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#1
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septic drain-field caps
Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules |
#2
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septic drain-field caps
"Jules Richardson" wrote in message ... Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules I am curious. In my state, Utah, I don't believe that septic drain field caps are legal. What is the purpose of these caps? Steve visit my blog at http://cabgbypasssurgery.com |
#3
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septic drain-field caps
On Jul 26, 5:48*pm, Jules Richardson
wrote: Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules They might be hard to find in a few years time when overgrown. |
#4
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septic drain-field caps
On Jul 26, 8:24*pm, "Steve B" wrote:
"Jules Richardson" wrote in message ... Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules I am curious. *In my state, Utah, I don't believe that septic drain field caps are legal. *What is the purpose of these caps? Steve visit my blog athttp://cabgbypasssurgery.com- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - All field drains eventually block with sediment. The purpose is to enable the system to be pressure jetted out if this happens. Doesn't entirely revive them but puts the fateful and expensive day of replacement off. |
#5
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septic drain-field caps
On Jul 26, 3:13*pm, harry wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:24*pm, "Steve B" wrote: "Jules Richardson" wrote in message ... Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules I am curious. *In my state, Utah, I don't believe that septic drain field caps are legal. *What is the purpose of these caps? Steve visit my blog athttp://cabgbypasssurgery.com-Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - All field drains eventually block with sediment. * The purpose is to enable the system to be pressure jetted out if this happens. *Doesn't entirely revive them but puts the fateful and expensive day of replacement *off.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text If you only flush organic stuff, everything should dissolve. My septic system is 53 years old, I have the main tank pumped every 5 - 7 years, and never had a problem. I have two cleanouts for the two halves of the main tank, and there is a junction box where the main tank empties into three laterals, but don't know where it is except for the site plan shown on the original plat of survey. The cleanouts are about 1 foot underground, covered with dirt and grass. They are also shown on the plat. To confirm their location after we bought the house 45 years ago, I used a 1/8 inch rod and poked around and found the corners of the tank, and from there located where the cleanouts should be. Dug down putting the grass and dirt on a 6 x 9 tarp, located the cleanout where it was supposed to be and then called the truck to come. Since I had done all the hard stuff, I saved an hours worth of time of the honey pot man and saved some serious $$$$. I tidied up the plat with some landmarks to make it easier to find the cleanouts and never had to do anything except dig at the right place the first time ever since then. No one that I know in the Chicago suburbs has cleanouts for the laterals. |
#6
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septic drain-field caps
On Jul 26, 12:48*pm, Jules Richardson
wrote: Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules I have only one, set at ground level, for cleanout of alternate drain field. At ground level, I've had to replace cap twice as kids hit it with lawn mower, so, you will still have the same problem except others will not see them. |
#7
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septic drain-field caps
On 7/26/2010 3:13 PM, harry wrote:
On Jul 26, 8:24 pm, "Steve wrote: "Jules wrote in message ... Having never owned a septic system prior to our current house... is there any reason not to recess the drain-field caps so that the tops are level with the surrounding ground? The three tank-caps I can always disguise amongst a flower bed or something so they're still easily accessible for pumping; having to mow around the seven drain-field caps every week or two too is a pain in the butt though. I noticed that the neighbours have them trimmed to be flush with the ground; any reason not to do the same (other than a little digging needed with a trowel if I do ever need to look at the drain- field)? cheers Jules I am curious. In my state, Utah, I don't believe that septic drain field caps are legal. What is the purpose of these caps? Steve visit my blog athttp://cabgbypasssurgery.com- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - All field drains eventually block with sediment. The purpose is to enable the system to be pressure jetted out if this happens. Doesn't entirely revive them but puts the fateful and expensive day of replacement off. mines over 40 yrs old and still works fine. I do however have the tank pumped regularly like your supposed to. -- Steve Barker remove the "not" from my address to email |
#8
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septic drain-field caps
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:10:44 -0700, harry wrote:
They might be hard to find in a few years time when overgrown. Hmm, good thinking. Maybe I could sink some rebar next to them (so the ends are a couple of inches below ground), so I could find them with a metal detector later if needed. I've got a layout diagram (which came from the company who installed the system in 2007) but I doubt it's inch- perfect. Ten caps sticking up in the front yard just looks ugly, never mind the mowing factor. Three wouldn't be so bad :-) cheers Jules |
#9
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septic drain-field caps
Jules Richardson wrote:
On Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:10:44 -0700, harry wrote: They might be hard to find in a few years time when overgrown. Hmm, good thinking. Maybe I could sink some rebar next to them (so the ends are a couple of inches below ground), so I could find them with a metal detector later if needed. I've got a layout diagram (which came from the company who installed the system in 2007) but I doubt it's inch- perfect. Ten caps sticking up in the front yard just looks ugly, never mind the mowing factor. Three wouldn't be so bad :-) I've seen them with the PVC sticking out the top back up in PA. I know I'd cut them down, maybe just to surface level, maybe lower. No need to look so ugly for 30 or so years when they finally may be needed. If going below the surface, rebar is a good idea to mark them. |
#10
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septic drain-field caps
On Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:56:54 -0400, Tony wrote:
I've seen them with the PVC sticking out the top back up in PA. I know I'd cut them down, maybe just to surface level, maybe lower. No need to look so ugly for 30 or so years when they finally may be needed. If going below the surface, rebar is a good idea to mark them. Yeah, I wouldn't deliberately put them sub-surface, but I think Harry's right and they have a chance to end up covered by dirt and weeds over the sort of timescale that might pass between access, so some way of finding them again seems wise. I'll probably take a few measurements relative to some fixed marker (corner of the house, say) and note them down on the rough plan that I have, too. cheers Jules |
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