Septic Pumped / My Day Off

[thewoodlands]

Took the day off and dug the septic and distribution box up then had the septic pumped and the distribution box was clean. Time spent digging the filling it back in 2:20.

We have it pumped every 3-4 years if it needs it or not.


norton

 

[smokinj]

Pic 4 is that thing full?

 

[thewoodlands]

Pic 4 is that thing full?

Had some room but it was up there.


zap

 

[smokinj]

Pic 4 is that thing full?

Had some room but it was up there.


zap

everytime I pop mine open its about 20 percent never seen it rise any. I would have it pump if it even got 50 percent.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Pic 4 is that thing full?

Had some room but it was up there.


zap

everytime I pop mine open its about 20 percent never seen it rise any. I would have it pump if it even got 50 percent.

Not sure how old your tank is, but if it is only at 20% all the time I think you probably have a leak in the tank. If its only at 20%, how does the liquid make it to the outlet pipe and to your d box? (Maybe you have a cess pool/)

Only reason I ask is that I had mine pumped 3 years ago, and when he came out he says you probably have a leak as the tank should be full all the time.

 

[smokinj]

Pic 4 is that thing full?

Had some room but it was up there.


zap

everytime I pop mine open its about 20 percent never seen it rise any. I would have it pump if it even got 50 percent.

Not sure how old your tank is, but if it is only at 20% all the time I think you probably have a leak in the tank. If its only at 20%, how does the liquid make it to the outlet pipe and to your d box? (Maybe you have a cess pool/)

Only reason I ask is that I had mine pumped 3 years ago, and when he came out he says you probably have a leak as the tank should be full all the time.

lol May be off on 20 percent don't know its a 1500 gallon tank. There is no cess pool anywhere nor does the grass get any greener around it.....I have no Idea but my neighbor has never pump hes in the 45 year he's been there either. Very Very dry late summer and fall here its a drought! No Green areas at all..... From what I am told for my area its not uncommon. Now a couple miles away and the sewage pumper are making money.

 

[ROBERT F]

Maybe there is just alot of space above the transfer tube and the outlet on jays setup. dont know why they would do that, and not really willing to climb in and look. Gotta love a good mystery!

 

[thewoodlands]

Pic 4 is that thing full?

daveswoodhauler our septic if working right will only get as high has the pipe in the baffle leaving the tank, in the picture the fluid was not to the top of the baffle which was good to see.


zap

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Don't claim to be a septic pro buy any means, so you all might have a different system than I.
Just remember when I took off the cover 3 years ago (new to septic as we always had city water/sewer) and the tank was maybe 1/3rd full. I thought that was a good thing, but when the septic guy came out he said I probably had a small leak/crack in the tank, and instead of the material flowing out the pipe is was going out the crack.
He said to check in about 6 months, and sometimes if the crack is small they will eventually plug themselves back up....checked 6 months later, and the tank was much fuller. This guy has been in the business for many years, and after talking to him and researching on line, all the info I found was that your tank should be close to being full all the time....not full to the point where it is backing up into the house ...but full enough that the material is draining into the D box. Good luck...didn't mean to stir here...just passing on the info I was told.

Just a diagram of the material levels
(broken link removed)

 

[smokinj]

Don't claim to be a septic pro buy any means, so you all might have a different system than I.
Just remember when I took off the cover 3 years ago (new to septic as we always had city water/sewer) and the tank was maybe 1/3rd full. I thought that was a good thing, but when the septic guy came out he said I probably had a small leak/crack in the tank, and instead of the material flowing out the pipe is was going out the crack.
He said to check in about 6 months, and sometimes if the crack is small they will eventually plug themselves back up....checked 6 months later, and the tank was much fuller. This guy has been in the business for many years, and after talking to him and researching on line, all the info I found was that your tank should be close to being full all the time....not full to the point where it is backing up into the house ...but full enough that the material is draining into the D box. Good luck...didn't mean to stir here...just passing on the info I was told.

Just a diagram of the material levels
(broken link removed)

My baffle is much lower than that build in the 50's concrete around 20-35 percent off the bottom. (guessing but close)

 

[SolarAndWood]

...but full enough that the material is draining into the D box. Good luck...didn't mean to stir here...just passing on the info I was told.

That's how mine works. Fluid right up to the exit pipe which is probably at least 6 inches lower than the inlet. My first septic as well, I pop the top off the tank and check it after all the horror stories I have heard. We have a pipe on top of the tank that comes through the lawn big enough for the truck's hose and to look through with a flashlight.

 

[peakbagger]

Some folks may be confused. The reference to "pumping a septic tank" is to pump the collected solids out of the bottom of the tank. The tanks serves a couple of purposes, one purpose is to create a spot with a colony of anerobic bacteria to break down organics, the other purpose is to allow solids to settle out. The interior baffling is set up so that anything that floats doesnt make it to the outlet of the tank that goes to the field. If the tank isnt leaking, the water level should be even with the outlet of the tank which sould be near the top of the tank. Some designs incorporate a final baffle right in front of the outlet pipe so the actual outlet is not visible from the inside.

Unfortunately the one last use of septic tank is to hold waste when the leach field is plugged. Rather than rebuilding the field, the owner will just have the tank pumped when its full using it as a holding tank. As long as everyone is aware that the field is failed, its a annoyance, but frequently its part of a real estate transaction and the new owner gets a surprise after a few weeks after moving into their home. Some state now require opening up the distribution box in the field and inspecting to see that everything is draining correctly and other jurisdictions require core samples of the field. Its a pain for the seller but it protects the buyer.

 

[Later]

On our 1000 gal concrete tank the inlet and outlet are both about 6-8" below the top (perhaps the outlet is a bit lower) - so after a few flushes and showers the liquid level in the tank is near the top. The baffle is there to prevent the floating solids from immediately flowing to the outlet. They remain on the surface while the good bacteria in the tank partially digests them, whereupon they sink to the bottom of the tank. As the layer of the solids increases on the bottom of the tank the prudent action is to pump them before they can either clog the inlet or flow to the outlet. If they go out the outlet and get to the distribution box and leach field it's time to hold on to your wallet.

 

[bjkjoseph]

a small separate one for your washer will work wonders for your septic system.

 

[Highbeam]

Some folks may be confused. The reference to "pumping a septic tank" is to pump the collected solids out of the bottom of the tank. The tanks serves a couple of purposes, one purpose is to create a spot with a colony of anerobic bacteria to break down organics, the other purpose is to allow solids to settle out. The interior baffling is set up so that anything that floats doesnt make it to the outlet of the tank that goes to the field. If the tank isnt leaking, the water level should be even with the outlet of the tank which sould be near the top of the tank. Some designs incorporate a final baffle right in front of the outlet pipe so the actual outlet is not visible from the inside.

.

Good lord, there is some $hit out there. This quote above is just right. The septic tank should be full to the oulet pipe's invert elevation (6-8" beneath the lid) all of the time. The tank level does not fluctuate, it does not "fill" over time, rather, the composition of the contents become less water and more sludge/scum until the point of being due for pumping. The only way to know what lies beneath the surface of the tank contents is to pump it dry or to dip it with a tool like a sludge judge that allows you to measure the thickness of the sludge/scum.

If the surface level of your tank fluctuates then you have a problem.

A pump schedule such as Zap's may be excessive but will not hurt anything. The opposite approach of just ignoring the tank until failure is not wise. The failed drainfield will have polluted surface and ground waters and will cost thousands to repair. Unfortuantely for me, pumping my standard 1000 gallon tank costs about 350$ in my area.