Pumping your own septic... what kind of pump?

[ruffdog]

Back in the 60s we moved to a 100 year old house in the country. Parents were from the city so they didn't know no better. Several years down the road, a guy in the pumping business told my dad his septic was probably shot. Dad took the cover off and it was solid like dirt. He did get a pumper in and it took all day and lots of water to get it sucked out. It did not have a field, instead, it had a dry well and that was not getting rid of the liquid. It was making the grass grow good. Once we put a field in, it was fine.

 

[ruffdog]

Now, in WI, you have to get your tank(s) pumped and inspected every 3 years(or less) depending on your system. With just 2 of us, two 500 gal tanks, we can go the whole 3 years. They always say our waste looks great being that we don't flush plastic, pads, etc.. down. I don't mind the gov over seeing it because in the long run, it is better for everybody. Near some waterways, they are all going to mound systems. Some lakes demand just having holding tanks.

 

[CurlyDave]

As of 3 years ago, when I left the Bay Area for good, they were still selling and installing septic tanks in the Woodside/Redwood City area. I know this for certain because at least once a week the installer would leave one or more plastic ones on his trailer on Canada Road, near the Pulgas Water Temple. they would sit there for a day or two and then be gone.

I never paid a whole lot of attention because my house was on a sewer, but much of Woodside was still on septic.

Anyway, the point is that anywhere there are new septic tanks going in, there are pumpers to service those tanks. I think it is just a matter of applying enough $ to persuade someone to do the job.

Now it might be possible that a pumper needs a county permit and this is why no one will cross county lines.

This kind of idiocy is one of the reasons why I left the Bay Area for good...

 

[ultrarunner]

It is so much simpler in Washington State and not expensive... just a phone call and they come out... once, I was pressed for time and wanted to have it done before the new folks moved in... said I would be leaving the next day and the owner said what about now... really great service... then again, most of the trades I use up there are referrals from my old time neighbor...

I have noticed doing business is actually a pleasure in Washington compared to the Bay Area... I had a glass guy come out for some clouded double pane windows... he gave me a very fair price... wouldn't take a dime and said he only bills once the customer is satisfied... try ordering custom glass in the Bay Area from a stranger without paying upfront... same with my gravel guy...

Me thinks there are rules and regs the pumpers don't want to get in the middle of... one asked my brother when was the last time it was pumped and who did it... maybe the age is also a factor... 1860's goes back a long way... especially in California time.

 

[turnkey4099]

It is so much simpler in Washington State and not expensive... just a phone call and they come out... once, I was pressed for time and wanted to have it done before the new folks moved in... said I would be leaving the next day and the owner said what about now... really great service... then again, most of the trades I use up there are referrals from my old time neighbor...

I have noticed doing business is actually a pleasure in Washington compared to the Bay Area... I had a glass guy come out for some clouded double pane windows... he gave me a very fair price... wouldn't take a dime and said he only bills once the customer is satisfied... try ordering custom glass in the Bay Area from a stranger without paying upfront... same with my gravel guy...

Me thinks there are rules and regs the pumpers don't want to get in the middle of... one asked my brother when was the last time it was pumped and who did it... maybe the age is also a factor... 1860's goes back a long way... especially in California time.

Another Washington example...has to be an exception though. I had a houseful of guests when the kitchen range died. Called an appliance store, said I would pay on delivery and they took the deal. Over $1,000. Crew didn't even ask for pay before insstallign he new stove.

They did not know me at all, never did business with them before.

 

[MarkF48]

Simple text version of California Health and Safety codes....

CA Codes (hsc:117400-117450)

If you get caught it's a misdemeanor offense with a fine and/or imprisonment .

 

[Oaktree]

I'm confused. Is it the city or your brother that doesn't want to connect to the sewer? What does the house having been built in 1860 have to do with it?

Didn't you say the city sewer line crosses the property? In most cities, you're required to connect if it's available. Not always cheap though...

 

[kenmac]

wow ! A septic tank that was built back in the 1860's ? Didn't know they even had septic systems back then..Thought they used the woods ,or an out house...
It may be made of brick ,and crumble apart once pumped out

 

[MarkF48]

wow ! A septic tank that was built back in the 1860's ? Didn't know they even had septic systems back then..Thought they used the woods ,or an out house...
It may be made of brick ,and crumble apart once pumped out

My old farmhouse dates back to around 1860, although I don't know when "modern plumbing" got put in. I bought it back around 1979 and the septic tank (cesspool) needed pumping just after we moved in. The pump guy said it looked like 20 years of sh#t packed in it. He got it pumped and we discovered there was no piping going out out to any kind of leach field. Being a lot younger than I am now, I hand dug two trenches and laid in perforated drainage pipe and covered with rock and gravel to serve as a leach field. The tank itself is built of stone roughly 4'x5' across and maybe 10' deep and covered with heavy tar impregnated timbers (I don't run the lawn tractor over the top ). It's still pretty much the same as when I moved, still seems to be doing what it should, and gets pumped regularly. The leach field exit pipe gets hit with a dose of muriatic acid when the tank gets pumped to help keep that clear.
Massachusetts has what is called Title 5 which sets standards for septic systems. If the house ever gets sold the septic would need inspection, more than likely fail, and require an upgrade to bring it to code $$$$. The pump guy has no obligation to report a substandard system in Massachusetts that I'm aware of, but California may be different.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't know about legal or not but in the 1960s my Dad had septic system replaced and first had to pump the old tank. The pumper guy just spread the waste on our farm fields where cotton and soybeans grew. We then immediately disked it in. It made good fertilizer and the smell was gone in just a few days. Likely would get fined for that today although you can buy sewer solids for fertilizer from city waste disposal that have supposedly been treated to kill any organisms.
Sunlight is the best killer of sewer organisms if you can spread it out just like cow or chicken manure.

I too find it hard to believe that the county wont let you connect to their sewer system because most places require it when available. It isn't cheap though and that may be the problem.