(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

New septic system

MarkB_MI

MarkB_MI

Well-known Member
Location
Motown USA
Here's a picture of our new system as it approaches completion. 1500 gallon dual-chamber tank; 1500 square foot field. It should outlast us, and probably whoever the next owners of place.

The installer had to dig down through about ten feet of clay to hit a layer of sand, then haul in sand to refill. So far he's hauled in about 600 tons of sand, and he'll need more for the final fill. We were lucky that he didn't hit water before finding the sand layer; otherwise we would be looking at an engineered $y$tem. Once he's done, we'll have to figure out where to put the 600+ tons of clay he removed.

The old system, built in 1973, was "put on clay", according to the installer. Meaning there was no way for sewage to percolate out of the field. And they had installed black plasic over the bed, which meant there wasn't much evaporation going on. Plus it was originally surrounded by trees! The result was that we've almost always had seepage in the 26 years we've lived here. It will be a big relief to get this done.

cvphoto50053.jpg
 
That is a big nice system. We have an aerobic system. It has two tanks. The second tank has a pump in it. It pumps it out to sprinkler heads. It then waters the grass.
 
That looks expensive! We put a new system in about 10 years ago, and compliance with the new regs put the price close to 15k. Quite a difference from the outhouse we used as kids.

Ben
 
We put in an aerobic system as well. Our tank has 3 chambers. The last one is pumped out through sprinklers. I had it run to the pasture, the cows like the tall green grass in those areas.
 
an aerobic? too much clay David? I was Director of Field Ops at TNRCC (now TCEQ) in the late '90's when the septic/onsite rules were re written. that was a bloody battle.
 
I'm assuming you meant "Leachate" from percolating, and this is a typical leach field. That ought to work well, sure looks like a large enough system. I'd done dozens of them in the past, tank, piping to distribution box with levelers, adjusting each to the laterals which are placed on a bed of clean crushed stone, backfilled with same, rosin paper, then topsoil. I never really got what the rosin paper was for, temp silt control maybe ? Designs have changed, but the soil here percolates sufficiently for these kinds of systems, which there really is not much to. Mine is a 1000 gallon concrete tank, d-box and lateral lines. I let 1 tree grow near it, not been an issue, but I may eventually remove the tree. It's at the end of the lower garden patch, so I continued with the plow, cuts through them. Worst case is I'd have to re-pipe the lines, own a backhoe. Probably should have cut that tree when it was small !
 
> So now we get to the real cause of your heart attack!

Well... I suppose my dear wife's pestering me for the past several months to get this project done may have been a contributing factor! Lessee, once this is done I'll be caught up with all my projects--NOT!
 
> I never really got what the rosin paper was for

I wouldn't think rosin paper would last very long. Our installer will be placing some sort of fabric over ours. He said that our old system was probably one of the last to be covered with plastic, and that after that they switched to roofing felt, which seems equally dumb.

Our permit says: "A soil entrapping barrier shall be provided. Acceptable cover shall be non-woven fabric with a weight not to exceed two (2) ounces per square yard, minimum trapezoidal tear strength of ten (10) pounds, and minimum puncture strength of eight (8) pounds.
 
Exactly, this red rosin paper was nothing substantial, however the inspector needed to see that it is installed, prior to backfill. that was say 30 years ago when I was doing this for a living as part of the job I had with a site work construction company.
 
Looks good.

And expensive.

Within 5 years they will rewrite the code, and your system won’t pass it so the next owner will have to build a new one.

Paul
 
> Is there any way to divert the grey water from the washing machine and hand washing sink to a separate system ?

I've thought of doing that but it would be fairly impractical. I'd have to bust up the laundry room slab, and I'm not going to do that. (It's been tiled over, for one thing.) Actually, the HE washer doesn't use much water on the regular cycles. But my wife is convinced that more water is better, and it took a long time to convince her to not use the "bulky" cycle. Every time she did, I would point out the pool of water over the septic field. And she still uses it if she thinks I won't notice!

I did put in a dry well to handle the waste water from the water softener. But now that we have a demand softener, it doesn't use that much water anyway.
 
> That looks expensive! We put a new system in about 10 years ago, and compliance with the new regs put the price close to 15k.

It will be over $20K, largely due to the amount of sand required. Also, I'm paying a premium to get it done sooner rather than later. (See my reply to Steve.)
 
Interesting how every location is different. Here we're all sand so drainage is no problem. If the only goal were getting rid of water, it's simple and cheap. (And was for a few generations).

But... since the water table can come up to about 3 feet or so during wet years, we're now required to have engineers design some pretty complicated systems to try to keep the ground water clean. And complicated means expensive.

But I'm glad (mostly). I like to be able to drink the water straight from the ground, and I'm not sure we still could if the old "just dig a small hole" was still allowed. There are a lot more houses around than there used to be.
 
I have red clay deposits , some of which are 9 feet deep and quite extensive, thanks to the Green Bay lobe of the last great glacier some 10000 years ago. Geologists say it was pushed down here from up around Calumet, Michigan. Grows great crops if kept loose. The local foundry pays big money for it to seal their toxic waste dump which is located on a big farm northwest of me. They say 9 feet of packed red clay will seal those toxic substances for all time.
 
never in 45 years have i seen a system like that in your case we put a mound system in runs about 10,000 to 15,000
 
Aerobic only for new installations. I lived in an area that the water sand was 5-6' from the surface & went for 80'. Easy to contaminate the water table. Sure made for some nice sand pits.
 
Wow! That much money just to take a dump! I do backhoe work and get around $800 to $1000 for excavation. The homeowner installs the pipes or filtrators. The whole thing totals around $1500.
 
That is strange, I am here in Tennessee and surrounded by CLAY mines everywhere. Down about 12 ft or so one will sometimes hit a layer of white sand. That is what they do NOT want here, all the systems are installed in the clay zone and if one hits the sand you have to backup and turn. There thought is if you hit the sand it can go to the ground water. Average septic system installed for new home is around 4 grand or less here. Things sure are different depending where one is located.
 

Mark, Make a ski hill! With what systems cost these days it is amazing that so many people won't get their tanks pumped unless the water stops going down.
 
We have red clay everywhere in Alabama. A new system is about 4000. A perc test is done to determine the leach field size. Some dont pass this test and get engineered systems but most are standard.
 
My wife and I, now retired, are moving from Illinois to Eastern Tennessee. Our daughter lives in Knoxville, but we are looking for a rural place around Kingston, Harriman, Watts Bar Lake. Something about an acre for a double-wide. One of the home dealers said septic systems usually run 3500 — 5000, depending on soil type, etc.
 
> Within 5 years they will rewrite the code, and your system won’t pass it so the next owner will have to build a new one.

I doubt it. When we bought the house in '94, the county health department did an "inspection". Their report: "No record of a septic permit for this property. No sign of seepage." I doubt they got out of their car. We continued to use that system for the next 26 years, and it pretty much always seeped. If the health department isn't going to bust unapproved septic systems, they sure aren't going to go after systems that they've signed off on.
 
In my area most pass the perc test and put in a 4k septic system, but if the perc test fails you have to install a lagoon. Simply a shallow pit, surrounded by a fence, that lets the sun clean it all up. The sewage just flows into that pit and sits until evaporated. Smart folks do not put them south of the house due to prevailing summer hot south wind, but some folks don't think of that.
 
> In my area most pass the perc test and put in a 4k septic system, but if the perc test fails you have to install a lagoon.

Where in the world is this considered acceptable? I guess it's no worse than having a pig farm next door, but I wouldn't care for that, either.
 
Frank is is about right, but really watch what county you locate in. The rules are pretty much the same over the state but the enforcement or lack of really varies from one county to the next. Makes all the difference in the world. LOcation Location, Location.. HOpe you like your move to out state.
 
(quoted from post at 09:16:43 07/12/20) > In my area most pass the perc test and put in a 4k septic system, but if the perc test fails you have to install a lagoon.

Where in the world is this considered acceptable? I guess it's no worse than having a pig farm next door, but I wouldn't care for that, either.
Click to expand...

All over south central Kansas. You see lagoons quite often and some neighborhoods of 5 (or more) acre lots have one oin every lot. A guy just south of Colwich KS got cute and installed a fake diving borad on the bank of his. You can see it from the busy road that runs by his place.
 
(quoted from post at 08:56:22 07/12/20)
(quoted from post at 09:16:43 07/12/20) > In my area most pass the perc test and put in a 4k septic system, but if the perc test fails you have to install a lagoon.

Where in the world is this considered acceptable? I guess it's no worse than having a pig farm next door, but I wouldn't care for that, either.
Click to expand...

All over south central Kansas. You see lagoons quite often and some neighborhoods of 5 (or more) acre lots have one oin every lot. A guy just south of Colwich KS got cute and installed a fake diving borad on the bank of his. You can see it from the busy road that runs by his place.
Click to expand...

1948 Case here is a part of your state regs:
Kansas Administrative Regulations (K.A.R. 28-5-6 to 9) authorize the Kansas Department of Health and Envi- ronment (KDHE) to establish minimum standards for septic tanklateral fields. KDHE bulletin 4-2: Minimum Standards for Design and Construction of Onsite Wastewa- ter Systems fulfills that purpose. The minimum standards presented in this document are intended to ensure do- mestic wastewater is managed so that:
■ Quality of surface and groundwater is protected for drinking water, recreation, aquatic life support, irri- gation, and industrial uses.
■ A breeding place or habitat will not be created for insects, rodents, and other vectors that may later contact food, people, pets, or drinking water.
■ Wastewater will not be exposed on the ground sur- face where it can be contacted by children and/or pets, creating a significant health hazard.
■ State and federal laws and local regulations governing water pollution or wastewater disposal will be met.
■ Nuisance conditions or obnoxious odors and un- sightliness will be avoided.

It appears that Kansas is not really the cesspool that you think it is
 

I would be tempted to try the washing machine into that dry well. To keep the chlorine bleach out of the septic system. Although the new system will have abundant capacity and would probably be significantly affected by the chlorine .
The field here is in clay and is affected by a rainstorm if the soil is fully saturated .
 
Here in N.M. my 1200 gal. tank required 80 ft of infiltrators, so I put in two fifty ft. runs. I have a gray water system of forty ft. of infiltrators. and have had no problems in twenty years! We do have a lot of sand here in the "Desert" Jim in N.M.
 
> I would be tempted to try the washing machine into that dry well.

Can't do that as the dry well is on the other side of the house and actually above the laundry tub. I'm not concerned about the grey water going into the new system, although you have a good point about the bleach. But it would take a lot of bleach to kill the bacteria in that 1500 gallon tank.
 
My septic takes everything from the house, put rid x in once a month, first pump was 10 years, looked great. I do not see all the fuss about the gray water, here it is illegal to split it. My softener also dumps into septic, no issues.
 
I got a tip from a septic installer and pump business. He said to put Feed Urea into the tank twice a year to feed the bacteria. I now dump a yogurt container every time change. One tank has not been pumped in over 20years. Another tank I did pump and there was only a thin layer on top.
Dave
 
(quoted from post at 11:06:24 07/12/20)
(quoted from post at 08:56:22 07/12/20)
(quoted from post at 09:16:43 07/12/20) > In my area most pass the perc test and put in a 4k septic system, but if the perc test fails you have to install a lagoon.

Where in the world is this considered acceptable? I guess it's no worse than having a pig farm next door, but I wouldn't care for that, either.
Click to expand...

All over south central Kansas. You see lagoons quite often and some neighborhoods of 5 (or more) acre lots have one oin every lot. A guy just south of Colwich KS got cute and installed a fake diving borad on the bank of his. You can see it from the busy road that runs by his place.
Click to expand...

1948 Case here is a part of your state regs:
Kansas Administrative Regulations (K.A.R. 28-5-6 to 9) authorize the Kansas Department of Health and Envi- ronment (KDHE) to establish minimum standards for septic tanklateral fields. KDHE bulletin 4-2: Minimum Standards for Design and Construction of Onsite Wastewa- ter Systems fulfills that purpose. The minimum standards presented in this document are intended to ensure do- mestic wastewater is managed so that:
Quality of surface and groundwater is protected for drinking water, recreation, aquatic life support, irri- gation, and industrial uses.
A breeding place or habitat will not be created for insects, rodents, and other vectors that may later contact food, people, pets, or drinking water.
Wastewater will not be exposed on the ground sur- face where it can be contacted by children and/or pets, creating a significant health hazard.
State and federal laws and local regulations governing water pollution or wastewater disposal will be met.
Nuisance conditions or obnoxious odors and un- sightliness will be avoided.

It appears that Kansas is not really the cesspool that you think it is
Click to expand...

Not real sure what your point is. I can drive 5 miles and find several lagoons. I suspect the strict fence requirement is related to your rules, and I also suspect that they lagoons are lined carefully to prevent seepage into the ground. I did not say they were just raw pits, only that they are open. I have no idea what goes into making the bottom fluid-proof. Here is a photo of one south of Colwich. They are all square and about this large. There is no maintenance involved which is seen by many as a bonus, but whether or not you can have one depends on the soil conditions. Not sure why this is that big of a deal since it is so common here. Maybe many of these are old and grandfathered. Around here we do not make people build something new if they have something that is working, even if the rules have changed.
mvphoto58298.png
 
> I got a tip from a septic installer and pump business. He said to put Feed Urea into the tank twice a year to feed the bacteria.

Wait...are you saying there's not already enough urea in your septic tank to feed the bacteria? I would think, assuming you pee indoors, that there's more than enough.

Actually, the purpose of pumping is to remove anything the bacteria can't digest, such as dirt from the laundry discharge. And there's no dietary supplement that will enable bacteria to eat sand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
Gardening Question
Replies
3
Views
510
Howard H.
H
V
new owner of a 620, will try to update this as we go.
2 3 4
Replies
61
Views
4K
valiant8086
V
Geo-TH,In
Selling a property with a well
2 3
Replies
46
Views
3K
MarkB_MI
MarkB_MI
M
9N 3-Point Rotary Mower Questions
Replies
9
Views
963
Northvale PA
N
K
"New" 841 followed me home yesterday.
Replies
8
Views
1K
Sean in PA
S
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top