Agreed, the Environment Agency recommend when the bottom silt content reaches 25% of volume. This will depend entirely on the design and usage of the tank. (Baby wipes are a ST killer) If you start getting silt going down the soak-away, It _will_ eventually block and cause lots of unnecessary digging to rectify.
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I am leaving my septic tank - since it is obviously functioning as that , whatever its construction for a short time to see how it goes now.
I am fairly certain by backed up drains were due to a blockage in the drains . I am being informed now that a certain toilet paper may have not been a good choice and it ( and the crap behind it) could have caused problems.
I have a couple ofd weeks leave next week and might investigate more then.
I have doen a little research ( from neighbourhood memory). Many locals tell me we have the kind of septic tank that "lasts forever" and " doesnt need pumping"..... ??
Meanwhile on the abolve note, are those old seepage tanks ( apparently in the 1930's they built a lot of them in the stix) which are basically a cesspit with land drains running the water off still legal.
I do not have one, mine is definately two chambers, but I have heard of a house which does. They dont have theirs pumped either.
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However we are talking about septic tanks, not cess pits or pools.
Even your current septic tank is probably not legal for a *new* build.
Things have tightened up a lot in the s*it tank area.
most BCO's say 'klargester' and leave you to sort it out these days.
There seems to be some confusion. I was correcting the interpretation that a cess pit only needed yearly pumping.
Owain
How does one measure the bottom silt content?
If the silt's up to your knees when you're just about blowing bubbles, that's probably 25%
(Usual assumptions apply)
Owain
Scuba gear and great bravery?
long pole ;(
Our tank is deeper than that... one of the new bottle thingies 3m in dia IIRC.
be able to "feel" the transistion from water to sludge and anything sticking to the stick would get washed off coming back up through the water or wiped off on the crust.
Cloth on the end solves both of those. Not that I'm going out there today, in the cold E'ly and blowing powder snow.
Hmm.. ive not noticed a _good_ day to do this job ;( In reality you should have a good idea as to the frequency this needs to be done.
2 to 7 years, heavy use with lots of slow to biodegrade paper/wipes, etc /-/ light use, two people that mostly only crap in the thing. The other thing to remember, it's a lot cheaper to have a septic tank emptied before it critically needs doing, then it is to renew the soakaway system. -Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
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