(9 March 2013, 21:14)Luci_ferson Wrote: 20 years is great, but how do you empty it after 20 years. ( i know nothing about them)
A septic system operates as a tank where bacteria breakdown the solids to liquid. In my area the zoning requires a 500 gallon tank minimum.
The intake for the tank is about two feet higher than the outlet to the field line. This means that the sewage in the tank bottom is decomposing as bacteria turns the contents into a liquid.
The liquids then escape into a field line that is a perforated pipe allowing the liquids to soak into the soil and be absorbed normally.
Occasionally one will have a bacteria die off due to cleaning chemicals or overuse for the size of the field will cause the system to stop working properly.
When that happens one has to have the system pumped out, and new bacteria introduced to start the process over.
Normal life expectancy of a modern well maintained system is 30 years.
You can google septic tank installation and get the entire process.
Generally, after the 30 year life span the entire system is removed and replaced. te tank is pulled and the field line replaced.
As long as a system continues to work most people just keep on going with what they have. Some systems last 50 years, especially if only a single toilet is on the system and all waste water goes to a separate system.
My home is small, one bathroom with a separate gray water system. It was installed in 1973 and is still doing a good job and has never been pumped to my knowledge.
My neighbor just had his replaced at a cost of $15,000, which is why most folk just go till it stops working.
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