Speaking of septic systems

[BobReeves]

Have a sink and toilet in my shop with it's own septic something. I didn't say system because the previous owner put it in without getting a permit and I have no idea what it consists of. He said it was a tank/leach field but couldn't remember where the tank was located. Am planning on renting a trackhoe this spring and doing some discovery digging but in the mean time wondering if those with experience might be able to give me some insight on what may be going on.

Anytime we get a hard rain the system plugs up and 3 or 4 days have to pass before it will flush again. I can conclude that something is filling up with ground water and not allowing the toilet to flush. What I would like to know is what kind of poor design would exhibit this problem so I may get some idea of what will need to be done to fix it.

Thanks

 

[Durbob]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Have a sink and toilet in my shop with it's own septic something. I didn't say system because the previous owner put it in without getting a permit and I have no idea what it consists of. He said it was a tank/leach field but couldn't remember where the tank was located. Am planning on renting a trackhoe this spring and doing some discovery digging but in the mean time wondering if those with experience might be able to give me some insight on what may be going on.

Anytime we get a hard rain the system plugs up and 3 or 4 days have to pass before it will flush again. I can conclude that something is filling up with ground water and not allowing the toilet to flush. What I would like to know is what kind of poor design would exhibit this problem so I may get some idea of what will need to be done to fix it.

Thanks )</font>

Don't be surprised if it is a home made type like a 55 gallon drum or something.

 

[CTyler]

Digging around with a track hoe sounds pretty agressive. Unless you know about where its at you'll have a big mess.

You might want to make a probe out of rebar. Weld a T handle onto it. Poke around until you find it, preferably a day after a rain when the ground is soft.

 

[SCB]

I would go rent an inexpensive pipe locator. you can fish a peice of wire down your drain and the pipe locator will pick it up. Then you will be in the right area when you start to dig. Did this with my septic and when I dug my first hole, I was right on the money with the location. Much easier that test digging IMO.

 

[BobReeves]

Thanks for the info so far. Reason for the trackhoe is two fold, the west side of the shop has dirt piled up above the bottom of the siding, when it rains water runs in above the slab. I need to dig this out so the water has some place else to go.

Knowing I will need to do something with the septic system to solve the rain problem thought while I had the trackhoe I would try to fix the septic problem. What I don't know is what possible situations would cause the system to quit draining when it rains.

Considering several Mickey Mouse items I have uncovered on this property it is no telling what the septic system is, the 55 gal drum wouldn't surprise me at all.

 

[Affordable]

Bob,the reason the septic does not work in the rain is the leach field is not installed correctly and not enough leach field lines,the tank can be as smalll as a 250 gallon tank but you should have a minimun of 150'- drain field.Hope this helps you, I'm a Master plumber in Texas.I also sell tractors

Tommy web page

 

[ByronBob]

Are you going to have a tank and leach lines ready to go when you rent this thing in the worst case scenario? I'd expect the worst and go from there. Running something down the pipe sounds like a good idea vs going at this blind and the probe idea sounds better.

 

[BobReeves]

Thanks Tommy, that gives me an idea of what can cause the problem which is what I was hoping for.

It wouldn't surprise me if the leach field was only one 20 foot piece of pipe. Problem is where the shop is located I may not be able to put in a longer field without tearing up my asphalt drive or going over the property line. Previous owner still owns the property next door, should be able to shame him into giving me an easement /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Apreciate everyones input, may end up just living with it and going to the house when it's wet.

Bob

 

[Moon]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Apreciate everyones input, may end up just living with it and going to the house when it's wet.

)</font>
Hate to say it, but this sounds like the best thing to do. I've seen 55 gallon drums used with a very short pipe and thats it. I guess it worked for what they needed (it was a camper only used during the summer on weekends). I'm afraid thats what you'll run into, and to do it right sounds like it would be a major operation and very costly to boot. They do make septics that don't need a leach field ....but again, a costly alternative, and I'm not sure of what environment those can be used in.

Moon of Ohio

 

[Currmudgeon]

You really want to find that tank and drain field.

What's the groundwater situation in the vicinity of the drain field? Digging a test hole down to drainfield elevation wiill give you a good idea what;'s going on in the drain tiles.

If the ground loads up with surface water, it ain't gonna work, no matter how much pipe you put in. You may need to do some surface or even subsurface drainage to get the water out of your tile field.