Care of Septic Tank

[soulasphil]

for those of you that have the grey water go "elsewhere," where does it go.

This is where the grey water goes at my place. Two of these, one on each side of the house.

 

[teejk]

Dang it. I forgot to mention the two in one tank issue. :duh::duh::duh: I thought about it on my previous post but the thought flew off somewhere.

Our tank, and I think most newer septic tanks have two tanks in the structure. One is for solids and the other for liquids. The outlet from the house goes into the the solid tank and eventually the liquids flow into the second tank. Per our local code ONLY the liquid tank has to have an access riser. :shocked: When the septic tank is pumped the SOLIDS need to be removed but this requires access to the other tank via a different access. This access does NOT have to have a riser per code but it is the side of the tank that needs to be pumped!

WHY the code does NOT require both risers is beyond me. The reason the code requires the one access riser is because that tank has the outflow to the septic field and our tanks have a filter. The code wants to make sure that the filter can be easily checked and cleaned by having the easy access otherwise if the filter becomes clogged, then stuff will start to backup into the house.

A dishonest tank pumper will only pump out the liquid side of the tank and leave the solids behind. Pun intended. If you have a septic tank that has two sides/tanks, make sure the solids are pumped.

Later,
Dan

New code in Wisconsin is actually 3 chambers...the raw stuff in chamber 1, liquids spill into chamber 2 that contains a filter before it goes into chamber 3 where it gets pumped into the drain field. All 3 covers are above grade. The filter was supposedly put into place because many "city folks" wouldn't give up their garbage disposals. Advice is the filter should be visually inspected/cleaned every 6 months.

Visual inspection is every 3 years...I guess only chamber 1 has to be pumped if needed based on the amount of solids. My pro insists on pumping every 3 years regardless and he also insists on all 3 chambers. Pumping only chamber 1 is not "dishonest" since it is allowed...rather they are trying to minimize their disposal fees (never use the term "dumping" when you talk to a pro...it's akin to saying you drown puppies). Pumping does "reset" the bacteria but normal use should restore it quickly. In any event the action taken has to be reported to the county by Sept 30 of the year you get the notification.

For Wisconsin residents, I will advise that the "notice" comes out in April and you will not get a reminder. Many people set the notice aside and forget. Fines are stiff and you might get your name in the local paper since it gets turned into major deal (akin to getting caught drowning puppies). A true septic professional should have his own list and will remind you. There is no big difference in cost of the pumping between providers so if you find one that seems to know septics (including telling you what you are doing wrong), I say stick with him. $135 every 3 years vs. having to deal with a basement back-up is pretty easy math.

 

[cqaigy2]

New code in Wisconsin is actually 3 chambers...the raw stuff in chamber 1, liquids spill into chamber 2 that contains a filter before it goes into chamber 3 where it gets pumped into the drain field. All 3 covers are above grade. The filter was supposedly put into place because many "city folks" wouldn't give up their garbage disposals. Advice is the filter should be visually inspected/cleaned every 6 months.

That filter sounds interesting, i wonder retrofitting.

 

[cqaigy2]

New code in Wisconsin is actually 3 chambers...the raw stuff in chamber 1, liquids spill into chamber 2 that contains a filter before it goes into chamber 3 where it gets pumped into the drain field. All 3 covers are above grade. The filter was supposedly put into place because many "city folks" wouldn't give up their garbage disposals. Advice is the filter should be visually inspected/cleaned every 6 months.

That filter sounds interesting, i wonder retrofitting.

 

[ultrarunner]

This is where the grey water goes at my place. Two of these, one on each side of the house.

The home I lived at in Austria had two of these also... one was to capture roof runoff and the other grey water... I think just about every home had the same.

 

[teejk]

That filter sounds interesting, i wonder retrofitting.

I'm not an expert but I doubt it. The filter sits on the bottom of the middle chamber and the purpose is to filter the fluids before they go to the 3rd "pumping" chamber. Based on what little I observed with my first pumping last fall, raw stuff in chamber 1 and like most 2 chamber systems the liquid spills from the top into chamber 2. It exits chamber 2 from the bottom (filtered) into chamber 3 where it gets pumped into the field.

Our soil here is about the same as a sand/gravel pit and in the old days we would not have had any problem at all with a simple gravity system. Not an option anymore (one size fits all).

 

[teejk]

That filter sounds interesting, i wonder retrofitting.

I'm not an expert but I doubt it. The filter sits on the bottom of the middle chamber and the purpose is to filter the fluids before they go to the 3rd "pumping" chamber. Based on what little I observed with my first pumping last fall, raw stuff in chamber 1 and like most 2 chamber systems the liquid spills from the top into chamber 2. It exits chamber 2 from the bottom (filtered) into chamber 3 where it gets pumped into the field.

Our soil here is about the same as a sand/gravel pit and in the old days we would not have had any problem at all with a simple gravity system. Not an option anymore (one size fits all).

 

[jinman]

This is where the grey water goes at my place. Two of these, one on each side of the house.

Holy cow!!!:shocked: Philippe, is all your soil that rocky? You'll never have to worry about your houses foundation if it sits in rock like that. They have another name for soil like that here in Texas. It's called a rock quarry.

My aerobic system's contract maintenance guy told me I had solids starting to be at a pretty high level. My clear water tank had about 6" of solids in it. He suggested that I have pumped. The pumper guys pumped my solids tank, aerator tank, filter tank, and clear water tank. After pumping, it took over a week for the septic to fill up enough for the aerator to be in liquid. It was 10 days before the sprinkler heads operated.

 

[the old grind]

Aerator? I've heard read about the 'Sludgehammer' setup. Is that what you have? Would you recommend any others?? I plan to dig around my tank this spring to see what I have while I'm digging up the lawn for a new seepage for laundry water. (I'll have to get 'googling' ....)

 

[Pettrix]

Aerator? I've heard read about the 'Sludgehammer' setup. Is that what you have? Would you recommend any others?? I plan to dig around my tank this spring to see what I have while I'm digging up the lawn for a new seepage for laundry water. (I'll have to get 'googling' ....)

I am in the design phase right now and I will install a SludgeHammer unit in my tank (S-86 model). Everything I read, researched and people I talked to, they all had good things to say about it. Oxygenating a septic tank will turn an anaerobic system into an aerobic system. How it works | SludgeHammer latest advance in septic wastewater treatment