My in-sink-erator has rusted through and needs to be replaced. It was
the septic assist model with container that injects some supposed
septic assist fluid. My previous home did not have this "feature".

Are these really necessary? We are careful with what we put down the
drain. Most of our solids go out to the chickens!

Any suggestion on a new unit? I was thinking to go with the same
brand in hopes it keeps all the plumbing the same. I'm leaning
towards just a regular disposer w/o the septic fluid.

On Sat 25 Oct 2008 11:30:11p, told us...

My in-sink-erator has rusted through and needs to be replaced. It was
the septic assist model with container that injects some supposed
septic assist fluid. My previous home did not have this "feature".

Are these really necessary? We are careful with what we put down the
drain. Most of our solids go out to the chickens!

Any suggestion on a new unit? I was thinking to go with the same
brand in hopes it keeps all the plumbing the same. I'm leaning
towards just a regular disposer w/o the septic fluid.

I'd like to know the opinions, too. We've never been on a septic system
until now, for the past two years. It's a new system. We purposely did
not install a disposer because we were told they weren't compatible with
septic systems. I really miss having one.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)

*******************************************
Date: Saturday, 10(X)/25(XXV)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Veteran's Day
2wks 2dys 22mins
*******************************************
Wesley Crusher, please report to airlock 5!
*******************************************

"Not compatible" is a bit misleading IMO.

It depends what you push through the system. It seems to me, that it would
be better to have whatever it is finely ground then whole. So long as it is
organic and will decompose it should be OK.

Grinding up some small amounts of fruits and veggies should be fine. Avoid
all oils an proteins. Then again, all the stuff that does ok in the
disposer is great for the composter, chickens, or if you don't mind.. just
toss it outside.

We really dont put much down the disposer. Thus I'm inclinded to forego the
'septic assist' when I install the new unit.

I'm just curious if that septic assist feature is really a 'should have' or
just a gimmic add-on. An active septic should have all the 'creatures' it
needs to do it's job. I really doubt adding a few drops of fluid will make
much difference. But I figured I'd ask here and see what comes of it. All
I know is it took me 5x longer to discover where my leak was because the
septic assist "feature" required the grinder by encased in plastic so the
little bottle of fluid had a place to attach. Because of that I had to
fully dismantle the unit and pull off the plastic cover to find a pinhole.
Because it was such a hassle I procrastinated 8 weeks and have some damage
to my cabinet now. A simple unit would have been much easier to
troubleshoot. Simple, IMO, is always best.




"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.250...
On Sat 25 Oct 2008 11:30:11p, told us...

My in-sink-erator has rusted through and needs to be replaced. It was
the septic assist model with container that injects some supposed
septic assist fluid. My previous home did not have this "feature".

Are these really necessary? We are careful with what we put down the
drain. Most of our solids go out to the chickens!

Any suggestion on a new unit? I was thinking to go with the same
brand in hopes it keeps all the plumbing the same. I'm leaning
towards just a regular disposer w/o the septic fluid.

I'd like to know the opinions, too. We've never been on a septic system
until now, for the past two years. It's a new system. We purposely did
not install a disposer because we were told they weren't compatible with
septic systems. I really miss having one.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)

*******************************************
Date: Saturday, 10(X)/25(XXV)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Veteran's Day
2wks 2dys 22mins
*******************************************
Wesley Crusher, please report to airlock 5!
*******************************************

On Sat 25 Oct 2008 11:57:00p, Kevin told us...

I'd like to know the opinions, too. We've never been on a septic
system until now, for the past two years. It's a new system. We
purposely did not install a disposer because we were told they weren't
compatible with septic systems. I really miss having one.

"Not compatible" is a bit misleading IMO.

It depends what you push through the system. It seems to me, that it
would be better to have whatever it is finely ground then whole. So
long as it is organic and will decompose it should be OK.

Grinding up some small amounts of fruits and veggies should be fine.
Avoid all oils an proteins. Then again, all the stuff that does ok in
the disposer is great for the composter, chickens, or if you don't
mind.. just toss it outside.

We really dont put much down the disposer. Thus I'm inclinded to forego
the 'septic assist' when I install the new unit.

I'm just curious if that septic assist feature is really a 'should have'
or just a gimmic add-on. An active septic should have all the
'creatures' it needs to do it's job. I really doubt adding a few drops
of fluid will make much difference. But I figured I'd ask here and see
what comes of it. All I know is it took me 5x longer to discover where
my leak was because the septic assist "feature" required the grinder by
encased in plastic so the little bottle of fluid had a place to attach.
Because of that I had to fully dismantle the unit and pull off the
plastic cover to find a pinhole. Because it was such a hassle I
procrastinated 8 weeks and have some damage to my cabinet now. A simple
unit would have been much easier to troubleshoot. Simple, IMO, is
always best.

Up until this current house we were always on a sewer system and always had
a disposer. We never put anything down it except vegetable and fruit
waste, cooked grains like rice, etc. Never meats or bones or fats. I
suppose, given that, having a disposer with a septic would probably be
feasible.

We live in the desert and have no need for composting. Currently all of
our "garbage" is hauled away, but I miss the convenience of the disposer,
especially when prepping veggies and fruits for cooking.

We had considered the In-Sink-Erator with the septic feature, but hadn't
made a decision.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)

*******************************************
Date: Sunday, 10(X)/26(XXVI)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Today is: Daylight Saving time ends
Countdown till Veteran's Day
2wks 1dys 23hrs 52mins
*******************************************
I could have more fun in cat litter.

-----Original Message-----
From: ]
Posted At: Sunday, October 26, 2008 1:30 AM
Posted To: alt.home.repair
Conversation: are the septic assist garbage disposals a good idea
Subject: are the septic assist garbage disposals a good idea

My in-sink-erator has rusted through and needs to be replaced. It was
the septic assist model with container that injects some supposed
septic assist fluid. My previous home did not have this "feature".

Are these really necessary? We are careful with what we put down the
drain. Most of our solids go out to the chickens!

Any suggestion on a new unit? I was thinking to go with the same
brand in hopes it keeps all the plumbing the same. I'm leaning
towards just a regular disposer w/o the septic fluid.

==================================
I think the septic assist is likely just a gimmick. Most city/county
codes require pumping every three years (to remove the sludge that
gathers at the bottom). In rural areas where there are no pumping
codes, people go many, many more years before they 'have to' pump.

If your septic is working well, a disposal shouldn't be a problem. I'm
not as concerned about finely ground food (or even small chunks of food
that sneak down my drain) as much as I am about laundry water/chemicals
which can stop the septic's action.

Here's something I heard about that helps to 'restart' or boost the
action of a septic:

2 C. Brown Sugar
5 C. Hot Water
1 pkg Yeast
Stir to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Then flush it all down the
toilet. Don't send more water down any drains/toilet for an hour
afterward.

wrote:
My in-sink-erator has rusted through and needs to be replaced. It was
the septic assist model with container that injects some supposed
septic assist fluid. My previous home did not have this "feature".

Are these really necessary? We are careful with what we put down the
drain. Most of our solids go out to the chickens!

Any suggestion on a new unit? I was thinking to go with the same
brand in hopes it keeps all the plumbing the same. I'm leaning
towards just a regular disposer w/o the septic fluid.

Never heard of this and have been using regular disposer on septic for
years. Do not put anything in it that I can throw in trash and that
includes cooking oils. Just had tank pumped after 4 years and tech said
to just continue what I was doing as all was fine.

"Kevin" wrote in message
l.net...
"Not compatible" is a bit misleading IMO.

It depends what you push through the system. It seems to me, that it
would be better to have whatever it is finely ground then whole.

So it's best to grind the smaller stuff first, and then grind the big stuff?

On Sun 26 Oct 2008 07:55:33a, PanHandler told us...


"Kevin" wrote in message
l.net...
"Not compatible" is a bit misleading IMO.

It depends what you push through the system. It seems to me, that it
would be better to have whatever it is finely ground then whole.

So it's best to grind the smaller stuff first, and then grind the big
stuff?

When you consider what one normally flushes down the toilet ending up in
the septic tank, I would assume that what isn't easily digested by one's
own body is also not easily digested by the septic tank. The process is
not dissimilar, both sources of waste products being acted upon by bacteria
and enzymes.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)

*******************************************
Date: Sunday, 10(X)/26(XXVI)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Today is: Daylight Saving time ends
Countdown till Veteran's Day
2wks 1dys 12hrs 47mins
*******************************************
Question reality.