Ive had a sump pump basket with a sewage grinder and ejector installed in my basement to handle the lower leverl bath.
From the basket the vent pipe runs up through the walls and out the roof.(pvc 2″ pipe)
basket waste gets pumped out to the new septic tanks in the back yard.
Problem is… that dang smell that lingers out around the house. Smells like a sewer..( can you imagine that )
Is there anyway to solve this?
THanks in advance.
Replies
Is this a new system?
If so, sometimes it takes a little while for the tank to "prime" itself, so to speak,m and for the bacterial action to get into full swing. Cold weather can sometimes slow things down, too.
Side story...popped into my mind, so what the heck: Years ago when my daughter and I were canvassing the neighborhood selling Girl Scout cookies, the was a light coating of snow on the ground. Over people's septic tanks, the heat from the process had melted the snow. Whoever had their septic in the front yard had a small rectangle of grass showing through the snowfall. Everytime we saw the melted outline of a tank in someone's yard, my daughter would call out:
"Look Dad, poo at work!"
Too bad there wasn't a Girl Scout Septic System Badge.
Yep.. this is a new system so to speak. Drain field is still the same.. was left untouched. I just had to have 2 new tanks installed. To replace the on bottomless tank (sespool). The sespool was deep. New tanks are shallow now.
That got me nervous since you told the story of your girlscout cookies and front yards.
Maybe i better have a heater installed in there too.
Im not sure if your explaination makes sense to me yet... but i'll chew on it for awhile. For all i know.. you are right. I dont know squat about these things.
Thank you by the way.
Just to make sure we're on the same page...the breakdown that occurs in a septic tank is an exothermic process. It gives off heat. "Poo at work".It was the heat given off by these tanks that melted the snowcover.Tanks usually aren't buried deep...the tops are maybe down 12-18", so it usually doesn't take too much heat to melt a shallow snowfall.You do NOT have to add a heater to the system.If the toilet that is being run into this tank isn't used often, it's going to take a while for that septic tank to get enough matter in it to get the breakdown/exothermic cycle going. If that's the case, you might want to consider adding one of those septic booster products by flushing some down the toilet.Normally I'd not advocate using something like that, but in your case it might help.Until that cyce gets into gear, you just have a load of crap sitting in the bottom of your tank. The smell may be permeating from an unseated lid, or it might be coming out of the vent pipe and settling to the ground near your patio.Lots of "what if's" here. Time will tell.
ok.. now were on the same page
What is the basket? The holding tank.
The vent needs a connection to the holding tank, but also to the inlet pipes to vent the traps just like in a normal installation.
The other thing is that a coupling might not have been sealed tight.
Yep.. basket is esentially a holding tank. sunk into the basement floor with a seal top.. rubber gasket contraption. Vent pipe runs directly into this tank. Everything looks properly installed.
Im not vouching for his compitence.. but I had a plumber from the neighborhood.. old school looking fella, do the work. He's done many of these. So thats why im assuming he's done things right on his end. ( but that smell that lingers around, out in the yard.. when im sitting on my deck... mowing the front lawn... )