Septic tank troubleshooting help requested

[Stormin Mormon]

This from a friend of mine: (I'll forward any replies to him.) ====================

Trying to trouble shoot my drain problem. At first, I thought the stack vent was clogged. When I run a drain in my trailer, it comes backup some other drain. My trailer is on my old family property. Used to be a house here, but that fell down twenty or so year sago.

It burned down. there was a couple of trailers here before that, last opne was about 10 Years ago.

The trailer is maybe twenty feet from the septic tank. It is connected with four inch ABS, and we snaked it before I moved in, and set up my trailer,.

So, the drain is getting worse. I finally found the clean out plug, which is right before the septic tank. Pulled the plug out, and a lot of dirty water came out.

The cleanout is right next to my trailer, as per county code. The sewer line is only about

3 to 6 inches deep. when I unscrewed the cap from the clean out, I had a shit geyer for a few seconds. the clean out is roughly 20 feet from the Septic tank. it is an old Cement Block septic tank. My uncle built it in 1957. Before that the house had an outhouse.

As for now, I'm trying to figure out what might be holding the system back. Wonder if the tank is clogged, or maybe the leach field?

Since the septic tank is made of 4" Cinder Block, if worse comes to worse, I would think there would be SOME leaching action as the water seeps through the somewhat porous block.

[trader_4]

It sounds more like a cesspool with a leach field. It's not really a septic tank. Presumably it has a cover that you can remove and see if it's full, higher than normal? If so, then I'd get it pumped out.

Typically they are made of cement blocks, no bottom, so as you say, there will be leaching. But they get plugged up over time and eventually fail. The rate it was leaching 30+ years ago and the rate it's leaching now, can be very different.

[songbird]

...

is anything actually getting to the septic tank at all?

songbird

[Stormin Mormon]

The one time I was there, LOT of clay in the soil. There may be a cover, I'd expect so. Will ask and let you know what I hear. Thank you.

[Frank]

Could well be a cesspool. I'd have a septic guy out to pump it and assess the problem. Back in the 50's around here, you could get away with anything. Been costing people a lot of money to upgrade to current standards.

[Stormin Mormon]

I suspect it was a "get away with any thing" system that has ran into trouble.

[Pete C.]

Heavy clay soil generally means an aerobic system these days.

[gfretwell]

I would just call a septic company for a pump out. If you don't need a certification letter they will also give you a free inspection. One indication of a plugged leach field, is water running back into the tank from the field lead wile the tank is being pumped down. Most of these septic guys are pretty good at what they do.

This is really something that should be done every few years anyway.

It might make your problems go away and it will at least buy you a week or two to figure out what to do next if it doesn't.

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm not sure, from here. They have three persons living there, as I understand it. Man, wife, teen daughter. If that's the case, must be some.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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[Stormin Mormon]

What's that mean? Yes, it is clay soil in South Carolina.

[Stormin Mormon]

Makes total sense, to me. A septic company most likely has guys who do this often enough, and who can help with the troubleshooting.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

.

[J Burns]

In the 1980s, the EPA said most Americans needed sewers because septic systems wouldn't percolate in clay. In the 1990s, they changed their mind. Sewer systems were terribly expensive, and it was expensive to dispose of the water within guidelines set for the EPA.

They'd also discovered that clay soils would percolate fine. You have to keep stuff like laundry lint out of the leach field, and you need air. Sometimes this means building a mound for the leach field. If the soil stays waterlogged, bacteria won't break down the solids in the effluent, and the clay will get clogged.

[trader_4]

It's the type of system where fresh air is pumped into the tank. Different bacteria from what you would have with a regular septic system then thrive. IDK much beyond that, except that they are more expensive and used for some applications.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Teen daughter is probably taking hour long showers too.

I'm in agreement with the people that said to pump out to find the problems. Given the age of the system,k it may be time for a new one.

[Liz Megerle]

Something else to look for: We were having repeated backups at our camp, which would be cured only for a day or two by snaking. We dug down and ended up cutting an access into the tank. There's a curved baffle at the inlet. We found it was packed with solids, even though the liquid level was lower than it. We (my husband) used a stick to dislodge everything so it fell into the tank and the problem was solved. Snaking would make a hole, and the next big load would plug it. Liz

[Ed Pawlowski]

You did not have to snake it, just increase your use of prune juice so change the solids to a liquid.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

I've had one for 8 years - requirement of building a new house at a location where there's very little top soil before you hit fractured limestome.

Advanced Treament Systems use a 3 chambered tank. First tank, known as the waste tank collects any non-degradable stuff an acts like a traditional septic tank (anaerobic - no air). That feeds into a second tank which has a compressor feeding a bubbler (aerobic). Third tank is a stanging tank for the field pump, which uses spider pipe spread out over a mounded field. All of it's controlled by a computer which monitors the compressor, effuent levels and switching valves.

It's a rather expensive miniature municipal treatment plant. Also, by regulation requires twice a year inspection and a service contract with a licensed service company.

[Pete C.]

Around here mound setups are uncommon. Normally the last chamber has a chlorine drip feed setup for final sanitation of the waste water before it is pumped and sprayed onto the lawn. Not an expensive system really, only the air and spray pumps and a controller really beyond basic tanks which are cheap. Since they work without the need for a lot of soil work, trucking in sand or the like to get a conventional septic system to work, they are actually cheaper in many cases. Also around here, while the system requires annual inspection, you can do that yourself if you take a class in it (a day and $100), it's not rocket science.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

It's only needed here if there isn't enough soil for a traditional buried field. My system has a chorinator in the third chamber that I didn't mention. Uses tablets and neededs refilling a every few months. The service tech joked that the output was drinkable. Not sure I'd go that far!

I can't recall what the delta over a standard septic system was - but $10K or so more installed would be in the neighborhood.

The biggest problem I have the the running cost. The air compressor runs continuously and uses about $40 work of electricity a month.

Not here. Not only does it have to be a licensed contractor registered with the county, that contractor has to be qualified for the specific manufacturer. Since our system manufacturer (Southern Aerobic) went defunct a few years ago, that will be an issue when the currect service company stops being an option.

I've watched them do the service - cleaning the filters, checking sludge levels and checking the system pressure isn't a big deal.

[Pete C.]

The output water quality is really surprisingly good. The aerobic bacteria do a good job. Many systems use/used a tablet chlorinator, but people tend to change them over to a liquid drip system as it's cheaper and easier to deal with. Mounds just aren't common since a couple standard sprinkler heads are cheaper and easier to install.

Well, installed cost vs. actual cost are two different things and the real cost of either type of system is only perhaps $1k different. The problem is with the businesses doing the work and their typical collusion and monopolistic practices. Fortunately here there are also exemptions that allow you to do your own installation and bypass the less scrupulous businesses.

That is an issue, and there are some ways around it though they have some upfront costs. I don't have an aerobic system currently, but my next place I build will most likely have one at which point I'll experiment with some of my alternate ideas such as a simple windmill driven compressor as primary with check valves and pressure switch to let the regular air pump operate as backup if the windmill setup runs out of air.

Get involved with your government and push through suitable regulations for DIY maintenance with training.