Septic system advice

Highbeam said:

Ive cleared a couple of clogs. Its a spooky thing to open the lid of a septic tank when sewage is backed up into the house 5 or 6 feet above. Either the inlet is plugged ( usually a big wad of tp at the inlet baffle) or the outlet is plugged and if it's the outlet then you need to be ready for a fountain of sewage when you lift that lid.

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When I put a riser on my tank the first time I pumped it I also put a cleanout riser at the inlet pipe so I could clear any clogs that happened there. Since my tank is buried about 4.5 feet down it was worth the effort and cost to put the risers on. I've cleared the inlet clog once and was so glad I had the cleanout riser.

Chimney Smoke said:

That's kind of a strange township rule. How do they enforce it? I wonder if someone on the town council owns a septic cleaning business

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We live in close proximity to a lake in a small township. They do indeed send out a notification every two years as a reminder to pump your tank. They have a list of approved companies to pump your tank that includes just about every septic company within 50 miles. Once you have your tank pumped these companies are required to send some paper work to the township stating that the work was done. If you fail to follow the township regulation you face fines. It all came about from people that ignored maintenance of their septic systems and allowed them to leak and operate in disrepair. I don't mind, we have a lot of streams and run off that makes it's way to the lake and also we all have wells for drinking water. Even though our houses here are few and far between a poorly operating system is not healthy for anyone.

Lockpicker said:

We live in close proximity to a lake in a small township. They do indeed send out a notification every two years as a reminder to pump your tank. They have a list of approved companies to pump your tank that includes just about every septic company within 50 miles. Once you have your tank pumped these companies are required to send some paper work to the township stating that the work was done. If you fail to follow the township regulation you face fines. It all came about from people that ignored maintenance of their septic systems and allowed them to leak and operate in disrepair. I don't mind, we have a lot of streams and run off that makes it's way to the lake and also we all have wells for drinking water. Even though our houses here are few and far between a poorly operating system is not healthy for anyone.

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Still it seems like sort of a knee-jerk reaction to the problem. They should allow the people that do the tank pumping recommend the pumping interval instead of a blanket interval for everyone. It would be pretty easy to develop guidelines based on the sludge buildup since the last pumping.

You're dealing with politicians, remember.

Gee, all the shite laden horror stories. They went to the "licensed soil engineer" perk tests to do anything locally around here in 92. Perk test went from a ritual with a bucket and a watch to a bill for $275 TO $700 for absolutely nothing you couldn't do yourself. Mine (1000 gallon 1995) went without pumping from then until 2010. When it does go tits up I'm gonna whip out my back hoe grab my buddy and just knock it out myself. That's the beauty of living back off the road in what I call Jurassic Park. Nobody knows what I'm doing back here unless they are in a plane and I like it that way. The only problem is plowing the 1000' driveway. Besides that it pays off big.
Too bad you have such an old system. It's hard to justify putting any real $$ into such an old and small system. If the time comes you might as well go big with a cement 1000 gallon. If nothing else its a good sales attractor and tanks aren't much themselves. Being in NH you may well not have to get on your knees and beg with your wallet out like the rest of the NE. They can be pretty backwards over your way which as often as not is a good thing..

There also tables that give recommended pumping intervals based on the seize of the tank in gallons, household size, garbage disposal use, etc. These are easy to find in a google search.

http://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Tank_Pumping_Schedule.htm

Our house had a brand new 1500 gal tank installed by the previous owners and at first there was only 2 of us there. The chart says 9 years, I had it done at 4 for the piece of mind and to get a baseline. Stupid septic company however when I asked them what the sludge level was all they would say is normal. No matter how many times I asked the kid wouldn't give me a measurement... probably so I call them back more often. Now we area household of 4, chart says 4 years now but again I'll probably get it done at 3 years for piece of mind.

jharkin said:

Stupid septic company however when I asked them what the sludge level was all they would say is normal. No matter how many times I asked the kid wouldn't give me a measurement... probably so I call them back more often. Now we area household of 4, chart says 4 years now but again I'll probably get it done at 3 years for piece of mind.

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So tank pumpers aren't typically the sharpest tools in the shed. The kid probably stuck the hose in there and started the pump and then got back to texting his girlfriend.

You guys are all giving home inspectors too much credit. I've never seen them do a full septic inspection.
Toilet flushes? Good to go. They would have to pull the cover to get a good look at the tank. How many home inspectors are going to dig up a septic cover?

Around here, the home inspectors don't do the septic system. The prospective buy hires a septic guy to do the inspection. The homeowner pays for the pumping, the buyer pays for the inspection.

Good to here it worked out for you. My brother just had a Presby system installed. The field is half the size and barring someone totally abusing it, its almost impossible to plug the field.

peakbagger said:

Good to here it worked out for you. My brother just had a Presby system installed. The field is half the size and barring someone totally abusing it, its almost impossible to plug the field.

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You haven't met my brother in law. He is a master plugger. I can't figure it out...but no matter where he goes or what he does in there, he leaves a trail of wet plungers.

Terry Love of terrylove_com says there is a certain percent of the population (small percent) that will plug just about anything.