A level above my paygrade septic mystery to me water is a liitle too high

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stevethecontractor

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I have a property built in 1987 in Florida. It is a single tank with its inlet in the middle of one end and its outlet on the right side of the other end facing it.

3 months ago the tank was full and was pumped out. A week later we get a clog. It was determined the inlet pipes had sunk a little so the pitch was not straight into the tank.
The inlets pipes were exposed and repitched correctly so looking into the cleanout it was always dry. last week we had another clog. I checked the cleanout pipe just before the tank inlet and it was full (about 18" full)
I snaked it and the water went down but......instead of going all the way down,3" of water remained in the pipe. I figured mayby the quantity of water in the pipes prior to being snaked needed to make its way thru the system.
Yesterday I checked it and we still have 1" of water in the clean out.

I checked the water level in the tank itself. It matches the level at the cleanout. The tank has very little solids or sludge in it.

I ran a few hundred gallons of water into it and then when I stopped, the water level remained at the 1" in the cleanout. So I know it is entering and flowing thru.
We have not had allot of rain, the leach field is bone dry, the grass is pretty much even over it.

So simply put here, why is my water level to high in the tank. Based on my outlet pipe it is about 8" minimum to high.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Steve
 
Sounds like your outlet is higher than your inlet. solids will get stuck in the pipe on the inlet side and cause clogs.
 
Sounds like your outlet is higher than your inlet. solids will get stuck in the pipe on the inlet side and cause clogs.

The inlet is 12" higher than the outlet and the inlet is clear of any obstructions or clogs.

The there is 2" of water in the inlet pipe which should not be there. It should be dry as the water and solids "fall" into the tank. Right now they are floating in.

I cannot seem to find where my access to check the screen is at?????? I need to see what the water level is on the outlet side and I have not found anything that will allow me to peer inside that part of the tank. Or is the water level the same thru out the whole tank meaning I have an issue on the outlet side? Distribution box?
 
What about the weir wall inside the tank? Can you tell if the inlet had been modified? Elevation wise?

Have you popped the lid and taken a look inside?

Inlet should be a straight pipe in then a wall between the two tanks and the outlet should have a tee attached to stop solids from leaving the tank.
 
Distribution box could be having an issue as well. Looks like you will be doing some digging or getting a camera out there.
 
Distribution box could be having an issue as well. Looks like you will be doing some digging or getting a camera out there.

I have been digging. I cant seem to find access to the outlet side of the tank:confused:

I might need to remove all dirt from the top.

Find the distribution box could be fun as well. I need to go out of town for a few days then I will get back to it.
Thanks for your help. I will post back my findings

Steve
 
OK
Problem solved and fixed.

It was determined, after a call to the septic company, that my tank, from 1988 did not have a screen in so I needed to have my leach field checked. I was still in denial that it could be the leach field,so I had the tank opened up and it was found that someone prior to my purchasing the property in 2008 had install a screen it and it was clogged real bad. I have had the tank pumped twice since I owned it and they never checked or knew there was a screen.
Thanks for your help
Steve
 
OK
Problem solved and fixed.

It was determined, after a call to the septic company, that my tank, from 1988 did not have a screen in so I needed to have my leach field checked. I was still in denial that it could be the leach field,so I had the tank opened up and it was found that someone prior to my purchasing the property in 2008 had install a screen it and it was clogged real bad. I have had the tank pumped twice since I owned it and they never checked or knew there was a screen.

Thanks for your help

Steve

:eek:

Maybe a different pumping company? They are also supposed to inspect everything when pumped (especially an effluent filter), or the servicing company is supposed to check after pumping.
 

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