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Ether Jones
 
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Default septic tank lid stuck


Just dug up the septic tank to get it pumped and I cannot lift the
concrete access cover. It is "frozen" in place (more like "chemically
bonded" I would say).

The tank is concrete and the access cover is concrete. The access
cover is rectangular in shape, about 12"x18". It has an iron handle
cast into the center. The sides of the cover are slightly angled so
that the cover fits snugly down into the access hole (like a stopper in
a utility sink).

I tried prying the cover up with a bar thru the iron handle. It
doesn't want to budge. Any more force and I'm sure I would break the
iron handle. I tried prying the cover up around the edges with a crow
bar but it just chips the concrete.

What are the recommended ways of dealing with this situation? Should I
use acid or some other chemical to try to break the "bond" that has
formed between the cover and the hole?

The tank is 11 years old, and I don't think the cover has been removed
since the tank was buried (cover is about 8" below ground surface
level).

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mm
 
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Default septic tank lid stuck

On 10 Apr 2006 22:05:15 -0700, "Ether Jones"
wrote:


Just dug up the septic tank to get it pumped and I cannot lift the
concrete access cover. It is "frozen" in place (more like "chemically
bonded" I would say).

The tank is concrete and the access cover is concrete. The access
cover is rectangular in shape, about 12"x18". It has an iron handle
cast into the center. The sides of the cover are slightly angled so
that the cover fits snugly down into the access hole (like a stopper in
a utility sink).

I tried prying the cover up with a bar thru the iron handle. It
doesn't want to budge. Any more force and I'm sure I would break the
iron handle. I tried prying the cover up around the edges with a crow
bar but it just chips the concrete.

What are the recommended ways of dealing with this situation? Should I


Let the pumping company handle it?

use acid or some other chemical to try to break the "bond" that has
formed between the cover and the hole?

The tank is 11 years old, and I don't think the cover has been removed
since the tank was buried (cover is about 8" below ground surface
level).


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Default septic tank lid stuck

Ether Jones wrote:

Just dug up the septic tank to get it pumped and I cannot lift the
concrete access cover. It is "frozen" in place (more like "chemically
bonded" I would say).

The tank is concrete and the access cover is concrete. The access
cover is rectangular in shape, about 12"x18". It has an iron handle
cast into the center. The sides of the cover are slightly angled so
that the cover fits snugly down into the access hole...


You might use a tripod or a 55 gallon drum on each side with a beam and
a comealong to put (say) 500 pounds of uplift on the cover handle for
a few hours while sprinkling hot water around the edge and bonking it
with a 4x4. You could measure the cable tension by pulling it sideways
with your hand or a fish scale. A 4' cable with 500 pounds of tension
would move sideways about 1/2" with a 20 pound force in the middle.

Nick

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Nick Hull
 
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Default septic tank lid stuck

In article .com,
"Ether Jones" wrote:

Just dug up the septic tank to get it pumped and I cannot lift the
concrete access cover. It is "frozen" in place (more like "chemically
bonded" I would say).

The tank is concrete and the access cover is concrete. The access
cover is rectangular in shape, about 12"x18". It has an iron handle
cast into the center. The sides of the cover are slightly angled so
that the cover fits snugly down into the access hole (like a stopper in
a utility sink).

I tried prying the cover up with a bar thru the iron handle. It
doesn't want to budge. Any more force and I'm sure I would break the
iron handle. I tried prying the cover up around the edges with a crow
bar but it just chips the concrete.

What are the recommended ways of dealing with this situation? Should I
use acid or some other chemical to try to break the "bond" that has
formed between the cover and the hole?

The tank is 11 years old, and I don't think the cover has been removed
since the tank was buried (cover is about 8" below ground surface
level).


I had the same problen, except the tank had been 4' underground for 25
years. I chained my carryall to the handle and lifted until the front
wheels of my tractor became airborne. After a while the lid came out.

Suggest you get a comealong mounted on a tripod and pull with a NYLON
rope so it stretches (NO more than 10%!!) and let it sit in tension for
a while. Maybe even dump boiling water on it to soften the tar paper
seal, then put an ice block on the lid to shrink it.

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/
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Bob
 
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Default septic tank lid stuck


"Ether Jones" wrote in message oups.com...

Just dug up the septic tank to get it pumped and I cannot lift the
concrete access cover. It is "frozen" in place (more like "chemically
bonded" I would say).

The tank is concrete and the access cover is concrete. The access
cover is rectangular in shape, about 12"x18". It has an iron handle
cast into the center. The sides of the cover are slightly angled so
that the cover fits snugly down into the access hole (like a stopper in
a utility sink).

I tried prying the cover up with a bar thru the iron handle. It
doesn't want to budge. Any more force and I'm sure I would break the
iron handle. I tried prying the cover up around the edges with a crow
bar but it just chips the concrete.

What are the recommended ways of dealing with this situation? Should I
use acid or some other chemical to try to break the "bond" that has
formed between the cover and the hole?

The tank is 11 years old, and I don't think the cover has been removed
since the tank was buried (cover is about 8" below ground surface
level).


I'd try washing out the gap between tank and lid with a strong hose blast or pressure washer.

Bob



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Pop
 
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Default septic tank lid stuck

....
A 4' cable with 500 pounds of tension
would move sideways about 1/2" with a 20 pound force in the
middle.

Nick


Woof! Do you know that by empirical experience or is there some
magic lay-formula to use? Wouldn't it depend on the cable
composition?

Pop


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Default septic tank lid stuck

Pop wrote:

A 4' cable with 500 pounds of tension would move sideways about 1/2"
with a 20 pound force in the middle.


... is there some magic lay-formula to use?


With 400 pounds of cable tension and a sideways deflection distance d
and deflection angle a, 2x400sin(a) = 20 makes sin(a) = 0.025 = d/24,
approximately, for a 24" distance (half the cable length) so
d = 0.025x24 = 0.6".

Wouldn't it depend on the cable composition?


Not much.

Nick

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