septic full

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38nholding
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septic full

Post by 38nholding » March 19, 2008, 5:06 pm

Am trying to figure out ,why my septic tank(s) keep filling up with clean water.Now I have isolated one system. one toilet with the two tank system . I guess one fills up (the connecting tube is only half way up the "tank"?) then it overflows into another. So when the second tank is half full I am sure it causes 'pressurising" thus the toilet will not flush . So we call the "honey wagon" and he pumps out my septic. A week later my tank is full. So I cleaned the flapper valve in the toilet ,thinking that water was leaking by the valve and filling up the septic tank. Problem solved . Put a shut off on the toilet and filled it up (the tank) and then shut off the valve. Sure enough the tank emptied.(into the septic).
So do you think it is as simple as replacing the hardware inside the tank?
Now the second system (3 bathroom ) takes care of the other two bathrooms. again , water is filling up the tanks . I was wondering why the "honey wagon" was honking his horn and waving everytime he drove by,must of been one of the reasons the seller sold. So have installed two more shut off valves on the toilets to see if the tank fills up ,quicker than without. My feeling is the back of the toilet tank fills up and escapes through the bottom of the tank directely into the septic.
So Water is coming from udon,into my home and I pay for that , pay for electric to pump it to the house , then it goes into my septic where I pay someone to pump it out and dispose of it . No wonder they are honking.
Also with all systems shut off ,my pump continues to come on and off. I am thinking that there is a broken pipe under the house .ooohh. thats going to hurt .
At least we got the perimeter drains flowing in the right direction
Any ideas



polehawk
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Post by polehawk » March 19, 2008, 7:59 pm

Wonder what your water bill is like? Sounds like the toilet tank to toilet rubber seals might have been improperly installed (upside down, perhaps?) but you should be able to listen and hear the tank(s) constantly filling if that was the case. Maybe Mr Banpaeng, the resident septic and pump expert, is around the forum to give assistance?

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rickfarang
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Post by rickfarang » March 20, 2008, 3:03 am

I am far from an expert in the matter. But please allow me to express and opinion.

Most likely, there is something wrong with your plumbing.

My septic tank is full or watermuch of the time, and its normal state is that of overflowing into the drain system around the property, and then into the village's drainage system. Everything works well, except during heavy rains, when (apparently because of insufficient drainage) things seem to back up a little bit.

If your toilet won't flush, a plumber (to straighten out your plumbing) would be far more helpful than a honeydew pumper.

Then again, I have only been on a septic tank for the last two years.

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rickfarang
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Post by rickfarang » March 20, 2008, 3:11 am

It occurred to me just after launching the previous post, that the problem might the that your septic tank is not vented, or if it is vented, the vent pipe is plugged.

There should be a vent coming out of the top of the tank, or thereabouts, that allows gas swamp gas, or methane, from fermentation) to escape. It might be that this vent is important to your toilets to be able to drain properly into the tank. Just a thought.

38nholding
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Post by 38nholding » March 20, 2008, 9:36 am

Good one about the venting , those little lizards made a home in there out of their "chewed cement" .Or whatever they use.Have scrubbed all the flapper valves with scot brite and the water still escapes. So now we are flushing the toilet out of the wash basin that sits in the washroom,and my Mrs. prefers the use the "bend and dump" method of showering.(Thai style). Says the floors dont get as dirty as fast.
That overflow system works pretty well ,but the over flow pipe was heading in the wrong direction and with any waste water or rain it would just follow the 'slope' back to the septic. So I bought a half horse power pump and when the septic is full I just fire up the pump and drain it into the perimeter drain ( new) Works ok,but any time one is dealing with septic ,even ones own ,it is unpleasant.
After I drain the tank (one of two ) I shine the flashlight into the opening at the top of the septic and you can see nice clean water dripping into the just drained tank.
And is there an adjustment on ny pump that will allow me to adjust when the pump comes on and off ?PLUMBER ! Joking right.

38nholding
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Post by 38nholding » March 20, 2008, 9:45 am

And Rick, Is your perimeter drain of the concrete or the 6 inch pvc. I had the concrete pipe ,it is sealed at the joins with concrete,they leak, and not usually on a bed of gravel for drainage. So the more they leak the more they sag. I had about 90 ft of the worst sludge one could imagine. So we pulled up and replaced about 100 feet of the old crappy pipe, Backing up. Now that we have replaced the old with the new ,when it rains or drains the water blast out to the street drains.
We also replaced those deep stupid concrete boxes at the corners of the house .What a smelly mess that was. Thanks for the input

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