Septic tank

[Collector]

Greetings and thanks for this open forum. I am building a bathroom and have buried a septic tank , The instructions tell me to fill it with water, however am I reading this wrong ( it is in Thai ) If it's full, where does the waste go ? Any suggestions as to the correct procedure?

Thanks

Collector

[DrAndy]

yes, fill it with water, like the instructions say

it is a septic tank, not a cess pit

as the waste flows in, that displaces water from the other end of the system. By the time the waste has reached the other end, it should have been broken down into harmless water itself

*** as long as you don't use strong chemicals to clean the lavatory, which would kill the useful bacteria that do the clean-up

[Necron99]

This is a little black Thai tank?
They generally need to be pumped.
Use the search and there are plenty of threads and posts on septic tanks.

[Mid]

where does the waste go ?

an absorption trench , you do have one ?

[Simon43]

You initially fill it with water to avoid the possibility of the surrounding earth crushing or deforming it.

As the waste flows into the tank, the solids will settle to the bottom of the tank and the liquids will flow out of the tank (via the outlet pipe near the top of the tank). That outlet pipe needs to be connected to a dry well or a leach field, where the liquids can soak into the ground.

The solid waste will gradually fill up the septic tank until it's full, after maybe 1-2 years, depending on usage. Then you'll need to get the OrBorTor or local workers to come by and suck the solids all out.

Make sure you get a 'drop' on all your pipe work, so that everything flows in the desired direction.

Dry wells can be problamatic in the rainy season, why they tend to fill up with ground water....

Simon

[Collector]

Hi Simon drop meaning running into the tank ? Thanks

[Collector]

Thanks for the answers so quickly Hi Mid , absorption trench, no I wasn't aware what that was.

[DrAndy]

The solid waste will gradually fill up the septic tank until it's full, after maybe 1-2 years, depending on usage. Then you'll need to get the OrBorTor or local workers to come by and suck the solids all out.

that has never happened to me, and should not for many years

the solids get broken down and liquify unless, as I said above, you kill the bacteria with chemicals

septic tanks can just carry on working without any maintenance

[Collector]

Simon I see you are in myanmar , do you live there,what's it like Sorry OT , but I don't mind if OK with board.

[Collector]

It's one of those black kettle shaped things. Not sure if it actually a septic tank then I guess.

[DrAndy]

Thanks for the answers so quickly Hi Mid , absorption trench, no I wasn't aware what that was.

the waste water coming out of the tank needs to go somewhere

my local regs makes me output to a small tank which is meant to catch any solids, then it can go out to a town drain

another way would be to drain to another tank with holes, or with a fan of pipes so the water goes into the ground - that would depend on the type of soil you have (clay would be useless)

[DrAndy]

It's one of those black kettle shaped things. Not sure if it actually a septic tank then I guess.

it probably is; if you have a look inside you may be able to see that the water doesn't just fill it but then has to travel around a series of "gates"

http://www.oasisenviro.co.uk/Septic%...0Operation.htm

that gives you some idea of one type, although they try to sell you their product

only put the "black water" from the lavatory through the septic tank; grey water can be directed into the secondary tank or outflow area

[Mid]

Simon I see you are in myanmar , do you live there,what's it like Sorry OT , but I don't mind if OK with board.

https://teakdoor.com/vietnam-nepal-an...rom-burma.html

[Collector]

Thanks for that. ^ This board seems helpful, thank you all

[Mozzbie47]

Collector, fill the septic with water as soon as you can, like straight away,,
what happens is, if the surrounding area gets rained on enough, the tank will float. Iv'e seen a concrete ceptic float half way out of the ground after heavy rain, because it wasnt filled with water. The only way to fix the problem was, to remove the tank, re-dig the hole, then put the tank back, not much fun.
They didnt fall for that trick again, this time the tank was filled with water immediatly.

[gusG]

Collector, fill the septic with water as soon as you can, like straight away,,
what happens is, if the surrounding area gets rained on enough, the tank will float. Iv'e seen a concrete ceptic float half way out of the ground after heavy rain, because it wasnt filled with water. The only way to fix the problem was, to remove the tank, re-dig the hole, then put the tank back, not much fun.
They didnt fall for that trick again, this time the tank was filled with water immediatly.

And don't forget to add the small bag pellets that should have come with the tank. These are the bio agents that eat all the solids.

[ltnt]

Hi Simon drop meaning running into the tank ? Thanks

No running into and from the tank. Suggested at 1/8 inch per foot slope. Inlet piping should slope toward the tank. Overflow pipe should slope away from the tank. If you do not have a sewer system then overflow piping should be extended away from your residence as far as possible to avoid watery quagmire, smells and mosquitoes. Look up "leeching fields." this will sort it out for you.

Good luck.

[colinneil]

Fill it 75% full of water if not it will flowed to the suface, believe me i have seen this several times in the uk .

[thailazer]

Collector, Here are a few photos of what we did. We have surface water and springs so we had to put in an absorption field above ground rather than a trench. First, the sewage goes to a 1600 liter double chamber plastic tank. (We had to fill it with water to keep it from floating as the hole filled up with water which is common in Thailand.) From there it goes to four stacked 80 cm rings that are open on the bottom. Then there are two distribution pipes that have one-half inch holes on the bottom from there. These are buried in 1 inch round rock so that there is 30 cm of rock below and above the pipe and a meter wide around it. Most of the time the rings are enough to let the fluid go away but when the water table rises, the absorption field comes into play. By the way, the rocks got covered up with thick plastic before the fill dirt was put over the top. Like the other posters said, make sure you take a spirit level to all the pipes to ensure a good down slope. This is probably over designed, but we wanted to never have any flushing problems. Hope that helps in addition to the other posts.

[adzt1]

yes, fi ll it with water, like the instructions say

it is a septic tank, not a cess pit

as the waste flows in, that displaces water from the other end of the system. By the time the waste has reached the other end, it should have been broken down into harmless water itself

*** as long as you don't use strong chemicals to clean the lavatory, which would kill the useful bacteria that do the clean-up

we find cheap/ old cola once a month balances out any cleaning products.

[Mozzbie47]

Excellent information thailazer, going to save that 1.

[Collector]

Wow Thai gazer thanks for that
I realize now the worker can't read Thai, the hole we dug for the overflow should have been a trench , it wasn't clear from the illustration . At least I stopped him from cementing the walls, small matter to make it into a trench of sorts.
Thanks all - very helpful.
Cheers

[VocalNeal]

we find cheap/ old cola once a month balances out any cleaning products.

The real thing is the little green packet in the hardware store. 49 baht each. Once every two to 3 months or longer.

[DrAndy]

^ I have never used any of those products; I am sure they are good but should not be needed if you are careful with what chemicals you use for cleaning

still, at 49 baht, throw a few in

[allisonmurray783]

I did not encountered such problem with my septic tank. Septic systems that are properly planned, designed, sited, installed, operated and maintained can provide excellent wastewater treatment. However, systems that are sited in densities that exceed the treatment capacity of regional soils and systems that are poorly designed, installed, operated or maintained can cause problems.