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randemgun

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Ok guy thanks for any advice, here's my problem. Septic tank has been in the ground for 15 years. About 5 years ago the line coming out of the house to the tank itself had cracked. From the house to the tank is maybe 3 to 4 feet. The line coming out of the tank going to the house had dropped maybe a 1/2 inch and it made a clean crack all the way around. I patched around the crack and with the line still running down hill to the tank figured I was ok. Now(5 years later) the line has cracked again, same place and the line coming out of the tank has dropped maybe an inch. Still all down hill with nothing really to obstruct the flow so I patched it again with some black tape and put a small block under it which lifted the line up a ittle. Is that kind of brake normal for a 15 year system. With as much water as the tank holds and the weight of that I could see it settling a couple inches over a 15 year time. Should I have any concerns about where the water exits to the drain field? Thanks
 
If it is cracking then something is moving. On the tank side of the crack does the water flow back into the tank? It sounds as if your tank is sinking.
 
if your tank is sinking that means it is leaking and there is a potential to contaminate the water table. i would advise getting a professional to look at it. a tank should not sink.
 
Water if flowing fine into the tank. I guess I should pull the cover and see that there is flow into the drain field. What would I expect to find if I dig up the exit point into the drain field. It is a 2 person household so not a huge amount of water going to the tank.
 
You did not say what kind of pipe it is.
My guess it is cast iron.
Since it is only 3 or 4 feet long from the house I would dig it up & put a new pc. of sch. 40 PVC pipe.
If you can not get to the pipe in the house I would use a banded fernco coupling (make sure you get the right one for the pipe you are using & they make ones for 2 different kinds of pipe) where it broke & run PVC from there to the tank.
It would not take much settling of the tank to crack a pc. of cast iron pipe 3 or 4 feet long.
 
IIRC, in order to meet code, the tank needs to be at least 10 feet away from the house.
 
Thanks guys for the help. Line to septic tank is pvc and where it comes out of the house to where it goes into the septic is maybe 7 feet and there is no flex in the line. That's my plan is to get a sump pump and pull the cover and pump it out. When I pull the cover I will be looking at the water level at the outflow to the drain field. If that looks good I was think I would dig around the exit line to the drain field to make sure I don't have an issue there where the water it not making it to the drain field. After that I will be calling one of you guys and digging into the savings. Thanks again.
 
i am not a septic expert but i am thinking if you hjad a problem with the drain field you would surely know it. i am assuming the tank would just fill up and back up the main line or there would be sewage in the yard.
 
randemgun, are you saying that you are going to pump the water out of the septic tank? To where are you going to pump it? It violates health codes to just dump it out in the yard. You need to call someone who is licensed to drain and haul off sewage to drain it.

journeyman, sometimes when a field line becomes clogged or messed up, it can be masked by other problems or at least be mistaken for other problems by homeowners. My field line was totally shot for years yet our tank still seemed to be draining ok. We were having it drained probably once per year or every two years and didn't have too many problems until the guy who did the service passed away and the new guy didn't drain it properly. He would leave all of the solid stuff and wouldn't drain the water completely (he claimed it wasn't necessary). After that it started to back up and flow back into the house. That was ugly and I'm still trying to repair the damage.

Some signs that I did notice was that you could tell where the field line was because the grass was thicker and greener over it.

Anyway, I'm not an expert either, but I think this is a matter where the health inspector should be contacted for an assessment and advice. If the health inspector doesn't do it himself, he can provide a list of licensed professionals who can check it out.
 

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