Working around septic system

[dliston]

Didn't know what forum to post this - seems as good a place as any.

I'm a new user - got a fair sized tractor - NH TC40DA with R4 tires - do I need to worry about driving it over my leach lines or septic tank? Have some work to do near the house and really don't want to watch my baby sink slowly into a very foul smelling hole.

Thanks,

 

[chim]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Have some work to do near the house and really don't want to watch my baby sink slowly into a very foul smelling hole.)</font>

I drive over mine with a B7500 every time I mow. I'd avoid having a concrete truck cross it, but have never worried about the tractor. If the ground is mushy enough to sink a tractor, you already have problems...................chim

 

[Yankee]

The contractor used a lot bigger tractor than mine to backfill the box and drain field, probably as large as your TC40. It was dry at that point, however. I don't worry about running my B7610 over it. My neighbor just had some landscaping done. The contractor used a pretty good-sized tractor to prepare a seed bed over his system. No problem at all.

 

[Keith_TN65]

I've always heard to keep your mowing machine under 3000 pounds when mowing over the septic system. More to keep from compacting the ground around the leech bed than anything else. I imagine moving a heavier machine over the lines once and a while would not be too bad.

 

[ByronBob]

Just built a new house. Excavator drove a bulldozer over my leach field. It appears he also drove over the tank but not the distribution box. Physics told me that was probably a good idea.

Even if your tractor is 3000 pounds it's distributed over your tires so the load really becomes much less. If you can position the tractor so some of it is out of harms way then thats all the better. Your judgement and common sense should be fine.

My D-Box crumbled after 30 years of use. I never drove over it so you gotta think age did it. The materials they build tanks with now are far better. They have fiber reinforced materials in concrete and such to help it cure and have stronger bonding characteristics.

 

[DiskDoctr]

Doug,

Avoid the lid for sure. This is a weak point and I've seen tank and cesspools collapse. Probably due to wedge shaped lids that wear or tilt.

Once they push through, it's much more likely to collapse the flat top.

Good news is most lids have a metal loop in it, so a metal detector finds it quite easily.

Also- avoid a lot of heavy traffic over your leach field. This is the set of pipes and gravel beds (depending upon type of system) that extend from the tank. If you compact this soil too tightly, you can have drainage problems.

This are is sometimes softer or a bit mushy, depending upon the health of your system.

Not sure if your NH is big enough to be a problem, maybe someone else can help there. Just thought some background would be helpful.

-JC

 

[nobull1]

Well I will disagree with most of the replies so far /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.I use my KX 91-3 7500lb excavator or similar and L4300 5200lb on a lot of customer yards.I have seen what can happen when people use this type of equipment on or around septic systems, not good.A lot of times if the ground is dry it doesn't appear to be a problem.The long term effect of driving over the system can be compaction as was mentioned,crushed pipe,blocked pipe etc.A lot of the times you will not even know you have a problem till days,months or even years go by.When a customer wants me to go over his field I just about want his first born in my hands so he wont try and blame me if he has problems later.Now after all that being said, I go over fields all the time but only if I have to and never for convienience.Also I try to never drive over the tank or 5' from each side as I have seen the pipe coming/going from the tank become broken pulled out etc.The weight of the machine on the tank if it doesn't crush a weak top can possibly move the tank and cause the above problems.As you can tell I don't like driving near septic systems.The grief that a broken system causes is bad news.Wait till the wife flushes and it doesn't go away or "honey it came back all over the floor" /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.Cost of repairing these systems is a lot and you have to be certified in our area to even work on them.If on your own property you have to drive over the system at least lay down some boards or something to distribute the weight it will help but not the answer.

 

[LarryD]

The line from my tank to the drain field cuts through a large part of my property and I drive over it frequently without any problems, it actually runs under my driveway at one point. I do have a little raised flower bed over tank and only drive through the drainfield when absolutely necessary (avoid the ground compaction). I think you should be fine doing some minor tractoring but do keep an eye out for any soft spots or water migrating to the surface.

 

[viking]

In March I had my line replaced from the house to the septic tank. The septic guy that dug up the line said it was no problem to drive his JD 5400 TLB over the tank. Well, in May one of the slats that cover my tank collapsed into the tank. My tank is old school and has three 3'x4' concrete slats that act as a lid to cover the tank. I had a new lid made and set it myself. I specifically asked him if driving over the tank was okay and ofcourse he thought it was. Ironically, when I ordered my concrete slab at a local septic company they asked if I had driven anything over the tank lately.
Now, could the tank have settled on it's own over that last 40 years prior and caused a crack? Yes, it could have, but.....
Needless to say, I would never drive over a septic tank.

 

[Junkman]

It depends on how far down your tank is. My tank is 15' from the top cover to the top of the ground. I have a concrete man hole to access the clean out for pumping. You could drive a tank over it and not damage it. It all depends on the type of tank, how far down, what the tank is sitting on for a base, etc. There are no hard and fast rules to this question, but just more questions than answers before you will find the correct answer. As for the leach field, stay off of it at all costs. You don't want compaction of the leach field. I would mow the grass above the leach field with a very small mower or tractor. As for the distribution box, they are usually quite close to the surface of the ground, and I would also be leery of driving over it with a heavy tractor. Time of the year and soil condition are another issue to be considered. If the ground is "mushy", stay off of the tank, lines, etc. Know where everything is located and you can devise a plan that will allow you to parallel the lines and not drive over them, but place the tractor center over them, with the wheels straddling the sides if neccessary...