septice tank drain line

[T77911S]

first, this is a grey water septic.
I bought a tractor, in part for this but I wanted one to play with for a while.
I know the drain line attaches directly to the tank, IE no field, and I know the line is buried in chopped up tires. pretty old
the plan was to replace with the same length pipe with a 2ft wide trench and 12 inches of rock as a leach bed.

questions
the pipe needs to be level correct
do put burlap over the drain pipe before covering it up.

anything else I need to know

I have seen the pipe that does not need gavel but I am worried about it getting crushed if I drive over it

[VincentVega]

You really need to do a perc test to determine the field required. Pipe should be sloped away from the tank, ~1/8" per foot. Instead of burlap use landscape fabric, yes it will keep the soil from clogging the field. How deep are you burying the line?

[nota]

?
DRAIN LINE is from house to tank ?
should slope from the house to tank NOT be level

then it should have a drain FIELD OF BRANCHED LINES for the water to get out of the tank
drain field should slope a little so water flows away from the tank into the leach bed
the in line should be a bit higher then the out line at the tank

why a grey water only set up
do you have another septic tank for the toilets only ?

[fastfredracing]

My only advice is to do this under the cover of darkness.

[ckelly78z]

^^^ What Fred said ! Don't call for a post inspection.If you call, and something is found out of compliance, the entire system will then have to be brought up to your current state code with very little time frame.

[T77911S]

its the field line, there is no drain field, just one line off the tank as far as I know.
what I have been seeing online so far is the field line is level.

2 tanks, one turd tank and one grey water,
sorry for the wrong terms, , yes landscape fabric, did not know what it was called.

darkness, just like I built my garage

its an existing line and my yard is very sandy so I don't think I need a perc. + aint gonna happen. cut up tires tells you how long its been there,

[fintstone]

Good thread/question. If you buy an old house, how the heck can you find the field/lines for gray water or outdoor drains without digging up the entire yard? I have a rental where one of the outdoor drains backs up from heavy rain when the ground is saturated...and snaking it has not helped. I have no idea where to dig.

[fastfredracing]

Dye

[dad911]

Dye tells you if it's leaking out. There are inspection cameras that can tell you distance, and some have a location beacon, that you can find above ground with a detector.

T77 - I've installed hundreds of septics on new homes since the 80's. All designed by a licensed engineer, inspected by local board of health. Every one has pitch from the house to the tank. Pipe leaving the tank has pitch to the bed (or trench field, no longer used in NJ) field pipes are flat, perforated, and connected to a manifold or box that makes sure equal fluid is sent to each pipe. Typically a field or trench has 4-5' of select fill (special sand) then 1' of stone. Pipe, then 8" of stone on top. Filter fabric over the stone to prevent dirt from clogging the stone, and allow evaporation.

[T77911S]

my grey water tank was only about 2 inches below ground, actually I tripped over the rebar loop to lift the lid,.
for the lines for me I will just start digging at the tank and follow until I reach the end.
its also easy to find as the water come out the top when she does laundry.
usually that's how you find the tank, at least for that's how its been.

I had the turd tank lines replaced a few years ago. he basically did the same thing but added a new line. still no field so to say. just 2 field lines directly off the tank.

[VincentVega]

I hired a guy with a sewer camera. Money well spent. I flagged it then made a crude drawing with general measurements. Then I replaced everything.

The line needs to slope away from the tank, even if just a little. Surface water can get back to your tank. But that depends on your soil composition and grading. perc test Just dig a hole, fill with water to saturate then fill again when the first fill is gone. Simple. I have mostly sandy soil too, IIRC the trench was ~9' deep and ~2' wide. Bottom few feet stone. Not something I'd ever want to do again, a little more than the minimum seems to be good practice.

And yes, the inspectors were here early and often.

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by dad911

Dye tells you if it's leaking out. There are inspection cameras that can tell you distance, and some have a location beacon, that you can find above ground with a detector.

T77 - I've installed hundreds of septics on new homes since the 80's. All designed by a licensed engineer, inspected by local board of health. Every one has pitch from the house to the tank. Pipe leaving the tank has pitch to the bed (or trench field, no longer used in NJ) field pipes are flat, perforated, and connected to a manifold or box that makes sure equal fluid is sent to each pipe. Typically a field or trench has 4-5' of select fill (special sand) then 1' of stone. Pipe, then 8" of stone on top. Filter fabric over the stone to prevent dirt from clogging the stone, and allow evaporation.

that's what I am finding out most should be. except I see 4"" PVC for the field. also when my turd tank lines were replace he did not use sand, just rock and fabric from what I remember.
my house was built maybe in the 60's to early 70's. they used cut up tires instead of rock for the leach bed if that tells you how old it is.
and as said, I don't have a field, no manifold or box.

its always drained fine in the past so the plan was to replace with what was there except I will use rock this time.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by T77911S

that's what I am finding out most should be. except I see 4"" PVC for the field. also when my turd tank lines were replace he did not use sand, just rock and fabric from what I remember.
my house was built maybe in the 60's to early 70's. they used cut up tires instead of rock for the leach bed if that tells you how old it is.
and as said, I don't have a field, no manifold or box.

its always drained fine in the past so the plan was to replace with what was there except I will use rock this time.

Yes, we use 4" pvc unless it's a pressure system (uphill pump/mound) then the pipe is smaller.

I would use 1-1/2" clean stone under the pipe (bigger voids, holds more water) and 3/4" clean over, (easier to work with).

Curious, how long is the line? Digging out and disposing of those tires is going to be a $hitty job.

[tabs]

My parents had a Septic Tank which they never had to have pumped in 30 years...which just goes to show you that my family is not full of shyte.

[cabmandone]

Where is your curtain drain? How is the field going to drain?

[dad911]

Originally Posted by T77911S

.......
its also easy to find as the water come out the top when she does laundry.
......

Just saw above.

That's probably because the outgoing pipe has no pitch

[wdfifteen]

When I was a kid I “helped” my grandfather fix some field tile. He did “water witching” by cutting a couple of pieces of #9 wire about 18 inches long. He bent each one 90 degrees so it had a 5 inch or so handle. He would hold them in his fists in front of him at waist level and about a foot apart, with the long end pointing straight out in front of him. He walked back and forth over the field and when he passed above water the ends of the wire would draw together. It must not have worked too well, because he also drilled a hole half way through the center of a 12 inch piece of 2x4 and stuck about 3 feet of rebar in it. He would shove it into the ground here and there until he hit a tile. I myself have used the latter method of finding sewer pipes and I can attest to its efficacy.

[T77911S]

had the same tire shreds for the turd tank.
I don't know what he did with it from the other tank.
you know I think he came out and turned and dug a new trench. I may have to stop and ask him. (he lives down the road).

good Q about the tires.
i suppose the old leach bed is not any good or could i dig down to the leach bed, pull out the old pipe and lay new pipe on the old bed?
then cover with fabric and rock and dirt?

other option is to run it in a new direction and abandon the old in place.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

When I was a kid I “helped” my grandfather fix some field tile. He did “water witching” by cutting a couple of pieces of #9 wire about 18 inches long. He bent each one 90 degrees so it had a 5 inch or so handle. He would hold them in his fists in front of him at waist level and about a foot apart, with the long end pointing straight out in front of him. He walked back and forth over the field and when he passed above water the ends of the wire would draw together. It must not have worked too well, because he also drilled a hole half way through the center of a 12 inch piece of 2x4 and stuck about 3 feet of rebar in it. He would shove it into the ground here and there until he hit a tile. I myself have used the latter method of finding sewer pipes and I can attest to its efficacy.

Us fancy folks just use a tile probe and two pieces of wire.

[fintstone]

Also look at the top of the ground and if there has been a change in drainage. Lots of septic failure here this year due to the much heavier than usual rain. It has come down much faster than typical and done so for weeks at time. The ground is so saturated that it just will not accept any more water. At one house, I noted that the leaves that the tenant had raked to the edge of the woods had actually formed a dam and a few inches of water covered the drain field. The water was backing up though the distribution box into the septic tank and back into the house. The grey water was also backing up. I cut back the bamboo at the edge of the property and cut through the leaves to drain it off into the ditch (as designed) and the septic level went down very fast.

I have never seen a grey water system tank here with a lid, etc. Typically it is just a big hole filled with gravel...or maybe a barrel full of gravel. That said, they seem to be simple and rarely fail. The biggest problem i see with very old septic systems (from the 50's) is they often have cast iron pipes coming into and out of the tank...and they rust so badly that they break.