Onsite septic tank system.........

[Russ Wheeler]

Anybody got one? I think it's a Singulair, with 2 lids at the top, one for the aerator and the other is the clean tank. I recently found out that rainwater underground is dripping into the system from where the manhole tube is attached to the actual tank. It's all concrete and obviously these two pieces were poured at different times.

Is this something I need to get fixed? I dug that ***** up and tried to seal it but apparently water is still leaking in somewhere. I guess 5" of rain will do that. It's on the side of the hill and underground obviously so not sure there is a way to keep water from getting down there.

Also, do they need to get pumped every few years like a septic tank?

 

[Ozarkdawg]

I have a dual chamber treatment plant in flat ground. It's really pretty shallow. Concrete hole cover flush with ground surface. Drains onto the top of the ground on a hill about 150-200' away.

Several questions / thoughts.

Can the drainage keep up with any seepage into the tank? If not, can it back up into house? If it can keep up, does the seep matter?


Is the seep enough to purge the system and break up the chemistry inside?



Since its on a hill, could water be flooding the hole cover (If it's like mine) and be seeping in that way? Might could guard that against massive rush of rain water drainage.

 

[Apoplectic_Objurgator]

I have a dual chamber treatment plant in flat ground. It's really pretty shallow. Concrete hole cover flush with ground surface. Drains onto the top of the ground on a hill about 150-200' away.

Several questions / thoughts.

Can the drainage keep up with any seepage into the tank? If not, can it back up into house? If it can keep up, does the seep matter?


Is the seep enough to purge the system and break up the chemistry inside?



Since its on a hill, could water be flooding the hole cover (If it's like mine) and be seeping in that way? Might could guard that against massive rush of rain water drainage.

Yep was going to say the same. The field drain capacity is the limiter - if it can keep up then you’re ok. The lid seal is never perfect. I just pumped mine after 25 years - i don’t have a garbage disposal for this reason. You can pump it on a schedule but i usually run things to failure - my engineer training

 

[Russ Wheeler]

Yeah I would imagine it can keep up, because it will just flow out a little less clean I guess.

And yes, on the hillside, that was my first thought so I dug out around it to channel surface water away. But apparently it's the groundwater that is flowing in and sitting on the collar where the manhole tube connects to the tank, and seeping/dripping in.

I imagine a french drain would do the trick, but that's a lot of work if this little bit of rainwater doesn't really matter that much. I started think that dirt was coming in with the rain water and would fill it up faster, but I think I'm overthinking that a bit.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

Yep was going to say the same. The field drain capacity is the limiter - if it can keep up then you’re ok. The lid seal is never perfect. I just pumped mine after 25 years - i don’t have a garbage disposal for this reason. You can pump it on a schedule but i usually run things to failure - my engineer training

All it is is a PVC pipe that drains out of the clean tank, I guess you run water through it all day and it would just pour on out.

 

[Dawgbite]

You need to start peeing in the yard. It will cut down the volume that the tank has to handle, problem solved. Besides, it makes you feel better to pee in the yard........ Except when you're wearing flip flops!

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

I sealed mine last spring. My pretreatment tank was a manhole, under ground... And was air tight.

My pump tank was a manhole above ground and allowed a little bit of water in from where the pvc from the aerobic tank and electricity was coming in.


My aerobic tank was the problem. Concrete lid was leaking like a sieve. My yard was clay and the septic was backfilled with a red sandy select fill and that water would just pool on top of tank because the clay would not allow the water to soak in fast like that sand.

Anyhow, I bought some butyl rope and sealed the concrete lid and it was a massive improvement. I mean massive.

Not sure if that helps, because it sounds like you are having riser problems, but the butyl rope worked like a charm. If it didn't, I was going to use a closed sell spray foam around the risers on the other 2 tanks.

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ETA... Grabbed a screenshot of some butyl rope sealant from the web... Check out the delivery charge. Seems a bit high.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Ours did the same thing. The tank was on the high side of our lot, it would back up in the house if the pump didn't kick on.

 

[o_Hot Rock]

I have had septic systems for of 35 years or more in multiple locations. My solution, find a guy that knows his “****” and pay the man.

 

[Fritz!]

I’ve had an installer license for over 20 years. The Singulair and Jet treatment plants have a pre-treatment chamber in the front of the tank. Why the manufacturer/installers NEVER put a ground access on them is beyond baffling to me. It’s the area that collects most of the solids coming into the tank. The concrete plug is sometimes not sealed, definitely takes in groundwater. Butyl tape works most of the time, but hydraulic water-stop cement works almost all the time. Yazoo Clay does some crazy stuff to things underground. PM if you need a hand or advice.