No water in septic tank

[spryde]

Greetings,

We are in the middle of selling our house and the inspector found no water in our septic tank during the inspection. He failed it for this reason. Now we have not been living in the house for nearly two months and was wondering if the liquids could have dried up in this amount of time or do I have to worry about something worse. The tank is concrete and the house has 3 bedrooms so I am guessing the tank is in the 1000-1500 gallon region.

He also found 36" of solids which did seem promising.

SP

 

[BillyP]

Greetings,

We are in the middle of selling our house and the inspector found no water in our septic tank during the inspection. He failed it for this reason. Now we have not been living in the house for nearly two months and was wondering if the liquids could have dried up in this amount of time or do I have to worry about something worse. The tank is concrete and the house has 3 bedrooms so I am guessing the tank is in the 1000-1500 gallon region.

He also found 36" of solids which did seem promising.

SP

Doesn't sound good to me. Sounds like you have a cracked septic tank letting the water out. There should be liquid/water there way after 2 months.

 

[California]

I don't see any explanation for a dry tank aside from its cracked, and that's why he failed it. There couldn't be that much evaporation from a buried tank. Sorry!

 

[spryde]

Ugh. Figured that would be it. So if a tank is cracked but the rest of the system is in good shape, can the tank be replaced in the old hole?

 

[jcotta]

Add water to solids and have tank pumped. My uncle had one that would not hold liquid. He found that the tank had a plug hole in the bottom. The plug was never installed when the tank was setup. Worth a shot before buying new tank

John

 

[shaley]

Definitely find out what is wrong before trying any fixes. Like Jcotta said have the tank pumped and cleaned and find out why it is empty. I'm surprised the outside ground water isn't leaking into the tank. As far as replacement, you could crush the old one and put a new one next to it just as cheap as anything else. 1000gal midseam tank cost $450.00 + delivery.

 

[California]

... I'm surprised the outside ground water isn't leaking into the tank.

I guess it depends where you live! That wouldn't be problem here except rainy days in winter.

I agree, start by having it pumped. That will be needed, whatever follows.

 

[gsganzer]

If the tank is dry and the solids are dry, then climb in and dig out the solids (assume you live in the country and have somewhere to spread the solids like a field or such). Worst case is that you add some water to get the solids to a sludge and then have someone pump it out. Once you get the solids out, you'll see the leak or crack. If the tank is concrete, you should be able to patch it with some mortar. If it's fiberglass, then patch it with fiberglass.

 

[plowking]

There should be a ring around the tank,like a bathtub ring, if tank stays at a constant height, even if it is lower then the inverts. I checked a five year old house, the leachfield looked brand new, because it leaked from day one. The cement was clean, above the halfway point, which means it was never at operating height. A contractor dug along the outside and sealed the seam [ new tanks come in two halves]. I' ve also had some tanks leak from blow holes not being sealed. In New England, the hole keeps tank from filling up and freezing in storage yard. Sometimes it is better to fix from outside or buy new tank. Confined entry to fix from inside is very expensine, OSHA fines are huge if caught in confined situation, with out safeguards. I tell my customers with new houses to have septic checked, before warranty runs out. Septic inspections on new construction should require tank to be filled to check for leaks, but it isn't done here. I have seen septic inspections waive tank pumping, but discover problems later after tank is cleaned. DON'T CLIMB IN THE TANK!!!!!! Depleated oxygen supply, gases can kill you! Have it fixed by a reputable contractor , get receipt to prove work done for the buyer. plowking

 

[frank29]

Man! Talk about a through inspection.