Household Septic System

[jlgurr]

The best news then, may be that it is under the deck where we have 3/4" gravel over the dirt. So we don't need to worry about grass growing there. The red clay was so dry it is like digging a hole in ice for ice fishing. It really seems just a tad bit less hard than concrete. It will be a few days before I can dig some more anyway since it's going to be frigid here tonight, like 20F. The deck floor is about 8' above grade (second floor of house) so we will have easy access in the future. Was thinking of marking it by driving a nail right above the lid and simply hanging a plumb bob from that to see the hole next time we need it.

 

[jlgurr]

5" higher then the top of the drain line or 5" higher then the bottom of the drain line?

5" higher than the top of the drain line. This is only a guesstimate based on the slight drop in grade from where the drain line was discovered.

 

[jlgurr]

My tank has one central pumping lid and smaller access lids at the entrance and exit. I put a riser on the center lid and cut 3/4" pvc conduit pieces to stand vertical and flush with the ground on top of the other two for markers that don't rust or rot. Back-filled with stone dust makes easy digging for the entrance and exit hole lids.

Is a tank with three lids common? Should I be searching for the center one? This ground over the tank is so hard there is no way I can dig here and there like I was in the yard earlier this week. I was hoping to use snowed in's tank dimensions to get me close for finding a lid. What diameter would the lid be?

LOL! I don't ever recall working this hard to find a pile of crap.

 

[vtsnowedin]

5" higher than the top of the drain line. This is only a guesstimate based on the slight drop in grade from where the drain line was discovered.

That I believe with some allowance for not shooting the grades with a level. I like your idea of the nail and plumb bob but would use a screw in eye bolt and add a good durable label next to the bolt so nobody would think it useless and pull it out.

 

[dave1949]

Is a tank with three lids common? Should I be searching for the center one? This ground over the tank is so hard there is no way I can dig here and there like I was in the yard earlier this week. I was hoping to use snowed in's tank dimensions to get me close for finding a lid. What diameter would the lid be?

LOL! I don't ever recall working this hard to find a pile of crap.

Ya, it's not a great prize for all your efforts.

Tanks come in different configurations. Some have separate chambers with separate lids and both need to be open for pumping. Mine has baffles mounted high in the tank but below those it's just one open tank, one pumping access lid.

You won't know until you finish your treasure hunt and get it opened up to see what's what.

I think my riser is about 24"-28" in diameter. It's under the snow or I would put a tape on it.

Our septic pumper has a 100' of hose on the truck, they don't have to get real close.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Mine has three. Small ones over the inlet and outlet pipes and a 24' or so one in the center for pumping out. My daughters twenty five year newer one has two equal sized covers brought up to ground level but there may be smaller ones they just buried on the ends. I Don't know why they need two to grade. New crap isn't any different then twenty year old crap.

 

[farmer2009]

Glad you found it. I know mine has two lids. I had one uncovered when the pumper showed up when I had it pumped shortly after buying. He said wrong lid and stepped back a couple of feet and dug up a different lid. But he remembered when the tank was installed. Evidently he had a hand in the installation 10 years earlier. The one I dug up was too small he said.

 

[MossRoad]

I would recommend you do not put a riser at ground level that is more than 6" in diameter. One that is larger, well, curious kids and accidents have left many young folks dead in a pit, septic tank, dry well, etc... Better to measure to the center of the lid from two corners of your house, document it, then bury it again. Its a rare occurrence, but it seems to happen every year or two around here.

 

[dave1949]

I would recommend you do not put a riser at ground level that is more than 6" in diameter. One that is larger, well, curious kids and accidents have left many young folks dead in a pit, septic tank, dry well, etc... Better to measure to the center of the lid from two corners of your house, document it, then bury it again. Its a rare occurrence, but it seems to happen every year or two around here.

That's something I never considered. No child will lift the concrete lid on my riser, but ... that's my tank and lid, from 2006, not 1978. Good thing to think about David.

Septic Protector
In the 1990's many states began to realize septic systems needed to be maintained but people were not doing it, so they began requiring easy access to the tanks. What this meant is they used a riser to bring the access port up to the surface and a cover placed over it. At first they were made out of concrete but there were a few problems: First they were ugly. Second the concrete would breakdown from the sewer gas. Third, they were heavy and hard to work with. So manufacturers began coming out with plastic risers and covers...but now we are seeing problems with these.

The plastic can get easily damaged when hit with a lawn mower, cracked in the cold, retaining screws strip out and the UV light (and sewer gas) can make them brittle. Now what is happening is children are stepping on them and because the cover is round, it flips on its axis, the child falls in and the cover slams back in place. There have been 4 incidents of this occurring in the last year alone and as more of these risers are installed, age and get damaged the number is going to go up dramatically in the coming years.

The solutions are simple: get a Fake Rock Home Page to cover it up, or build a small decorative cover (a fake well house or windmill) to protect it. Don't let your child become the next victim.

Septic Tank Covers or Lids - A Guide To Septic Tank Covers & Septic Cover Safety

 

[Gator6x4]

If you can access a cleanout in the house you can run a snake down the pipe until it hits the tank. That may give you distance but, better, if you have someone with good ears outside you may hear it hitting the baffle in the tank.

Be careful about running a clean out snake into a septic tank, you will knock the "T" off of the affluent entry pipe into the tank.