Cost of Owning a Septic Tank???
 

Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

"RobertTT" wrote in message
m...
Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average cost is
around £100
So I've saved £1100
Blair

A properly sized, installed, and functioning septic tank should not need
emtying more than once every two years. A charge of £100 would be a ball
park cost. A considerable saving on the water charge for sewage disposal.

Peter Crosland

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average cost
is
around £100

All well and good provided it is functioning correctly. Have you had the
output tested to see that it is within the consent limits?

Peter Crosland

RobertTT wrote:

Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

Well I haven't touched my klargester in 4 years and its running fine.

Its sized for 6-8 people because that's the house size, but only two use
it mainly...

I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

Peter Crosland wrote:

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average cost
is
around £100


All well and good provided it is functioning correctly. Have you had the
output tested to see that it is within the consent limits?


You nose will tell you that.

If bacteria can survive in the outflow, there are nutrients coming out,
and it will pong.

Peter Crosland

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
RobertTT wrote:

Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

Well I haven't touched my klargester in 4 years and its running fine.

Its sized for 6-8 people because that's the house size, but only two use
it mainly...

I guess it will need emptying in a few years.
Its supposed to be the sort of 80 quid a
year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and
dig out most of it

Found your level in life eh.


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Blair Malcolm wrote in message
...

"RobertTT" wrote in message
m...
Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average cost
is
around £100
So I've saved £1100
Blair


Thats a very sweeping statement, it depends entirely on _what_ and how
_much_ is going into the tank, it's not the tank that will eventually block
but the soakaway system.
Which could cost LOTS to renew, even if future legislation allows it.

--
Mark§

Thanks for the info!

"Blair Malcolm" wrote in message

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.

Really?

Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months

What's an "activator", and where is it obtained?

"Peter Crosland" wrote in message ...
I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average cost
is
around £100

All well and good provided it is functioning correctly. Have you had the
output tested to see that it is within the consent limits?

Peter Crosland

What are the "consent limits"? Is this a legal requirement regarding septic tanks?

"Peter Crosland" wrote in message ...
A properly sized, installed, and functioning septic tank should not need
emtying more than once every two years. A charge of £100 would be a ball
park cost. A considerable saving on the water charge for sewage disposal.

Peter Crosland

Thanks Peter!

The Natural Philosopher wrote in message

Well I haven't touched my klargester in 4 years and its running fine.

Its sized for 6-8 people because that's the house size, but only two use
it mainly...

I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

Thanks for the info TNP!

Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

Instead gutters should run into a ditch; the washing machine,
bath/shower/sink should run into a soakpit.

Is this correct?

RobertTT wrote:

Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

Instead gutters should run into a ditch; the washing machine,
bath/shower/sink should run into a soakpit.

Is this correct?
All effluent runs into the septic tank. The only soakaways are for the
rainwater downpipes. Well not strictly true of course as the septic
tank has its own soakaway. In the yellow pages you should find
companies who will empty it, as said, for about £100, though mine has
not been emptied in the five years it has been installed. Some of my
neighbours use a farmer, who I suspect pumps it onto his fields, they
save themselves about £20, A poor bargain I think, a proper disposer
gives you a disposal certificate. You can get special liquid, quite
expensive, to aid break down of effluent, but the important thing is to
not use bleach or biological washing powders. Also as has been said, if
there is a problem there is a smell. My neighbours has an old concrete
tank, and that is failing, further more the discharge is coming onto my
land. They are not prepared to do anything about it, and no officials
are interested, if I wish to stop it I will have to go through the
courts, not an expense I wish to undertake.

Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months

What's an "activator", and where is it obtained?

Google is your friend!!
http://tinyurl.com/4br67
Which points to
http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc...tank+activator

Sparks...

"RobertTT" wrote in message
m...
"Peter Crosland" wrote in message
...
I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank
emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average
cost
is
around £100

All well and good provided it is functioning correctly. Have you had the
output tested to see that it is within the consent limits?

Peter Crosland

What are the "consent limits"? Is this a legal requirement regarding
septic tanks?

If your septic tank discharges into a soakaway field such as a herringbone
system of drain pots within your own garden/land theres no-one likely to
have any axe to grind about consents.Discharge into a drainage ditch may be
subject to checking if the effluent is accessible. At the very worst after
many years of use the soakaway field may need digging out and replacing.
Nothing about it is rocket science and replacement is easy enough.
We had a septic tank installed in 1956, emptied it out in 1970, and it was
still running fine when we moved on in 1980. Its output soaked away into
about 50 metres of land drainage in our garden.
A dead cat or a bit of decaying road kill is a very good activator if the
bacteria are adversely affected by an uneducated housewife bunging bleach
down the toilet

"RobertTT" wrote in message
m...
Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

You'll probably hear lots of differing views but the key effect on cost of
running a septic tank is how well you treat it. If you bung all sorts of
liquids and solids down it it won't function well and will need regular
emptying. But if you just put proper bio-degradeable stuff in this stuff
will degrade most effectively and there'll never be any cost.

"Huge" wrote in message
...
Also as has been said, if
there is a problem there is a smell. My neighbours has an old concrete
tank, and that is failing, further more the discharge is coming onto my
land. They are not prepared to do anything about it, and no officials
are interested, if I wish to stop it I will have to go through the
courts, not an expense I wish to undertake.

Report them to the Environment Agency who will deal with them for you.


Unlikely. They have a whole book of reasons NOT to do anything.

Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

Instead gutters should run into a ditch;

They should run into a soakaway not a watercourse

the washing machine,
bath/shower/sink should run into a soakpit.

They should run into the septic tank.


Is this correct?

All effluent runs into the septic tank. The only soakaways are for the
rainwater downpipes. Well not strictly true of course as the septic tank
has its own soakaway. In the yellow pages you should find companies who
will empty it, as said, for about £100, though mine has not been emptied
in the five years it has been installed. Some of my neighbours use a
farmer, who I suspect pumps it onto his fields, they save themselves about
£20,

A risk getting a criminal record. It is a serious offence to do so.

A poor bargain I think, a proper disposer
gives you a disposal certificate. You can get special liquid, quite
expensive, to aid break down of effluent, but the important thing is to
not use bleach or biological washing powders. Also as has been said, if
there is a problem there is a smell.

If it has reached that stage then it is almost certainly causing the output
from the tank to be well above what is an acceptable, or legal, level.

My neighbours has an old concrete
tank, and that is failing, further more the discharge is coming onto my
land. They are not prepared to do anything about it, and no officials are
interested, if I wish to stop it I will have to go through the courts, not
an expense I wish to undertake.

The Environment Agency will almost certainly force your neighbour to take
action. Have you asked them to inspect it?

Peter Crosland

"
All well and good provided it is functioning correctly. Have you had the
output tested to see that it is within the consent limits?

What are the "consent limits"? Is this a legal requirement regarding
septic tanks?

The Environment Agency set limits to the strength of the pollutants being
discharged into the soakaway. If they are too high then you can be
prosecuted. Recently installed septic tank installations should have a
formal consent that specifys this. Many earlier ones do not but it does not
mean that you cannot be prosecuted.

Peter Crosland

"Peter Crosland" wrote in message
...
Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

Instead gutters should run into a ditch;

They should run into a soakaway not a watercourse

Only for a new installation. Many old buildings have a ditch to collect
roof rainwater and lead it to the nearest stream.

"RobertTT" wrote in message
m...
Thanks for the info!

"Blair Malcolm" wrote in message

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank
emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.

Really?

Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months

What's an "activator", and where is it obtained?

It's a compound that enables the bacteria to multiply (Similar to yeast)
Obtained from
D.W.Jones,Wild Briars, Lyth Hill, Lyth Bank, Shrewsbury. Shropshire SY3 OBS

Cost is £16 for two commercial packs

Blair

We put in a 4000l spetic tank 2 years ago and apart from some smell as
it started up it has performed flawlessly and waters the orchard in dry
spells very nicely. You are meant to empty it out every 5 years but in
my previous years of owning these I have never done this and never had
problems with them. Only thing we have to do is make sure the mother in
law does not use bleach and make sure people know they shouldn't put
sanitary towels down the loo. The worst bit is that we empty the grease
trap every year which is a truly awful job and one that tends to have a
very strict rotation as to whose turn it is!

I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?

I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?


You have obviously never opened a septic tank! The liquid needs to be
removed as well as the solids. The method suggetsed is a non starter.

Peter Crosland

Mark wrote:

Blair Malcolm wrote in message
...

"RobertTT" wrote in message
. com...

Does anyone know if someone has a septic tank, are there any ongoing
maintenance issues associated with them?

Or is it usually just a matter of having it cleaned out every so often
by a specialist company?

If so, on average how often would a septic tank be emptied; and how
much does this cost?

Any info is much appreciated...Thanks!!

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.
Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months
You will be told by others to have it emptied every year and average cost

is

around £100
So I've saved £1100
Blair



Thats a very sweeping statement, it depends entirely on _what_ and how
_much_ is going into the tank, it's not the tank that will eventually block
but the soakaway system.
Which could cost LOTS to renew, even if future legislation allows it.


What soakaway?

You are allowed here to discharge into any 'public watercourses'
privided e.g. klargester is used. Our clay is so impermeable te cionceot
of a soakaway is laughable.


Ours just dumps into a dry ditch.

--
Mark§

RobertTT wrote:

Thanks for the info!

"Blair Malcolm" wrote in message

I built my house 11 years ago and have never had the septic tank emptied.
As long as the bacteria is active the solids will disappear.


Really?


Avoid strong chemicals and use an activator every 6 months


What's an "activator", and where is it obtained?
Handful of crystallized bacteria.

We don't bother. A good curry works just the same after its been through
you.

RobertTT wrote:

Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

NO. You overload it.

Those go to a catch pond, or soakaway, or into storm drainage if you
have it.

We have a pond.

The estate down teh road duig a bloody great pit. Its a grassy hollow
execpt when it really rains.


Instead gutters should run into a ditch; the washing machine,
bath/shower/sink should run into a soakpit.

No, run your 'foul' (grey) water into the sewage tank. Only rainwater
should go to the soakaway,

Use a water softener to keep soap/detergent quantities low, and let it
rock...most detergents these days are realtively biodegradeable.

Things to avoid are indigestible plastics and some petrochemicals that
will not emulsify with the detergents.

I've put caustic soda. hydrochloric acid, and paint thinners down mine.
Seems OK so far. In the end it all cancels out - the acids and alkalis
do and the solvents and the deteregents do. Just make sure there's lots
of water going through when you bung in anything too nasty.

Huge wrote:

Broadback writes:

RobertTT wrote:


Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

Instead gutters should run into a ditch; the washing machine,
bath/shower/sink should run into a soakpit.

Is this correct?

All effluent runs into the septic tank. The only soakaways are for the
rainwater downpipes. Well not strictly true of course as the septic
tank has its own soakaway. In the yellow pages you should find
companies who will empty it, as said, for about £100, though mine has
not been emptied in the five years it has been installed. Some of my
neighbours use a farmer, who I suspect pumps it onto his fields, they
save themselves about £20, A poor bargain I think, a proper disposer
gives you a disposal certificate.


I've never had any kind of paperwork from my septic tank emptier.


You can get special liquid, quite
expensive, to aid break down of effluent, but the important thing is to
not use bleach or biological washing powders.


There's no reason not to use bio washing powder.

Nor bleach either. Provided you have a resonable amount of acid to
neutralise it.

Mike wrote:

"Peter Crosland" wrote in message
...

Also, would I be right in thinking that detergents can have a negative
effect on a septic tank?

So, water from gutters, washing machine, bath/shower/sink should *not*
be run into it.

Instead gutters should run into a ditch;

They should run into a soakaway not a watercourse


Only for a new installation. Many old buildings have a ditch to collect
roof rainwater and lead it to the nearest stream.


Actually the ideal thing is to run it to anywhere it can get back into
the groundwater system uncontaminated.

Soakaways or ditches - makes little odds. Both are acceptable.

Peter Crosland wrote:

I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?



You have obviously never opened a septic tank! The liquid needs to be
removed as well as the solids. The method suggetsed is a non starter.


Why?

Peter Crosland

"Cappy" wrote in message
ups.com...
We put in a 4000l spetic tank 2 years ago and apart from some smell as
it started up it has performed flawlessly and waters the orchard in dry
spells very nicely. You are meant to empty it out every 5 years but in
my previous years of owning these I have never done this and never had
problems with them. Only thing we have to do is make sure the mother in
law does not use bleach and make sure people know they shouldn't put
sanitary towels down the loo. The worst bit is that we empty the grease
trap every year which is a truly awful job and one that tends to have a
very strict rotation as to whose turn it is!


Where is the grease trap situated in the system
I don't think I have one but maybe I have . Where do I look?
Blair

On 30 Mar 2005 00:39:10 -0800, mmzz wrote:

I may simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most
of it and stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?

"solids" is a bit of misnomer it's sludge and as a septic tank is
anerobic very smelly sludge.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Usually between the house/feeds and the tank. Really gives the kitchen
waste a chance to cool down and solidify so it does not gum up the tank
as a whole. Cleaning is a very ugly business. It is usually about 50cm
across under a small manhole cover but that depends on the size of the
system. Different countries in Europe have different regulations (and
indeed different water companies) so you may or may not have one.

Mike wrote:

"Huge" wrote in message
...

Also as has been said, if
there is a problem there is a smell. My neighbours has an old concrete
tank, and that is failing, further more the discharge is coming onto my
land. They are not prepared to do anything about it, and no officials
are interested, if I wish to stop it I will have to go through the
courts, not an expense I wish to undertake.

Report them to the Environment Agency who will deal with them for you.



Unlikely. They have a whole book of reasons NOT to do anything.


Mike is right, when I contacted them they were completely uninterested.
I was particularly worried because it is going via my property into a
stream and thence into the Trent River. They, nor the council or local
water authority wanted to know!

mmzz wrote:
I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?

The inside of the tank may well be anerobic, and harmfull to health.
I would not go inside without an exterior airline, and two similarly
equipped people on the outside.

"mmzz" wrote in message
om...
I guess it will need emptying in a few years. Its supposed to be the
sort of 80 quid a year call out and pump thing, but I suspect I may
simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most of it and
stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?

As most septic tanks are to be found in country property where a decent
size garden is the norm and neighbours are country folk with an appreciation
of the ways of nature rather than city bred with a belief that everything
natural should be legislated against and controlled by a raft of beauracracy
(apologies to those who don't fall into this generalisation) then you should
have a marked advantage. The best time to do a planned clean out is Autumn
so the garden gets most benefit from the winter rest period. There will be a
liquor on top of the solids (well more of a pasty silt than solids
actually). In most cases this can be baled or pumped out onto a bit of fresh
dug ground followed by the silt. Do the silt progressively by
baling/shovelling into the trench as you continue digging. Allow the buried
valuable source of Nitrogenous compounds to decompose and weather through
the winter then when spring arrives your soil is valuably enriched. Your
garden produce will be wonderfully enhanced.
Until the development of the chemical industry sh*t of one form or another
was the only fertiliser to be had (long live the Nitrogen cycle) rather than
the unnatural stuff plants are dosed with nowadays.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On 30 Mar 2005 00:39:10 -0800, mmzz wrote:


I may simply get in with a spade and wheelbarrow and dig out most
of it and stick it on the compost heap one day...

is there any reason why this shouldnt be done?


"solids" is a bit of misnomer it's sludge and as a septic tank is
anerobic very smelly sludge.

Klargester ain't anaerobic.

And even my old tank had non smelly solids on top

The pong was underneath in the slurry.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
t...
Mike wrote:

Instead gutters should run into a ditch;

They should run into a soakaway not a watercourse


Only for a new installation. Many old buildings have a ditch to collect
roof rainwater and lead it to the nearest stream.


Actually the ideal thing is to run it to anywhere it can get back into
the groundwater system uncontaminated.

Soakaways or ditches - makes little odds. Both are acceptable.


Given the upcoming drought I would have thought people should be encouraged
to get the water into the streams.

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 01:41:56 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

"solids" is a bit of misnomer it's sludge and as a septic tank is
anerobic very smelly sludge.

Klargester ain't anaerobic.

IMHO a Klagester is not a septic tank, it's a small treatment plant.
Completely different and as you imply aerobic in action, not a lot of
choice with air constantly being bubbled through it...

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail