Septic tank - should it be smelly?

[FamilyWiggs]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

And if we fail to empty it, after 18 months or so the foul water pipes from the house start to back up.

It might be worth checking that the soakaway is still working fully and that clean water run off functions as it should. If they overflow, I understand that the porous natrue of the soil that the run off goes to can be come "blocked" if foul water runs off into it.

It costs us £90 for an empty. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than the annual charge for mains drainage. So frankly we're fairly happy to carry on with the system we've got - perfect or not.

A prudent approach.

 

[AMc]

I wish we could work out how to unblock it this time but we can't get the drain rods to reach where we think the block is - it's more an inspection point rather than a roding point. We can't bend the drain rods at 90 degrees. Any bright ideas?

If you have a pressure washer then you can get an accessory that burrows back to the blockage and then pressure breaks it apart. I've not used one but it sounds like what you need.
Product and helpful video here...
http://www.espares.co.uk/drain-cleaning-kit

Even if you don't have a pressure washer it could be cheaper than a professional call out e.g.
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/nilfisk-c120-3-6-pad-x-tra-pressure-washer?da=1&TC=GS-050412037

 

[tobydog]

A pair of goggles and keeping your mouth tightly shut would also be a prudent approach if using a pressure washer!!

 

[Feltwell]

Even if you don't have a pressure washer it could be cheaper than a professional call out e.g.
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/nilfisk-c120-3-6-pad-x-tra-pressure-washer?da=1&TC=GS-050412037

I've got exactly the kit that AMc posted up there, and whilst it's a decent pressure washer the drain cleaning kit is not much use I've found.

It's a long bit of thin hose, with a brass head on the end where 3 jets force water backwards along the pipe back past the hose - in order to propel the whole thing forward - and one jet points ahead to squirt away the obstruction. At least that's the theory.

In reality, a domestic pressure washer doesn't deliver anywhere near the required volume or pressure of water for it to work. My neighbour's soil pipe runs on my land and blocked, as it turns out from fat from cooking - they were an Indian family and did a lot of Indian cooking involving frying, and were clearly pouring fat down the sink. The pressure washer attachment was no good.

The drain cleaning man I eventually called out had a big petrol engine powered machine that was permanently mounted in the back of his van - far too big and heavy to take out - and a hose that reeled out, all linked to a 1000ltr water tank. It worked on the same principle as the pressure washer attachment but on a much larger scale! The pressure washer kit might clear a small diameter waste pipe from a sink for instance, but a 4" soil pipe - I very much doubt it, the level of squirt (sorry if that's too technical for anyone! :wink: ) is pretty feeble.

If you've had no joy at all with drain rods with a screw attachment on the end - which I find best for being able to grab any blockage and pull it back - then I'd get a drain cleaning company out.

 

[Flyfisher]

Many years ago I cleared a sewage blockage that had resulted in a 3-4 feet inspection pit overflowing - i.e. it had been accumuating for some time!

I first tried to clear the blockage from the inspection pit but with no luck. I then lifted the first manhole cover downstream of the blockage and pushed a normal hosepipe upstream (with the water running) and very easily cleared the blockage.

My reasoning was that when working from the downstream end any, er, debris that is loosened from the blockage is immediately able to wash down the pipe in the intended way. However, when working from the upstream end, it is necessary to try to 'fluidise' the entire blockage before it can be pushed away. Depending on the nature of the blockage, the pressure involved with this approach may need to be extremely high.

 

[Penners]

A pair of goggles and keeping your mouth tightly shut would also be a prudent approach if using a pressure washer!!

And it's worth standing well back. I recommend at least half a mile.

 

[vicky whitworth]

Thank you for the advice. The tank emptying people came out today. Despite us asking them to call us in advance so we could be there to discuss it and see what the problem is they just turned up so we have no idea what they have done. It drives me looney. Why can't they do what they said they'd do - still I hope it means we're unblocked. Now I want to understand how the tank works - we have no idea where the outflow is. How might we find it?

 

[worms]

How might we find it?

In some cases you can see the effect on the vegetation growing above the leach field compared to that around it. Most marked during a drought.*

* 2011 was the wettest year on record in Scotland and after months of unremitting rain, broken only by the occasional change to snow, the concept of a drought seems particularly alien!

 

[Penners]

Now I want to understand how the tank works

Here's quite a good explanation of the principles of a septic tank: http://www.drainology.co.uk/PDF/more%20info%20on%20septic%20tanks.pdf

Note that their illustration shows a two-chamber design. Some tanks are only one chamber.