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I am in colorado, lots of granite. I saw on old house, etc a new septic system out east that used no trenches, no infiltrators. It was 2 tanks, plastic i think to replace the infiltrator function, and a big plastic tank for the ceptic tank, not cocrete tank. it showed 2 guys delivering this tank in a regulat pickup, thenpicking it up and putting it in place.
The 2 other tanks stand next to the big tank, the whole system didnt take up more than 200 sq ft.
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People where i live usually recycle old car bodies for tanks, although the fixer-upper i bought came with a fuselage for that purpose. I put in a system that uses a standard concrete tank, but the lines are 11 1/2" black, corrugated pipe, brand name "Gold Line", that need no rock. They come in 10' sections covered in black plastic to protect the filter fabric that covers them--bulky but light. The 10-yr-old neighbor girl and i installed my system in about two hours. My inspector didn't give me a break on length, but the next county over is a little less benighted and allows a 1/3 reduction in length, which would have meant savings over a PVC system and attendant gravel trucks, etc.(Slit the plastic bags lengthwise while removing them and save for mulching the vegetable garden!)
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A little of topic here but does Liquid bleach have any adverse effects on the breakdown process in a septic system ? Also does bleach have any cleaning effectiveness in semi-clogged (old) pipes ?
TIA
*Adverse effects of bleach on a septic system? Well, bleach is used to sterilize and large quantities would effectively sterilize the bacteria needed for the septic system. In limited quantities, however, it appears that it is diluted enough to have little, if any, effect, so normal laundry activity appears OK. Several of my "bookmarked" septic system sites seem to have 404ed, but from http://www.septicprotector.comJust about any liquid detergents are ok...as long as they don't containphosphates which most do not. ... Occasional use of bleach (a few loads a week) is ok...it's when you are doing 6-20 loads per week it will cause damage. Do not use any, zero, none, zippo additives. Your system has plenty ofbacteria in it already, you don't need to put in anymore. (*In a few rare cases like when someone is taking LONG-TERM, STRONG antibiotics orchemotherapy, the bacterial colonies can be reduced. In cases like that you may want to use anadditive...but those cases are rare and you should ask a professional about what to do.)Be aware that this is a commercial site that sells a lint filter/trap for preventing the clogging of septic fields from laundry lint (probably not a bad idea if you are into doing a lot of laundry) but the advice on general septic issues seems pretty good.(To find the above information, click "Q&A" on the home page.)As for the effectiveness of bleach on clogged pipes, there is none that I am aware of - however, it might make the color of a clog a little whiter when you have to snake it out...
*Thnx for the response Casey,Just to clarify a bit. My question was to affirm my logic that bleach kills bacteria thus inhibits the natural effectiveness of the system. The reason for my post was a second oppinion to support my position in a conversation with my girlfriend who wants to pour bleach down the toilet to solve a backup problem (flush upstairs toilet and it will occasionally back up in kitchen sink.It only did this a few times and allthough it does gurgle a bit it seems fine now.)We live in a 175 yr. old house so the plumbing was an afterthought needless to say.I am sure it would not meet code !
*I had a customer that thought that pouring bleach down the drain was a good thing to do. Thank God she only did it in one sink. There was practically nothing left of the trap. Buy a product designed for the job and follow directions.Rich Beckman
*We are back to the follow the directions thread. Go figure !
*James. how much space does the aerobic system take up. I have a small lake lot that could benefit from a sytem that didn't include a huge leach field.'blue
*Agreed, with one exception...If you have plastic pipes, and know them to be plastic all the way out, then the bleach will not eat them. But it WILL eat grease and hair, the two biggest clog makers.Proof of this can be had very readily. In a plastic glass, pour about a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of liquid bleach and fill most of the rest of the way up with water. Get someone's hairbrush. The more hair, lint and gunk caught and wound up in the bristles the better. Stick the brush in the glass so all of the bristles are covered. Leave for a couple days. The brush should not contain metal or any 'natural' materials, or they will get 'eaten' as well. A good brush for this purpose is one of those all plastic 'blow dry' brushes.
*I stand corrected, bleach does break down long-chain organic molecules, so I guess it would break down grease and hair proteins... However, be aware that combining hypochlorite bleach with acids, such as acidic toilet bowl cleaners, can produce chlorine gas that can be very irritating and possibly dangerous. I was aware of the usual lye based clog dissolvers and the vinager and soda bit, but had never heard about using bleach on clogs - maybe this comes from having been a pipefitter rather than a plumber... I guess I will try to do a little more research in the future before I demonstrate my ignorance.
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Hey,
I'm thinking about installing some septic systems. Does anyone know about
any really good, cool, or easy systems? Recommendations? Any to stay away
from besides septics in general?
Thanks.
* *Above deleted because it was too late to edit.*Bear, By 'systems' do you mean you will be installing more than one ? Are you just on a lark, or have you decided that crap traps are the career you want to go into ? LOL Define 'cool' and 'easy' and how you expect those concepts to be applied to septic systems..... Don't bears crap in the woods anyway ???
*best, easy... is a 55 gal drum punched with holes and buried......good warranty too... tail-light
*bear,I'm in the process of installing a septic system for a house I'm building. I used infiltrator chambers, infiltratorsystems, it took 3 hours to install 285 feet of them into the trenches - by myself. No rock needed and the inspector likes them. Cost me $1650 for the chambers and end plates.I dont want to i hijackyour thread but I have a related question for everyone. Can ABS pipe be direct buried? It would be easiest for me to continue my ABS drain out the foundation, into the tank - then switch to PVC for the hard line to the trenches.-jl
*To answer Jim's question....Yes you can direct bury ABS pipe. We have just started to use the new cartridge filters that filter the effluent as it leaves the septic tank. This forces you to clean your tank out if necessary. It is a 4" PVC tee. The bottom of the tee is a drop pipe into the tank, the side of the tee is the outlet to the drainfield and the top of the tee is where you pull out the filter. How does this system work??? Stay tuned!
*JimL - glad you like the Infiltrator as I was thinking about using them in the septic system that I will be installing in the near future. Just out of curiousity, which width Infiltrators did you use, how much soil cover did you give them, how many separate trenches did you dig, and how much did you slope the trenches? I see G. LaLonde answered you ABS question. The Ohio DOT lists ABS drain waste and vent pipe and ABS sewer pipe as suitable for "Type B Conduits-Storm sewers or sanitary under pavement". I assume that "under pavement" would constitute direct burial. I am not sure if all ABS drain and sewer pipe meets the specs, however, one set of specs that I saw indicated:"ABS pipe must conform to ASTM D2751 for solid-wall pipe and to ASTM D2680 for composite pipe" when used for drain pipes in agricultural fields.As to the original septic tank query, there are a lot of resources on the Web regarding septic systems and I recall a few threads on Breaktime in the past, so a search or two may be order. Different standards exist for septic systems in different states, particularly in regard to the required size of the tank and/or the drain field as well as the maximum length of each section of the drain field. If I recall correctly from my search some months ago, at least one state requires that there be at least two drainfields for each septic tank to allow one field to rest and recuperate while the other is in use. A couple of septic information threads:http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/c819-2w.htmlhttp://ianrwww.unl.edu/pubs/wastemgt/g448.htm#stlhttp://ohioline.ag.ohio-state.edu/aex-fact/0743.htmlhttp://www.septicprotector.com/
*Does anyone besides us in Southeast Texas use Aerobic systems?Field lines of any kind are not acceptible any more.Just curious...James DuHamel
*Hi CaseyI used the "standard" chambers, 36" wide by 75" long. My drainfield area dictated that I use 6 trenches, I made them level. They go across an area of about 10% slope. I plan on covering with 12-24" of soil cover after my inspection. jim
*bear:Just had my dirt dude in finishing my septic this week. He said he's been using infiltrator for about 3 years now and swears by it. He told me it would save me a bunch of bucks just on the import costs for the gravel. As it turns out the soil where my field runs is ALOT better than where my grading was done for my pad (no clay)and he only had to use 13 sections instead of the 33 that he planned on. I would say he has about six hours total in it, not counting what it took to set the tank. I have known this guy for years, and value his opinion a great deal, so take it for what its worth. Oh yeah, almost forgot. The local inspector loves the stuff, and they only require 16 inches of cover over it.
*I am in colorado, lots of granite. I saw on old house, etc a new septic system out east that used no trenches, no infiltrators. It was 2 tanks, plastic i think to replace the infiltrator function, and a big plastic tank for the ceptic tank, not cocrete tank. it showed 2 guys delivering this tank in a regulat pickup, thenpicking it up and putting it in place.The 2 other tanks stand next to the big tank, the whole system didnt take up more than 200 sq ft.