Home made Septic Tank

[Kays Supply]

You can't rationalize codes. In Illinois it is perfectly fine to wash your car in the yard on the driveway or in the street. BUT, if you wash it in the garage, the water MUST drain into a FD and be run to the sewer. If you are doing the same thing at a commercial garage, it has to go through a $4000 grease trap before it goes in the sewer. As far as septic tanks go. If the garage is on septic, it has to go to a holding tank and be hauled off by a lisc. hazardous waste hauler.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I have been installingtanks with dad since I was 16. He started when he as a kid for one of the first TLB owners in the county. I have been digging up some of his old installed tanks for the last few years. The old metal 100 gallon tar coated tanks. Im ok in this county to do maintenance without a liscence. I go under grand fathered systems. I can re place a tank or install one if there was a previous system installed. Untill recently that was anything. Most common in a tight area was 2 well tiles stacked on top of each other. Infact your are asked at the concrete plant if you want a top and bottom. When you say top they give you a one that has inlet and out let holes for septic tank or spring tank holes.

Ive installed tons of these at hunting clubs, camps, and vacation homes. A common loophole for installing a tank in a remote area was to put an out house up over the dump tank. that way it was legal to have the outhouse with a pit. One could be dual use as an out house and dump station both. This is over looked as theres not but a few like 5 rv dumps within 60 miles.



Pirate Ive done the hill billy thing in the past. back when Tiffins built Rvs from chevey vans they sold the body of the vans to scrappers or the public. Folks made storage buildings from them. I had a friend that asked me about puttin on in for an elderly man. He had mig weled the 2 back halves together then weled the doors shut on one end. I dug the hole and he opened the other set of back doors and went i nand put his plumming inside. Then he tarred the inside and outside and we back filled it. I just hate the think how puzzeled someone would be to dig this thing up. When mom and dad moved back here srom SC the yard was full of old cars from the last owners.

Dad took his old Case backhoe and loaded a few on some scrappers trailer but there was an old Falcon and and old GTX out there they didnt get. Dad used them for a drain feild for years till we put in a 1000 gallon tank. I think was a sin it is to poop through a Falcon and a GTX .


Loren49 You hit the nail on the head with your statement. Its basically an income generator for some one. The county is trying to ban Infiltrator pipe the half dome with an open bottom feild line. Its super easy to put in. Its got an open bottom 3 feet wide to perc through other than a few half inch holes all over. It works with alot less linear feet as here the standars is 100 feet of feild line this only requires 35 feet. I had an inspector check me and try to write me up as this was a low use dwelling for a hunting club. He felt bad funny when I brought up the fact that his and his brother and parents and grandparents that all had sewer lines running in the ditches or down the hill.

Ive seen inspectors that cant check grade, dont know the first thing to do if theres not enough room for a conventional field line and such.

 

[OzGrasshopper]

Hi All, i'm not getting into the "legal" or "environmental" aspects of the 2 X 55 gal plastic tank system, but if anyone puts one of these systems in (which from a septic / bactrerial breakdown point would imo work) i would also put a 4" inspection hole on the top of both barrels. my experience here in Oz is that even if a big 1,000 gal system is installed BUT not regularly used, a "crust" develops over the first or solids tank. unfortunately this will block the system and cause backup in the plumbing & many people then rush and get a pump out, which is expensive and totally not needed. if you push a pole or pipe in through the inspection hole and break the crust up a bit it will start working again. knowing this i have had septic systems work for 20 years and never needed pumping but sometimes need crust breaking maybe twice a year.
cheers Oz GH

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Hi All, i'm not getting into the "legal" or "environmental" aspects of the 2 X 55 gal plastic tank system, but if anyone puts one of these systems in (which from a septic / bactrerial breakdown point would imo work) i would also put a 4" inspection hole on the top of both barrels. my experience here in Oz is that even if a big 1,000 gal system is installed BUT not regularly used, a "crust" develops over the first or solids tank. unfortunately this will block the system and cause backup in the plumbing & many people then rush and get a pump out, which is expensive and totally not needed. if you push a pole or pipe in through the inspection hole and break the crust up a bit it will start working again. knowing this i have had septic systems work for 20 years and never needed pumping but sometimes need crust breaking maybe twice a year.
cheers Oz GH

The crust is grease, which the bacteria do not break down. It just builds up on top of the water until it eventually blocks the outlet. The best thing you can do for a septic is to never put oils or grease down it. Wipe out the bacon skillet and put the grease in the garbage instead. The same is true of vegetable oils. Never pour them down the sink.

How often a system needs pumped depends on usage. Some vegetables have a high silica content, and build up an insoluble layer in the bottom of the tank. Meats, of course, have a high fat content. The problem is if solids get into the drain field. If that happens, you need a new drain field, which is an expensive fix.

 

[OzGrasshopper]

Hi Larry, u r no doubt right about the fat, but in the case i referred to it was a toilet block in a tourist park, which was open periodically - high volume when going, then nothing for several monthly periods - no fat or oil, maybe its our heat too, but top crust would still form hard and airtight as there was no movement in primary tank. In the other system hooked to the kitchen, (which rules although strict about fat & oil not entering) i knew some was getting in, but cos the caretakers residence was hooked into same system & was used daily, still never got an airtight crust. re drains blocking, we use course sand filter alongside when first built, & have 2 drains which operate alternatively, by diverting one off for 4 months in summer, the sand dries out completely and then will start reabsorbing, then change over. both systems in place for 22 years - none ever pumped, but crust broken each year. it was the periodic use of the 50 gal system that i thought would still get a crust if not used regularly - but hey u know the climate & environment better than me. i just like to be able to get into any system without opening pipe lines:thumbs up:cheers OzGH

 

[dmccarty]

Interesting that TaylorTractorNut's county/state wants to ban Infiltrator. Our septic field was build with the Infiltrator product. I cannot see why anyone would want anything else if the soil will support this type of leech field. Pretty danged hard to ruin an Infiltrator field.

To the subject at hand, , I would check the NC state rules on septic fields. They used to have a fairly big book on regulations for septic fields, soils, and even outhouses. I not remember if they had regulations for dump stations but I they most certainly had VERY specific design requirements for outhouses. :laughing:

With the exception of the RV black water tank chemicals I would think a simple hole in the ground would work. I would try to keep the "system" as cheap and easy to take out of service as possible. A simple outhouse might be the best solution.

I do wonder about the RV chemicals. Do they hinder the breaking down of the solids and other bacterial action? That would be my big question.

Later,
Dan