winter time with snow on the ground, the snow melts first around the aeration tank because it is so warm in there; liquid compost.

 

[MossRoad]

Another problem with laundry water down the septic besides the bleach and detergent killing the bacteria that is supposed to break down the sewage is the lint associated with laundry. It will really plug things up. A lint filter on the washing machine drain might help.

Also, as Bird mentioned, grease from the kitchen can also plug things up.

We have an old house. The bathroom was originally where our kitchen is now. When they remodeled the house, the bathroom was moved to the other side and a new septic system was installed. That system handles just the bathroom. The kitchen has its own septic system and all the grease goes in that system. Our washing machine goes into a "mystery pipe" that heads out into the yard somewhere. There are three sunken areas in the front yard that are all allegedly upside down horse tanks buried in the yard. My tractor fell into one once. It was a dry hole full of lint. Then, a few years later, the tractor started sinking in anther one. That was a clay pipe 2' in diameter about 3' deep. It was full of lint and gray water. I confirmed it was still active by doing a load of laundry. I dug it out deeper again, put a new metal lid on it and buried it back up. There is a coffee can lid in the yard with a rock on it. If you look under it when the washer is draining, you can see gray water going through it.

Yikes! Three systems, all cobbled up and put together before code enforcement. However, they all work and keep all the systems separate. :thumbsup:

 

[mikim]

Jim -- we'll be putting in that type system in the new house. Is it much hassle or expense? Bastrop county wants everyone to have a contract with a service company. Karen's aunt told me (if I remember right) that it runs about $400 a year for 2 visits a yr. I'm kicking about it just cause it angers me that the county can dictate that I must spend money to a group of private individuals.

 

[jinman]

Jim -- we'll be putting in that type system in the new house. Is it much hassle or expense? Bastrop county wants everyone to have a contract with a service company. Karen's aunt told me (if I remember right) that it runs about $400 a year for 2 visits a yr. I'm kicking about it just cause it angers me that the county can dictate that I must spend money to a group of private individuals.

Mike, my service contract was included for the first two years after installation and then it was $200 per year for once every 4 months (3 times annually - see attachment). It recently has gone up to $229 per year and I have to supply my own chlorine pills. The chlorine can't be pool chlorine and I buy it from my service company. I use about 5 lb per year and buy a 10 lb bucket of pills for around $35. If they add chlorine, it's $55 extra per year. Some newer systems just use liquid bleach and that would be ideal in my opinion. As a matter of fact, I may try to find a bleach drip retrofit for my system some day so I don't have to mess with buying, storing, and handling the chlorine pills.

As a homeowner, you can attend training and service your own system, but you will also have to provide your county public works department with paperwork and inspection reports. You are granted a license to run a sewage treatment plant by the state and they expect you to meet their documentation requirements or be fined. The problem is that you may have to travel to a remote location and pay to attend their training class. The cost could be several years of paying for a service contract. I'd check with your county to see what they would approve.

That said, my neigbor doesn't have a contract for maintenance on the identical system as mine and he is NOT maintaining it correctly. IT STINKS! I'm pretty sure he has told the county that his system is shut down and they don't inspect to see that he is telling the truth. I hate to do it, but I'm gonna complain. There are three of my neighbors with faulty or no septic systems and it's time the county did something about it. I pay through the nose and maintain my system religiously under threat of fines. Why should these other folks get away with polluting the environment with their waste just because they are poor? Sorry about the rant. . . .

 

[mikim]

well -- I'd like to put in the old gravity leach field system but I don't believe they allow those anymore. If my ground was all sand instead of half clay they might - but it ain't. Seems kinda funny that if these new systems are so good - then why do they need constant inspections and maintenance? My old leach field(s) just took live yeast every month to maintain them. I guess I just need to look at it as gaining a sprinkler system. Definitely adding it to the generator system as well. Need to get the genset on order. We should close next Wed on the constr. loan and the builder said he'd start within the week of closing. Maybe be in the new house for Easter!

 

[Bird]

Mike, in 1997, I paid $5,000 for my Hydro-Action brand system, plus the permit and soil test although I understand they've gone up considerably since. And like, Jim, that installation included the first 2 years of service. After that I, too, was paying $200 a year and bought the chlorine tablets in a 25# bucket. I'm sure all those prices have gone up in the last 13 years.

 

[twarr1]

Mike, my service contract was included for the first two years after installation and then it was $200 per year for once every 4 months (3 times annually - see attachment).

A $65 surcharge for calling ahead? That seems a little steep for a courtesy that should be a part of their "service"

 

[jimmyj]

Who cares about the septic, I was frightened by the thought you may be a vegetarian! :shocked:

Glad to know you are not! :thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

A $65 surcharge for calling ahead? That seems a little steep for a courtesy that should be a part of their "service"

Obviously, they don't want to have to call 20 people a day per serviceman to tell them they are coming, especially if they can't make all the planned calls. If there is anything I need checked special, all I have to do is notify them before the normal service call and they will do it. When I had an aerator pump go out, they scheduled my service to coincide with bringing me the pump and saved me a $75 service call. I too think $65 is steep for calling ahead, so I'm sure that means they really, REALLY, don't want to do that for some reason. There is no reason I need to know ahead of time and there is nothing they can't get to as far as access to the system. I suspect they sometimes come up against a few dogs that aren't too happy with the guy messin' with stuff in the dog's territory. In my case, all we have is a pack of guard kitties.:laughing:

 

[jinman]

Who cares about the septic, I was frightened by the thought you may be a vegetarian! :shocked:

Jim, that question took me completely by surprise. That's why I made it the thread title.

 

[charlz]

I have a similar aerobic system but it goes to a drain field vice being sprayed. Probably because the spray system would freeze in the winter No chlorine and no water pump to worry about, just the air pump.

I also pay about $200 for inspections, used to be 2x per year but the State changed the requirements and now it is 1x per year and same $$. The only thing I have been flagged on is high phosphate levels. I have not been flagged on this since we switched to a front loader washing machine but I am also not 100% sure my guy is still actually doing the tests. They sent me a test report the other day but to me it doesn't look like anyone pulled the cap off the system etc.

The downside to this system is you have to pay for electricity to run the air pump etc. Also if you are in an extended power outage the system will not be working correctly. In an extended outage you are likely to not be putting much/anything into it though but if you are going to run on generator for a while it is something else you would have to consider running power to.

During heavy use we will also get a musty smell coming out of the vent pipe. I guess on newer installs they route the vent to a roof vent but mine was one of the first ones to be installed in the State and the vent is about 2' above ground level.