Weight on Septic Leach Lines

kemary · Apr 5, 2009

This may seem like a dumb question, but how much weight is too much for septic leach lines. I built a new house last year and the leach lines are the easy flow tube. This system uses a 4" leach pipe inside a 10" sock filled with styrofoam packing peanuts, no gravel. The trenches were dug with a 12" bucket, the easy flow tube dropped in, cover with paper and backfilled. Here in Ohio the current septic rules only allow the trenches to be 18" deep. So with 10" of pipe, there is only 8" of cover fill. I'm a little paranoid about driving my tractor over the leach lines when I mow. I mow with a Yanmar YM 2500 and a Woods 72" RFM. The tractor weighs approximately 2400lbs and the mower weighs about 500lbs. So far I have stayed off of the leach lines and mowed them with a Cub Cadet 12 hp and 38" deck. Am I being overly conservative? Also, I do have turf tires on the Yanmar. The rears are 14" wide and the fronts are 8" wide. Thanks Jack.

Hooked_on_HP · Apr 5, 2009

I think you ars being overly cautious. What size machine did they use to backfill the lines. That should tell you how much weight they will take.
Bill

kemary · Apr 5, 2009

The leach lines were backfilled by the trackhoe as he went but the area was finish graded with a grading dozer that had very wide tracks. The dozer operator claimed that he could run over an egg buried flush with the surface and not break it!! Maybe he meant hard boiled!!

polo1665 · Apr 5, 2009

kemary said:
This may seem like a dumb question, but how much weight is too much for septic leach lines. I built a new house last year and the leach lines are the easy flow tube. This system uses a 4" leach pipe inside a 10" sock filled with styrofoam packing peanuts, no gravel. The trenches were dug with a 12" bucket, the easy flow tube dropped in, cover with paper and backfilled. Here in Ohio the current septic rules only allow the trenches to be 18" deep. So with 10" of pipe, there is only 8" of cover fill. I'm a little paranoid about driving my tractor over the leach lines when I mow. I mow with a Yanmar YM 2500 and a Woods 72" RFM. The tractor weighs approximately 2400lbs and the mower weighs about 500lbs. So far I have stayed off of the leach lines and mowed them with a Cub Cadet 12 hp and 38" deck. Am I being overly conservative? Also, I do have turf tires on the Yanmar. The rears are 14" wide and the fronts are 8" wide. Thanks Jack.

Here is an older thread that addresses your concerns. I've heard arguments both ways. I keep my 3,500 lb tractor off of the leach field. I mow it with a garden tractor with a 60" deck. Probably takes less time with the garden tractor.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...eptic-well-systems.html?highlight=leach+field

Mark

bearmtnmartin · Apr 6, 2009

driving over your drainfield can cause two problems. First is the obvious, damage to components, and the other is compaction, which reduces oxygen transfer, and causes the drainfield to be more anaerobic. Oxygen transfer is why we install them so shallow now. EZ flows are H10 rated with a foot of cover, I think. So thats around 8000 pounds per square foot. So I guess what I'm saying is that you probably won't damage the pipes. but if you regularly drive over the drainfield with your 3500 pound tractor, especially in wet weather, you will shorten the lifespan of your drainfield. Oh, also, if you have a distribution box, they can't usually take any weight at all, and you stand a good chance of either crushing the lid, or causing it to settle unevenly, which can seriously damage your drainfield. I just replaced a D box on a 5 year old house that the landscapers destroyed. It was 2 feet down, but they managed to cave the lid in, tilt the box by 4 inches, and ruin one third of the drainfield.

CurlyDave · Apr 6, 2009

bearmtnmartin said:
driving over your drainfield can cause two problems. First is the obvious, damage to components, and the other is compaction, which reduces oxygen transfer, and causes the drainfield to be more anaerobic...

I completely agree with this.

I don't have lawn over my drainfield, and I won't let anyone drive anything on it. Only walk.

Wis Bang · Apr 6, 2009

kemary said:
The leach lines were backfilled by the trackhoe as he went but the area was finish graded with a grading dozer that had very wide tracks. The dozer operator claimed that he could run over an egg buried flush with the surface and not break it!! Maybe he meant hard boiled!!

That was a LGP [low ground pressure] machine and he wasn't talking hard boiled. Unlike a tire, the weight is spread out over the whole surface area of the track surface on the ground while your tractor is concentrated on the footprint of the 4 tires. Kinda' like how snowshoes work in deep snow.

kemary · Apr 6, 2009

Thanks for the replies everyone. I guess I'll just keep using the cub cadet over this area. Jack.

PILOON · Apr 6, 2009

We were told that vegetation helped the evaporation process of a drainage field.
When questioned, an expert agreed that flower beds over a fiels would indeed aid the process as would vegatable gardens.
The concencus was that leafy vegies and shrubs would aide and not deter a field.

That being the case we have some of the nicest salad greens and showiest flowers in the area.

And this on a field that is close to 30 years old!

The grass is not necessalily greaner on the other side of the fence unless there is a drainage field under it!

polo1665 · Apr 6, 2009

PILOON said:
We were told that vegetation helped the evaporation process of a drainage field.
When questioned, an expert agreed that flower beds over a fiels would indeed aid the process as would vegatable gardens.
The concencus was that leafy vegies and shrubs would aide and not deter a field.

That being the case we have some of the nicest salad greens and showiest flowers in the area.

And this on a field that is close to 30 years old!

The grass is not necessalily greaner on the other side of the fence unless there is a drainage field under it!