Septic System Issues

 
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gjambor
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Post by gjambor » Sun. Jan. 05, 2014 8:42 am

Hello everyone, first I would like to say how much I enjoy this forum. Friendly , helpful people from all over the USA! I have what I refer to as a seepage pit system. There is a septic tank between the seepage pit and the house. Thats it. So instead of a leach field, the 18 foot deep pit , built with curved blocks that have a "U" shaped opening on top distribute the water coming from the tank. The seepage pit is not draining properly , causing system backup. The septic service company offers a service where they clean off the walls with high pressure water then treat it with various chemicals, caustic soda and then sulphuric acid. Has anyone out there ever had this procedure accomplished ?
Thanks much George


 
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Post by scalabro » Sun. Jan. 05, 2014 9:12 am

I've never heard of using acids. My neighbors leach fields backed up because he did not have a 25 dollar screen in the outlet pipe "T" of his tank. This allowed solids to enter the leach field pipes, clogging them. He had a company come and clean the inside of the pipes with high pressure water. Then they put 50 gallons of 75% hydrogen peroxide down each leach pipe with a hose and pump. Waited 3 days and put a remedial bacteria solution (15 gallons) in each pipe at the distribution box.

He installed the screen in the tank outlet and has been fine so far for 5 years.

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sun. Jan. 05, 2014 3:11 pm

Had neighbors do the pump and scrub...
Depends what caused the failure and how old the system is...
When the 'rents system failed we put a 5 gal can of something in...
Forget what it was but the pumper told us about it...
It gave us some breathing room to get a new system in...
The pump and scrub is great if it works and is less expensive than a new system...
Pits fail because the side walls get plugged...
So it depends on your soil type and how the pit was installed...
if the stuff is just caked on the walls and has not penetrated too far into the soil...
Pump and Scrub works...
If the surrounding soil has failed out 2 feet...
Pump and Scrub will not last...
Clay or sand...

 
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Post by mozz » Sun. Jan. 05, 2014 4:37 pm

If you have a septic tank, that seepage pit is acting like a drainfield. If the septic tank lets out solids, you will block the drain field. Only gray water should be coming from the outlet of the septic. Appears your septic is full and sending solids out the outlet which it should not do, now your drainfield(seepage pit) is blocked. You have to have the tank pumped and inspected for a outlet baffle failure or a "t" failure on the outlet. Then you need to have the drainfield(seepage pit) cleaned, cleared or replaced.

 
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Post by dcrane » Sun. Jan. 05, 2014 7:13 pm

you have whats called a cesspool system (those around most of MA are an automatic fail today if you went to sell your home), because its a cesspool im going to leap to the conclusion its over 30 years old....so its very likely its run its life cycle. You can open it and powerwash it, scrape the edges down, kill any roots, spray it with some stuffs, etc. but if its run its life cycle its the dirt surrounding it that needs to go... drop a new pit over >>>>>their>>>>>.... connect the old to the new with some of that heavy PVC pipe (the new pit wants to be down far enough to get to the "fluff" so to speak!)... DONE!... for the cost of a bunch of cinder blocks and a length of PVC (in MA this is illegal so im assuming its legal where you are if your so inclined to discover and its a concern of yours toothy)

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sun. Jan. 05, 2014 7:27 pm

He has a tank...
With a pit...
Not a cesspool...
Legal in MA if not selling house...
But if DA Man finds out it failed...
You gotta replace it...
With a field...

 
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Post by gjambor » Tue. Jan. 07, 2014 9:12 am

thanks for all the replies, in 2012 pits became illegal in the communist state of nj I am going to try to rehab the pit and fix the tank outlet baffle before getting a whole new system.


 
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Post by gjambor » Thu. Mar. 06, 2014 6:49 pm

update on my septic issues,, I had a septic service company come out. They emptied my seepage pit of 2000 gallons of "water". Then they used a high pressure sprayer to remove material from the drainage areas of all the blocks. The sprayer is lowered into the hole and while it sprays , it also spins to be able to spray sideways toward the walls of the pit.. A few weeks later after the pit has partially refilled they dump 100 #s of Lye in the pit .This further eats away at accumulated materials that have been blocking drainage. I am happy to report the level in the pit is now stabilized and I have even seen it go down from one day to the next
Goota go , George

 
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Post by shawntitan » Sat. Nov. 29, 2014 1:10 am

Any update on how your system is working? I'm also in NJ, and thinking about using lye to help open up my "seepage pit".

 
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Post by gjambor » Sat. Nov. 29, 2014 8:12 pm

Well , I thought things were going better. I have been checking the level of the pit every week. for a couple months after they cleaned the pit, the level seemed to stay about 5 feet below the inlet pipe. Then gradually the level rose and hovered near the pipe. The last few times I checked, I could not even see the pipe. Sorry to say I am scheduled for a new system. If I had 150 ' of space from my well, they could have put a new modern concrete seepage pit. I do not have enough space , so I have to get a more expensive drain field instead. The price is around 14,500 $ My lot is only a half acre. If I had to do it again I would not waste my money on trying to revive a seepage pit. A reputable installer came out and explained a little better why I need a new system. Pits, like drain fields drain mainly at the bottom. messing with the bottom of an 18' deep pit is dangerous and just not feasible. Second , he said I bet those sesspool blocks are brittle and crumbly. I said no they are fine. well after he left I opened the pit and banged on a couple blocks with my hoe. Sure enough he was right , I could have chipped right thru that block if I tried hard enough. Right now I have not had any back ups, but The pit just does not have enough reserve space to accomadate any extra flow. . When 3 extra people stayed overnight last New Years Eve , my problem was confirmed. 4 of us live here full time 2 adults 2 kids. No one wants to pay for a new system, but it is like any other necessary appliance in your home. Plus I need to cut down a beautiful Red Maple to make room for my new field , sucks . Hope this helps

 
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Post by grumpy » Sat. Nov. 29, 2014 8:35 pm

When it's useful life is over it's over, no trick will fix an expired system ....

 
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Post by gjambor » Wed. Dec. 03, 2014 12:16 pm

Check out my new lawn ornament !!! New system coming. Just in time too. Starting to back up.
had to remove a 20 year old Red Maple. Was a nice shade tree, sucks!

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Post by titleist1 » Wed. Dec. 03, 2014 1:37 pm

That stinks having to get a new system. Over the years I went through the same thing here as well as at the rental. The rental was land locked and ended up being extremely expensive to dig up the entire back yard and refill with stone. The one here wasn't too bad as we have some acreage to work with and could use a sufficiently long standard two trench system. Both were in service over 40 years before problems bubbled up.

Hey - it looks like you have some field room past that pickup truck if you implemented a clandestine 2am pump irrigation system you could get by for a while until the neighbors started wondering why their field was so green all winter!! :lol:

 
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Post by scalabro » Wed. Dec. 03, 2014 2:34 pm

FYI...

A leach tank/pit is different from leaching fields obviously, but I've seen firsthand how a 50% hydrogen peroxide solution can clean bio-mat from leach pipes.

A friend of mine had a company come in with a special high pressure power washing snake, with a "umbrella head". It was inserted into the leach pipes via the junction box. This pushed the "goo" back to the junction box where it was pumped to a septic truck. They took video before and after, the amount that came out was amazing.

This was done to allow the peroxide to leach into the fields.

Then the Hyd peroxide solution was pumped into each of the three pipes. I think the total was 55 gallons. Then "Speed levelers" were added to the junction box to equalize flow in each leach pipe.
A filter was also added to the outlet "T" in the septic tank.

Two days later they started using the the system again.

That was five years ago and this past August, it passed a Massachusetts title five inspection, which you will fail if the level of grey water in the junction box is above the inlet of the leach pipes.

 
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Post by gjambor » Wed. Dec. 03, 2014 2:57 pm

I like shooting the S--t with you guys !


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