We have a septic tank in the back or our house that pumps to the drainage field in the front of our property. This morning the high level alarm was going off, started while I was in the shower. The house was finished September 2011, so it's been ~18 months.
The system is "rated" for a 4 person household, we have 2 people.
Now we have been getting a lot of rain / snow (that melts quickly) and the ground is beyond saturated. There are places close to our property that are flooded. Could this have any impact on the septic tank / drainage field?
I have called the family handyman that did my parents and left a message, it's now been about 11hours since the alarm started. The high-level light is still on but the audible alarm has not come back on.
Yes! Yes! Our alaram sounds off everytime spring hits and all the melting runoff hits the drain field ours goes to as well. Our electrician came out the first time and said it was complicated but basically the sensor is a bit overly sensitive so the second the moisture level gets a bit high, sewage or not it sounds. It's a good safety precaution but scary as hell when it goes off.
Also, apparently the sensor on the outside is really sensitive to freeze/thaw cycles which this time of the year is never ending.
So yeah, basically every spring our alarm sounds, we panic. The electrician comes out, hits reset and we're good to go.
I am glad we do get it checked when it beeps though...The one time I don't....lol.
I talked to the guy an he's going to come take a look at tomorrow because he's awesome but TJ is going to make sure the pumps actually working
Do you hear your pump? I can hear ours if I go down to where it drains out of the house, turn a faucet on and listen. Also, since our basement bathroom has a pump to pump up and then out, It bangs around everytime E. Student takes a shower down there. That sound is like my security blanket..lol.
Yes the saturation of the ground has a huge impact on your septic field. If it's already saturated then your sewage doesn't have anywhere to go. Like dairy said it's probably just a sensitive alarm. A septic system is one of those things people want an early warning on.
In our area we are required to pump our system every 3 years and have it inspected. Some counties don't have such tight requirements but more often is better because there are a lot of small issues that can be resolved by preventative maintenance if they are caught early enough. Our system is actually a little undersized for today's standards (it was built in the 70's) so we're doing everything we can to limit our water usage so we can extend the life of our system. We're installing low flow fixtures everywhere, low flow appliances, and we sized our water softener to waste as little water as possible.
Yes the saturation of the ground has a huge impact on your septic field. If it's already saturated then your sewage doesn't have anywhere to go. Like dairy said it's probably just a sensitive alarm. A septic system is one of those things people want an early warning on.
In our area we are required to pump our system every 3 years and have it inspected. Some counties don't have such tight requirements but more often is better because there are a lot of small issues that can be resolved by preventative maintenance if they are caught early enough. Our system is actually a little undersized for today's standards (it was built in the 70's) so we're doing everything we can to limit our water usage so we can extend the life of our system. We're installing low flow fixtures everywhere, low flow appliances, and we sized our water softener to waste as little water as possible.
I was hoping you would come in! The ground is way beyond saturated, we had rain that flooded most of the roads last week, two snow storms with 6-10" of snow each, and everything is melted.
I have no complaints with the early / sensitive warning, as long as I have the reassurance that our pump is working.
Our county doesn't have any requirements on how often you are required to pump, I know my parents have only pumped once since I was born (and since the house was built a few years before that) and that was when I was in college. All of our appliances are HE, we will be slowly replacing fixtures as we upgrade things.
I can't imagine that the two of us could have possibly filled up a system that is sized for a 4 person household in 18 months. That would mean (logically) that 4 people would fill it in 9mo. I can't imagine paying someone to pump every 9mo, that's insane.
Our family friend is going out to check on the pump and the system this afternoon and said he would call me after he's done so I will know more then.
Septic tanks aren't like a trash can that you keep filling until it's full. Liquids are constantly entering and leaving them and only the undissolveable solids that can't be broken down by the bacteria stay. They work best when the water is at a high level so everything can separate out and the bacteria can work. This is usually couple feet from the top of the tank or so. When the first chamber fills to a certain level then the top portion of liquid spills over into the second chamber. That chamber fills as well with more refined liquids until the drainfield pipe is reached. At that point the liquid leaves the tank and enters the drainfield. Since your drainfield is saturated the second tank is probably more full that is desired but the second tank is also maintained a lower liquid level so you have some room for it to back up before it really becomes a problem. Here's a great graphic you can play with and watch it work:
You will hear lots of stories of people who never had their pumped but really do you want to take that chance? A $100 pump and inspection every couple years can save you from a $20K expense for a new system. Plus if solid levels get too high you can be damaging your groundwater (which if you have a well is your drinking water!) and there are a whole pile of other environmental impacts if your system fails. It's really a painless process. We're having ours pumped in the next couple weeks. We just call up a pumping service, make sure the tank lid is cleaned off, and send them a bill when it's all done. Easy peasy.
ETA: The highest water use is normally your toilets. Since you're a new build your toilets should meet current federal regulations and be 1.6 gal a flush which is good.
Also if you do have a new well there is a surprisingly high level of grit/sand that will be flushed through your plumbing system unless you have a whole house filter. This sand builds up quickly in your septic tank...think of how many thousands of gallons of water it sees every year...which is another good reason to get it pumped. When you get it pumped the operator should be able to tell you how full the tank was which can help you decide how often it needs to be pumped roughly.
They also check your drainfield to make sure there are no roots blocking part of it limiting how much of your field can be used.
I'm not saying that I'm never ever going to pump my system until it is full, that isn't responsible. I'm saying that it would be insane if it was full after 18mo, which is where my brain goes to with the alarm going off and until I hear something from the person that will be checking the system. It is also possible that our pump was a cheap pump and has burnt out, I have a call into the mfg of the pump to find out the warranty terms and conditions.
I understand exactly how the system works and was able to see our full system before it was covered up.
We do have a whole home filter, we probably need to replace the filer as it has been a few months. There are no trees near the drain field, or really on our property for that matter, we are in a ex-cow field.
Post by sweetreverie on Mar 28, 2013 12:06:16 GMT -5
Septic systems are super complicated. We are having one installed right now at the house we are building and it is so crazy. We had one in our previous house that seemed to be nothing more than a tank in the ground. We had no alarm or anything. That house was built in the 30s. Sorry your pump went out so soon! That makes me nervous.
Is there a warranty on the pump? I'd look into that.
It was a one year warranty, failed at 18 months. Unfortunately to pass inspection it has to be hard wired which means that the plug needs to be cut off which immediately voids the warranty, so regardless I was screwed.