Septic leach Field question

_RaT_ · May 15, 2004

No, I'm not sure now that you mention it. It would seem though that other areas would suffer the same fate. The strips in between the dry areas are no more or less green then all the rest of the areas. My thought was that my leach field might be percing the water so quickly that that perhaps it drys out the area above because of a shallow soil condition. I don't know how this leach field was built and quite frankly what I just said really does'nt make much sense. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

BubbaJr · May 15, 2004

Hello,

The dark green stripes line up with the leach lines in the septic field. If your septic tank has 3 covers, there are 2 chambers in the tank (one for solids and the other for the liquids), and the last cover is over the distribution box. Open the cover closest to the leach field and see if there is a plastic elbow sticking up at a 90 degree angle, with one end connected to a horizontal pipe. If you have 2 horizontal pipes in the box (on the output side), you need to switch the 90 degree elbow from one pipe to the other. This should be done about every 6 months, and will lengthen the life of your septic fields. If you have this system, you have 2 separate fields so that one of them does not become overloaded. One of the clues that it's time to change fields, is when you see the green stripes in the grass. It's not hard to change the pipe, just wriggle it back and forth to remove it and reverse the process to re-install it on the other pipe (friction fit). Just be careful you don't fall in the hole. even though it's the least objectionable hole of the three to fall into, it's still kind of yucky!!! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Good Luck /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ps. The fumes from the 3rd cover aren't too bad, so you don't need a gas mask, or anything.

AndyM · May 15, 2004

Open the cover closest to the leach field and see if there is a plastic elbow sticking up at a 90 degree angle, with one end connected to a horizontal pipe. If you have 2 horizontal pipes in the box (on the output side), you need to switch the 90 degree elbow from one pipe to the other. This should be done about every 6 months, and will lengthen the life of your septic fields. If you have this system, you have 2 separate fields so that one of them does not become overloaded. One of the clues that it's time to change fields, is when you see the green stripes in the grass. It's not hard to change the pipe, just wriggle it back and forth to remove it and reverse the process to re-install it on the other pipe (friction fit). 

Here's what the distribution box looks like that Bubba was talking about. Just switch the elbow from one side to the other. This gives the one side of your septic field a "break" while everything flows into the other side.

By the way, that's an old photo. There's really no snow on the ground today! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have to keep mine flowing to the back side during the wet season, because the front half is already saturated from rainwater runoff. I'll switch it this summer, around July.

There's an upside to having stripes in the lawn--
I'm going to be putting a fence along one side of my septic field, and now I know exactly where I shouldn't be putting my fence posts! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

SPIKER · May 15, 2004

hummm raintree sounds like a very smelly water sorce but you could go into the bonsi grownig field! lol

my older brother and his buddy was working the summer as a honey truck drivers. at a camp ground where portable toilets were in side the mobile trailers. anyhwo had to flush when they turned on the suction or else it would SUCK the tanks flat... needless to say some of the people would not do it quite right.
best one was day I was there fishing in the lake.

they hooked up to this one trailer and told her to flush, she didn't listen and came out side to ask what next. well they had already opened the valve and started to suck aginst the tank (hard steel one) and it created a major vacume in the tank and stalled the truck. all vacume was lost and it back flushed into the trailer just as she had ran back in to flush it! lol /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif about 300 gallons of raw blue & brown sewage right in the face! there was also a few other "accidents" if they were rude to them or acted supperior to them! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Wilburn Cox · Jan 21, 2019

Poppa said:
( That is YOUR natural fertilizer leaching out of the pipes /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Yes, and great fertilizer it is. I have two tanks, the first contains the solids and the second acts as a holder that gets pumped out to the field. I keep threatening to install a big trash pump hooked up to a commercial size RainBird sprinkler so that all five acres look that nice. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Problem is my wife says she'll kill me and I think the neighbors might have something to say about the whole operation as well /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Of course, it's mine so it doesn't stink /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Mike

Mike; I have two tanks, each 500 gallons and when it rains the run off water seeps into my tanks. I have a 1/2 Horse power centrifugal pump with 3/4" PVC running into the second tank (water only). I have 4 acres and I pump this out over the back part just through a water hose laying on the ground. I wonder if using a rainbird sprinkler would get me into trouble with the sanitation dept. Just thinking. Have a great 2019. Red Cox