I bought a home 8 years ago from a guy that told me he had recently had the tank pumped. He had a wife and 3 teenage daughters, so I wasnt all that alarmed. Over the years several times during saturating rains, have had some slow draining. But around Christmas 2006 it stopped up and I had to have it pumped. It was full to the top. Yesterday it stopped up again. I had another guy pump it and he said immediately I had more isues than just needing pumped based on it being completely full above the outlet level. After pumping he looked and said there was no baffle on the outlet at all. He then proceeded to tell me that I would almost certainly need a new field line. While I agree that I am sure I have gotten lots of floating debris into my field line, would you immediately plan on replacing new field line? He suggested calling the Health Dept and get it inspected and go from there. So, I called them and have an application being mailed as we speak. Finally to get to the real question, Is there a way to determine the how much flow I am getting through the leech field? I am planning on at the very least getting a Tee put on the the outlet to create a baffle. But can the inspector really tell how functional the field line is? Any advice or comments will be appreciated.....

 

Also are there any products or methods that are effective to break down the overflown scum layer that is possible clogging my field line? I have about all kinds of enzymes and additives and Hydrojetting but do any of them actually give lasting results? Here is one that is fairly convincing...

http://www.amerisep.com/index.html

 

You wont know until you replace the baffle, then see what happens. Only call the health department if you have loose stools from bad water!

I replaced my dads, smelly job I do not advise this for a DIY. Very hazardous...gas etc. Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the reply TH. Mine was/is a concrete baffle. At least thats how it is on the inlet side. Dude that pumped it said they usually just out a Tee on the outlet side and that takes care of it. Is that the standard way to fix a baffle?

 

I DO know that the Tee is very IMPORTANT!
This is what keeps the solids in the tank, and keeps them out of your drainfield.

 

Sry for the late post. Vacation was nice!

The outlet baffle is the most important part of the septic tank. If it is made out of concrete, then it WILL eventually rot off. If the baffle is off, then it either rotted (concrete) or fell off (plastic) and is now sitting on the floor of the tank.

The next step is to locate a distribution or drop box and see if you can determine exactly how much scum has gotten into the fields. The baffle may have only recently fell of and the scum accumulation is minimal. If this is the case, replace the baffle and move on.
If the scum is heavy and blocking any flow to the leaching trenches, then assume that the trench itself is plugged.
Depending on how many or types of leachfields(trench) that you have, you may be able to shut one off temporarily and let it dry up. Scum will break down over time with no water being put into it.
ALSO, I hpoe I read Terd Herders reply wrong.UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you ever wait to get sick from contaminated water before you take action. That is very bad advice and may get you or a family member SICK OR DEAD.

 

Septic Guy,
Welcome back!
I dont think thats what he meant by "Dont call the health dept until you get loose stools"?

Are you saying he should have his drinking water tested because of his septic tank problem?

 

Potable water contamination from a leaking septic is a very real concern. It depends on many circumstances...some are easily found...others are not.
If he has city water... there most likely isn't a problem.

When it comes to a well, different story.

Back to the baffle issue. A broken or missing baffle in itself would not cause a water source to become contaminated. What may cause it, is the failure of leachfields(because of the missing baffle) which in turn may cause effluent breakout to the surface of the leachfields. The breakout may or may not be noticed (say if the leachfields are in a wooded area) and may make its way towards a well or other water source. I've seen it happen. Any failing septic system is a hazard to public health, whether it happens at the leachfield area or even a broken or damaged piece of pipe somewhere in the system. That leads me to my next part......
There seems to be a sentiment towards not having your septic tank cleaned periodically. I guess one of the reasons for this is the contractor issue.
I know a lot of people are afraid of getting ripped off by
^%#$#@&%$# contractors, and there are a lot of them !! Untrained, greedy and generally stupid are some of the traits that these people exhibit and generally turns a bad situation for a needy homeowner even worse. Find a reputable and knowledgeable contractor and stick with him.
I'll speak for myself and no other septic tank cleaning contractor........when we clean a tank, no matter what....we always do a few things.....
1. After cleaning the tank, CHECK the outlet baffle
2. Check the rest of the tank for cracks, broken lids, etc
3. Do a quick area survey to look for any potential problems
4. On the invoice, note the condition of the waste in the tank..ie- heavy scum, heavy sludge, soap build-up, etc.
5. If the customer is home, have them flush the toilet to check the inflow into the tank.
All of this stuff takes about 10 extra minutes to do. Customers are much happier when you take the time to explain any potential problems. The periodic cleaning gives us a chance to spot a problem before it becomes a big expense or mess for the homeowner.

 

Septicguy,
Very good advice, for sure.
You mentioned that you check for cracked lids, and it reminded me that several years ago, I had to remove a septic lid for inspection, and as we were trying to put it back on, my son who was not paying attention! dropped it down to hard, and it cracked all the way across, so we decided to put it back on, and cover the entire lid with a piece of heavy plastic to keep rainwater etc. out, then we just covered it all back with dirt. So far so good, knock on wood! It has worked fine for quite some time. Its a very small tank for a small vacation house that is not used very much.
Anyway, do you think I should try to replace this busted lid right away? sometime in the future? Maybe the next time I have it pumped out? Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Finding a lid may not be as easy as you think !

Some of the older style tapered lids are hard to get.

We keep all good lids when we do a tank change and I can tell you that the pile in our yard is pretty big. I even have other contractors calling me for a quirky lid that they cant find.

I would say dont stress out about it. If its secure and nothing is leaking past it, then change it at the next cleaning. If you cant find the exact lid and the top of your tank is flat, then you can use a patio block or some other flat piece of concrete for a lid. The plastic cover is an excellent idea and I would still put it over whatever you use for a lid.

I need to get a catchy tag line

 

This septic is "homemade" built with concrete blocks.
It was probably built way way back in the forties or fifties I would guess .
So the lid is about 40" x 40" as it covers the entire top of the tank. I am thinking I could just make some forms and pour new lid with some concrete and rebar for reinforcement.
We did have to replace the drainfield a while ago with four PVC chambers, thats what most people around here use now.
You probably come across these older tanks quite often?

 

Yeah, we see those alot. I just made a lid like yours last week. Make a simple form out of wood, then mix up and pour in concrete. If you use the pre-mixed bags, I mix 1/2 with the extra strength stuff and 1/2 with the fiber mesh stuff--with 6 x 6 wire mesh. Also, dont forget to make a cleanout in the center of it (like 18"x18"). I make the cleanout with a tapered lid so it wont fall in. If you dont feel like going through the extra work of making a tapered lid, then cast a regular opening and cover it with a patio block or cast a flat lid. Good Luck !!

 

I know this is an old thread, but I think this might help those searching for solutions like I was. This is a common problem.

I just went through this. My system backed up and I had the tank pumped. My septic guy said maybe the filed lines would dry out while the tank filled and start working again. He never told me both inlet and outlet baffles were on the bottom of the tank. It soon backed up again after the tank filled.

In my view there are two separate issues.

1) Fix the baffles so it doesn't happen again, adding additional solids to the filed lines (or your new filed lines if you have to dig). You have to do this regardless what you do with the field / leach lines. Usually you won't be replacing the tank, just field/leach lines. If the tank integrity is good you wont be replacing the tank just filed lines anyway.

2) Deal with the field lines. Many times clogged filed lines can be repaired too. There are many ways. See the one I went with below.

Either the concrete formed baffle on a concrete tank, or a concrete/tile pipe tee type baffle can easily be replaced either by digging around the tank and replacing replacing a section of pipe with PVC and a tee. Or, if have 4" or 6" pipe you can slide the next smaller size PVC pipe with a tee into the larger pipe. If you dig and replace a section of pipe, seal around the new pipe to tank with Hydraulic Cement like Damtite Waterproofing Hydraulic Cement

On the outlet side I had tile/concrete pipe for a tight line (non perforated pipe to the filed lines). I dug it up and replaced the tight line with 4" PVC and installed a tee.

PolyLok Extend and lock
stubs are available to drive into the existing pipe inside the tank. You have to break off the old baffle, which is usually very easy and it just crumbles. You can then glue a short section of pipe and the tee to this for a new baffle. Or you can get the PolyLok and filter housing for a ready made baffle repair.

For filed line repair you can usually have the lines blown out and ground fracture/broken up with Tera-Lift. This process blows huge volumes of air into the ground around the field lines, blowing muck/scum back to the tank where it is pumped out. It also opens the ground up, breaking up the bio-mat, allowing new drainage. Pretty amazing. It works. Look it up and watch some of the vids.

 

If you can find and dig down and uncover the distribution box for the leach field, then you can figure out how much damage has been done by sludge and scum (grease) from the septic tank.

Block the inlet going back to the septic tank and pour in lots of water until the box overflows, then observe how long it takes for the water to go down.

 

This is an old thread so I will close... Please start new...

Thanks....