On Fri, 05 Aug 2005 14:52:32 +0100, Tony Williams
wrote:


I see. Well, last year I had it drained because although the
'crust' started off pretty low down (it was a year drained before
we moved into our current property which is now two years ago) -
but looking at it in about October of last year the 'crust' was
pretty near the top.

Ah! That's where the crust /should/ run.

It SHOULD be at that level all the time then?

One slight problem I have with the solid waste tank is as follows:

The main inlet pipe has a U shaped bit of metal (might be plastic -
I'll refer to it as a hoop from now on) around it which presumably
prevents waste from going back into the inlet pipe and also allowing
waste to freely flow into the tank. The inlet in mine though sometimes
gets clogged as solid waste and/or loo paper gets stuck between the
exit of the inlet pipe and the hoop. I think this is happening because
the hoop is too close to the inlet pipe but expanding the hoop (or
perhaps even shortening the pipe a bit as it does seem to stick in too
far) would be a messy business.

I can clear any blockage by pushing a pole down onto the waste in the
hoop then all is well .... until the next time.

What also concerns me re the crust is if this rises ABOVE the hoop -
surely that will also cause a blockage?

Just under the crust is water, and below that is the
solid waste, merrily digesting away. The level in
the first chamber should rise until the water level
comes up to the connecting pipe into the 2nd chamber.
The second chamber should also fill until it's water
(only) level comes up to it's outlet. They should
both then stay at their respective levels for years.

Ahhh, I see.

The thing to keep a serious eye on is that there should
be no solid matter floating on the surface of the second
chamber and so going down your outlet pipe. This will
clog your easement, which can be very expensive to renew.

Noted, will keep an eye on that.

Many thanks