I have a house on an acre. There is a 1,000 gal septic tank that we just had inspected and pumped out. I have no idea what is connected to the far side of the septic tank. My neighbor found a very stinky puddle about 300 feet and directly down hill of our house. He thinks the septic tank was just connected to a long pipe that was run downhill and is now flowing into his field.
My gut is telling me he is right but I was wondering how do I make sure without digging up everything. Would a bottle of red food coloring do the trick? Any other ideas?
Thanks in advance. An anonymous poster somewhere in America
Replies
>>Would a bottle of red food coloring do the trick?
No but there are concentrated dyes which will allow you to do that.
any idea where to get one of these concentrated dyes?
Would a bottle of red food coloring do the trick? Any other ideas?
No, as Bob said. I don't think the red food coloring would color your sh*t red enough for you to trace the source.
A little barium and a geiger-counter.
Severl boxes of clothing dye. Pre mix it and watch where you pour it into the system.. The dye will stain. Put in at a clean out if you can..
Got a boat store or marine supply near you.. Get one of those lime green marker packets.... Flush that..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming....
WOW!!! What a Ride!
>> Severl boxes of clothing dye. Pre mix it and watch where you pour it into the system.. The dye will stain. Put in at a clean out if you can..
I thought he wanted to color his sh*t so he can trace it. Taking in all that dye couldn't be good for him.
You are a genius, IMERC.
I thought he wanted to color his sh*t so he can trace it.
that'll put new meaning to "got milk"
If he can pour it directly into the tank... Better yet... And what ever he gets that dye near is gonna be permantly stained.
He could always keep out a glass full for latter coloring needs...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
Eating lots of red vines usually does the trick but there is 34 carbs in five vines......."Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob
How about some of that thousand alarm Texas hot sauce..
Follow the rising steam trail..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
My faith in physics reaffirmed.
It does flow downhill!
Joe H
How hard can this be? If you just had the tank pumped, take the lid off the outlet side and stick a garden house into the outlet pipe. Run a few hundred gallons of water and a bottle of dish soap down the pipe. Head down into the field and see if there's soapy water coming out. It will travel down the pipe about as fast as you walk. If there is soap coming out, get ready to spend some serious loot on a drain field. If not, go back inside, take a shower, and crack open a beer.
Some tanks only have one lid for pumping only. You can't stick a hose in the outlet side. My new one does, but my old one didn't.
Flourescene dye.
http://www.sandybrae.com/price.htm#01-VISGAGE-38
Go down a bit to:
8
01-DYE-REDFLUOR
Gets you a 30 gram bottle that, you can call about. If it is what I think it is you get a small bottle with a concentrate that will color thousands of gallons of water. Don't get it on your hands as it stains and won't wash off.
Same stuff at a marine supply..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
I agree with the flourescene dye. Put it in a gallon jug and then fill it up with water. Pour it down the cleanout just out side of your house. Then stick your garden house in there and let it flush for 20 minutes or so. Then take a black light to the spot and see if it glows. Do this at night of course. We use this dye where I work to check for leaks in tube and shell heat exchangers. Works great, but it does stain anything that it touches.
Dan"Life is what happens when you are making other plans." - John Lennon
Oil of wintergreen. Less than $5 at the drug store.
Wintergreen oil. Hmmm. Interesting.
My luck and the lady would claim to dump in the wintergreen and send me out to sniff. After twelve hours of being on my knees sniffing feces she would admit to 'forgetting' to add the oil.
Edited for clarity.
Edited 5/19/2004 1:40 am ET by 4Lorn1
You could smell the stuff from 50 feet away. No need to put your face into the s hit or get anywhere near it. Flush the oil of wintergreen and wait a day or two. Infallible and cheap. Wait! Maybe it wouldn't flush. Put it down the sink instead.
I have a bottle here I bought to test a hot air furnace for combustion chamber leaks. When the furnace fired up, I injected a teaspoon worth into the flame using a children's medicine syringe. Then, we wandered around the house sniffing at the registers. Very old trick.
Ron
If you're using a 2 tank system (1 tank with a partition) it's best to dye the second (output side) tank. Otherwise you'll have to run 1000 gals of water.
SamT
This dye is highly soluble. The liquid carries over from the first compartment into the second one. As long as his system is full I do not think he should have to run 1000's of gallons through it to get results.
Dan"Life is what happens when you are making other plans." - John Lennon
4Lorn1 is right about the fluorescent dye. A little goes a long way. He gave you a source. Another would be Westmarine or another chandlery. It's used in life-raft survival kits to make a 1/2 mile bright slick on the water.
A friend spilled some of the fluorescent dye used in antifreeze in the driveway of a chemical supply house. Just the pure dye, not the gycol. Rinsed and rinsed and rinsed it into the gutter. The neighborhood dogs were pissing green for a week.
In groundwater and cave tracer studies, we add bromide salts since they are not found all over like chloride salts are. A simple test for conductivity can pick up the increase in salts in general. A cheap lab test (or handheld test kit from Hach) for bromides is definitive.
NO, NO, NO. all of you guys are working way too hard. Dyes, fluorecent dyes, way over kill. Just walk down the hill, (bring rubber boots - maybe hip waders), stomp right out in the middle of the puddle and take a deep sniff - if it stinks, it is his. (everyone know your own sh!t doesn't stink).
edited because I can't type
Edited 5/19/2004 12:46 pm ET by 1coolcall
Dyes...
Well, they dye stuff. Anything they get on. People are warning you not to get it on you, but no one is considering what happens when it comes out all over the ground on the neighbor's property. And who knows where else...
Wintergreen...
I like the wintergreen idea. Just a kind of fresh smell that will last for a while. But there could be delivery problems unless a lot is used. And It doesn't sound cheap.
Detergents...
Should work. But all detergents are anti-bacterial. At the volumes you would have to put down the drain to get the results you want, I would wonder about the affects on the system.
What about...
Foaming agent. It is what gives detergent it's foam. Or at least it is added for extra foam. I don't know about the antibacterial properties of foaming agent alone. But if it has less anti-bacterial properties, wouldn't it be better to use that ?
Sultan, Washington put a fountain in, along the highway, last spring. Several times, people have put foaming agent in it. Apparently a small amount is all it takes to make enough foam to cover half the park, and cover the highway. It is like snow in august. LOL
If you do nothing, nothing will happen.
How small was the quantity of foaming agent you put in the fountain, and what did you use?
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
ROFLOL
I swear it wasn't me.
I just marveled at the effect, and laughed at all those townsfolk taking themselves way too seriously.
: )
If you do nothing, nothing will happen.
We use the fluorescent dye atleast twice a year and yes it does stain stuff easily, but only when it is highly concentrated. Once it is diluted you can easily stick your hands in it without staining. We use a gallon of the dye to about 9000 gallons of water, so I would reduce the amount of dye to about a pint for this use.
Dan"Life is what happens when you are making other plans." - John Lennon
Once it is diluted you can easily stick your hands in it without staining. <wink, wink> Ok Luka, go ahead and stick your hand in the water... yes, we're positive it won't stain at that concentration level...Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
There is a powdered form of this sort of dye that is great for sneaking behind shower heads. Be sure to leave a central channel to allow the water through. Try to pick a shade that compliments the persons complexion. Winters look particularly good in a bright magenta. Springs might try a fetching purple, perhaps puce.
We've all missed the obvious! It hit me this morning. From supper last night:
CORN!!!!
It hit me this morning. From supper last night:
Some remedial training in order???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!
You could put the fan in another room...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... WOW!!! What a Ride!