Help With Sewer Drain Field Connection

[Rural Montanan]

I noticed a hole in the ground between my septic tank and my drain field that smelled. Sensing a problem with the sewer system, I excavated. Here is a picture after digging:

I removed dirt, some gravel and what looked like black sand. The outlet pipe on the right had become clogged with sand and dirt. I cleaned it out as far as I could reach my arm in.

How do I fix this? My rural neighbor suggested that the person who installed the drain field septic system failed to connect up the inlet to this box to the two outlets, and that I should buy some tubing to make the connection. But, I wondered what would be the purpose of the concrete box that appeared to have a bed of sand, and the gravel that was in the hole. On the other hand, obviously the drainage from the septic tank to this box eat away at the dirt to give the hole.

I wanted expert advice. So I googled "forum & sewer problems" and found this. I am hoping you can advise on the the way to fix this. If I can't do it myself, I can call a contractor, but knowing what the correct solution is versus relying on the contractor to tell me.

 

[frodo]

To much dirt and muck in the way to see,
that should be a box, the lid is missing.

 

[Rural Montanan]

Thanks for this help. I watched the video and did a google search on septic distribution boxes. I know it is hard to see in the picture, but the concrete box that I found is not connected to the pipes I found. Also, the concrete box had no lid. The hole was about 8" round. I excavated it to get to the pipes and box and I didn't find any lid as a dug.

All the pipes appear to resting on the top of the concrete box as opposed to going through holes in the side as shown in the video. Also, now I know what to look for, the distribution boxes that I found, plastic ones have pre-made patterns to punch out the holes for the pipes.

It seems to me that person who put this junction box in didn't know what they were doing. They should have put the pipes into the wall of the junction box and provided a lid.

Another problem that I see is the pipes are not all on the same plane. The outlet pipe on the left in the picture is about two inches higher than the inlet pipe at the top of the picture.

Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this mess?

 

[frodo]

only thing that makes since to me is the dose system
is their any evidence of a wire for a pump under ground?
if the outlet is above the inlet.....you need a pump
theory is. septic tank catches the solids, and only liquid drains into the pump pit
then it is pumped out into the drain field.

 

[SHEPLMBR]

Thanks for this help. I watched the video and did a google search on septic distribution boxes. I know it is hard to see in the picture, but the concrete box that I found is not connected to the pipes I found. Also, the concrete box had no lid. The hole was about 8" round. I excavated it to get to the pipes and box and I didn't find any lid as a dug.

All the pipes appear to resting on the top of the concrete box as opposed to going through holes in the side as shown in the video. Also, now I know what to look for, the distribution boxes that I found, plastic ones have pre-made patterns to punch out the holes for the pipes.

It seems to me that person who put this junction box in didn't know what they were doing. They should have put the pipes into the wall of the junction box and provided a lid.

Another problem that I see is the pipes are not all on the same plane. The outlet pipe on the left in the picture is about two inches higher than the inlet pipe at the top of the picture.

Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this mess?

Maybe it has deteriorated over the years