Will a septic tank support a BX2200?

Rch · Sep 2, 2001

11 years ago I installed 3-1250 gallon holding tanks when I built my house. These are pre-fab concrete tanks, 4" thick, buried about 3' down in a line with 15-18" between them. I was using a Deutz with 3-16 plow to prepare the yard for seeding and got to close to the tanks (about 2 feet) and the soil was not yet settled in and around the tanks. The tractor sunk in and became stuck. I had to get a tow truck to get pulled out. I cracked the the side wall, it leaked and I had to "decommission" it, fill it with sand ( it was real close to an asphalted drive by the time I discovered it) and place a new one next to it.This entail a revised santitary permit, $675 for the tank, $700 to the plumber and excavator and a tore-up lawn. The county inspector had to be there when it was done.
When new it takes hand work distributing the fill in and around the tanks and several seasons for the soil to settle in so I'd wait a year or 2 to landscape around them. My excavator say,when newly placed, they won't tolerate a wheel tractor near them as I expensively found out. I also have a 4" PVC pipe buried about 3' to the tank and I avoid driving over that. Obviously a new installation is more vulnerable than an older one, but I'd avoid uneccesary stress.

RCH

ejb · Sep 4, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/247/region/Man_dies_in_backyard_cesspool_:.shtml

What a way to go!!

snowman · Sep 4, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

A related septic system question...

I moved into my house in January; it has a leach field with
three PVC tubes coming up through the lawn. They are not
capped; the appear to be some type of ventilation.

Nobody can tell me what their purpose is; the former owner
wasn't sure and the firm that did the original drawings didn't
have them in their drawings and couldn't tell me either.

I've never observed any other houses anywhere with these
tubes sticking up (it may just be that most are hidden
somehow).

Does anyone have a clue as what these may be for?

Darins · Sep 4, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

Snowman, I think that those tubes that are sticking up should be cleanouts. I have a newer home and I also have 3 of them. They also used them when they were installing the field they can adjust the pressure in each line to make sure that is is all the same. Hope that helps.
Also about weight on the tanks. This spring I was getting some concrete work done, I told the finisher to stay clear of those tanks. But !!! I was at work and they got too close to the one tank and sunk 3ft next to the tank. They did not break that one but it moved that tank just enough to crush the other tank. I was not to happy when I came home and saw this. What a mess we had to dig it up and put in a new tank. Luckily I have friend that put in septic sytems so they came right over and put in a new one. So if the grownd is still new I would stay away it doesn't take much to cave those in..

ForceTen · Sep 4, 2001

Here\'s a suggestion:

Throw down a couple of 2x12s. The added distribution of the weight will be more than enough to take care of the tank, provided the ground is not soft or muddy. But that might be more of a pain than just driving elsewhere...

ERNIEB · Sep 4, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

snowman, I agree with Darins, they probably are cleanouts. I put in my own system, it's a double loop. I put in 4 cleanouts, two on each loop, at opposite corners. Except that I put screw caps on them and they are about 16 inches below the surface. If I ever need to use them I'll have to dig down to them.

Ernie

snowman · Sep 5, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

Thanks for the replies re: the mysterious tubes.

How often does the leach field need to be cleaned out?

How do you tell when it needs to be cleaned out?

To clean it out, do you just basically stick a suction tube
down it and suck it all out?

I was going to have the septic tank itself cleaned out
because the former owner never did and I want to have
a "fresh" start. I assume that he never cleaned out the
leach field either.

Thanks

Mike_Dumond · Sep 5, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

Snowman, finally a subject i know about.

The tank should be cleaned out every 2 years. If this is done, the leach field should go an easy 20 years without problems. But if it goes too long betwen cleanings, the organic matter can creep into the field. Then you have to have them pressure washed, trying to open up some pores in the fill along side the pipes. Not easy to do, and only marginally effective, depending on how bad the problem is.

If your pipes from the house to the tank are clean, and your tank has been cleaned, and you still have backup when you use alot of water, then you probably have a problem. If the service cleaning your tank is worth their salt, they should be able to tell if organics have gotten into the field. If you are still not sure, and want peace of mind, then have it cleaned, both the tank and field. Then stick to the 2 year cycle for the tank.

Keep the greasy side down
Mike

TerryinMD · Sep 5, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

I just had my septic tank pumped last week. The system is 11 yrs old with no problems. Look at this site for some interesting information:

http://www.agwt.org/agwt/default.htm

Current recommendations for pumping a tank are every 3 yrs for systems without garbage disposal grinder to 1 yr with a grinder. The pump owner/operator said that Pennsylvania has "mandated" (lack of proper term) that septic tanks be pumped every three years. Our system was in good working order so hopefully we can get another 10-15 yrs out of it.

As a talking point, I paid $155 to pump and clean the tank. He also recommended that I install an access hole for future use. I went to a local supplier and paid $33 for 16" of double wall 24" corregated plastic drain pipe and a 28" reinforced concrete lid. Since the hole was already dug all I had to do is widen it a little and plop the pipe and lid in and backfill.

StoneHeartFarm · Sep 5, 2001

Re: Will a septic tank support a BX2200?/READ THIS

Snowman,

My new septic system has a PVC pipe sticking up at the end of the field. The system has a single 90' run of "Infiltrator". This is a series of snap together plastic boxes each about 3x6 that look like hi-tek coffin lids. They are trenched into the ground with the bottom of the trench raked dead flat. The idea is that as the field ages, fluid will begin to stand in the infiltrator. The pipe at the end is an inspection riser. Mine has a cap that get's pulled off and you basically take a peek down there and see how much fluid is standing. If it's too full, then you dig a trench along side, pull the infiltrator up and move it over into the new trench.

My buddy has a 2 run infiltrator set up and has 3 risers. One is a valve to switch between the two runs when one fills up.

It sounds like you have something like this. The Infiltrator is relatively new around here (perhaps 10 years) and the traditional systems are still being installed, so not that many homes have the risers. (Probably fewer than 1 in 300). It may be newer in your area. I've never seen risers on a standard gravel and PVC leach field, but it may be considered good practice in other areas. I'm not sure how much good clean outs on a standard field would do.

SHF