Septic Tank
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cedarranch
Silver Member
HMMMM! Not sure! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
John_Mc
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<font color=blue>Overall, when I installed 18 inch culvert pipes, I needed 24 inches of soil above the culvert to protect it from fully loaded cement trucks. With that information, I think 18 inches would be plenty to protect the lid from the weight of your equipment. </font color=blue>
Since the culvert pipes are basically an arch, they inherently have a great deal of strength. As long as you don't concentrate a lot of load in one place and buckle the arch, they'll stand up to a lot. Burying it 24 inches deep definitely distributes any load from above pretty well.
On a flat septic lid, you don't have the strength of the "arch". It's conceivable that at 18" deep a compact tractor could crack it... especially depending on the soil conditions and the size of the opening spanned by the flat plate.
Since the culvert pipes are basically an arch, they inherently have a great deal of strength. As long as you don't concentrate a lot of load in one place and buckle the arch, they'll stand up to a lot. Burying it 24 inches deep definitely distributes any load from above pretty well.
On a flat septic lid, you don't have the strength of the "arch". It's conceivable that at 18" deep a compact tractor could crack it... especially depending on the soil conditions and the size of the opening spanned by the flat plate.
RJohnson
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BMW
I found the Univerisity of Texas website on septic tanks to be very useful. Here is the link to the care and feed of your septic tank <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5240/machmeier/Machmeier_Care_n_Feed.html>http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5240/machmeier/Machmeier_Care_n_Feed.html</A>. Hope this helps.
Randy
I found the Univerisity of Texas website on septic tanks to be very useful. Here is the link to the care and feed of your septic tank <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5240/machmeier/Machmeier_Care_n_Feed.html>http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5240/machmeier/Machmeier_Care_n_Feed.html</A>. Hope this helps.
Randy
frank_f15
Super Member, Rest in Peace
i don't think your tractor broke the top, if u had that much dirt on it, the weight would not have been enough. great pictures tho, and a great fix. i just had a new tank and leach bed done this fall. tore up the whole side yard and down into the woods for drainage line, so this spring i have a whole bunch of work to do re-grading and planting grass. want to help/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
frank_f15
Super Member, Rest in Peace
bird: that sure is different form what we use up here for a tank, mine is prefabed concret, with 2 access lids, just had it installed this fall along with new leach bed, the old bed gave up, only 52 years old./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif as for digital camers, mine(olympus) with a 8 mb card will take only 1 pic set at tiff, and 8 in SHQ (64mb card has not come yet) SHQ should be jpeg but at higher res. so the files will be much larger.i usually shoot at SETTING OF HQ OR SHQ, in case i wnat to print, and resize if i want to e mail or print. confuses the heck out of this old man also/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
Bird
Rest in Peace
Frank, that first tank IS a prefab concrete 500 gallon tank with 2 access lids (one over the intake plumbing and one over the outlet plumbing), but I only have the riser and quick and easy access to the first one. And my camera is an Olympus D-460Zoom and in the HQ setting shows to take 36 pictures on the 8 mb card (I've never actually taken more than 20) and 17 pictures on the SHQ setting (and I've never taken more than 4). I also have a second 8 mb card and a 16 mb card, but have never used them yet. I have been using the HQ setting, but think from now on I'll just leave it on the SHQ.
frank_f15
Super Member, Rest in Peace
BIRD : OUR CAMERAS are basicaly the same , mine is the d-510 , just a newer version of the 460 with a few added features. the 64 mb card came as a rebate, have not received it yet, but can not imajine needing more than that. i too leave it set in SHQ MOST OF THE TIME.
billboe
Gold Member
<font color=blue>Plus another thing that will plug up a septic system quicker than anything, is to dump your clothes washer water into the system without first filtering out the lint. The Rayons, Nylons, and other synthetic fibers will not break down in the tank, and will flow out into the leach field and plug things up.</font color=blue>
This sounds like a good idea... Altho, I've never seen it done. Anyone have a solution that won't back up the waste on the washer?
This sounds like a good idea... Altho, I've never seen it done. Anyone have a solution that won't back up the waste on the washer?
MossRoad
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Put in a seperate smaller system for the washer and kitchen sink only. Some areas don't allow this, but others do. The efluent from the washer and kitchen sink are considered gray water. You don't have to treat it the same as the sewage from the toilets. It might be worth looking into.
TerryinMD
Veteran Member
Another suggestion made to me by the "honey dipper" was to have a separate tank for your water softener backflush water. He suggests that there is a higher concentration of salts in the waste and this can lead to earlier septic tank failures. The salts can be highly corrosive which can lead to the concrete failing and the wire mesh and rebar to corrode.
What he suggested was to get a large platic tank, dig a pit, line the pit with stone, drill some holes on the sides of the tank (not specific on placement), and backfill with more stone around the tank. This way the backflush water will be held, the heaver salts and particulate would settle to the bottom, and the cleaner water would drain into the stone. When the 'honey dipper" comes back to pumb out the septic system, they also pump out the backflush tank and remove all of the deposits. Sounds good in theory, but I haven't heard of anyone doing this.
Terry
What he suggested was to get a large platic tank, dig a pit, line the pit with stone, drill some holes on the sides of the tank (not specific on placement), and backfill with more stone around the tank. This way the backflush water will be held, the heaver salts and particulate would settle to the bottom, and the cleaner water would drain into the stone. When the 'honey dipper" comes back to pumb out the septic system, they also pump out the backflush tank and remove all of the deposits. Sounds good in theory, but I haven't heard of anyone doing this.
Terry
Egon
Epic Contributor
Salt
The salt will be in solution and will not precipitate unless the solution becomes saturated. With the amount of water used for the backwash this may not happen.
Egon
The salt will be in solution and will not precipitate unless the solution becomes saturated. With the amount of water used for the backwash this may not happen.
Egon
TerryinMD
Veteran Member
Egon,
Do you mean that the water is saturated with a lot of salt? Just trying to understand...
If that is the case, then the "honey dipper" mispoke, correct.
Terry
Do you mean that the water is saturated with a lot of salt? Just trying to understand...
If that is the case, then the "honey dipper" mispoke, correct.
Terry
frank_f15
<font color=red>this spring i have a whole bunch of work to do re-grading and planting grass. want to help?</font color=red>
I'd love to help. Just buy me a trailer and a truck to pull it with and I'll bring the Kubota and the box scraper right up./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif We'll have it knocked out in no time.
Later
Mark
<font color=red>this spring i have a whole bunch of work to do re-grading and planting grass. want to help?</font color=red>
I'd love to help. Just buy me a trailer and a truck to pull it with and I'll bring the Kubota and the box scraper right up./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif We'll have it knocked out in no time.
Later
Mark
Egon
Epic Contributor
Terry:
The salt is dissolved in the water just like sea water. The only way for any significant amount of solid salt to fall out is if the water contains more salt than it can absorb. With the volume of water used regenerating and rinsing this is very unlikely to happen.
Egon
The salt is dissolved in the water just like sea water. The only way for any significant amount of solid salt to fall out is if the water contains more salt than it can absorb. With the volume of water used regenerating and rinsing this is very unlikely to happen.
Egon
Joe_W
Silver Member
Billboe, here's a link to a washing machine filter that will trap enough lint in a year to carpet your living room (according to the author). This site also has a lot of septic system information.
Joe W.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.septicprotector.com/products.htm>http://www.septicprotector.com/products.htm</A>
Joe W.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.septicprotector.com/products.htm>http://www.septicprotector.com/products.htm</A>
billboe
Gold Member
Thanks for the link Joe. Looks like an interesting product. Has anyone here tried it? Is it overkill? Would something simpler work as well? I wonder if you really need to worry about the very fine particles?
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
RJohnson
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Billboe
It is the really fine particles that you have to worry about. They can easily get out of the tank and into your leach field. If you wear any type of synethetic clothing these fine particles eventually get to your soil and clog up the pores. These type of particles do not break down in the soil and eventually you have to have expensive leach field repair. I have heard very good things about filters inline with the wasing machine drain line and I personally would recommend an effluent filter in your septic tank to keep as many solids in the tank as possible.
Randy
It is the really fine particles that you have to worry about. They can easily get out of the tank and into your leach field. If you wear any type of synethetic clothing these fine particles eventually get to your soil and clog up the pores. These type of particles do not break down in the soil and eventually you have to have expensive leach field repair. I have heard very good things about filters inline with the wasing machine drain line and I personally would recommend an effluent filter in your septic tank to keep as many solids in the tank as possible.
Randy
Here are some similar links:
