Shovel which is optimal for emptying latrines?

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gomipile

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Apr 17, 2010
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Sometime in the next two years I may have to empty out some pit latrines up in the mountains. The latrines are currently under outhouses which can be moved out of and back into position relatively easily. The holes are about 3.5 feet on a side and flat bottomed. I don't know how deep they used to be, if you get my meaning.

Is there a shovel design which works like a human powered excavator? I'd like something which can scoop... stuff cleanly out of a flat bottomed hole without having to stand in the hole and without much risk of splashing once one has gotten the hang of using said shovel? Using an actual powered excavator is a non-starter according to the property owner because of the small size of the holes, and because using a powered shovel could damage the side liners of the holes.

So, any suggestions?
 
Use a spade with a long handle that are used for digging deep holes for planting trees. They can be found in most garden centers. Manure piles tend to stink when dug into or otherwise disturbed, so be prepared for stink. Try to do the work in the off season. I memory is still very clear, having to move the outhouse at the marina, and that was by using a backhoe, so I wish you luck and breezy weather.
 
I have a shovel that I made for a specific purpose. It was originally a short d-handle shovel for landscaping (rose bushes) with a rectangular blade, no angle from the handle. I rebuilt it to reach deep using a fiberglass rake handle, and sharpend the blade to a cutting edge. I use it to trim swimming pool excavations. It is a cutting shovel, not a lifting shovel. For lifting you want an irrigation shovel with a round edge and an angle from the handle. You might even heat and bend the shank of the shovel to a greater angle before rehafting it (rehandling). When rehandling, I use the factory drive pin through the shank, handle and hickory insert, then add a good dollop of two part liquid epoxy. Craftsman and Ace brands are good shovels for not much money ($25 more or less). A replacement fiberglass handle might cost you $10 depending on the source. The factory irrigation shovel length is 56" from tip of blade to top of grip. My custom shovel length is 76" from tip to top of grip.

You might also look at some of the newer post hole diggers. They are meant to cut, grasp and lift. But only small portions at a time.

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There are many mini-backhoes which are towable or attach to a lawn tractor, but that is likely more than you want to invest in a once in a few years operation. Without digging teeth, they are not likely to be powerful enough to damage the concrete tank. Most I have seen are powered by a small gas engine like a lawnmower engine. The old way is to don chest waders and jump in. Thus the occupation name "muckjumper".
 
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Move the out houses. Fill in and bury whatever is in the the holes.

Modify your out house with a removeable drum under the toilet seat that can be dumped or burned.

No special shovel needed.

Edit to add: Unless of course you're going for the whole septic system thing and you have to shovel this out because it is failing or something.

In which case you can dump a bunch of Rid X in there now and in two years or so you should be good to go.
 
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gomipile said:
Sometime in the next two years I may have to empty out some pit latrines up in the mountains. The latrines are currently under outhouses which can be moved out of and back into position relatively easily. The holes are about 3.5 feet on a side and flat bottomed. I don't know how deep they used to be, if you get my meaning.

Is there a shovel design which works like a human powered excavator? I'd like something which can scoop... stuff cleanly out of a flat bottomed hole without having to stand in the hole and without much risk of splashing once one has gotten the hang of using said shovel? Using an actual powered excavator is a non-starter according to the property owner because of the small size of the holes, and because using a powered shovel could damage the side liners of the holes.

So, any suggestions?
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No, but I do have a story.

Come Halloween rowdy boys used to visit a farmer after dark. The goal was to tip over his outhouse. Best of all was to strike when someone was using it. They made a rush at the back of the outhouse so it fell door-down. What fun!

Canny farmers would move their outhouse four feet forward.
 
Move the outhouse, dig a new hole, fill the old hole with some of you dirt, move the outhouse over the new hole.
 
Rent Porta Pottys or hire a septic truck to pump them out. You could always hand out some adult diapers:D :barf::barf:
 
I presume you are joking. Municipalities use special shovels in dealing with tight spaces and deep holes of sewers and manholes but the reason outhouses are often on skids is so they can be moved to locate over a new hole. The old holes may only contain un-composted organic material but no amount of money is going to get me to start scouting around for latrine shovels; much easier, safer, and best for the nose, to merely shift the 'Schmidt House' over a bit and cover the old hole with a few strategic boards so that no one accidentally falls in.
 
300Six said:
I presume you are joking. Municipalities use special shovels in dealing with tight spaces and deep holes of sewers and manholes but the reason outhouses are often on skids is so they can be moved to locate over a new hole. The old holes may only contain un-composted organic material but no amount of money is going to get me to start scouting around for latrine shovels; much easier, safer, and best for the nose, to merely shift the 'Schmidt House' over a bit and cover the old hole with a few strategic boards so that no one accidentally falls in.
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People used to do that for a living. They were called gong farmers.

The guy in a manor house who collected chamber pots, emptied them, cleaned them, returned them, was the gong boy.
 
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