Septic tanks
 

Hi there,
I am moving to a place that has a septic tank(well a non accessible concrete covered pit about 15 years old)
I suspect I am going to have to have a new one.
Any advice really welcome, especially the most cost efficient way of doing this.
Thanks

Re: Septic tanks
 

Cesspit or septic tank ? There is a difference. Loads of info on internet. Fot nearly 15 years my main residence was a village house with the "long drop"

Re: Septic tanks
 

Hi

If the septic tank works - then don´t worry unduly. When they become troublesome, it costs about 100€ to have them emptied. But your tank may not have a hatch - I recently had one put into mine whilst the builders were attaching another pipe from a new outside toilet.

The old style concrete tank is now illegal to build and you must put in one of the new fangled three partion ones - but yours may well outlast you !!! Septic tanks by the way are measured in "man years" - mine being a thirty man year tank will last me for thirty years, a couple for 15 years, and a family of four for 7 1/2 years. The modern ones need to be emptied more frequently than mine which is about three metres by three metres by two metres deep.

What a lovely Christmas topic :D

Davexf

Re: Septic tanks
 

DKF said it ..leave it alone.. if its not broken dont fix it.. if it needs emptyed cut small hole in it for tanker man to get pipe into.

Re: Septic tanks
 

Thanks for your replies,
I've checked out Internet for info, but as the previous owner only used the place at weekends and had no washing machine I don't know if this will last for full time living,and as it is located close to house I don't want to renovate place and then have to cut hole for emptying. I thought to leave it and get one of the 3 tank jobbies.
Just want an idea of costs and what I can do myself ( hire a digger and do prep work)
This is a lovely festive topic I know!

Re: Septic tanks
 

Are septic tanks widely used in Spain?

How often and how much does it cost to empty?

Would the concept of free removal be of interest?

In Kenya its about $90 US and is done every 3 to 4 months. Most of the new apartments have them rather than connect to a dysfunct sewerage system.

Re: Septic tanks
 

Friends of ours replaced their tank with one of those 3 tank jobbies (lovely term that is considering the purpose) The actual tank cost about 800 euros, but the instalation brought that up to nearer 2000. You could do some prep work beforehand, but you will have to consult with the installers first (position, pipe run, "soak away", access, depth etc).

A badly installed tank can give you nightmares. If the pipe run is too steep, then the water will run away and leave solids behind, choking the drain.Position the soak away in the wrong place and in summer the smell could be nasty or turn a neighbours garden into a foul smelling swamp or contanimate a well supply.

Re: Septic tanks
 

Thanks for that, just what I needed to know
Have a great Xmas to one and all
All I want for Xmas is a septic tank!

Re: Septic tanks
 

Hi Vivajavea,

Why would you want to change a working septic tank? All you need to do is to ensure there is a hatch for emptying and the septic tank will last you the rest of your life. And maybe not need emptying in that time.

New 3 chamber tanks are in my experience four man year tanks, meaning one person empties every four years, a couple every two years, and a family every year.

Unless you are being forced to change it, I would leave well alone

Davexf

Re: Septic tanks
 

We have had our tank emptied after 6 years (family of 5). It was emptied by a local farmer who charged 50 euros - who then dumped the lot on their field next to our house.

Re: Septic tanks
 

We have had our tank emptied after 6 years (family of 5). It was emptied by a local farmer who charged 50 euros - who then dumped the lot on their field next to our house.[/QUOTE]Ha ha that should make the spuds grow..

Re: Septic tanks
 

If it has not got a hatch then it maybe a pozo negro which seeps the water out of holes in the side in which case do not touch it as the solids are biodegraded at the bottom, we moved into a house with one that has been in for over 15 years we have now been here 4 years and have no problems despite being a family of four and over the summer months usually 8 of us.

Re: Septic tanks
 

The problem with this sort (we have one ourselves) is that the holes in the side become clogged over time. It's then very hard (impossible) to clear them. Once this happens the tank will need emptying more and more frequently.

We were advised to add a submersible pump on a timer and float switch. This pumps the 'water' over night as and when required across our fields - one benefit of living in the campo with no neighbours:thumbsup:

Re: Septic tanks
 

Yes they can become clogged over time, you can just pump the water off or
build a new one close by and let blocked one overflow into it.

Generally I have not found them a problem, we have been in our place 9 years and only had it emptied once !

Tony

Re: Septic tanks
 

If you are thinking of changing it, then you are wasting your money on a new septic tank.
My friends live in Spain and I was called to replace their posso negro as it had been condemmed under the EU Wastewater Dirctive regulations which Spain is going to have to adopt in all regions sooner or later
Buy a sewage treatment plant instead.

Re: Septic tanks
 

washing machine water can really play havoc with your pozo as well as lots of grease and fat from cooking, if you need to do some groundwork on the place its best to do it before lanscaping as the digging will be a mess however you do it.

there is nothing worse than a backed up sewer apart from a leaking roof maybe!

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I use a product from Mercadona, it comes in a green box and has Forza Septica on the side, cost 6.50. It contains sachets of 'Hubble-bubbler' a dry sort of natural biological agent which seems to eat anything and turn it into carbon dioxide and water, which seeps away. Drop one in the toilet every couple of weeks and it keeps the pipes clear and stops smells. Never had the pozo emptied in 9 years, although I do check.

Only drawback is that you can't use bleach in the house, only oxyaction products.

Re: Septic tanks
 

sounds like good stuff !

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OOps I didn't know that, bleached the toilet out when we moved in. :o

I hope just the once wont hurt :(

Suzi

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I had a problem for a few years with smell from the drains whenever the washing machine was running, more recently the drain blocked up completely.

After trying various ways and means I eventually resorted to pouring a full 5 ltrs of aguafuerte, strong bleach, down the pipe rinsing it through with a little water.

It not only did the trick and cleared the drain but got rid of the smell when the washer is used as well.

Re: Septic tanks
 

It will not!

Re: Septic tanks
 

I stand open to correction, but I think you'll find aguafuete is acid.

I used a little bit of it when all else had failed on a sink outlet blockage. I don't know what happened but it seems to have burped overnight and took the shine off my stainless steel sink. Permanently.

Use sparingly, and use A LOT of water to flush it.

5 Litres ? Christ.

:)

Re: Septic tanks
 

Yeh,big blockage !

Hydrochloric acid at a guess,.... makes Domestos seem like tap water.

Not touched any metalwork with it apart from the outlet which I rinsed straight away.
Just hope the plastic drainpipes haven't gone into meltdown.

Its lethal stuff.
Once used some to get stains out of old fashioned non ceramic tiles.
Burned a bloody great hole in the tile itself ! :eek:

Re: Septic tanks
 

Yes Agua fuerte is good stuff, I have used it several times to unblock my gas boiler heat exchanger, it dissolves all the calcium and increases the flow rate.

Caustic soda is good for drains !

Re: Septic tanks
 

We replaced an ancient concrete "hole in the ground" septic tank a few years ago. We were required by law to install a new fiberglass 4-stage septic tank with proper bleed tubes. Inspectors were here to verify compliance as the tank was installed. Apparently this is the law here. Don't know about anywhere else in Spain.

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Except that caustic soda will kill all the friendly bacteria that you need to degrade the organic matter in your septic tank or pozzo negro. Don't use it, or maybe I should say "USE IT" as my job is replacing failed sewage systems!

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I have built septic tanks too,

I only suggest caustic soda if all else fails, easier than digging up yer patio !

Cheers Tony

Re: Septic tanks
 

Tried Caustic Soda on several different occasions with no success at all.

The old Aguafuerte cuts a way through, like a knife through hot butter.

As for the bacteria, I presume it wipes them all out, friend or foe and gets rid of the smelly drain stink for quite a while afterwards in the process.

I imagine it also degrades the organic material in the tank, after all there's even been cases of murderers using it to get rid of whole bodies !

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Yes its good stuff

I use it to clean my building tools, the cement fizzes away .

But you need to rinse them quickly !!

Re: Septic tanks
 

I think AGUA FUERTE is the Spanish for Aqua Fortis which is this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_fortis

You need to check your dictionaries for Caustic Soda and Hydrochloric Acid. I just did but I have forgeotten what it said !

Re: Septic tanks
 

Very 'convenient' :rofl:

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Bet they got a good crop of tomatoes that year !:D

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Agua Fortis is described by wiki as Nitric Acid.

Agua Fuerte is definitely Hydrochloric Acid as previously mentioned and marked on the label as Clorohidrico.

Just tried a drop in the kettle with a drop water of course because the limescale in this area is pretty bad.
Cleaned it up in a jiff where other concoctions had failed miserably.
Left it in only a minute or so before rinsing as I imagine it could damage the element seals pretty quickly if left to long.


Seperate question, for a Fontaneria possibly ?

It's nine years since I had my gas fired water heater installed and although it's turned up to max. the temperature seems to be dropping off.
Is there any way of restoring it back to its original performance ?

I'm guessing that limescale is the likely problem, but I'm certainly not going to mess with it myself.

Re: Septic tanks
 

yes, my gas boiler gets blocked, I found that agua fuerte un blocked it,

ps I do the kettle trick as well, but be sure to boil it and throw the water away several times before drinking !

It can taint the water a bit.

Tony

Re: Septic tanks
 

So how did you go about it ?
Is it a simple straight-forward job, once the cover is removed ?

Re: Septic tanks
 

The best thing for removing limescale in your kettle is lemon.
Cut a couple of lemons into quarters and boil them up in the kettle (I boil them three times), leave to stand overnight and by morning the limescale will be gone and your kettle will smell fresh....it's gentler on the element too!