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Septic problems - I'm baffled

7K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  AllanJ 
#1 ·
I am having problems with my septic tank. The tank is 3 yrs old and there is just me and my wife living in a log home in New Brunswick. The tank is backing up into the tub.

The intake pipe is under water and thought I had a problem with the feild. threr is no obstruction on the intake pipe. Looking at the outlet pipe, I found it above the water. I used a board to feel down the sides of the baffles and could not find obstructions or the spot on the baffle for water flow
 
#2 ·
Three years is a good time to pump the septic tank unless you know from inspection that the tank does not need pumping.

Any chance that the ground has settled or heaved so the septic tank is not level?

How might you determine that the intake pipe is under water?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Three years is a good time to pump the septic tank unless you know from inspection that the tank does not need pumping.
I swished around with a board on the bottom with no problem. There is just me and my wife and we don't get any visitors.

Any chance that the ground has settled or heaved so the septic tank is not level?
Have nt checked this yet, but you would think I would have heaving in the spring. The tank is in gravel with good drainage and there has been no major storms or rain. Could I check this with a level on the top.

How might you determine that the intake pipe is under water?
I have opened all three holes and the intake pipe is just under the water. The discharge pipe is going out the side and I have to use a mirror and a flashlight but it is above the water level.
 
#4 ·
First order of business is to pump the tank. Soap, grease, paper, "other solids":whistling2: build up over time and should be removed. Bacteria and enzymes will only consume and digest so much waste and if you use anything containing bleach to clean your plumbing fixtures, that will limit the bacteria in the system.
 
#5 ·
The recent rains may have saturated your field so the water is not soaking away---

Did you folks get an unusual bit of rains recently?

We had another post like this a week ago----ground was just to wet.
 
#7 ·
I went through that when Irene came through here....had 4" of standing water over top of my tank and cesspool. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the ground "boiling" above the tank lid.:laughing:
 
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#6 ·
Is the water level in the first two hatches higher than in the third?

The normal level of liquid (excluding foam) is about 9 inches below the top of the tank insides.

YOu need to check the connection between the two tank chambers for clogging (modern tanks with 3 hatches have two chambers).
 
#10 · (Edited)
Is the water level in the first two hatches higher than in the third? The normal level of liquid (excluding foam) is about 9 inches below the top of the tank insides.

YOu need to check the connection between the two tank chambers for clogging (modern tanks with 3 hatches have two chambers).
I checked the water levels, intake 4" middle 3", outlet 3". I ran a bath and let it drain the water level in the inlet rose to 3" below the inside and then went back down to 3". The inlet baffle is 8"X8" and seams to go down to the bottom.

I took a empty coffee container and scooped out the water at the outlet end and took 10 - 5 gal pails and pored them out 100 ft into the woods. This brought the water level down so it was intake 7" middle 6", outlet 5" below the inside. So it seems to be flowing through the baffles. How far would I have to bring it down so I could see the openings between the baffles.

The next question I have to ask is whether the tank was put in backwards? The inlet pipe is 5" below the inside while the outlet is only 1" below, should it be reversed? I put the level on the top and the inlet side is higher but the inlet pipe was below the water while the outlet was above the water.
 
#11 · (Edited)
The inlet must be higher than the outlet. Three inches is the standard difference.

With the inlet submerged, solid matter will have a tendency to hover and build up in the submerged part of the pipe, which is the last few feet approaching the tank.

For a 2 chamber tank the large chamber is the first and connected to the house drain.
 
#12 ·
Yes its backward, I phone building supply, plumber and a septic cleaner and all agreed that it is backwards. The bottom of the intake pipe is 9" below while the output is 6" below the inside of the tank. The plumber I talked to said it would work for around 1 1/2 to 2 years and then quite, we got 3yrs.

The fellow who done it was a contractor that was suppose a general contractor and has been in business for some time.

I am having the tank pumped out and hopefully will get us through the winter without any problems. I plan to have the septic pumping people inspect the tank and confirm in writing that the tank is backwards, as well I will be seeing if I can get the building inspector out to take a look at it and give me a written statement that it is backwards.

The tank needs to be lifted, the hole lowered and the tank turned around. The question is whether the infiltrators will have to be lowered. If the contractor does not agree to redo the tank I will call my lawyer
 
#13 ·
Just a word of advice----the inspector can and probably will write you up for a violation and insist that the work be done NOW.

He's not there to help you. Only to see that the houses he inspect are up to code.
 
#14 ·
I have not talked to the contractor since I have found this out about the tank, but when I called him and told him it had problems he told me it was inspected and meet code. I want the inspector to say it has to be fixed and have the contractor who put it in fix it. If there is a violation it should go to the contractor
 
#15 ·
You are wrong there---

If your mechanic forgot to put a muffler on your car would you drive around looking for a cop to verify that the muffler was missing?

Who would get the ticket--? you or would the cop write it in the name of an unseen mechanic?
 
#16 · (Edited)
The inlet pipe or the outlet pipe or both will need to be re-sloped to match the corrected septic tank inlet and outlet levels. Since you said the tank already has some slope that partially corrects the non-matching inlet and outlet the amount of resloping might not be much.

If this is a single chamber tank, you may be required to upgrade to a double chamber tank if your town has that in the current law.

It is possible that the situation can be corrected by redoing the outlet pipe to enter the tank at a lower level and/or the inlet pipe at a higher level without moving the tank but this is a case by case situation that needs to be analyzed by a septic engineer.

If you were not required to correct the situation you would probably get by by having the inlet pipe "jetted" every year (or slightly more frequently) to clear any solid material that settled in the pipe out and into the septic tank. Jetting is not to be taken lightly. If the technician goofs then sewage can be shot backward up out of toilets and drains into the house.

A 2 chamber tank installed backwards needs to be lifted out and turned around. Accept no substitute(course of action)s.

water level at intake 7" middle 6", outlet 5" below the inside surface of the top of the tank
The inlet pipe needs to be raised and/or the outlet lowered a combined total of 4 inches for example raise the inlet 2 inches and lower the outlet 2 inches. Were the tank level and connected backwards the combined total needs to be 6 inches. Repeat, if the tank does not need to be moved then a septic engineer has to decide which (inlet or outlet) pipe needs to be altered and by what proportion because the air space (above the liquid level) has to be within certain limits and also pipe slope (pitch) needs to be maintained.
 
#20 ·
The problem that I know is going to happen is when the contractor comes out here to look at the tank he is going to blame me because I dug the hole. When I contracted to have the septic tank put in the contractor told me that I had to have the hole dug (probably why he was $1000 cheaper) so I had some come and dig a hole at the side of the house. When he came he probably saw the hole was not right so he put the tank in backward so he could exit out of the side inlet pipes. If he saw the hole was wrong he should of stopped work and brought in a backhoe or had a few men down it the hole with shovels.

Had the septic tank pumped out yesterday the fellow who pumped it out noticed that the concrete tank has a top and it could be lifted and put turned around so the outlet and inlet would be right. The problem is the way it is now the outlet pipe comes out the side of the tank using one of the inlet holes, if it is turned around the pipe would come out of the outlet pipe and then into a 90 deg bend so it can go to the bed. Can you have a 90 at the outlet end or should the tank be turned 90 deg.
 
#21 ·
When he came he probably saw the hole was not right so he put the tank in backward so he could exit out of the side inlet pipes. If he saw the hole was wrong he should of stopped work and brought in a backhoe or had a few men down it the hole with shovels.
Or he should have said "Sir, our agreement was for you to have the hole dug for us when we got here. This hole isn't right, it needs to be . . . . blank blank blank, please call us when it is fixed so that we can come install it, and it's going to cost you an extra trip fee."

Ya don't put it in wrong because the hole is wrong.

We get people digging our ditches for us all the time, and I don't just put a pipe in there on opposite grade because they dug it that way. That isn't even a valid argument in my book.:whistling2:
 
#22 · (Edited)
In my opinion the outlet pipe to the leach field can have bends. I won't swear to it that a septic engineer would agree. Only liquid goes out that way and not at a flow rate requiring a straight pipe.

If the tank needs to be turned 180 degrees or can be turned 180 degrees and correct the problem then I would say the hole was not at fault.
 
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