Septic Fields and Tractor Weight

[webbmeister]

The 25D I am about to buy weighs about 2500 pounds without fel and mmm. Should I think twice about driving it (with fel and mmm) over the septic field (to mow)?

 

[toddwulf]

Do you know how deep the leach field is under ground? If it's deep, it may not matter much. I've got a 1920 with FEL and would mow with a hog of some brand so it's a legit question I never thought of. Probably would weigh in at 4,000 lbs. is my guess. Thanks for asking and I'll look up the depth of my leach field.

Todd in Placerville, CA.

'98 NH 1920 4x4

 

[webbmeister]

Todd:

I don't know the depth of the leach field, the system won't be built until spring. I can tell you though that it will be an at-grade system. Does that tell you anything?

Thanks for your reply!

Jim

 

[MODiesel]

Howdy!

Aroudn here, code requires that most drainfields be dug 18-24in deep, with rock on bottom and 6-12in fill on top. However, things can settle, and any sort of slope to your ground will cause the drainage to run downhill from your field.

I know firsthand what can happen. I was in a spot with my 29D where I was simply leveling out some dirt, and the bucket all of a sudden dug in about 10in. It filled with soft, wet dirt, and as the bucket struggled to pull up, the resulting hole collapsed the dirt around the front wheels. Uh oh! I had a full bucket and I couldn't raise it more than about 6in above the hole, indicating that the weight was above the relief pressure of the hydraulics. I looked at the tires and water was filling around them! Luckily, I was in L range, so I locked in 4WD, used the diff lock, raised up the RPM, and attempted to back out. She crawled out just fine, but I had a new appreciation for where water can run, underground!

Moral, for me, is that in an area with lots of rock, like ours, water can run just under the surface. This was about 10 yards below the end of the drain field, so I'm now a bit more careful in that area. My guess is that it would depend on the code for your area, but be careful if your downhill of the field.

Best Regards,
Jay

 

[jfakerj]

Jim
Have the system tested for a deeper depth if your soil is good. That will give you more coverage over the top.

Jerry

 

[JJT]

Don't worry about the weight of a compact tractor on a leach field - standard sewer and drain has a 3000PSI rating, your tractor has at least a 400 square inch foot print. I'm **** and always use N12 pipe - it has a 10,000PSI rating, 15 years ago I had to replace a leach field in my new house because the contractor was in a hurry when he did the drain field - and crushed a number of pipes when he backfilled the trenches.

 

[Boomerboy]

Webmeister,
I have been using a TC29D with a 914 MMM for the past two years over my septic field with no problems at all. I must say though that the septic field is 22 yrs. old and obviuosly well settled. The septic field is 1900 linear feet of pipe at 24". In our area, we needed to fill with stone, straw, etc. The results within a year after installation (1980) were definate depression lines that are still evident to this day. The septic field is on a gentle slope, but accumulates no significant wet spots even in the spring of the year.

In the past 20 yrs, this is the largest tractor I have used over the septic fields, but I still have noticed no evidence of my "Big Blue" on the field. Good Luck!

 

[webbmeister]

Boomerboy:

This is heartening news. Thank you. And thanks to everybody who had something to say. 25D now in the prep area of the dealer's shop!

JIM

 

[djradz]

Our garden is over our field and for the past 15 years I've plowed it with my 1720 and now 40D. Fortuneately, the stone and fill are all located about 18" or so down, so I'm not digging up the field when I plow the garder, but I keep waiting for the year when the field starts to plug up and the garden becomes a sea, with big-blue stuck in it. So far, I've never had a problem -- and our soil is pretty clay-filled. I think you'll be just fine with your 29 as long as the field is working fine and not in a low or extremely shaded area.

 

[John_Mc]

Whether the 25D will do any damage depends on the type of system you have. In my part of Vermont, Mound Systems are common, since the good soil is not deep enough for the standard leach field. You do NOT want to drive on a mound system with a compact tractor. You can usually get away with a riding mower (though there are those who say to use only a hand mower).

The main concern is soil compaction. As the soil gets compacted, you reduce the filtering capacity of the system (this is true of most leach fields, just more so in a mound system).