Any plumbers in the house? Septic system...

FlaMtnBkr

FlaMtnBkr

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Oct 20, 2004
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I have been having an on going problem with one of the septic tanks/ drain fields in the house. I was wondering if there was a plumber around or someone familiar with a septic system?

It has been backing up and at first I thought it was a clog but now I think it is a problem with the tank or drain field.

The tank outlet and inlet are both at about the same level and at the top of the tank. This seems strange to me as then there is no room in the tank for water to accumulate and then slowly make it's way out to the drain field and absorb into the ground. I would have thought the exit would be like a foot lower than the entry so that you have some 'working room?' Is this not the case?

How often should a tank be pumped?

I had a problem with the drain field about a year and a half ago. At that time when I dug down to the drain field water would come rushing out because I guess a hard pan is forming that is not letting the water seep into the ground. I expanded the drain field some and had the tank pumped and it has been working fine.

Now when I dig down to the drain field I do not get any water so it seems that the drain field is working or is clogged somewhere between the tank and drain field?

The tank seems like it is full and that it is backing up into the house because it has no where to go. I pulled the plug outside between the house and tank and ran the shower and water seems to be coming out ok so to me that rules out a clog.

If anyone is familiar with this stuff do you have any thoughts or suggestions? I guess I'm about to drop the $350 to have the tank pumped but that doesn't seem to me like it is fixing the problem when it was pumped about 15 months ago. I'm thinking about renting a tractor and doubling the size of the drain field because there is lots of clay and limerock in the ground and it seems to be forming a layer. It's weird how quick a layer of clay can form out of nowhere (at least that is what it seems like) so quickly because when digging down where it was dug up before I am already encountering a clay layer.

Anyways I am just trying to get some insight. I'm sure if I paid someone they would just say I need a new tank and drain field and that it is going to cost 15K. I can do the work myself I just need to figure out what the problem is.

Thanks!
 
http://www.inspectapedia.com/septbook.htm

There is a lot of reading there.

I have had to have my tank pumped twice since I have been here. (6 years) It should have been pumped by the previous owner, but it wasn't required then. Other people tell me that they have lived in their houses for 12 years and never had their tanks pumped. :confused:

The guy who pumped mine the last time showed me what the problem was. Actually, it's not a problem. I have an outlet filter that has to be cleaned about once a year or the water level will get to high and cause things to clog up.

In some countries pumping the tank is required every three years. $350 is a lot cheaper then having your drain field replaced.

$15K for a whole new system is a lot cheaper then around here. Has a percolation test ever been done on your drain field?

There is a lot of good info on that site. One thing they tell you is that additives don't work and may be harmful to the system. What's funny is that there are bunches of ads selling those products.
 
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I had a similar problem and it turned out that plant roots had gotten into the line and were blocking it. In my case it was between the house and tank, but it seems that part of your line is clear. Could there be a blockage between the tank and drain field?

The inlet and outlet on my tank are about the same level too.
 
Until recently my parent's house had a similar system, it was usually pumped out once a year.
The soil there is VERY clayey and there was a permanent bog around the drain field, even though it lay down a steep hill.
It doesn't matter if the inlet and outlet are the same height so long as there is a decent fall from the house to the septic tank.
What is the outlet pipe made of? It might have got damaged at some point.

Andy
 
Sounds like it is clogged or a crushed pipe between the fields and the tank. Run a water hose into the outlet of the tank and see if you're getting water to the fields. The outlet on your tank should be 5" to 7" below the inlet and your tank should not be full to the top. If your outlet is submerged and there is no water getting into the leaching fields then the problem is the pipe between the tank and fields. You can try to run a sewer snake through it but may be better off replacing the pipe btwn the tank and fields. Good luck.--KV
 
Thanks for the replies.

I'm still not sure what the problem is but I need to finish reading up at the link that was given. The pipe going from the house to the tank is cast iron and a pretty short run. The piece going from the tank to the field is PVC so I don't think roots are a problem.

I will try the hose in the outlet but the way the tank appears to be built, there is a small section that is lid on the entrance side and then the rest is one piece. It looks like it could be hard to thread something into the outlet (as well as not fun). Also, the outlet appears to be at the same height (from bottom of tank) as the inlet. So there isn't much room for water to accumulate in the tank. What goes into the tank is going to have to leave the tank at the same rate or it will fill the couple inches to the top and then start backing up into the house. Just common sense tells me that the outlet should be like a foot lower than the inlet so that the tank can have room to fill up some while the water seeps (I'm assuming slower than the inlet rate) into the drain field.

I guess I will have to try and determine if there is a clog between the tank and drain field. That seems like it can be the only thing. If it was the drain field then water would fill up into the holes I have dug.

I wonder if I could uncover the pipe going to the drain field and cut it and put a T fitting in and stub up a piece of pipe to the surface. Then if this happens again I can uncap the pipe and run a hose or snake into the pipe in both directions to make sure it is clear. Not sure how easy it would be to make that 90 deg turn 2 feet down under ground.

Thanks again and sorry for the long post. I'm kinda thinking outloud in the hope that someone might see something I am not.

Thanks!
 
What you just described is called a sweep cleanout and can be bought at hardware stores.--Good luck--
 
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Hey! FlaMtnBkr. One piece of advice. Don't fall in. :D


My tank is only 4" below ground. so it's not a big deal to uncover it. Since I am going to be cleaning the outlet filter about once a year and I have to reach down about 8" into the tank, I am going to make or buy a safety grid.

TufTiteSafetyLid.jpg
 
Is the sweep/ double sweep the piece that is at like a 30 deg angle?

I fixed the problem but I still want to put an access between the tank and the field. The main reason is so that I can put root killer into the pipe so that I don't have a root problem as there is a stand of trees not too far from the start of the drain field.

The problem was a clog right at the inlet to the tank. I had run a snake previously and didn't think there was a clog. But yesterday I was able to tell that the level was at the bottom of the outlet pipe which meant it was draining correctly. So the only thing left was a clog between the clean-out and the tank. I ran a hose down it and it knocked down whatever the clog was.

So a little bit of time trouble shooting and got if figured out and didn't even have to spend the 350 to have it pumped.

Thanks again for the replies!
 
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