I just had my septic tanks pumped. The system is 5 years old and this is the first time it's been pumped. I suspected a problem because the pump seems to run very often, and when it's not running there's the sound of running water. I asked the guy who did the pumping to pump and diagnose the problem.
He pumped both tanks and diagnosed the problem as a bad pump and possible broken pipe. He gave me the number of his excavator friend for follow up.
Indeed after he got to the bottom of the tank #2 water was back-flowing from the bottom of the pump. At that point he made his diagnosis. He also said the pump looked rusty and needed to be replaced. He didn't look for the leak. I smelled something fishy, and it wasn't the tanks.
I paid him and he left. Then I dropped my iphone down into the tank taped to the end of a broom to have a look at the noisy leak. There's a small stream of water emitting from a fitting on the discharge pipe. It's near the exit of the tank so I might be leaking in from the ground, or the fitting may be leaking. Can't tell. The leak is pretty insignificant but it probably would be nice to get fixed.
Now the water coming in from the pump seems to indicate a bad check valve. I don't think the pump has an integral check valve. There's no check valve on the line in the tank. Would the check valve be buried?
Then I got to thinking. Perhaps there is no check valve? The exit line comes up to the top of the extension on the tank. And that is about where the top of the media in the drain field is. But the water table is a little high now so that may be causing some back-flow.
What do you folks think?
He pumped both tanks and diagnosed the problem as a bad pump and possible broken pipe. He gave me the number of his excavator friend for follow up.
Indeed after he got to the bottom of the tank #2 water was back-flowing from the bottom of the pump. At that point he made his diagnosis. He also said the pump looked rusty and needed to be replaced. He didn't look for the leak. I smelled something fishy, and it wasn't the tanks.
I paid him and he left. Then I dropped my iphone down into the tank taped to the end of a broom to have a look at the noisy leak. There's a small stream of water emitting from a fitting on the discharge pipe. It's near the exit of the tank so I might be leaking in from the ground, or the fitting may be leaking. Can't tell. The leak is pretty insignificant but it probably would be nice to get fixed.
Now the water coming in from the pump seems to indicate a bad check valve. I don't think the pump has an integral check valve. There's no check valve on the line in the tank. Would the check valve be buried?
Then I got to thinking. Perhaps there is no check valve? The exit line comes up to the top of the extension on the tank. And that is about where the top of the media in the drain field is. But the water table is a little high now so that may be causing some back-flow.
What do you folks think?