Greywater Storage Tank Idea - Will it work?

[jclaudii]

So as things go, families grow and soon your budget septic tank is undersized for the the task. So I got to thinking, what if I just divert the greywater to another tank to let the septic tank do it's job better/longer. I already diverted the washing machine to keep the chemicals from going into the septic system, but it is just ran out to a growed up wooded area. As far as spring projects go, it would not be too hard to crawl under the house and run new pipes for just the bath and showers and tie the washing machine in as well. But what do I use as a underground tank? I could buy Poly or preformed concrete for $$$ or could I simply buy 2 to 4 IBC Tote/Tanks. These tank would also be interconnected to act like one large tank with baffles. And they have a fairly large twist on lid for looking and maintenance if ever needed.

These tanks come with a bit of a metal cage around the tank part and come on a pretty sturdy pallet. Even though they would be filled up prior to backfilling, I still don't 100% trust them to never cave in or break.
So this leads me to my next idea...I'll cover it in welded wire or even chicken wire and put concrete on the sides and top and even the bottom. This should help keep the metal cage from rusting quite as fast in the earth and if it does rust out, it would have some structure to fall back onto. It would also help spread the load of the earth equally on the sides and top and the li quid inside pushing on the earth.


This guy did something similar DIY Cheap and Basic septic system concept: OFF GRID - YouTube

Heck, if I had to redoo my septic system, I would strongly consider doing something made out of IBC totes or other recycled containers. Thanks for looking and setting me straight!

 

[4570Man]

I plan on doing a similar project and using IBC totes. I don’t plan on driving anything except a lawnmower over them so I don’t think they’ll collapse. I have a plastic 55 gallon barrel buried in my front yard for a gutter drain and it occasionally sees vehicle traffic and it hasn’t collapsed.

 

[RNeumann]

I’ve only seen this done with the plastic 55 gallon drums. Seems like you guys are going an awful lot of unneeded work. Especially when they make products that can support themselves in the ground.

Make sure you are still sending enough gray water to your septic. As San Francisco learned the hard way- sewers and septic wasn’t designed for turds alone!

 

[wagne223]

Just my opinion........

If you are going to do all that work for the graywater, why not just put in a proper drain field so all your waste water can go through the existing tank?

As mentioned, a septic system is not designed just for solids. It needs water to move through it to work properly.

 

[Hunter29]

I already diverted the washing machine to keep the chemicals from going into the septic system, but it is just ran out to a growed up wooded area

Thats going to get you in one big boat of trouble when the wrong person finds out about it, put it back in the septic where it belongs..

If the system is to small replace it or pump it out more often.

Septic systems are not do it your self, they are very serious business, in fact you have no say in the matter by law. Your plan is a bad idea, what your doing is illegal and if you have neighbors within 25 miles you may find yourself in court when they sue you for destroying their water supply..as well as your own.

 

[4570Man]

I’ve only seen this done with the plastic 55 gallon drums. Seems like you guys are going an awful lot of unneeded work. Especially when they make products that can support themselves in the ground.

Make sure you are still sending enough gray water to your septic. As San Francisco learned the hard way- sewers and septic wasn’t designed for turds alone!

IBC totes are free if you’re lucky and easy to get for $50 or less. Plastic 55 gallon barrels are between free and $20. The tanks made to go below ground are way more expensive. Even if you have to cast the barrels or IBC totes in concrete to ensure they don’t collapse that would be cheaper than some other options.

 

[RNeumann]

IBC totes are free if you’re lucky and easy to get for $50 or less. Plastic 55 gallon barrels are between free and $20. The tanks made to go below ground are way more expensive. Even if you have to cast the barrels or IBC totes in concrete to ensure they don’t collapse that would be cheaper than some other options.

Maybe I wasn’t clear- I seen several 55 gallon drums that were placed upright but underground. They did/do just fine without any overcasting.

 

[RoyKing]

They will rust out hopefully with out something falling in. what would seem easier is just another shallow drain field no tank.

 

[4570Man]

They will rust out hopefully with out something falling in. what would seem easier is just another shallow drain field no tank.

Plastics tanks rusting out?

 

[RoyKing]

probably not, but for Grey water what good is the tank unless you've got it for grease trap, output pipe near bottom in put at the top and a removal lid. I had old house with grey water work for 55 years. Clean grease every 8 to 10 years. it was built with cinder block two chamber with 36 x2 concrete lid.

 

[Fallon]

Plastics tanks rusting out?

I presume they are talking about the metal cage on an IBC tote. The bladder on one will not quite collapse under it's own weight, much less handle being buried well when dirt starts pressing in through the cage.

 

[Diggin It]

Without the cage they WILL collapse under their own weight when filled with water. I know that for sure. I don't know what the cages are made from or how fast they will deteriorate, but I would never bury one and expect it to hold up.

There is too much 'stuff' in drain water to do this in my view. I have the washer going out to a field using 4" corrugated drain pipe and the kitchen sink uses a 2" pipe to a field, but the shower and bathroom basin go in the tank.

Contrary to popular opinion on some of these boards, the septic tank police aren't lurking everywhere waiting to pounce on every ounce of spilled water. This is why so many of us live in more rural areas where 'they' aren't hovering over our every move. I don't ever plan on selling this house, so no one will ever know most of what I've done until after I die. I'm almost considering a clause in my estate documents requiring the place be demolished instead of sold.

 

[fruitcakesa]

After clearing it with our local health officer, when we built our house and homestead, one of our ideas was
a non-traditional hybrid septic/grey water system that actually will produce a clean useful composted material
that can be used in the garden or elsewhere to build soil fertility.
We buried a small 300 gal. plastic septic tank near our house and then down stream from that,
a 30 gallon siphon and finally a 40 foot long by 4 foot wide trench, we call it the chip bed, that has a perforated pipe held above the trench a couple of feet.
Then the whole trench and pipe is covered with 4 feet of wood chips, planer shavings, sawdust or some other convenient carbon source.
The way it works is the septic tank fills with black/grey water. When full, the liquid flows from the tank to the siphon.
When the siphon is full, the 30 gallon slug of liquid is released and flows into the chip bed and is distributed evenly by the perforated pipe.
We have had this system for nearly 30 years and had the septic tank pumped only once during that period and the pump man said that our tank was healthy and working perfectly.
The key to proper septic tank management is never putting chemicals or other stuff that will kill the beneficial bacteria in the tank that breaks down the solids.
We do have some maintenance on the chip bed yearly, replenishing the carbon material, flushing the pipes and removing some of the composted material.

 

[Diggin It]

we call it the chip bed, that has a perforated pipe held above the trench a couple of feet.
Then the whole trench and pipe is covered with 4 feet of wood chips, planer shavings, sawdust

My Termites would have devoured that in a few months.

 

[fruitcakesa]

My Termites would have devoured that in a few months.

Not a problem in chilly Vermont.

 

[jclaudii]

I don't figure I'll have any issues with septic flow. I mean my kids don't follow the "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down" methodology. So the toilet gets flushed alot.

Just to clarify I was planning on running a leach line and drain field opposite of the septic's to spread it out.

I mean, a septic/greywater system is not rocket science, but it is microbiology. I figured one could almost cut the size of a septic tank by 2/3's (possibly more) if one diverts greywater to it's own system so as to not wash out the septic system activity. I figured if I ran two 275 gallon tanks inline so they act similar to a 550 gal 2 chamber tank. With the inlet tank acting as the trap for solids, oils, and fats, and then a crossover pipe 4inch to 6 inch going to the 2nd tote which would have the output line going to the leach field. Should work, just need to think of a way to shore up the IBC totes.

 

[mcfarmall]

I run the discharge from my water softener into a bootleg drain close to the house. 2" pvc trap on the inside of the basement wall with a short standpipe attached then it runs through the wall outdoors. Pipe turns down into a manifold setup with a couple of 4 foot laterals with holes drilled in the bottom. Set the whole thing in a bed of river rock, some asphalt shingles over the top and backfill. In my sandy soil it will take as much water as you can run down there.

My logic is to keep the brine out of the septic tank...can't see salt water helping out the microorganisms.

 

[dougtrr2]

If it is graywater what is the purpose of the tank? Why not just run it into a leach field? Once the tank is filled all the water just goes out the overflow or to the leach field anyway.

Doug in SW IA

 

[EddieWalker]

What is the purpose of a tank for grey water? For solids, you have the tank so the solids will break down, and then the remain fluids will be absorbed into the soil.

If you are just getting rid of grey water, and you don't want to use it to water an area of land, so the woods out back, then you can put in a leach field and let it soak into the ground that way.

Either way, there is no reason to have a tank to hold the water for any period of time.

 

[Alan W.]

Use to install septic systems and from what I do remember the term grey water was not a legal term in Ky code. As the inspector told me Everybody Pees In The Shower. You were allowed to divert the washing machine water to a seperate line going to some chambers but not the shower or sink water.
And yes a septic system will chug along just fine with nothing but the toilets going to it.
I have seen systems using ibc totes in basements that captured the grey water then used it by a seperate pump to fill toilets.
As was stated earlier no one in the rural areas, at least around here, are hunting down illegal grey water systems.
I would get some Infiltrator chambers and run the grey water to them. A lint filter on the washer will greatly increase any system. The lint builds up a mat that never seems to break down.