Ideas on locating septic leach lines ?
Kenny Atkins
Have an old (25 years) septic system that was upgraded about 20 years
ago with an additional leach line, and supposedly a diversion valve was
installed, but has been buried. I would like to be able to find the
location of this diversion valve, and where the leach lines actually
run. Anyone have any ideas - I know the obvious one of digging it up,
but was looking for smarter, less labor intensive method :-)
Also, how long do setic systems and leach fields last ?
Cheers !
Kenny.
Wayne L
I have a couple of thoughts on that. One simple one would be a long
metal rod with a sharp end to use as a probe. Something like a grounding
rod with some kind of handle added.
You probe into the ground and put small stakes where you find the
resistance. This could be really hard if your ground is very hard and/or
has a lot of rocks in it.
This will only work well if the pipes are not more than 3 feet or so
deep. If you know where the septic tank is, this is the best place to
start.
At any rate, this beats digging the whole thing up...
I also thought of what is known as a 'metal' detector. This might work
in locating pipes with water in them. Can't say for sure, as I've never
tried it. Mayhap you could 'borrow' one.
--
Wayne, AKA Blackie!
bla...@frontiernet.net
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/4625
http://www.frontiernet.net/~blackie
Ed Hatcher
Probably won't work for you, but I can sort of find my pipes in dry
weather by getting up high and spotting the slightly greener outlines.
I assume the original installing plumber is no longer available: they
usually keep records for a long time. You ought to ask them, though,
what the typical angles are, so that once you get a starting poing, you
can calculate the ends.
--
EAH
Otium cum dignitate
Donovan White
Kenny Atkins wrote in article <338AF5...@cruzio.com>...
>Have an old (25 years) septic system that was upgraded about 20 years
>ago with an additional leach line, and supposedly a diversion valve was
>installed, but has been buried. I would like to be able to find the
>location of this diversion valve, and where the leach lines actually
>run. Anyone have any ideas - I know the obvious one of digging it up,
>but was looking for smarter, less labor intensive method :-)
There's a quick way, a magic way, and a hard way to find leach lines.
1. Look for it. If you've got a line or two of greener grass on your lawn,
there's your leach field.
2. Dowse for it. Make a pair of L rods and start walking. Strip about two
feet of #10 romex, bend an L in it, hold the short end with the long end
sticking out below your fist and pointing in front of you and walk around
until the rods cross or your family and neighbors die of laughing.
3. Probe for it. This isn't any fun at all. Have your kids do it. Pay them
10 bucks when they find the leach line.
> Also, how long do setic systems and leach fields last ?
If you can't smell it or step in it, it's lasting just fine. I would guess
that yours is working real well if there's no sign of it as greener grass
on your lawn. If you can't see any sign of its effects, it's working
great.
dw
Online Information Development and Design
dwh...@olinfo.com AOL IM DonovanW
http://www.ziplink.net/~olinfo
Donovan White
Donovan White
Donovan White
'grandma' (Rosalie Beasley)
Ed Hatcher <EAHA...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
You might try dowsing.
>Wayne L wrote:
>>
>> >Kenny Atkins wrote:
>> >
>> > Have an old (25 years) septic system that was upgraded about 20 years
>> > ago with an additional leach line, and supposedly a diversion valve was
>> > installed, but has been buried. I would like to be able to find the
>> > location of this diversion valve, and where the leach lines actually
>> > run. Anyone have any ideas - I know the obvious one of digging it up,
>> > but was looking for smarter, less labor intensive method :-)
>> > Also, how long do septic systems and leach fields last ?
>> > Cheers !
>> > Kenny.
>>
>> I have a couple of thoughts on that. One simple one would be a long
>> metal rod with a sharp end to use as a probe. Something like a grounding
>> rod with some kind of handle added.
>> You probe into the ground and put small stakes where you find the
>> resistance. This could be really hard if your ground is very hard and/or
>> has a lot of rocks in it.
>> This will only work well if the pipes are not more than 3 feet or so
>> deep. If you know where the septic tank is, this is the best place to
>> start.
>> At any rate, this beats digging the whole thing up...
>>
>> I also thought of what is known as a 'metal' detector. This might work
>> in locating pipes with water in them. Can't say for sure, as I've never
>> tried it. Mayhap you could 'borrow' one.
>> --
>> Wayne, AKA Blackie!
>> bla...@frontiernet.net
>>
>> http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/4625
>> http://www.frontiernet.net/~blackie
>
>
>Probably won't work for you, but I can sort of find my pipes in dry
>weather by getting up high and spotting the slightly greener outlines.
>
>I assume the original installing plumber is no longer available: they
>usually keep records for a long time. You ought to ask them, though,
>what the typical angles are, so that once you get a starting point, you
>can calculate the ends.
>--
>EAH
>
> Otium cum dignitate
grandma Rosalie
Roots away
>Have an old (25 years) septic system that was upgraded about 20 years
>ago with an additional leach line, and supposedly a diversion valve was
>installed, but has been buried. I would like to be able to find the
>location of this diversion valve, and where the leach lines actually
>run. Anyone have any ideas - I know the obvious one of digging it up,
>but was looking for smarter, less labor intensive method :-)
> Cheers !
> Kenny.
>
Kenny,
Here's another way you can find your leach lines, though just finding the
lines probably won't tell you where the diverter valve(or box) was
installed.
You can get a 5' piece of threaded pipe, about 1/2" dia. will do. Get
fittings and connections to adapt a garden hose to the end of this pipe.
With the water on you can use this probe to bore down into the ground.
Somewhere between 1 and 3 feet deep you should expect to hit gravel when
you've found the leach line. At this point you will feel the gravel at the
end of your water probe, and the water will stop coming up out of the hole
you bored and go down into the leach line.
Depends on what part of the country you are in for the type of leaching
system you have and the layout (codes differ), but in southern california,
you will find leach lines spaced about 10' apart. The lines will usually
follow the level of the land if you're on a slope. If it's all flat the
pattern shouldn't be too hard to identify either.
As for the lifespan of the septic system, this will depend greatly on how
the system was maintained over its life. Tank should be pumped and
cleaned every 1 to 4 years for normal maintenance to keep the solids out
of the leach lines.
For more info on septic systems and their care, check out this web site:
http://www.plumbertools.com and click on "interesting
links".
Scott Nichols
Steve Spence
how about introducing something slightly radioactive, (barium enema?) and
tracking with a geiger counter.
--
Steve Spence
NorthEast Region Systems Engineer - Sequel Technology
ssp...@sequeltech.com
http://www.sequeltech.com
'grandma' (Rosalie Beasley) wrote in article <338dd494...@news.mindspr
ing.com>...
>Ed Hatcher <EAHA...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
>You might try dowsing.
>
>>Wayne L wrote:
>>>
>>> >Kenny Atkins wrote:
>>> >
>>> > Have an old (25 years) septic system that was upgraded about 20
years
>>> > ago with an additional leach line, and supposedly a diversion valve
was
>>> > installed, but has been buried. I would like to be able to find
the
>>> > location of this diversion valve, and where the leach lines actually
>>> > run. Anyone have any ideas - I know the obvious one of digging it
up,
>>> > but was looking for smarter, less labor intensive method :-)
>>> > Also, how long do septic systems and leach fields last ?
>>> > Cheers !
>>> > Kenny.
>>>
David Buxton
I used a 3' steel rod that I sharpened at one end and a heavy pair of vise
grips clamped on the other end. When I did it, the ground was fairly soft
with the winter rains. Except for the occassional stray rock, the probe
would sink to the hilt except where it ran into the gravel bed of the
drain field. That made it possible to peg the sides of those burried
gravel beds and to find the tank and distribution boxes, etc.
Truck460
if it aint broke don't fix it.
Roots away
Do you ever change the oil in your car, or do you wait till it's broke???
Just curious.
scott in san diego
web site: http://www.plumbertools.com
Truck460
my wife changes the oil in our car religiously, but I don't let her pump
the septic tank.
Roots away
>
>my wife changes the oil in our car religiously, but I don't let her pump
>the septic tank.
>
well, ya oughta. if it's been more than a few years, there's sludge
getting out into the leach lines........only a matter of time....tick tick
tick.....tick....
scott in san diego
http://www.plumbertools.com