Any septic guys here?

[AI Inc]

Any septic guys, I have a weak system , does any of those over the counter treatment stuff work?
If not, does anything help?

[RGM]

You got to have the bacteria in your system to keep it right you should add something at least ever other month.

[AI Inc]

Can you throw out a name of a quality product?

[RGM]

Rid-x is one available at any home center or hardware.

[AI Inc]

Thank you, Ill try it. Is it worth directing the washing machine to its own drywell, is it legal?

[RGM]

I live on a 50 acre farm I rent the washer goes into the sump drain and out to the fields.

[Dirt Digger2]

what do you mean by weak system?...that rid-x stuff doesn't really work, we actually tell home owners not to use it when we install new systems

[AI Inc]

Its not leaching properl. It was pumped 3 yrs ago, then pumped last august , then needed to be pumped last week.

[Drew Gemma]

What type of system do you have?

How old is it?

How big is it?

Only I repeat only put natural things in such as brewers / bakers yeast!

Are you only using septic approved items ( tp, soaps, detergents)?

[AI Inc]

It is real old , house was built in 1957 , I think is original. Only 3 people in house .
It passed a title 5 inspection in 01
yes on approver detergents
Never heard of yeast in septic, please tell more

[StBalor]

what do you mean by weak system?...that rid-x stuff doesn't really work, we actually tell home owners not to use it when we install new systems


How often should someone have their septic pumped?

[Drew Gemma]

if you have a newer set up and average use every 3 to 5 years it should be pumped. I bet your system is shot my friend if it is that old you have one soilds tank that probably goes into a leach pit. Leach pits are great but over that time frame I am sure it is spent. Plus with a one tank system you have to pump more often with 3 ppl using it.

By code I had to put in the following system at my house.

2 - 1,000 gallon tanks first tank catches all the solids then a baffel allows only water to go in to next tank.

then we go to a diverter box which lets me choose which section of the field we use. the field has 9 110 foot long leach lines built with gravel and perforated pipe. Every 12 months I switch between the 2 different sections. their is more to it than that but that is just a rough overview.

Yeast cake helps establish bacteria that can eat and or break dow you solids also you can add some sugar as this helps that reproduce faster. But that will only help a good system become great. If it is shot then nothing will help!

[Dirt Digger2]

for pumping, depends on how many people live in the house but every 2-3 years

as for you AI hate to tell you but Rid-X and other products aren't going to do squat. What you have is a clogged field, there are a few measures you can take to prolong the life but they are temporary fixes...if you ever go to sell your house you will need to replace the field...but if you want a temporary fix send me a PM and i will tell you a less conventional fix that I don't want people on here knowing that I recommended...HAHA

EDIT: Actually I guess I should ask first...are you sure its a septic field and not a cesspool?

[bobcat9957]

If its that old there is a good chance that it is a cesspool not septic. No it is not legal to have the washer pumped into another dry well, at least in MA, but I would recommend it. Just doing that will eleminate alot of water that is going into it and it will probably work well enough to get you by for a while. Chances are that the damage has been done and using rid x will do nothing.

I have seen systems that are only 15-20 years old in stone and good gravel but there is a film right under the pipes from washing machines, hairspray, grease etc. that people have put down there and ruins the whole system.

[Dirt Digger2]

15-20 years?...hell we have a system that is 5 years old that failed over the summer...the previous owners trashed it, inspection didn't catch it and now the new owner is stuck with it...it is so bad that he removed a cap from the riser, so every time the pump kicks on he gets a bubbler in the front yard, he can't afford a new system right now so thats all he really can do...its too bad

[grassmanvt]

if you have a newer set up and average use every 3 to 5 years it should be pumped. I bet your system is shot my friend if it is that old you have one soilds tank that probably goes into a leach pit. Leach pits are great but over that time frame I am sure it is spent. Plus with a one tank system you have to pump more often with 3 ppl using it.

By code I had to put in the following system at my house.

2 - 1,000 gallon tanks first tank catches all the solids then a baffel allows only water to go in to next tank.

then we go to a diverter box which lets me choose which section of the field we use. the field has 9 110 foot long leach lines built with gravel and perforated pipe. Every 12 months I switch between the 2 different sections. their is more to it than that but that is just a rough overview.

Yeast cake helps establish bacteria that can eat and or break dow you solids also you can add some sugar as this helps that reproduce faster. But that will only help a good system become great. If it is shot then nothing will help!

Wow, 9 110 foot runs, seems like a pretty hefty system, any special reason out of curiosity?

[AWJ Services]

Systems really vary from state to state.
Ours are mostly serial lines with gravel and pipe.
Over time a bio mat forms at the bottom of the trenches and renders them ineffective.Thats why here the state recomends a serial field with dams every 125 feet.

[dirtpusher]

What kind of pipe is from the tank to the drain field? If its cast iron I would bet it is clogged up. We see this a lot on older houses. Rid- X doesnt work. It wont hurt the system, but wont really do anything either.

[Drew Gemma]

When we filed for permits to renovate a 110 year old farm house we had to test the system. It failed! So we had to dig a test hole for the county. That gave them the soil profile, slope, square footage and number of bedrooms. Based on that the inspector tells you the system you have to build. We had to put in the following:

2- 1000 gallon tanks
1- diverter box goes two one of 2 fields
9- Drop boxes
9- 110 ft lines tripple wall perforated

Price 20,000 - contractor

I took the test put my own in for under 4500. It was hard work to beep out everything and set things at differnt levels. Tons of gravel. they tested everything and were strick. That was 2 years ago now the state controls it and it is even worse. Total bummer I can't plant any trees in my front lawn. I don't want trees growing into my lines.

[grassmanvt]

When we filed for permits to renovate a 110 year old farm house we had to test the system. It failed! So we had to dig a test hole for the county. That gave them the soil profile, slope, square footage and number of bedrooms. Based on that the inspector tells you the system you have to build. We had to put in the following:

2- 1000 gallon tanks
1- diverter box goes two one of 2 fields
9- Drop boxes
9- 110 ft lines tripple wall perforated

Price 20,000 - contractor

I took the test put my own in for under 4500. It was hard work to beep out everything and set things at differnt levels. Tons of gravel. they tested everything and were strick. That was 2 years ago now the state controls it and it is even worse. Total bummer I can't plant any trees in my front lawn. I don't want trees growing into my lines.

Thanks, interesting. Around here, to the best of my knowledge, still don't have to be certified but you have to have an engineered system and as of last year or the year before have to get a state or act 250 permit. Engineer has to see the system in ground before backfill begins. I'm no expert on them but from what I deal with them, that's my understanding.

[bobcatoh]

AI

Google Sludgehammer.

It will turn your anaerobic tank (without oxygen) into an aerobic tank (with oxygen). It has a bacteria media on it that will eat the solids in your tank and it will eat the bio-matt in your leach field. That is what has it plugged up.

If your tank has no baffle and the solids built up to the outlet it could be plugged from that but more than likely it's from the bio-matt.

It's cheaper than a new field, can be put in on the down low and I believe the carry a money back guarantee.

[Gravel Rat]

The other thing that works to get the tank going is fish guts, chicken or beef liver. If you lift the inspection lid and you have no crust on top of the water you have a dead septic tank.

It sounds like you need a new leech field if the house is that old. Hell you may even have a wood septic tank :laugh:

Probably the best bet is have a new septic system installed if you plan on living in the house for a few more years then you will never have worries about it again.

[AWJ Services]

The Biomatt is formed from Bacteria.
There is no solution proven to remove the Biomatt other than to stop using the drain field and time.
If your drainfield is saturated it has nothing to do with bacteria.
Your septic tank needs nothing to work other than poop and mother nature.
Bleach, anti bacterial cleaners etc will kill some of the bacteria in the tank.
If your tank has no bacteria it will be full of solids.When it is pumped if there is more liquid then solids then it is working right.

Here is the states info

http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/water/ssb/index.htm


I will add that it is tough to actually inspect the drainfield since it takes a tremendous amount of water to fill the whole drainfield for probing.

[Gravel Rat]

One of the new septic systems used here is a large tank that contains a special blended peat moss. It is pretty much your drain field and after so many years you get into the tank and shovel out the old peat moss and replace it boy would that be a fun job.

The system costs about 30 grand but when you have a place that has absolutly no perkable ground it is your only option even sand mounds are not a option.

For us the days are long long gone where you can use a conventional gravity feed system. So when you buy a bare lot you have to expect to pay atleast 25-30 grand for a septic system.

Allot of the older houses with failed systems need a new one installed usually is a sand mound pressurized system.

One place I worked on I have meantioned it before but the homeowners tank was so full of solids the water had no place to go it bled out of the ground and down the street :laugh:

Alot of the older house here have septic tanks built out of wood falling through the rotted lid of one of those babys is gross. The top of the tank gets rotten so when you walk over the ground where the tank is the lid caves in with all the dirt on top of it. The old fiberglass tanks are also bad.

[Optimum Lawn]

One of the new septic systems used here is a large tank that contains a special blended peat moss. It is pretty much your drain field and after so many years you get into the tank and shovel out the old peat moss and replace it boy would that be a fun job.

The system costs about 30 grand but when you have a place that has absolutly no perkable ground it is your only option even sand mounds are not a option.

For us the days are long long gone where you can use a conventional gravity feed system. So when you buy a bare lot you have to expect to pay at least 25-30 grand for a septic system.

Allot of the older houses with failed systems need a new one installed usually is a sand mound pressurized system.

One place I worked on I have meantioned it before but the homeowners tank was so full of solids the water had no place to go it bled out of the ground and down the street :laugh:

Alot of the older house here have septic tanks built out of wood falling through the rotted lid of one of those babys is gross. The top of the tank gets rotten so when you walk over the ground where the tank is the lid caves in with all the dirt on top of it. The old fiberglass tanks are also bad.

Just looking at BC regs and I see conventional gravity systems are now a-okay
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/lup_standards.html

With this pdf providing the highlights of the SPM version 2
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/pdf/SPM_V2_2007_Introduction_Summary.pdf

you just need deep soils....
seems they got carried away with the regs in '05 and relaxed things some for '08 to make things more cost effective...oookay:dizzy:

Looking at places in North BC and the septic issue scares some of the real estate agents (the whole disclosure/costs thing)

[Digdug]

Just wanted to second what dirtdigger said. Rid-x is no good.
We tell customers when were pumping there tank that is is comparable to "STP Engine Rebuild" in a bottle.
Sounds like your drain field is spent. Good luck with it. doug

[Drew Gemma]

the new thing is aerators what a pain but cheaper up front than most

[Dirt Digger2]

the new thing is aerators what a pain but cheaper up front than most

hardly...an aerobic system is huge upfront money...then since the actual aerators are not that great as of now you are paying for a service call every couple months when the aeration alarm goes off

[Gravel Rat]

Just looking at BC regs and I see conventional gravity systems are now a-okay
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/lup_standards.html

With this pdf providing the highlights of the SPM version 2
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/pdf/SPM_V2_2007_Introduction_Summary.pdf

you just need deep soils....
seems they got carried away with the regs in '05 and relaxed things some for '08 to make things more cost effective...oookay:dizzy:

Looking at places in North BC and the septic issue scares some of the real estate agents (the whole disclosure/costs thing)

There are very few places that have the soil conditions or room for a conventional gravity feed system. The new building sites are in more difficult places. The new septic systems thou have opened up building lots that were useless say 10 years ago. Now you can have a septic system anywhere with the peat moss system.

One thing you don't do is abuse your septic system. The only thing that should go into the septic tank is what ever goes through your mouth and out the other end :laugh:

[jefftb]

Do not use Rid-X or any other additive. If adding something to your septic tank comforts you, pop the lid and throw a fiver in the tank. It does as much good as additives like Rid-X. The Rid-X commercials send me over the edge since it has been proven several times over that they actually do not add anything to enhance tank performance and can actually harm it. AWJ is right-all that is needed is your poop, time, and Mother Nature does the rest.

Household bleach in the typical quantities a homeowner uses are normally not going to harm a septic tank. Draino or any other lye based drain clog remover will however, as little as 2-3 teaspoons will eliminate the bacteria in the tank. Water softener backwash is quite harmful to the septic tank as well.

A properly sized, watertight, septic tank that is not abused-do not use the garbage disposal as a trash can is a great example-can go between 8-12 years before it needs to be pumped. Septic tank performance reaches optimal efficiency at 24-30 months after initial operation. If you are building a new house or replacing a tank, go with a 1,500 and bypass the 1,000 gallon tank. The pumping interval could jump as high as 12-15 years if not abused. Longer holding time is always better in septic tank design. For residential, domestic waste you need at least three days residence time in the tank for proper biological reduction of the wastewater.

Finally, all drainfields are expected to fail. They are not an indefinite life solution. That is why there is nearly always a requirement for duplicative area as a set aside. Some last much longer than others. The short lived ones are generally due to poor design/soils, poor installation, or homeowner abuse. The long lived ones have great septic tank performance or are underloaded.

[AWJ Services]

A properly sized, watertight, septic tank that is not abused-do not use the garbage disposal as a trash can is a great example-can go between 8-12 years before it needs to be pumped. Septic tank performance reaches optimal efficiency at 24-30 months after initial operation. If you are building a new house or replacing a tank, go with a 1,500 and bypass the 1,000 gallon tank. The pumping interval could jump as high as 12-15 years if not abused. Longer holding time is always better in septic tank design. For residential, domestic waste you need at least three days residence time in the tank for proper biological reduction of the wastewater.

Most of our tanks here during the 70's , 80's and most of the 90's had no partition and the solids filter is cast into the tank.It would deteriorate and then allow solids into the drainfield.The new tanks are partitioned and now have a plastic solid filter with a strainer.
They had us putting the strainer in the old tanks for a while and that cause some problems.
I said that to say that other than to check the failure of of the solids filter there is not much need to pump.Here the 1500 gallon tank is only about 150 dollars more than a 1000 gallon.


Household bleach in the typical quantities a homeowner uses are normally not going to harm a septic tank. Draino or any other lye based drain clog remover will however, as little as 2-3 teaspoons will eliminate the bacteria in the tank. Water softener backwash is quite harmful to the septic tank as well.

Here some people use bleach like hand soap.I have seen a higher maint factor for those people.
But I agree that Bleach will do little or no harm under normal use.

[jefftb]

Two big keys to septic performance are tank size and watertight tank.

A leaky tank is quite harmful to the system performance and is directly related to the volume of solids that could be discharged to the drainfield lines.

Partition or baffle walls can help tremendously in commercial tank applications but the data does not indicate increased performance on residential waste streams for houses unless the tank is being abused from a hydraulic flow standpoint. The baffle can limit carryover at higher hydraulic flows.

The filter "or strainer" is a great addition to the process and data shows the combination of a filter and good tank sizing significantly improves the biological effluent waste strength leaving the tank.

Pumpers do not like me-I help spread the word about the negative effects of their prescribed pumping intervals of every 2-3 years no matter what. The best indicator of whether a tank needs to be pumped is good old fashioned knowledge gained from inspection with the sludge judge.....

[AWJ Services]

I agree.
We get some info from the state and they have recomended to only use a strainer with a Partitioned tank.
Your thoughts.

[Optimum Lawn]

One thing you don't do is abuse your septic system. The only thing that should go into the septic tank is what ever goes through your mouth and out the other end :laugh:

I'll Second that.
I've got my system setup with the gray water going off another direction to a separate area.
Keep the chemical cleaners soaps grease dishwasher garburetors out of the septic tank.
When i bought here the field was bubbling up so i found the ends of the drain field and stuffed the garden hose up each one to unclog the lines (a little poop does not bother me...been around it all my life). Got all the sediment out and has worked perfect since(10 years now).
Agree that the tank if not abused should only be pumped when needed...15years seems reasonable not 2-3.

Also with the new systems and the way they are designed i wonder about nutrient loading of the water table around/below the field. With mine being OLD school the lines are a foot below the surface(in top soil) and the grass sucks up the water and nutrients like crazy and hopefully preventing the nutrients from invading the water table...especially nitrates....well my theory right or wrong not sure.
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs07203/
but it does seem to be a problem

Seems to me adding plants to the equation somewhere near the end of the effluent stream is a plus as they absorb most of the nutrients leaving the water cleaner at the end of the stream

[AWJ Services]

Clayton County, Ga whole sewage treatment process is just a series of marshes/wetlands.

[jefftb]

I see no need to limit the use of an effluent filter only on partitioned tanks. We've got literally hundreds if not thousands of tanks here in Tennessee with effluent filters on non-baffled tanks. Many manufacturers of the filters do not claim better performance one way or another on household wastewater.

Here's what an effluent filter can provide in terms of increased tank effluent criteria....

Normal domestic wastewater from a house discharges into the septic tank with the following "strength" or design criteria:

BOD-200-250 mg/L (BOD-biochemical oxygen demand)
TSS-250-300 (total suspended solids)
Ammonia-50-80

Our experience on good quality septic tanks with an effluent filter discharges wastewater with the following characteristics:

BOD-120-140 mg/L
TSS-40-60 mg/L
Ammonia-30-40 mg/L

Unfiltered effluent still has similar numbers to the above except TSS. TSS on unfiltered tanks runs well above 100. That's a big benefit on the solids load going to the drainfield.

[bobcat_ron]

Wow, after reading through all this, you guys sure seem to know sh*t.

[Gravel Rat]

I don't know if I would want to go 8 years on a septic tank most places in my area only have 750 gallon tanks that was the normal size back in the 70s-80s-90s. New tanks are mostly plastic some people still use concrete but 70% of the new installs are all plastic 1200 gallon tanks then a 500 gallon pump chamber for the pressurized field.

I unloaded a peat moss septic system off of a truck yesterday going to a jobsite. Engineers are recommending this system more and more but is is sure expensive.

With the new septic regulations you have to be a certified installer and go to poo school for a month. Every year you have to go back to school for the new information etc.

[jefftb]

I don't know if I would want to go 8 years on a septic tank most places in my area only have 750 gallon tanks that was the normal size back in the 70s-80s-90s. New tanks are mostly plastic some people still use concrete but 70% of the new installs are all plastic 1200 gallon tanks then a 500 gallon pump chamber for the pressurized field.

I unloaded a peat moss septic system off of a truck yesterday going to a jobsite. Engineers are recommending this system more and more but is is sure expensive.

On a 750 gallon tank attached to a home with 3+ people you would never make it to 8 years. You would need to pump long before then.

The peat system perform well but they do indeed have a high cost both initially and longterm. The peat has be renewed over and over for the life of the system. Generally every 8-10 years.

[Gravel Rat]

Most people have their tank pumped every 5 years some people don't even know where there septic tank is :eek:

The big problem here is the solid granite the West Coast of B.C. sits on. You have 12 inches to 24 inches of native soil. What ever soaks through the ground floats on top of the solid rock and comes out where ever it can maybe 100 yards away.

It is why sand mounds are used so to install a drainfield site it needs some native soil then the sand mound is on top. Some sites require 120-200 yards or material trucked in to build a leach field.

We have the same regulations you need two sites on one property for drainfields.

[AWJ Services]

The filters have been clogging requiring them to be cleaned.Usually with a couple of years.
The partitioned tank do not seem to have that problem.
I prefer the filter but with inspectors advising against them it makes it tough.

[jefftb]

The filters have been clogging requiring them to be cleaned.Usually with a couple of years.
The partitioned tank do not seem to have that problem.
I prefer the filter but with inspectors advising against them it makes it tough.

Our experience on residential waste (non-baffled tanks) is that the filters only clog up in that timeframe where the owners treat the septic tank like its the trash can, use excessive and suspect chemicals, have significant water consumption problems, or have a leaky tank.

I bet the lack of clogged filters on baffled tanks in your area is due to either abuse, undersized or leaking. Again, the baffle will limit carryover from the inlet side to the outlet side. This would protect the filter from premature clogging.

I have personally witnessed tanks with filters on homeowner waste that have lasted as long as eight years before a filter cleaning.

It really comes down to the attitude of the homeowner and their tank.

Most don't know it but there are still people that develop film in their houses, these chemicals will destroy a tank very quickly.

Here's a good story (I'll try to make it short). We installed a collection system using septic tanks and pumps around a bottled water company's spring wellhead years ago. They wanted to protect their wellhead-so they paid for it. We only did 10 houses. The utility manager called me about three months after completion and said he had a tank alarm going off at one house constantly. I gave him some inspection tips and off he went. I did not hear from him for about 2 months so I called.

He relayed that the tank owner's tank was full of used motor oil. The homeowner was changing oil in his basement on the side for his friends. He was pouring this oil down the floor drain. Previously this would end up in his old leaky septic tank (aka-the barrel) that was replaced (and leaking the contents into the ground over time). It never crossed his mind that the new tank would be a problem. Well, it was.

Many homeowner's have no idea that they have a septic tank or even how it works if they do. One lady called another utility to complain about the sewer backup in her house. The utility called up her location on the GIS map and informed her that she was not on city sewer and most likely never would be. She had lived there for three years-on a septic tank and never knew. You can imagine what was in it.

[all ferris]

OK, I have to ask....Whats the worst thing you have found in a septic tank or aeration tank???? Skulls???? mangled limbs???? kilos of coke???? ever find anything living in one???? I'm sure countless condoms...... Amazing what people put down drains.

[Dirt Digger2]

condems all the time...nothing really too special though...i've seen goldfish, thats about it

you can tell the families that eat a lot of corn though

[Optimum Lawn]

OK, I have to ask....Whats the worst thing you have found in a septic tank or aeration tank???? Skulls???? mangled limbs???? kilos of coke???? ever find anything living in one???? I'm sure countless condoms...... Amazing what people put down drains.

Count the tampon plastic inserters
Tomato seeds also survive the septic treatment even the city treatment process...when we had the poop lagoons tomatos were growing everywhere around the sides.

[bobcat_ron]

OK, I have to ask....Whats the worst thing you have found in a septic tank or aeration tank???? Skulls???? mangled limbs???? kilos of coke???? ever find anything living in one???? I'm sure countless condoms...... Amazing what people put down drains.

One of the many fields I helped my Dad on, was a house that had a crust of condoms on top in the septic tank, the home owner said that she and her husband don't practice birth control, so my Dad asked if they had any teenagers in the house, well they said they have a 17 year old daughter............and the rest is history.

[grassmanvt]

One of the many fields I helped my Dad on, was a house that had a crust of condoms on top in the septic tank, the home owner said that she and her husband don't practice birth control, so my Dad asked if they had any teenagers in the house, well they said they have a 17 year old daughter............and the rest is history.

Bet that was a fun talk that evening.

[jefftb]

State Rest Area Septic Tank-Complete pair of blue jeans, one shoe.

Travel Center Septic Tank-Lots of tied up plastic bags. I did not even look closely.

The question I've been unable to answer....How much effort was involved in getting the blue jeans and shoe down the toilet? And more importantly, what was the reason for doing so? I've always thought someone was trying to cover up evidence.....

On the bags, I was afraid to investigate in any fashion. I was afraid there would be something there I never would be able to forget.

[bobcat_ron]

Bet that was a fun talk that evening.

Oh hells yeah, and that duaghter was just jaw droppingly hot.

Well she probably dropped her jaw at least a few times anyways. :laugh:

[Gravel Rat]

So did she drop her jaw for long de jong :laugh:

I think we found Junior a new job he can be a poo pumper truck helper he can be the head crust buster man and use the scraper pole to get the the brown stew out of the corners of the tank :drinkup:

[Junior M]

So did she drop her jaw for long de jong :laugh:

I think we found Junior a new job he can be a poo pumper truck helper he can be the head crust buster man and use the scraper pole to get the the brown stew out of the corners of the tank :drinkup:
Thats one thing, I wont do! :nono: Cant deal with the smell, I'll go back to cleaning horse stalls...

[AWJ Services]

So Far that is why I choose to stay on the drainfield end of things.

[AI Inc]

OK , so I have heard yeast and sugar, how bout some real debate about those two things?

[AWJ Services]

OK , so I have heard yeast and sugar, how bout some real debate about those two things?

Well you heard that from people not in the buisness yet you did not hear that it does nothing from people actually in the buisness.

:confused:

[Gravel Rat]

I have worked in a landfill and I can say that smells worse than a septic tank. Rotting fish or anything from the ocean that is rotting.

You want to smell something bad smell rotting feed they use to feed fish in salmon farming. It is enough to bring on a insta puke.

[dirtpusher]

Do you have water surfacing anywhere other than at the tank?

[AI Inc]

No , but like I said tank was pumped last august and had to be pumped again last week. Im looking for ideas to extand the life some while I start saving money to have it rebuilt.I realy dont want to pull a loan for it. If I can forstall it for a yr or 2 that will help.

[dirtpusher]

The water is not leaving the tank properly or the drain line is blocked very close to the tank. I have seen this many times. First thing I would check would be the pipe going from the tank to the drain line, I bet it is clogged. If your drain line was stopped up somewhere you would usually have water surfacing somewhere else.

[AI Inc]

So what , basicaly pull the covwer and shove a long rod back and forth thru the drain pipe? How far from the tank is the junction bow? Or does a system this old even have one?

[Dirt Digger2]

So what , basicaly pull the covwer and shove a long rod back and forth thru the drain pipe? How far from the tank is the junction bow? Or does a system this old even have one?

stick a snake down there...it could have roots in it too

i also sent you a PM

[dirtpusher]

Yeah a rod will work, or a water hose. If you use a water hose you can turn it on and see if the water goes down the pipe.

[AI Inc]

Cool, thank man , appriciate it.

[AWJ Services]

You can run a snake down the pipe but be careful.Some of the older fields did not use normal pipes and the snake can render it fully blocked.
Running water down it will not help .That is what the tank is doing.
The first step is to find if it is blocked and where by probing.
Then you can go from there.

[ksss]

Typically you can run a camera down the lines. Here, it costs a couple hundred dollars, money well spent to know exactly where and what your dealing with.

[AWJ Services]

The drainfield pipes I pull out of the ground are nasty.A camera would do very little good.Those are full of roots and sludge.
Most Blockages other than a broke outlet pipe are usually a good ways into the field.
It only takes a short time to probe the field even in this hard clay.
Find the blockage dig it up and repair it.
If the whole field is saturated then that is a different animal.

[dirtpusher]

Yeah, I dont think a camera would work to many times for me either. I was trying to get him started simple and then like AWJ said probe the lines until you find where it is dry, if you can.

[bearmtnmartin]

I design, install and repair septic systems for a living. Some of the advice on this thread is extremely unhelpful. You really need to know the failure before you can fix it. If you give me a fax number, I will send you a flow chart you can use to troubleshoot the failure.

[AI Inc]

I design, install and repair septic systems for a living. Some of the advice on this thread is extremely unhelpful. You really need to know the failure before you can fix it. If you give me a fax number, I will send you a flow chart you can use to troubleshoot the failure.

I dont have a fax , can you email it . Ill pm you my email.
thanks
Steve

[Construct'O]

Here's my thoughts? Do you even have a leach field? The age of your house unless it has a new septic system was probably just a tank emptying into a ditch or road side.Closes place to get drainage.

Have you even check to see if the system is draining into a ditch? The outlet could be covered up,inturn causing it to backup in the line.Might have tree roots growing into the line restricting it or the outlet.Look for trees that might have growed in to the line. You need to find this out first!

I fixed one this summer that had tree roots in the line it was and the old red clay tile line with the seams in them.The roots growed into the seam and plugged it.

If it does drain to a ditch the line might be plugged or crushed.The old line if it is as old as the your house use to be what was called orange berg(solid) which will build up with calcuim.It gets brittle with age and will also crack.

Lots of places to still check.

I would start looking toward where it might drain first.If nothing find the tank then start tracking where the line goes from the tank.Try probing,if no luck get a backhoe and dig across the yard where the pipe comes out of the tank.Usually there is clay trench or signs of trench .

Keep following it until you find the field (if one) or where it drain into the ditch.After you find the field or the outlet and then start digging down to the line being careful not to tear it up if possible by probing to see how deep it is.

When you get close to the line and uncover it .If it is dry cut the line( if wet move on down the line) and see what you find if dry get the sewer tape out and start running it up or down the line until it stops there might be you problem.

Pull the tape out measure how far up the line or down the block is.Dig down and start your repair there.

Never asked but is there any chance there is connected to a city sewer system or is this out in the country.

Anyway that is how i would start at least.Carry on:usflag:

[UfoPilot]

I've had good luck with this stuff...YMMV
septicseep (http://www.septicseep.com/)

[AI Inc]

New system is now in, thanks for everyones input.