customer called and said his wife flushed her mothers diamond weeding rings down the toilet he claims by accident
they are on a septic tank system
so far the only idea i got was to have the pumper man put a screen on his intake hose and try to recover them that way
any one have any bright ideas even dumb ones accepted
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Replies
I can't swim but otherwise I would try to help
Just kidding
Good luck with this one
I was thinking maybe some kind of vacuum hose down at the bottom kind of like they use in a swimming pool for cleaning
Good luck
Diamond Magnet?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
Any chance it may still be in the pipe? Maybe screen to pipe at the tank then flush the pipe to the tank.
If its already been "passed" it may very well be a lost cause.
At least no one stole it and no one probably ever will, so they'll always have it, she just wont be wearing it out much. :>)
Family.....They're always there when they need you.
well, at least if its in the tank, its not going no where. pump the tank on the grass. it help the grass
first #1 is do not flush again, nor shower or do anything to dump more down there.
3/4 of the septic tanks I have openned have a scum floating on top of mostly toilet paper. Depending on how much turbulence there is at the inlet pipe, that ring could be floating right on top and you look like a prince for finding it so easily.
If you don't see it scanning that top scum, get a collander or similar under the inlet and have them flush clean water a few times in case it is still in the pipes.
If that doesn't do it, I would give up myself.
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Ten or twelve years ago we were surveying one of Austin's wastewater treatment plants for improvements. Had huge (50' in diameter) aeriation tanks that have a boom that turns to aeriate the effuvent. The solids are scraped off and sucked through a screen which a worker cleans with a pole net device. In about a week of fragrant work, we watched him collect no less than about $200 in various bills, and about a ton of condoms. The different colored ones looked like water lillies on each of the four tanks.
A breathtaking experience...in more ways than one....
colourful storey, that!
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
At least sombody in Austin is "gettin some". Did I say that outloud?
Experienced, but still dangerous!
The solid-waste guys called'em "sewer lillies."
I would take the toilet up and check it before I started trying to dive the septic tank. The rings may still be in the toilet trap.
They may also be in the line between the toilet and septic tank.
How expensive of a diamond?
Half or 3/4 carrot? not worth it.. will cost more than it's worth. Check traps and submit bill.
Carrot or above maybe if it's a real high quality gem and the sentimental value is greater than the homeowners insurance will pay.
5 carrot or bigger? What was that address again?
Im on piffins idea.
Id use one of those pool screens on a pole and play dipity do till I found it .
Tim
With normal usage, there's been more liquids, solids, and toilet tissue pushing the rings down a 3" or 4" to the septic tank....I'd do a lot of flushes with several wads of toilet paper to be sure it gets pulled into the septic tank.
If it's a multiple tank system, then the first tank catches most of the solids. The sewage line goes into the tank, hits a 90 degree elbow, and has a short piece of the same size main line going down below the water & top scum layer. You'll have to call around for a septic company that has a strainer basket/filter inline before the truck pumps the cleanout into their tank.
The problem is that the first tank has the most solids to be removed, the second and third usually have only 2 to 6" of sediments. They don't like pumping out the first tank with the most solids and will want to say, "You've got to leave some in there to keep the bacteria that's needed." You really don't have any choice...several cakes of yeast and a box of Ridex will replenish any pumped away bacteria.
I could be worse....your 3yr.old or the family pet could have swallowed them...Then you'd have a Emergency Room cost, a Vet bill, and a week's worth of time and a job of watching and sorting out things....
The bright side: Just last month, the price to have a 750 gallon first tank, connected to a 500 gallon second tank, and connected to a 500 gallon capacity filled to only 1/3 full on a third tank only cost a total of $370. If that's all it costs in your case, it's well below the deductible on your homeowner's policy to get back the family heirlooms....
Good luck with your treasure hunt,
Bill
with all the septic tanks I've seen, I've never found one with that 90° you describe, nor the drop tube. I can see a reason for it possibly, but never witnessed it.And since the reason for pumping a tank is to remove the solids, that is the main focus of the pumpers here, not to leave some behind. If anything gets left, it will be the fluid floating around. sounds like you have some strange pumper guys down there.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I've never found one with that 90° you describe, nor the drop tube
The 1958 original single septic tank was found to have the elbow and short piece broken off. The old style lateral lines paid for it by slowly filling with the top layer of solids, hence the new aerobic system installed in 1997. We had a double layer of a rock issue, 2ft thick, then the bottom never got through it. The installer rented a backhoe with a 3" wide hydraulic ram/chisel and literally carved out the rock so the concrete septic tanks would be about 8" below the topsoil. Back then new tanks, pump, and 4 wide and long below ground evaporation beds was an $8,000 expense.
That elbow and short piece also goes between the 1st and 2nd tanks, and between the 2nd and 3rd tank. It's the only way to keep solids from clogging the 4" tubes...
On the tanks around here, the opening is a concrete plug about 12" in diameter with a steel loop set in the middle to aid in pulling it. Crawling down in there, or much less, even getting a long handled dip-strainer will be a challenge to the skinniest or or best of a fine motor skilled person.
With new colors of diamonds on the trendy fashion market, just don't let the septic guy try to hand you any "Chocolate Diamonds"........ ;>)
Bill
Edited 10/24/2008 4:11 pm ET by BilljustBill
Turn it in on HO insurance (if covered).
Rent one of those self-supporting swimming pools--the kind with an inflated ring at the top edge that floats up as you fill it. Swimming pool companies rent them out to people who need to empty a pool for maintenance or repair, but don't want to lose the water.
Pump out the liquid contents of the septic tank with a sump pump or salvage pump equipped with an intake screen fine enough to prevent the ring from entering the pump. Pump the liquid into the temporary pool.
When the septic tank is down to sludge and solids, get a pool strainer and start going through it. With patience and care, you'll find the rings.
Siphon the liquid back into the tank, clean the pool with several rinses of clean water and hypochlorite, and you're done.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Rent one of those self-supporting swimming pools
Do you tell the rental shop your plans before or after?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Only if they ask, LOL.
There's really not much of an issue; rinsing it out with lots of fresh water and then a strong wash of hypochlorite (commercial version of Chlorox) will kill any residual bacteria and the odor, too.
Anyone who's ever changed a messy diaper has probably gotten more poo on their hands than I do when I have to change out a solids pump in a below-grade septic station. It's all water soluble, after all....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
so much for using thar rental outfit ever again...
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!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Depending on the value of the rings, the insurance company might be willing to buy the storage pool from the rental company to avoid arguments. They're only a few hundred dollars new for the smaller sizes, IIRC.
Problem with calling a honey-truck is that it sucks too fast and too much volume to empty the tank with any sort of control, and if you put a screen on the intake hose small enough to keep out the rings, it would probably clog up every few seconds.
The septic tank's gotta be pumped slowly enough that he knows the rings have been left behind in the bottom sludge. Then he can scoop that out one net-full at a time until he finds the rings. Not a particularly pleasant job, but probably less smelly than dealing with the manure containment pit on a pig farm....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
guy I worked with had his tank pumped....
bazillion trojans...
he was original owner and no sons or daughters....
had a "V" too....
divorced shortly there after....
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!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
What about an indirect pump?
I have used that method many time to seperate liquids from solids . We started off using a 55 gal drum and a vacum truck to clean out our hoist pits in the transportation service bays. By adusting the length of the suction outlet side of the drum we could pick up the liquid and leave the solids, or just raise it all the way up and drum up everything.
I used the same method with a five gal bucket and a shop vac to claen grease traps and sewage pump pits. All you need is a lid that will seal tightly, and holes drilled in it to match the size of the pick and suction hose. A screen over the suction hose side might even work.
View ImageSort of like this?
Yeah, it might work, but I'm not sure if the rings would be heavy enough to fall out of the air stream.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
related hijack...
That indirect pump you posted--I have always envisioned something likethis to suck blown in insulation out of ceilings and whatnot b4 remodel.
I suppose something like this already exists? And, I suppose you might know about it?
?
Call a duct cleaner.
ahhhh.... care to elaborate?
I'm thinking--some way to rig a shop vac, or build some cheap way of sucking loose insulation from the attic into bags...
Do the duct cleaners have such a machine?
When I was looking for insulation last fall, I considered foam. The foam guy that came out said he had a duct cleaner company come out and suck out any retrofit attic he was gonna do. Myself, I've never done it.
aha.
thx.
thanks to all who have responded , the toilet in this case is on the second floor
the tank is concrete and was pumped last year
i dont know the value of the rings other than sentimental
due to the fact we are kind of a all service business and the people have been customers for over 30 years probally is the reason for the request
some of the answers i have recieved so far have been quite colorful !
That indirect pump you posted--I suppose something like this already exists?
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=30282&cat=1,42401
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
That is it, but I make my own tops and place the inlet/outlet hole further apart.
We use to use a vac. truck and 55 gal. steel drums. We wern't trying for any seperation of material though. We were just trying to keep the oil, oil dry, and other automotive waste fluids out of the vac truck.
My grease trap version was with a 5 gal. bucket and a shop vac. Agian no material seperation, and it kept the shopvac cleaner. I could then dump the grease trap waste into the sewer.
Be pretty slow for a septic tank, and you would have to screen each load.
Be pretty slow for a septic tank, and you would have to screen each load.
True, dat. Unless he can find a vac truck guy who's very, very careful, I think he's gonna be best off using a sump pump and then raking out the muck with a seive until he finds the rings.
If the HO has enough land nearby that's not near a watercourse or well, he could just pump the liquids out onto the surface and let them drain back into the soil instead of going to all that bother with a temporary storage pool. When I've got to change out a sewage pump in a pumping station, that's usually what I do. Doesn't bother the grass or flowers a bit.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Your comment reminds me of a prolific tomato patch I had a few years ago."If the HO has enough land nearby that's not near a watercourse or well, he could just pump the liquids out onto the surface and let them drain back into the soil instead of going to all that bother with a temporary storage pool. When I've got to change out a sewage pump in a pumping station, that's usually what I do. Doesn't bother the grass or flowers a bit.Dinosaur"I inadvertantly crushed the lid to an old redwood tank that was still in service with a tractor so as part of the repairs we pumped/scooped the majority of the tanks contents onto a nearby hillside.The following summer the hillside was covered with tomato plants with fantastic fruit. Several different varieties grew but most of them were just like the ones they sell at Costco that grow about 1 3/4" diameter in long clusters almost like grapes. They had great flavor and we had a bumper crop.This year the wild blackberries reclaimed that area and it doesn't seem any worse for wear.Karl
This year the wild blackberries reclaimed that area and it doesn't seem any worse for wear.
The heck with the tomatoes! Wild blackberries are worth their weight in gold!
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Wild blackberries are worth their weight in gold!
Now you tell me!
I had a bumper crop this year. What wasn't made into cobbler was given away. I picked about twenty quarts and just let the other twenty or thirty stay on the bushes. Even cut some of them down, cause they raked me pretty good while I was mowing.
Let's put it this way: This summer was rainy as hell, and as a result we had a serious bumper of wild blueberries. Even at that, an 11-pint basket at my wholesaler cost $60. Last year, it was sunny all summer...and the same 11-pint basket cost $112 (I didn't make any blueberry pies or jam last year).
Another expensive berry is wild strawberries--they grow everywhere, but they are the biggest PITA to pick of them all. So tiny you need fingers like a 6-year-old, and so delicate that you ruin half of what you pick just getting them off the plant. Plus yer on yer face in the grass the whole time stirring up skeeters and black flies. A pint of them, when you can get one, is over $20 in the store.
But wild blackberries are scarce enough around here--and hard enough to get to, not even counting the bears ya gotta compete with for 'em--that if they even make it to market at all, they're sold in little itty-bitty quarter-pint plastic jewel-cases for about $8-$10 each in the supermarket. That twenty quarts you picked would have been worth about $750-800 at wholesale.
Most wild berry pickers around here are little old ladies who've been doing it all their lives and know good spots for each fruit. I used to pick wild raspberries and wild blueberries; still get raspberries with no trouble but my favourite blueberry spot got covered with condos.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
I have a few quarts in the freezer.My favorite spot was on property that got sold and the new owners bull-dozer the lot over smooth - idiots didn't know what they had there, to them it was just thorns.I wouldn't even think of trying to harvest enough wild strawberries for anything - too small. Just a nice treat for a mouth sweetener when lucky enough to beat to forest creatures to it.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
and the new owners bull-dozer the lot over smooth - idiots didn't know what they had there,
Lots of wild raspberries grow up on fill brought in to grade new constructions around here. If left alone, they get thick and very productive in a couple of years. I've got a client whose entire 1-acre lot is literally surrounded arm-pit deep in them. They had no idea what those 'things' were, and were horrified when I breezily walked over to a bush and started eating berries. 'Have some,' I said. 'They're good!' You'd a thunk I'd offered them poison....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
There's blackberries and then there's Himalayan Blackberries, which we have in abundance in the Seattle area. These grow to the size of the last joint on your pinky, and if you pick 'em just at the right time have good flavor, but the downside is that the thorns are brutal. There's hardly an open area you WON'T find them, including freeway offramps, roadsides, right-of-way under power lines or any other unused open area. They are officially considered an 'invasive plant.'2008 was not a good year for berries. We had a cold spring/summer this year and all the berries were 2-3 weeks late. The blackberry crop was all confused, some green, some red and some black all at the same time.
My son thought it was a great year for the blackberries. They lasted in our neighborhood for about 6 weeks. One location after another would ripen and he would remember them all. Ever changed a 2 1/2 year olds diaper after he's had a couple cups of BB's several days in a row. got to the point I wouldn't walk him to the swings.
That is worse than the purple bird poo stains I got on my van.
At least I could hose them off from 10' away.
actually threw him in the tub a few times, shower hosed him down. alot easier than picking seeds off his rear. Even had a few berries while out walking on sunday, they were really late this year.
Yeah, the thorns aren't much fun, but a pair of real thin, well-fitted TIG welders gloves help a lot.
I sometimes think those thorns are why somebody went to the trouble of inventing mulberry trees. At Sailor's Snug Harbour in Staten Island, NYC, there was a huge one 'way back in the south west corner of the grounds near the perimeter wall. That one tree probably produced half a ton of berries each summer. Wish they'd grow here, but too cold....
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
what about pumping it down to about a footwear your rubber boots and climb in use some kind net or rake or scoop shovel to find the treasurekind of like panning for gold in the olden daysor use a cat litter scoop that would allow the liquid to pass throughI'm justing thinking out loud
Eeewwww! Ick!
"Everyday we learn something new. Take life as a test and shoot for a better score each day. It doesn't have to be an "A" the next day, but let's hope it improves." 08/27/08
Matt Garcia 1986-2008 22 yo Fairfield City Council Member, shot 09/01/08 RIP
That is pretty much what I suggested, except for the climbing in part. I'd use a pool skimmer on a long pole to get 95% of the sludge out. Rinse each scoopful through into a bucket, then pour the bucket through a seive into the storage pool.
Done that way you don't have to climb down into the tank till there's nothing left to dredge out but the corners. And chances are pretty good you'd find the rings before then, and not have to go in at all.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
I think you're right on the moneyHere's a pasta strainer that could be used to catch the solidshttp://search.ablekitchen.com/?Search=strainer&gclid=COraka3GwJYCFQNfFQod3Wt1wg
You forgot:"Invite your least favorite friends over for a dimly-lit nighttime pool party"
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
I used to have a septic truck and have pumped out a lot of tanks, the result of that being more stories from that short period than from the previous 10 years.
Anyway, assuming the ring has already made it to the tank, your pumper should be able to retrieve it without a lot of hassle. Happens all the time and is a common thing for pumpers to deal with.
Like Bill said, there's a layer of material on top and a layer on the bottom. Stuff going in generally either floats or sinks. The exit for the tank is in the middle so the effluent is fairly clear.
The stuff on the top, mostly tp, is like soft cheese (sorry about the comparison for those of you reading this during lunch) and the stuff on the bottom is like gravy, a thick runny liquid, getting thicker as you go downward (again my apologies, the stuff in those tanks turns some people's stomachs but never seemed to bother me, maybe that's why).
The ring will be under the inlet buried in the stuff on the bottom. Your pumper guy (or gal, although I've never seen one in that business - understanding women have more sense than that) will first suck off the stuff on the top then suck out the water in the middle. Once he gets down to the gravy he'll be careful to keep the hose at the other end as he sucks it up.
When it starts getting down to having sucked up most of the gravy he'll start hosing what's left, gradually rinsing it down to the hose. The ring will eventually show up. Along with everything else that fell in there, notably Barbie doll heads liberated from their boring stations on top of flesh toned plastic figures by little brothers looking for excitement. - r
Your pumper guy (or gal, although I've never seen one in that business
We had a female porta-can driver on the last project. At least I think she was female, seeing how she filled out her coveralls."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I would like to hear any interesting stories about your job pumping out septic tanksDid you ever find anything unusual like a corpse in a septic tank?Maybe snakes, rats, fish, anything unusual like a nine iron or maybe a murder weapon in the bottom of the tank?
Surveyed an abandoned trailer park which had been unused for fifteen years, with each of eighty spaces with a small tank and field. Each tank was full of copperheads, and so were the trees. The small ones had to climb up to escape the fire ants. We'd be cutting line through the jungle and the damn snakes would fall out of the trees on us. Cowboy hats and buttoned collars were a must....
That reminds me of a story I heard years agowhen they built the interstate in the 1960's legend has it a guy was running a grader or bull dozer He was driving along and next thing you know he had dropped straight down into a pit of rattle snakes where he was bitten and died.Don't know if it's true or not
Ooooh damn! Gives me the willies.
I saw a scraper run over a 16" Longhorn natural gas line once. Flipped the haul-end completely over the tractor. Killed the operator.
Friend of mine's dad was on Attu during WWII in the Seabees. Building runways. Had to grade the tundra before laying the Marsden mats. Ran a dozer out and it hit a muskeg hole, and it sank so fast he barley had time to get off. Said they lost dozens of scrapers, dozers, and maintainers before they got it finished...
Something that happened to me recently was I was asked to take pictures of a house in the country.It has set vacant for the past five years.I pulled up to the house (a double wide mobile home) and saw the weeds and shrubbery that had grown up really high everywhere.A neighbor saw me and walked over and I told him what I was doing and he said "be careful when you walk behind the house because the cover is gone from the septic tank"the weeds and shrubbery had grown up so high that I was worried I would fall into the septic tank so I took a few pictures and left.I've never had a septic tank but I remember as a kid we lived in the middle of a small town and we had one.We had trouble with it and had it dug up and removed and then we were connected to city sewer line.It sure made a mess in the back yard doing all that digging!
When we were on that job with all the snakes, it was a complete topo of everything within the 10+ acre tract. That ment we had to locate every damn tank and TRY to get the prism on the inlet and flow-line. Usually went through the clean-out. These were old concrete 250 gallon tanks with steel c/o's. This was in late summer or early fall. Popped the cover off of one, extended the rod down to the bottom, and heard hissing and scrabbling. Got a flashlight and looked, and the bottom was full of copperheads, 2-3' long. IIRC, about a dozen were full of rattlers and really made noise. We would have to cut back off the roadways in little groves of china-berry and scrub mesquite and the little'uns about 1' or less would be up in the trees about 10' off the ground. Fire ants everywhere.
Guy working with us collected snakes. So he took a plastic bottle, punched some holes in the lid and put a little copperhead in it to take home. Got ready to knock off for the day, and he looks and the bottle top is gone and the snake is gone. We had to unload the whole damn Surburban and find the little sucker...
I had a house in Pa, circa 1710 with a steel septic tank that just gave up and died, black gold in the yard AND fresh flush.
My S.O. was begging me for a garden up the hill where an old barn had once lived. I dutifully tilled and loaded a cart behind the lawn tractor , with rocks. I big load of rocks. I figgured I'd haul em down and fill the ooozing poo-pit with ROCKS! Yes!
We were rentig to own, and the owner was fixing to get a new sandmound installed..so who cares right?
Went out the next morning ( sunday, cuz I loaded the trailer cart late saturday) and got on the yard tractor, and went down the dewey wet grass towards the poo-puddles..and couldn't stop...the rocks in the trailer pushed me with wheels locked right into the poo, BURIED the mower up to the engine cowl.
Cussing like a sailor I got my toyota 4wd truck and a chain and decided to yank the stuck mower out..layed, crawled under, and hooked up to the frame . Got in the truck and gassed it, it just spun all the tires, so I BACKED UP to get slack, and found the TANK..and buried the #### of the truck in that..bumper on the GROUND. Wheels outta sight.
My closest neighbor was a mile away, but he had a backhoe..I wandered down and rapped on his door, all covered in poo and at my wits end..he grogily obliged to help me. As soon as he saw the mess he had a new plan..pulll me the other way..OK...
He buried the hoe in the drain field..stuck, clawing his way out, still stuck..poo everywhere, stuck.
We left it that way..the next day, thank god a county crew was working on our gravel road with one of them slicer graders with the funny canted wheels..he hooked up to the hoe, which was hooked up to my truck, which was hooked up to the mower, which had the trailer full of rocks...we got it all out by god.
Never did THAT again.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
LoLI bet that's one of those days you'll never forget.
Indelibly tattooed in my mind, you bet.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
Should have seen me after I went in my tank to unstop the discharge line. Had the #### pumped three times in six months. Had to be something blocking the line cause the drywell was empty. At $150 every time it was pumped. It was costing me way to much to poo.
Tank had a 3' tall ring on top, with the lid only about 2' below grade. A couple of buddies lowered me down and I had to duck under the back baffle to get to the dischage pipe. The tank still had about a foot of "stuff" in it, so by the time I got under the baffel I was getting real personel with my own ####. Pulled a cloth diaper out of the line, and some femine products, and put them in a bucket they had lowered to me. Then my light went out and the two guys on top thought I passed out.
Ever been pulled through a 16" concrete tile while covered in poo?
Between the hydrogen peroxide and iodine, I didn't get any infections in any of the cuts and scrapes.
Youth and dumb luck do count.
Congratulations!
Sphere receives the 'One Day Indelibly Tattooed in My Mind' Award.
Saaalute!!!View Image View Image
Sphere, I've read your stuck-in-poo story 5 times and don't get tired of it."Hey grampa, tell us the one where you got stuck in the poo again"if you ever decide to hang up the tool belt you might consider a career as a writer.
That should go in the back page of FH.
A neighbor saw me and walked over and I told him what I was doing and he said "be careful when you walk behind the house because the cover is gone from the septic tank"
the weeds and shrubbery had grown up so high that I was worried I would fall into the septic tank so I took a few pictures and left.
When we bought our current house, we knew it needed a new septic system. After it was installed, we had the old one dug up. It consisted of a single rusted cylindrical steel tank with no cover. The only things keeping us from falling in were several inches of sod over a piece of two inch thick styrofoam.
Edited 10/28/2008 2:00 pm ET by smslaw
wonder what the thinking was the use styrofoam?I keep thinking someone will write in and tell a story about falling into a septic tank.
I keep thinking someone will write in and tell a story about falling into a septic tank.
Well, close.
When I first took my old place over I was wandering around in the overgrown backyard when I suddenly found one leg had fallen thru the ground up to my hip.
There had been a wood cover under the sod covering the drywell that had too many years on it.
yep, that was a rush.
Sounds like a guy in the attic making a mis-step and coming down through the ceiling.lol
Not a tank tale, but funny.
I built my shop as a pole structure and poured the concrete around the 6 X 6's. Had all the holes augered out and covered with scrap pieces of ply, in some cases pretty rotten ply. Just enough too keep the animals from falling in.
DW comes in from work and walks over to the site and says, "what are all these pieces of ply for?" She then proceeded to walk over and stand on one, which collapsed, leaving her with one leg out and one leg completely in the hole, yelling for me to pull her out.
I did...after a good laughing roll on the ground...which didn't gain me any points...
Way back when I was a youngen I took a dip in a grease trap.
My grandparents owned a dairy farm and milk production operation. That is they not only milked cows, but processed and bottled milk for wholesale and retail sales. The processing plant had a grease trap as part of the waste treatment system. It had to be cleaned on a fairly regular schedule, so had a drum lid as a cap. Of course those lids rusted through pretty quickly, and yours truely had to step on it when it was getting paper thin.
I believe I was only 6-7 years old when I took that plung. I vaguely remember the panic and fear of drowning because I couldn't reach the edge of the pit to hold myself up. A cousin was smart enough to sling a empty feed bag to me and hold me up untill the adults came out of the bottling plant and pulled me out.
As scared as I was, I still go whipped for playing out there, and then stripped and scrubbed clean with a bootle brush. Grandmothers are a lot more sympathetic than grandpas and uncles :)
Not me but my older brother. Firefighter, went around the back of a house carrying some gear and went through a rotted lid , broke his back and one of his collar bones. Shiddy deal. Also had a redi-mix truck go axle deep into one after the HO swore the tank was on the other side of the house.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Also had a redi-mix truck go axle deep into one after the HO swore the tank was on the other side of the house.
Had one do that on a new lot we were building a commercial building on. After that fiasco we found out there had bee four old houses torn down on that site.
do you remember out houses and on Halloween the kids would tip them over?Occasionally someone would mis-step while tipping one and take a spill into the pit
I know of the trick but there weren't any around when and where I grew up. Ours was to pull the wooden front steps off the front porch and then make a racket and upset the home owner enough to have them chase us .
Watch that first step off the porch though. Lucky we didn't kill somebody or cause serious injury.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
I hate to break up a good discussion ... what happened to the original diamond ring in the poo?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
i posted the question and the home owner still wants it retrieved the last time i spoke to him the other day
this customer is rather unusual at times , i just finished getting him made a custom mailbox because he felt his wasent big enough for the parcels his wife recieves sometimes
this box is gonna end up costing around $500 by the time i install it
right now im not sure if the 6 x 6 holding it wont need to be further in the ground come spring due to the weight of the box ( 1/ 16 steel ) shaped like a barn
home owner still wants it retrieved
And? "Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I'm curious to find out what method, if any, is successful at finding the lost jewelry
i have 4 other jobs on the go and this stupe one is just a pain in the #### & i will get to it when i have the time
I want to know if the individual finding the diamond will qualify for receiving "Carbon Credits".
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
All hail sir dovetail!Another Champion of the MrT/brownbagg OneLiner Award.
Saaalute!View Image View Image
Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. [Theodore Roosevelt]
Saaaluuuuute
a custom mailbox because he felt his wasent big enough for the parcels his wife recieves sometimes
I understand why the customer needed a bigger mailbox, but isn't there a set of guidelines for "Postal Approved" mailboxes that has to be followed?
I've been wanting to enlarge mine for the newer designs that help keep delivered mail from being taken out.... Any ideas on what's out there on this concept?
Keep us posted on diamond recovery.... ;>)
Thanks,
Bill
there are standards for mail boxes but due to vandals and the snow plow people have come up with various solutions on their own which dont seem to bother the rural delivery man so far
in Canada people dont seem to fight regulations as much as ignoring them ( passive resistance ) !
My dad was there and said they ran the dozers 24/7 or they would never start again
Ask your dad and see if he knew a Robert Davenport from Texas. Short guy. Can't really remember if he was on Attu or Kiska, but he was in the SeaBees as a heavy equipment operator. He sure had some good Brownie pix and stories about the snipers.
DEQ here caught a pumper guy that was emptying his tank on his back field rather then pay.
what does that stand for?Dare EE Queen?;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
LOL but i dare not jest with this outfit as they keep a watchful eye on my drainfield so as to keep me from digging and repairing on weekends. Im a known drainfield scalewag
that's who I thought he meant too...
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!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
If all else fails, get your tank pumped, then find out where your septic guy unloads his truck. (presumably a wastewater treatment plant and not the local swimming hole) Then contact the staff at the wwtp about your situation with a description of the ring. Maybe, if it doesn't get ground up in the headworks or by a pump impeller, it might get spotted when grit is periodically cleaned out of the tanks. Slim chance perhaps, but at least you tried everything.
good luck
Thats a good ideaMaybe a metal detector could be used to scan the dump area excuse the pun
any one think to check the house trap first?
Shouldn't be a whole house trap. It is in the fixture.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
My metal tank rusted away so they pumped it but there was still some on the bottom. The lid was rusted so i pulled it halfway off and then took my sawhorses and 2by 4s and yellow tape to warn anyone. Here comes out friend with all her kids, the 10 year old jumps the railing onto the lid and drops in like a sick venus fly trap. down he went and screamed and i fished him out and hosed him off. Now hes 25 and when he comes over i never fail to tell him not to jump into my septic tank again;]
LOL, that has to be one of the more memorable events of his childhood!
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
That was my thought when I first opened the thread.
I thought they said it went down the toilet.
House traps are an old concept.Have not been used in years in most places. Don't know when they went out.But IF there is one that would be the first place to look..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.