Greetings. I am new here and I wanted to get some info/opinions on options for field lines, as well as information on how the different types of options compare.
I currently live on a farm in the middle of the woods on nearly 32 acres of land. The house is on about a 5 acre plot with the septic tank on the west side of the home (close to the southwest corner).
My family purchased the house in the mid 80s and we didn't realize at first that the house had only been a one bedroom home when the septic tank and field line were put in (yes, only one field line that seems to be well over 100 feet long and-- we recently discovered-- too deep just 30 feet from the start.
The house is now 3 bedroom 2 1/3 bath but we had a 500 gallon septic tank. We kept having it drained on a regular schedule until we shipped overseas for my father's job. Unfortunately we ended up with the tenants from hell, but I won't get into the details on that. When we returned the lid to the septic tank was broken (but they had placed flimsy piece of plastic over top to hide it and I nearly fell in when walking over it), all of the vent pipes had been ripped out, and they had not had the septic tank drained in years. We had to have a lot of plumbing redone, but our plumber never mentioned that the tank might be insufficient for the house. Our plumber serviced the house since it was first built and was also the septic tank draining guy up until he was in his late 80s and could no longer walk (he went blind first but he still came out with his son-in-law to help any time we called). He passed away in a few years ago and I have to say I really miss him.
Anyway, ever since we came back we have had a lot of problems. Since the tenants never had the tank drained once in 9 years, the crud backed up into the pipes and also got into the field line. We tried to get someone to look at it a few years ago but he refused to touch it and we didn't know anyone who would come out. Recently the pipes clogged up and our new plumber (who is the son of our old one but doesn't do the septic draining) had to break open the field line and dig a trench to get the water to flow after he snaked it (and snaked from the tank to the house). He had previously told us we might need some pipes redone under the house but was recovering from knee surgery and couldn't do it and no other plumbers would come out to our house.
Getting anyone to come out has been an issue for many years. I guess people are afraid they will hear banjos or something.
Anyway, the new septic draining guy finally gave us some information we needed (and I wish he had told us a few years ago when we first started using his services). He gave us the name and number of some septic tank installers and one of them gave me the name and contact info for someone from the board of health who told us what info we needed to bring in and then I did a percolation test. He gave us the permit the same day and said we would need to double the size of our tank (to 1,000 gallons) and have 330ft of field line (in lengths no longer than 100ft each-- bc I believe angle of incline would be about 1/8 inch per foot or less and 100ft would be about 12.5 feet drop). He printed out a list of people who were licensed to install septic tanks and systems (there were absolutely none in my Parish). I ruled out the ones that were several hours away and looked up the ones that I thought were close enough to come out and ruled out ones that had bad ratings. Many of them didn't even have listings in the phone book at all.
Several of them said I lived too far away and wouldn't come out. Many had answering machines. Some said they would call back and only a couple did. Some were licensed but didn't actually install. The price ranges I got were tentatively $2700 to $4000. I think $3100/$3200 was the average. So I have a short list of a few people. I probably would have gone with the first name the septic draining guy gave me had I not been watching the face of the board of health guy when I mentioned the name. His microexpressions indicated he thought it was a bad idea. I mentioned the same installer more than once and each time the guy sort of cringed, but I don't think he realized he was doing it. He said he couldn't recommend any particular installer but he encouraged me to shop around.
Sorry for the babbling. I have a tendency to do so. Anyway, I've narrowed it down to a few people now. One of them was very nice and explained the usual size of the pipes but said there were other options. Unfortunately he was very busy and said that if I didn't need it right away he could come out and take a look. The one that made the sanitarian cringe was very friendly and said something about alternatives but didn't give more details.
Ok, I've digressed enough. Here's what I need to know: Assuming that the sanitarian was expecting a standard installation of 4" pipes without gravel (or possibly with gravel-- there were no details on this on the permit), what are the alternatives and would it make any difference in the required length?
Someone said if they used larger pipes it wouldn't have to be so long, but I don't know. With the current system I will need a distribution box and I was told that would make the price go up. One installer told me that an alternative system might be cheaper in the long run than having to dig 4 trenches.
But what are the other options? I was looking in to Infiltrator Systems but when I contacted them I was e-mailed a phone number but no hours of operation and it turns out the guy was operating from home and he got a tad bit snippy with me for calling on a Friday night when I got home and saw the e-mail. LOL.
I wish I could remember the site, but I found a thing that explained how to calculate percolation and how much line would be needed. This figure is not exact, but it said if the soil was sandy loam it percolated at 2.5 gallons per day and thus needed about 400ft of line. I sort of reverse calculated and determined that my soil is likely around 3 gallons (probably closer to 3.05). When I looked at the .pdf for my state from infiltrator systems it had a chart of chamber sizing in natural soils but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to calculate what I would need. I know to look in the line under 3 bedroom, but I'm confused about the parts that say "Perc Rate" and "Number of Chambers Per Bedroom (per linear ft)". There were no other descriptions to explain the context.
The permit estimates the average flow as 400GPD, calls for "Septic Tank with Field Line", and specifies the 330 feet. I might just be misreading or misunderstanding things on the percolation thing. I'm new to this so I'm still trying to get the info to sink in.
One of the benefits of the infiltrator system is that it can hold up to 16,000 pounds per axle and can be driven over (if it is at least 12 inches deep) and I have to drive my tractor (which is about 3,000lbs with the bush hog and front-end loader) over it to mow the lawn. I don't know if the regular field lines can handle that. But, I'm wondering what the most cost efficient method would be.
Would the length of the infiltrator system lines be shorter than the standard field line?
Are there alternatives that are just as sturdy but perhaps more cost efficient?
What are the options out there?
Once I have more of an idea of what I want to get, I will then have to see if the installers will use those methods. The video on youtube made infiltrator look easy to install, but I imagine it takes practice and its not something I can do on my own with my health as it is.
Does anyone have pros and cons of the various alternatives available?
I've attached two files. One is the chart of one of the infiltrator things that confused me.
The second is a satellite image of my property with some things marked out (like existing septic tank and field line). yellow dots indicate phone/power poles (all power lines are above ground). Blue splotches are water lines (for hoses). The car port, barn, and workshop have water for hoses but do not connect to the septic system.
Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and reply. And jeez, my cat is being a pain. She keeps pouncing on me.
(is there a way to make the thumbnails of the attachments larger?)
I currently live on a farm in the middle of the woods on nearly 32 acres of land. The house is on about a 5 acre plot with the septic tank on the west side of the home (close to the southwest corner).
My family purchased the house in the mid 80s and we didn't realize at first that the house had only been a one bedroom home when the septic tank and field line were put in (yes, only one field line that seems to be well over 100 feet long and-- we recently discovered-- too deep just 30 feet from the start.
The house is now 3 bedroom 2 1/3 bath but we had a 500 gallon septic tank. We kept having it drained on a regular schedule until we shipped overseas for my father's job. Unfortunately we ended up with the tenants from hell, but I won't get into the details on that. When we returned the lid to the septic tank was broken (but they had placed flimsy piece of plastic over top to hide it and I nearly fell in when walking over it), all of the vent pipes had been ripped out, and they had not had the septic tank drained in years. We had to have a lot of plumbing redone, but our plumber never mentioned that the tank might be insufficient for the house. Our plumber serviced the house since it was first built and was also the septic tank draining guy up until he was in his late 80s and could no longer walk (he went blind first but he still came out with his son-in-law to help any time we called). He passed away in a few years ago and I have to say I really miss him.
Anyway, ever since we came back we have had a lot of problems. Since the tenants never had the tank drained once in 9 years, the crud backed up into the pipes and also got into the field line. We tried to get someone to look at it a few years ago but he refused to touch it and we didn't know anyone who would come out. Recently the pipes clogged up and our new plumber (who is the son of our old one but doesn't do the septic draining) had to break open the field line and dig a trench to get the water to flow after he snaked it (and snaked from the tank to the house). He had previously told us we might need some pipes redone under the house but was recovering from knee surgery and couldn't do it and no other plumbers would come out to our house.
Getting anyone to come out has been an issue for many years. I guess people are afraid they will hear banjos or something.
Anyway, the new septic draining guy finally gave us some information we needed (and I wish he had told us a few years ago when we first started using his services). He gave us the name and number of some septic tank installers and one of them gave me the name and contact info for someone from the board of health who told us what info we needed to bring in and then I did a percolation test. He gave us the permit the same day and said we would need to double the size of our tank (to 1,000 gallons) and have 330ft of field line (in lengths no longer than 100ft each-- bc I believe angle of incline would be about 1/8 inch per foot or less and 100ft would be about 12.5 feet drop). He printed out a list of people who were licensed to install septic tanks and systems (there were absolutely none in my Parish). I ruled out the ones that were several hours away and looked up the ones that I thought were close enough to come out and ruled out ones that had bad ratings. Many of them didn't even have listings in the phone book at all.
Several of them said I lived too far away and wouldn't come out. Many had answering machines. Some said they would call back and only a couple did. Some were licensed but didn't actually install. The price ranges I got were tentatively $2700 to $4000. I think $3100/$3200 was the average. So I have a short list of a few people. I probably would have gone with the first name the septic draining guy gave me had I not been watching the face of the board of health guy when I mentioned the name. His microexpressions indicated he thought it was a bad idea. I mentioned the same installer more than once and each time the guy sort of cringed, but I don't think he realized he was doing it. He said he couldn't recommend any particular installer but he encouraged me to shop around.
Sorry for the babbling. I have a tendency to do so. Anyway, I've narrowed it down to a few people now. One of them was very nice and explained the usual size of the pipes but said there were other options. Unfortunately he was very busy and said that if I didn't need it right away he could come out and take a look. The one that made the sanitarian cringe was very friendly and said something about alternatives but didn't give more details.
Ok, I've digressed enough. Here's what I need to know: Assuming that the sanitarian was expecting a standard installation of 4" pipes without gravel (or possibly with gravel-- there were no details on this on the permit), what are the alternatives and would it make any difference in the required length?
Someone said if they used larger pipes it wouldn't have to be so long, but I don't know. With the current system I will need a distribution box and I was told that would make the price go up. One installer told me that an alternative system might be cheaper in the long run than having to dig 4 trenches.
But what are the other options? I was looking in to Infiltrator Systems but when I contacted them I was e-mailed a phone number but no hours of operation and it turns out the guy was operating from home and he got a tad bit snippy with me for calling on a Friday night when I got home and saw the e-mail. LOL.
I wish I could remember the site, but I found a thing that explained how to calculate percolation and how much line would be needed. This figure is not exact, but it said if the soil was sandy loam it percolated at 2.5 gallons per day and thus needed about 400ft of line. I sort of reverse calculated and determined that my soil is likely around 3 gallons (probably closer to 3.05). When I looked at the .pdf for my state from infiltrator systems it had a chart of chamber sizing in natural soils but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to calculate what I would need. I know to look in the line under 3 bedroom, but I'm confused about the parts that say "Perc Rate" and "Number of Chambers Per Bedroom (per linear ft)". There were no other descriptions to explain the context.
The permit estimates the average flow as 400GPD, calls for "Septic Tank with Field Line", and specifies the 330 feet. I might just be misreading or misunderstanding things on the percolation thing. I'm new to this so I'm still trying to get the info to sink in.
One of the benefits of the infiltrator system is that it can hold up to 16,000 pounds per axle and can be driven over (if it is at least 12 inches deep) and I have to drive my tractor (which is about 3,000lbs with the bush hog and front-end loader) over it to mow the lawn. I don't know if the regular field lines can handle that. But, I'm wondering what the most cost efficient method would be.
Would the length of the infiltrator system lines be shorter than the standard field line?
Are there alternatives that are just as sturdy but perhaps more cost efficient?
What are the options out there?
Once I have more of an idea of what I want to get, I will then have to see if the installers will use those methods. The video on youtube made infiltrator look easy to install, but I imagine it takes practice and its not something I can do on my own with my health as it is.
Does anyone have pros and cons of the various alternatives available?
I've attached two files. One is the chart of one of the infiltrator things that confused me.
The second is a satellite image of my property with some things marked out (like existing septic tank and field line). yellow dots indicate phone/power poles (all power lines are above ground). Blue splotches are water lines (for hoses). The car port, barn, and workshop have water for hoses but do not connect to the septic system.
Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read and reply. And jeez, my cat is being a pain. She keeps pouncing on me.
(is there a way to make the thumbnails of the attachments larger?)
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