Replies

1. 
   john7g | Nov 28, 2008 02:04pm | #1

   ask away. There seems to be quite a few plumbers hanging out here among others.  Well at least there used to be.

2. 
   JeffinPA | Nov 28, 2008 03:10pm | #2

   I've dealt with my fair shair of septic problems between permitting, installation, etc that i might be able to help but dont know the question so fire away.

    

   Cant hurt

3. 
   junkhound | Nov 28, 2008 03:52pm | #3

   Same as Jef, ya gotta ask the question to get an answer. 

   Have built a few and cleaned out my own, never had a problem in 40 years if installed right.

   here are ans. to a few FAQ:

   Septic system has netted me over $50K in 40 years in today $$ vs. sewer ($60 a month here now if you are on sewer to keep Puget Sound 'pristine'.

   If you have a poorly installed system (single compartment tank, poor soil or poorly designed field, etc. ) that has a clogged drainfield and dont have your own backhoe, you in $$ trouble or need to buy a backhoe and learn how to redesign your sytem.

   BTW, Additives are WORTHLESS, often harmful.

   With no garbage disposal and separate grey system for laundry, you should not have to pump your tank during your lifetime. (You will need to shovel the cellulose -TP- off the top about every 15 years). If you use garbage disposal on kitchen sink, then you may have to pump every few years. (edit PS:  2 people, 2 kids full time for 20 years, 5 grandkids a few day a months total septic load input)

    OK, now ask a specific question. 

   
   

   ---

   Edited 11/28/2008 8:26 am ET by junkhound

4. 
   JimB | Nov 28, 2008 05:06pm | #4

   I've been dealing with septic systems on the design/permitting side for 20 years, and will attempt to answer questions.  Not that I have lock on knowledge, I've learned a few things about septic systems from hanging out here.

5. 
   Scott | Nov 28, 2008 08:31pm | #5

   There has been lots of talk on this, and as you see in the responses above, there are people here with lots of experience. You could start by doing a search in the archives.

   Good luck,

   Scott.

   Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.”

1. 
   brownbagg | Nov 28, 2008 10:02pm | #6

   THE STATE OF WISCONIN health dept has a good web site on septic tanks systems.

6. 
   jc21 | Nov 29, 2008 12:17am | #7

   I'm not an expert on septic systems ...... this is just my humble opinion. http://www.wra.org/pdf/government/landuse/Onsite_System_Descriptions.pdf This is probably the Wisconsin website Johnny was refering to and is is probably as good an overview of septic systems I've seen. In Wisconsin septic systems are regulated by the counties and are pretty specific http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code/comm/comm083.pdf as to design, inpection, and even maintainance ...........  the county requires inspection/ pumping every three years. We have a mound system which seems to be pretty common around these parts. It works well enough, well enough so if we were to build from scratch, I'd use a mound sytsem or some variant of it. It works. Over the years I've seen enough issues with conventional gravity fed sytems such as plugged leaching fields, saturated leaching fields from heavy rains (toilets won't drain), etc which I think a mound system addresses. Downside to a mound system is the additional cost for the pump/alarm system and the sand/materials for the mound.

   "The inherent vice of capitalism is the uneven division of blessings while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery" Sir Winston Churchill

7. 
   caseyr | Nov 29, 2008 03:13am | #8

   You might look at:
   http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/wastewater.cfm
   They have a lot of resources in addition to, I believe, a discussion group.

   Also general plumbing discussions:
   http://www.plbg.com/forum/list.php?1
   http://www.terrylove.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6
   http://www.masterplumbers.com/forums/

1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Nov 29, 2008 11:07am | #9

   Nice thread you guys!  Lots of useful information. 

   However it looks like Mr. Murphy has met his lawful end.  ;-)

8. 
   JimB | Nov 29, 2008 02:59pm | #10

   Looking forward to the questions.  Meantime, here's another good web site:

   http://septic.umn.edu/index.html