Home made Septic Tank

[Kays Supply]

Part of the point I was trying to make was that a " septic tank " the size of a barrel used twice a year isn't going to be much good as a septic tank. It needs to be used more often to keep it " alive ". It will be more of a distribution box than a septic tank. I was saying, that by code a little wrong is the same as all wrong.

 

[Gator6x4]

Something to consider in your risk analysis. Under the Clean Water Act, fecal coliform is a pollutant, and intentionally dumping it on the ground is a "release". Now, I don't know if dumping it on the ground is illegal in all circumstances, or only in certain circumstances. That determination may be fact specific. The state governments also have a hand in permitting septic tanks (i.e., fees).

The problem is, if your dumping is illegal and you get caught and the government requires remediation, the cost of a full blown aeration septic system might very will look cheep in hindsight.

Also if the owner wants to sell the property in the future and an environmental inspection is required, the inspectors will have a heyday with you and the owner if they detect illegal dumping.

Well said. My risk analysis if I was considering such would say no in very large letters. The papers are full of horror stories from people that have tried to circumvent local health and environmental laws/rules/regulations. I would hate to even think of the cost of the "Clean UP" of a fecal coliform discharge on the top of the ground and would have to do as other have done when confronted with a ground water contamination with fecal coliform clean up, file for bankruptcy.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Local guy I have do backhoe work for me told me how he got a job to bury an old chevy up at some hillbillies place. He did it. They ran a sewer line right into a vent window. Instant septic tank.

:laughing:
Like to see the expression on some archeologist's face a few thousand years from now:laughing:

 

[greasemonkeyok]

The environmental laws are sticky and follow you through a bankruptcy in some instances. Cleanup costs are not like other debts that are discharged in bankruptcy.

 

[schmism]

for small volume black water tank and limited use why not just dig a hole.

whats the difference between an outhouse and that.

gray water tank could be emptied ontop of ground.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Why not just swing by an RV dump station on the way home? Any place that you can get an RV to is no longer "remote property" in the USA.

 

[terry.dinerman]

At one particularly remote hunting lease, we used a sawdust toilet and disposed of the soiled shavings in a compost bin made out of 4 pallets....no smell beyond the aroma of pine shavings...no flies...no problems at all if you kept the poo well covered with shavings...

Used a 5 gal bucket under the open gray-water tank drain valve to catch the gray-water, and an automatic electric sump pump inside the bucket with a garden hose connected to a sprinkler to disperse it 100 feet or so away from the trailer.

Here is a link for an online free e-book....BE SAFE!

weblife.org/humanure/

 

[Loren49]

I'm not convinced that human waste knows the difference between a barrel and a "certified septic tank" - it will still decompose in the same way. In looking at tank design it appears the inlet should be a little higher in the tank(drum) than the outlet and a "T" on the pipes may be a good idea. (google "septic tank design") Only difference would be in capacity.

If the inspectors need something to do - check all the places that run lines into ditches and waterways.

Loren

 

[Skyco]

I'm kinda scratching my head on the "legalities" too...so if some people camp on some land and go pee and poop backpacker style, how is that any different than the same number of people dumping an RV tank with the exact same waste on the ground? Thats assuming none of the nasty RV tank chemicals have been used.....

 

[Skyco]

Why not just swing by an RV dump station on the way home? Any place that you can get an RV to is no longer "remote property" in the USA.

RV dumps have gotten a lot harder to find..besides what about extended "remote" camping where the tanks fill and people don't want to break camp and haul an RV 25 miles to dump?

 

[Kays Supply]

You can't rationalize codes. In Illinois it is perfectly fine to wash your car in the yard on the driveway or in the street. BUT, if you wash it in the garage, the water MUST drain into a FD and be run to the sewer. If you are doing the same thing at a commercial garage, it has to go through a $4000 grease trap before it goes in the sewer. As far as septic tanks go. If the garage is on septic, it has to go to a holding tank and be hauled off by a lisc. hazardous waste hauler.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I have been installingtanks with dad since I was 16. He started when he as a kid for one of the first TLB owners in the county. I have been digging up some of his old installed tanks for the last few years. The old metal 100 gallon tar coated tanks. Im ok in this county to do maintenance without a liscence. I go under grand fathered systems. I can re place a tank or install one if there was a previous system installed. Untill recently that was anything. Most common in a tight area was 2 well tiles stacked on top of each other. Infact your are asked at the concrete plant if you want a top and bottom. When you say top they give you a one that has inlet and out let holes for septic tank or spring tank holes.

Ive installed tons of these at hunting clubs, camps, and vacation homes. A common loophole for installing a tank in a remote area was to put an out house up over the dump tank. that way it was legal to have the outhouse with a pit. One could be dual use as an out house and dump station both. This is over looked as theres not but a few like 5 rv dumps within 60 miles.



Pirate Ive done the hill billy thing in the past. back when Tiffins built Rvs from chevey vans they sold the body of the vans to scrappers or the public. Folks made storage buildings from them. I had a friend that asked me about puttin on in for an elderly man. He had mig weled the 2 back halves together then weled the doors shut on one end. I dug the hole and he opened the other set of back doors and went i nand put his plumming inside. Then he tarred the inside and outside and we back filled it. I just hate the think how puzzeled someone would be to dig this thing up. When mom and dad moved back here srom SC the yard was full of old cars from the last owners.

Dad took his old Case backhoe and loaded a few on some scrappers trailer but there was an old Falcon and and old GTX out there they didnt get. Dad used them for a drain feild for years till we put in a 1000 gallon tank. I think was a sin it is to poop through a Falcon and a GTX .


Loren49 You hit the nail on the head with your statement. Its basically an income generator for some one. The county is trying to ban Infiltrator pipe the half dome with an open bottom feild line. Its super easy to put in. Its got an open bottom 3 feet wide to perc through other than a few half inch holes all over. It works with alot less linear feet as here the standars is 100 feet of feild line this only requires 35 feet. I had an inspector check me and try to write me up as this was a low use dwelling for a hunting club. He felt bad funny when I brought up the fact that his and his brother and parents and grandparents that all had sewer lines running in the ditches or down the hill.

Ive seen inspectors that cant check grade, dont know the first thing to do if theres not enough room for a conventional field line and such.

 

[OzGrasshopper]

Hi All, i'm not getting into the "legal" or "environmental" aspects of the 2 X 55 gal plastic tank system, but if anyone puts one of these systems in (which from a septic / bactrerial breakdown point would imo work) i would also put a 4" inspection hole on the top of both barrels. my experience here in Oz is that even if a big 1,000 gal system is installed BUT not regularly used, a "crust" develops over the first or solids tank. unfortunately this will block the system and cause backup in the plumbing & many people then rush and get a pump out, which is expensive and totally not needed. if you push a pole or pipe in through the inspection hole and break the crust up a bit it will start working again. knowing this i have had septic systems work for 20 years and never needed pumping but sometimes need crust breaking maybe twice a year.
cheers Oz GH

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Hi All, i'm not getting into the "legal" or "environmental" aspects of the 2 X 55 gal plastic tank system, but if anyone puts one of these systems in (which from a septic / bactrerial breakdown point would imo work) i would also put a 4" inspection hole on the top of both barrels. my experience here in Oz is that even if a big 1,000 gal system is installed BUT not regularly used, a "crust" develops over the first or solids tank. unfortunately this will block the system and cause backup in the plumbing & many people then rush and get a pump out, which is expensive and totally not needed. if you push a pole or pipe in through the inspection hole and break the crust up a bit it will start working again. knowing this i have had septic systems work for 20 years and never needed pumping but sometimes need crust breaking maybe twice a year.
cheers Oz GH

The crust is grease, which the bacteria do not break down. It just builds up on top of the water until it eventually blocks the outlet. The best thing you can do for a septic is to never put oils or grease down it. Wipe out the bacon skillet and put the grease in the garbage instead. The same is true of vegetable oils. Never pour them down the sink.

How often a system needs pumped depends on usage. Some vegetables have a high silica content, and build up an insoluble layer in the bottom of the tank. Meats, of course, have a high fat content. The problem is if solids get into the drain field. If that happens, you need a new drain field, which is an expensive fix.

 

[OzGrasshopper]

Hi Larry, u r no doubt right about the fat, but in the case i referred to it was a toilet block in a tourist park, which was open periodically - high volume when going, then nothing for several monthly periods - no fat or oil, maybe its our heat too, but top crust would still form hard and airtight as there was no movement in primary tank. In the other system hooked to the kitchen, (which rules although strict about fat & oil not entering) i knew some was getting in, but cos the caretakers residence was hooked into same system & was used daily, still never got an airtight crust. re drains blocking, we use course sand filter alongside when first built, & have 2 drains which operate alternatively, by diverting one off for 4 months in summer, the sand dries out completely and then will start reabsorbing, then change over. both systems in place for 22 years - none ever pumped, but crust broken each year. it was the periodic use of the 50 gal system that i thought would still get a crust if not used regularly - but hey u know the climate & environment better than me. i just like to be able to get into any system without opening pipe lines:thumbs up:cheers OzGH

 

[dmccarty]

Interesting that TaylorTractorNut's county/state wants to ban Infiltrator. Our septic field was build with the Infiltrator product. I cannot see why anyone would want anything else if the soil will support this type of leech field. Pretty danged hard to ruin an Infiltrator field.

To the subject at hand, , I would check the NC state rules on septic fields. They used to have a fairly big book on regulations for septic fields, soils, and even outhouses. I not remember if they had regulations for dump stations but I they most certainly had VERY specific design requirements for outhouses. :laughing:

With the exception of the RV black water tank chemicals I would think a simple hole in the ground would work. I would try to keep the "system" as cheap and easy to take out of service as possible. A simple outhouse might be the best solution.

I do wonder about the RV chemicals. Do they hinder the breaking down of the solids and other bacterial action? That would be my big question.

Later,
Dan