Any septic tank experts out there ??

Somerset

We live in the country and have a septic tank. Up till 6 months ago it was as good as gold but for 6 months now it's had constant problems.

It's got an inspection chamber between the house and tanks - it's here that it overflows. The septic system itself is two tanks - flows from the house to the first, solids settle and residue goes into the second tank. From here it goes somewhere ( we don't know if it's a soakaway or via a gully - no pipework to be seen and installation before my time )

First off we just thought it needed emptying, but it was full nearly every month. Then I got a ST company out and they said the pump in the second tank wasn't working and needed replacing. It was dead, it hadn't worked in years but we still didn't have problems before, but if that solved it !! It did solve it, and I could see the water disappearing from the second tank. Now we've the same problem again - everything full !! Inspection chamber and both tanks full. I had a look at the second tank - the water appears to be circulating. This implies to me ( could be wrong ! ) that the pump is working, but the water isn't leaving. Thoughts - it's pumping out but coming back in ?? or wherever it's pumping out to is blocked ?? Or the ground is waterlogged so ?? Not really sure what to do next - any advice appreciated.

knightstyle

Are you sure it pumps out of the second chamber to the soakaway? Usually it flows out by gravity and often there is a net with lava stones in it at the outlet which acts as a filter, This often gets clogged up after a year or two and could cause your problem. If not does your kitchen waste go into the tank? If so, do you have a fat trap? If not the soakaway could be fouled with fat/oil. Best thing to do would be to dig by the second tank outlet to investigate further. I am no expert but the last four houses have had septic tanks of one type or another.

Lotus-eater

I'm no expert either, but this sounds like a classic sign of the soakaway being blocked up. When was the tank installed? If you search for soakaway problems on google it might give you something to go on.

Somerset

knightstyle wrote: »

Are you sure it pumps out of the second chamber to the soakaway? Usually it flows out by gravity and often there is a net with lava stones in it at the outlet which acts as a filter, This often gets clogged up after a year or two and could cause your problem. If not does your kitchen waste go into the tank? If so, do you have a fat trap? If not the soakaway could be fouled with fat/oil. Best thing to do would be to dig by the second tank outlet to investigate further. I am no expert but the last four houses have had septic tanks of one type or another.

As I said, for a long time the previous pump didn't work but the system worked fine nonetheless. When this new pump was installed I could see the water level dropping in the second tank. The system has been here since I bought the place, so at least 10+ years. The thing is I don't know where the outlet is - do you mean in the tank where it gets out or the place where it goes to ? I'm not even sure it has a soakaway ( it might ). One of the men who looked at it earlier said he thought it went into a land drain, but then another said the soakaway was it the field beyond our house ! The thing is nobody knows the layout - it was done so long ago and it's all covered up/grassed over. It's strange you mentioned fat, one of the previous 'fixes' was fat had clogged up the pipe between the inspection chamber and first tank but that was all rodded out and removed - it was ok after for another month - in fact that was the last 'fix'. But there was no sign of fat in the second tank ? I appreciate your input.:T

Somerset

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I'm no expert either, but this sounds like a classic sign of the soakaway being blocked up. When was the tank installed? If you search for soakaway problems on google it might give you something to go on.

Don't know when it was installed, at least 10+ years and I'm guessing maybe 15 years ago. I'll google now and see what comes up.

knightstyle

The second tank will have an inlet from the first tank pump and an outlet near the top which will go to drain or soakaway. Bail out some water from the second tank and look for outlet pipe, use a torch and mirror. Then dig outside the tank to find this pipe, either the pipe is blocked or follow it to the problem. Messy but better than paying an expert who didn't solve the problem. If you have a fat problem install a fat trap in the kitchen waste.

Somerset

Just thought I'd give an update as it's nice to know what happens.

Problem all sorted. It wasn't the soakaway. I pumped excess water out of the second tank to see what was happening. The pump that was in there was spraying water up like a fountain. Called the pump people who came out. Seems when the pump was fitted last year they did temporary fixings ( I didn't know - thought it was all done and dusted ). These fixings had worked loose so effectively the pump wasn't pumping out to the soakaway but spraying up back into the second tank. Anyway all sorted, and an easy fix once we had all worked out what the problem was.

knightstyle

Good result, hope it didn't cost you! It is nice when people post how thier problem was solved (or not).