Septic Tank Maint.

[Bedlam]

I know this subject may be a bit off subject, But I'd like to get some peoples opinions from experience on how often they do, or should pump their tank.I have a 1000 gallon tank.Its 26 years old. A friend of mine pumps and installs them for a living and tells me that if it is working correctly, then you should never have to pump it.
I also have a friend who does it once a year.
In my 26 years, I did have a time when I had to "skim" off some solids from the top.(perhaps I should have had the "dirty job" guy here)
I have easy access to the "D"box, and it has never had any solids in it and appears to be in good shape.
At my Dads, He has a cesspool.(rocks arranged in a circle) and it has been pumped a few times, and had the acid treatment.
Anyway,I have been lookig for the answer to this for 26 years.
Thanks Allan

 

[gsganzer]

Allan,
My septic tank is pumped every 2 to 3 years at the advice of my septic guy. Regardless of how well the septic works, solids DO accumulate at the bottom and the top. You don't want these to accumulate to the point that they might enter the lateral lines, as that's what eventually ruins the system.

Besides that, pumping is cheap. I think it costs me in the area of $75 each time. I plan to eliminate the hassle of digging up the covers each time. The next time I dig them up, I'll poke a hole in each lid and cement in a piece of 6" PVC with a plug. I'll put a valve box over that, so it's accessible each time and protected from damage.

 

[varmint]

I'll be checking this thread for feedback! I too have the same question- when we bought our property about 7 years ago, the tank was pumped... we I talked with guy, and told him that there would be mostly just two occupants, that we were mostly vegetarians, etc., ie., low grease, he replied that we should be okay for a long time. We'rereally concerned about the water quality issues- if the tank fill with too many solids, then the leach field will be getting bad stuff, and there goes our micro environment. This oughta be interesting when the experts weigh in.

 

[BB_TX]

There is a vast difference of opinion from yearly to never. And I don't propose to have the answer. We built our house 24 yrs ago in the country with a septic system. Never had one before and the builder did not say anything about maintenance. So I never even considered it. Now 24 yrs later it has never been pumped and has never been a problem. Works just as well now as the first year. Now I am not saying I recommend that, just my personal experience. I am kinda surprised your friend in the business recommends never as that would mean lost business for him.

 

[ronjhall]

Here is a good thread on septic systems.
Properly maintaining a septic system?

 

[txdon]

According to the book - "The Septic System Owners Manual" by Kahn, Allen and Jones, - they recommend inspecting the tank every three years to five years and base frequency of the pumping on the inspections. The book goes into many details and is a good source for septic questions and problems. Their answer for pumping the septic tank that is not abused is 10 to 12 years.

Question to moderators: Is this a copy wright violation or a book review?

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Allan,
Interesting post!

When I built my home in Ct in 82 I was told to get it pumped out every 2 to 3 years with a growing family of 4. Which I faithfully did for many years. Fast foward to the kids going away to college, and I changed the frequency to every 5 years. I used to get a charge out of the septic pump guy putting on the receipt that the tank was full /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Of course it was full, full of water with some solids at the bottom of the tank. The water makes it over the internal baffle and eventually to the D-Box.

Really think about it for a second, how much in the way of solids actually go into the tank? Especially with only 2 people?
I have no doubt that you could change the pump out frequency to every 10 to 12 years with that senario. I always felt it was cheap preventive maintainance for the pump out. I have 3, 75 ft long leaching fields, and as long as the ground can absorb the excess water you should never have a problem.

In my Vt house that we use on the weekends, I also have a 1000 gal tank and ahve not pumped it out yet. The house was built in 98 and the previous owners used it less frequently than us.

On an ending note, a friend of mine, who is an old timer hasnt had his pumped out in 30 plus years and still has not had a problem. Although I would not advise that course of action /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

scotty

 

[frank29]

This is an interesting thread. Years ago, before I built my house, I had a number of friends that had to pump their tanks at frequent intervals. I wanted to avoid this. After some research, I was led to believe that the introduction of "clothes washing machine discharge" interfered with septic tank operations.

When I built my house, the washing machine discharge was not routed to the septic tank. Either this works or I have been lucky, my septic system has seen heavy use with five people for almost 22 years. For ten of the years, a kitchen sink disposal was used. My septic tank has never been pumped.

 

[Farwell]

I had mine pumped just after I purchased my place and the septic guy said I had at least another 5 years before it needed pumped out. He told me that with only two people living in the home I should easily make it 10 years before it needed it again if I did not abuse it with harsh chemicals, use a garbage disposer to much and if I did, not to use it for meats or greasy food. I also asked him about all of the advertised additives that many folks swear by and he said it was up to me but he could not see any difference between the tanks or tile fields with or without the additives.
I think it also depends on the design of the system. The newer designs are supposed to be much more efficient than the older ones.
I may have to worry about tree root invasion in the tile field but so far no problem. My water table is pretty high so the roots should find it easier going to that for a source of water.
Farwell

 

[BB_TX]

It has a lot to do with the quality of the construction also. My neighbors on either side of us built their houses about the same time as us. Same soil conditions. They used the same builder, but a different builder than us. Apparently that builder cut corners. They both fought septic system problems for several years until they both had their systems reworked. No problems now after about 12-15 yrs that I know of. I am pretty sure one has not had his pumped since. Not sure about the other.