I have included a picture of what I have dug so far. I'm tired. I am pretty sure I found the septic tank but I can not find a access to it. Any ideas?

 

That metal ring sticking up looks like the lifting handle for the cover. The cover is about as big as your hole. If you dig outward a little further you should find the edge of the cover. Hope you had your Wheaties foday cause they aren't light.

 

How deep is the lid, because I went down about a couple inches and didn't seem like there was a seam.

 

Some tanks have small access holes while some a big section of the lid lifts off. The smaller access holes are about a foot square and weigh about 30-40 pounds. If you have the bigger type... I hope you have help or some diesel powered machinery.

To answer your question. The lids are about 3" thick.

Be careful when lifting the lid by the re-bar handle. They rust after years in the ground and have a nasty habit of snapping at the worst time though your's looks to be in good shape. Make sure to keep your feet out of the way.

 

Well I do have a Tractor. I will take more pics when I get the entire lid uncovered and the lid lifted off. Would it be a bad idea to have the lid off for one day? I have no kids or animals. I just need to uncover it for the pump guys.

 

I do not think it is a good idea to have the lid off. You open yourself up to great legal liability. Even though you don't have children or pets on open septic tank is a death trap. Not only is there a risk of drowning but the gases inside the tank are heavier than air and do not contain oxygen so you add suffocation to the list of problems for who or whatever falls in.

 

Ok, So I dug some more. I think I found the pumping access lid. There is only one, right?? Is it normal for it to have something like tar sealing the lid?

 

I had a septic tank that didn't have an access hole. When the pump truck came, the guy chiseled a hole in the lid big enough to put the hose in.

I had a busted concrete block around, so he took a piece of it and with some mortar mix he had in the truck (so this must be a common problem) sealed the hole by mortaring the piece of block over the hole. He didn't try to fit it in, just covered the hole.

Need to get back in? Just knock the cover off and mortar it back when done.

 

The number of lids depends on the tank. If there are separate chambers or large baffles there will be a lid for each chamber so you can get access to the entire tank. If you only have one partial height baffle at the top of the tank it is possible you only have one clean out though two is more common with one at each end. Usually they are close enough to the end that you can reach in to where the inlet and outlet pipe pass through the tank wall.

Lids are often sealed with tar to prevent ground water from entering the tank. No sense in running rainwater through your system. You may have to stick a pry bar in the crack around the lid and break the seal. Just lifting by the re-bar handle sometimes breaks the handle.

 

Well apparently from what I was told from the Septic guy, that having tar to seal the lid is very common. He did have to use a long pry bar to lift it open. I included photos of the lid being off and a photo of inside the tank. I just wanted to know before I dug some more. Apparently my tank had never been emptied in the 13 years it was installed. Can anybody tell if there would be an opening at the other end?

 

There is usually one at each end, near the inlet & outlet. The other should be close to the green pipe just like the one you found but at the other end.

 

Maybe be too late for this advice, but we had a vertical extension added to our tank lid opening so that we don't have to dig anymore, just lift the lid off. We have to pump every two years for effective maintenance.

 

I have the risers on my current tanks and hate them. I am constantly having to mow and trim around them. I have several rental properties with the above ground risers are a maintenance problem as tenants hit them with their lawn mowers and run over them and hit them with their cars & moving vans. I much prefer to have them safely buried out of harm's way. Having to dig a hole every 5 years is not a problem for me, and in my area the septic tank pumpers locate and dig to the access as part of their standard fee.

 

I can see where the risers and exposed lid would be inconvenient in a yard and especially at rental units. Ours are out of the way, as we live in the woods and have no grass except the sand mound. We pump every 2 years, would get charged extra for digging. We have 2 tanks, 1st for solids, 2nd for liquids with a bilge pump that pumps uphill to sand mound. Had to design and build within constraints of the mountain. Because of winter, snow, and freezing soil/shale we have to have access for bilge pump replacement quickly (once since '95). I did snow plow one lid off last year. Need to mark them better this year.

I see that new construction here in Pa is using a flush, or slightly below grade green manhole cover for tank lids. Mow/drive right over them. Appear to be vinyl/rubber/plastic? Low profile.

 

I hate the risers on my tank but they are almost required. My tank is so deep I'm afraid I might not find the tanks & clean outs without them. It certainly is easier to just open the lid when it's pumping time instead of fishing in the yard with a probe and breaking out the shovel.