I am third-generation septic installer and we have installed hundreds of these infiltrator systems and low pressure systems like what’s in this video but I still prefer the old tried and true gravel systems!!
I agree with you, that gravel is better than chambers, but when you get rock delivered with fines and dirt like we have here the system won't last a long time.
Sam works hard and fast. I had to tell him a couple of times to slow down to give me time to make this video. I wonder how fast he could go with a few thousand volts?
Although I'm not a fan of pressure distribution systems in general, I can see where running the distribution pipes through Plastic Chambers might not be a bad idea. Nevertheless, I would still use crushed stone between the rows of Plastic Chambers and around the perimeter of Leaching Field. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Plastic Chambers either, but they work well when installed with nice clean 3/4 inch aggregate. You could even use 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" stone with Plastic Chambers, the bottom line is this, use stone! If you can't get nice clean crushed septic stone, set up a wash station, and clean it yourself... it's not that hard. Also, I recommend using filter fabric over the top of the stone, because that helps keep the stone clean and free of sediment, which can cause big expensive problems. Lastly, Vent the Leachfield/Drainfield if you want the Disposal Area to last, you need proper airflow, and venting is the ticket.
They have told us that you need pressure distribution if you are in sand. I think the chambers with stone and fabric over them is one of the best systems.
We have also used tire chips between the chambers. The tire chips are lighter, about 800 pounds per cubic yard, so you get over 3 times the material over stone. The tire chips are cheaper about $8 per ton, stone here is about $40 per ton, We can haul about 50 cubic yards of tire chips in our end dump, compared to about 17 yards of stone per load, so trucking is cheaper per ton. The chips will compact about 30% down, so you will use about 1/3 more tire chips than stone.
@buelowexcavating I've done it by spreading the aggregate material over a screen or wire mesh that's elevated above the ground, so the dirt and sediment can drain below the stone. In other words, you use a garden hose to spray the crushed stone or gravel before you use it, but it has to be able to drain away from the stone. The other option is to pile the material high enough so that after it's irrigated or thoroughly wet, you can take clean material from the top of the pile. It works pretty well if you use a sprinkler to keep the pile wet, which means you've got to have the water spraying the pile all day long, which also helps control the dust. Either way, the idea is to make sure the stone is washed clean before you use it... good luck!
It only depends how you install drain field, how often you clean your tanks, how much water you use, what you drain, and venting your leech lines during the summer.
It also depends on how clean the effluent is going into the chambers. We also install a good filter to catch the hair from the bathroom and lint from the washing machine. If someone is on strong chemotherapy or antibiotics this can ruin a drainfield in a year or two. In our area we are required to have a minimum of two 1000 gallon septic tanks. On my house I installed two 1,500 gallon septic tanks, since t didn't cost much more. The less solids that get into the drainfield the longer it will last.
My Septic guy didn’t use the pipes under the chambers only pipes connecting the chambers to the septic tank. Is it standard to use pipes under the entire chamber?
I had not heard that rock and pipe in trench will last longer than a chamber system. Is this actually true, and how long can a properly installed chamber system actually last?
The determining factor of how long the drainfield will last is determined by how clean the effluent is coming out of the septic tanks. Years ago I helped install a septic system installed by our trade organization. There were 2 lines of with 6" of rock , 2 lines with 12" of rock, 2 lines of chambers, and 2 lines of graveless pipe. Each line was 100' long and given the same amount of effluent for a few years. The Rock performed the best, then the chambers, then the graveless pipe it almost failed. The septic system I installed for my house about 25 years ago consists of two 1,500 septic tanks, a filter which catches hair and laundry fibers that can plug things up, and about 90' of graveless pipe. The MPCA design chart says for a 4 bedroom house with loam soil says I should have 334 lineal feet of drainfield. I have a water meter, my use varies between 125 to 500 + gallons a day not including outside spigots. I also have a garbage disposal, which some people will say you can't have. And I have a sewer ejector which pumps out fine solids that don't settle as fast. I had my tanks pumped this month, the last time was seven years ago. The first tank had a scum layer about 4" thick, the second tank had some scum patches floating in it. The time before I went many years without pumping, the scum layer in the first tank was about 10" thick with a snake and salamander living on it. How do you get clean effluent? 1-Install 2 big tanks. 2-Install a filter. 3-Don't put anything down in your tank that you have not eaten or will not eat. 4-Don't use pluggable wipes (also called flushable wipes). 5-Avoid microfiber cloths and the microbeads in toothpaste etc. 6-Keep the bugs in the tank comfortable at the right temperature, about 50 -90 degrees. In Minnesota do laundry in hot water in fall, winter and early spring. Cover the tanks and lines with leaves in the fall 7-High antibiotics or chemotherapy can kill the bugs in the tank after 1 - 2 years of use it could plug up the drainfield. Conclusion: with a proper design, in proper soil, with proper installation, with proper use, with clean effluent, it should not matter what type of drainfield medium you install. How long could a chamber system last? I have three lines about 30' long, the last line has hardly any effluent in it. So if the first two lines last 25 years, the third line maybe another 12.5 years that will give me 37.5 years. Based on my system size and the data from our trade organization experiment, I would guess that chambers would last 46 years and rock 52 years.
This is the first one that’s made sense to me. I see people putting these in with no pipes inside. Would that be another type of system. The effluent would drop at the start of the system. Thanks
When we install a system in sand, we are required by code to use pressure distribution like in this video. If it is not installed in sand are not required to put the pipes in the chambers, we have installed a lot of those systems and they perform well. But I agree with you, it would be better to have the pressure distribution. With gravity distribution only the first lines could receive liquid in them, with pressure distribution all lines get a dose of effluent at about twice a day, This will keep animals from using the dry chambers as a dump for their tunnel excavations, that could make those dry lines useless.
I had no idea how flimsy those things are. It is easy to crush them under ground by allowing a heavy tractor to drive across the top of the field. I'd have to be crazy to use that again. It is twice the pain to dig it up and try again with something better.
Наука
I am third-generation septic installer and we have installed hundreds of these infiltrator systems and low pressure systems like what’s in this video but I still prefer the old tried and true gravel systems!!
I agree with you, that gravel is better than chambers, but when you get rock delivered with fines and dirt like we have here the system won't last a long time.
@@buelowexcavating Absolutely! You do have to have a good clean gravel or it would not be worth using!!
@@boward6686 How do you clean your rock?
The guy putting out the chambers, needs waking up with a few thousand volts.
What do you mean?
Sam works hard and fast. I had to tell him a couple of times to slow down to give me time to make this video. I wonder how fast he could go with a few thousand volts?
Sam is moving slow asf lol
Sam normally works really hard and fast. If I had not told him to go slow there would have been little to see.
Although I'm not a fan of pressure distribution systems in general, I can see where running the distribution pipes through Plastic Chambers might not be a bad idea. Nevertheless, I would still use crushed stone between the rows of Plastic Chambers and around the perimeter of Leaching Field. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Plastic Chambers either, but they work well when installed with nice clean 3/4 inch aggregate. You could even use 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" stone with Plastic Chambers, the bottom line is this, use stone! If you can't get nice clean crushed septic stone, set up a wash station, and clean it yourself... it's not that hard. Also, I recommend using filter fabric over the top of the stone, because that helps keep the stone clean and free of sediment, which can cause big expensive problems. Lastly, Vent the Leachfield/Drainfield if you want the Disposal Area to last, you need proper airflow, and venting is the ticket.
They have told us that you need pressure distribution if you are in sand. I think the chambers with stone and fabric over them is one of the best systems.
We have also used tire chips between the chambers. The tire chips are lighter, about 800 pounds per cubic yard, so you get over 3 times the material over stone. The tire chips are cheaper about $8 per ton, stone here is about $40 per ton, We can haul about 50 cubic yards of tire chips in our end dump, compared to about 17 yards of stone per load, so trucking is cheaper per ton. The chips will compact about 30% down, so you will use about 1/3 more tire chips than stone.
Could you describe the wash station you would use?
@buelowexcavating I've done it by spreading the aggregate material over a screen or wire mesh that's elevated above the ground, so the dirt and sediment can drain below the stone. In other words, you use a garden hose to spray the crushed stone or gravel before you use it, but it has to be able to drain away from the stone. The other option is to pile the material high enough so that after it's irrigated or thoroughly wet, you can take clean material from the top of the pile. It works pretty well if you use a sprinkler to keep the pile wet, which means you've got to have the water spraying the pile all day long, which also helps control the dust. Either way, the idea is to make sure the stone is washed clean before you use it... good luck!
How do you vent it? What does that mean?
It only depends how you install drain field, how often you clean your tanks, how much water you use, what you drain, and venting your leech lines during the summer.
We don't vent our lines in this area (Minneapolis St.Paul). If we did they would freeze in the winter.
It also depends on how clean the effluent is going into the chambers. We also install a good filter to catch the hair from the bathroom and lint from the washing machine. If someone is on strong chemotherapy or antibiotics this can ruin a drainfield in a year or two. In our area we are required to have a minimum of two 1000 gallon septic tanks. On my house I installed two 1,500 gallon septic tanks, since t didn't cost much more. The less solids that get into the drainfield the longer it will last.
@@buelowexcavating where do you install the filter?
My Septic guy didn’t use the pipes under the chambers only pipes connecting the chambers to the septic tank. Is it standard to use pipes under the entire chamber?
Is pvc pipe necessary for these chambers?
I had not heard that rock and pipe in trench will last longer than a chamber system. Is this actually true, and how long can a properly installed chamber system actually last?
The determining factor of how long the drainfield will last is determined by how clean the effluent is coming out of the septic tanks. Years ago I helped install a septic system installed by our trade organization. There were 2 lines of with 6" of rock , 2 lines with 12" of rock, 2 lines of chambers, and 2 lines of graveless pipe. Each line was 100' long and given the same amount of effluent for a few years. The Rock performed the best, then the chambers, then the graveless pipe it almost failed. The septic system I installed for my house about 25 years ago consists of two 1,500 septic tanks, a filter which catches hair and laundry fibers that can plug things up, and about 90' of graveless pipe. The MPCA design chart says for a 4 bedroom house with loam soil says I should have 334 lineal feet of drainfield. I have a water meter, my use varies between 125 to 500 + gallons a day not including outside spigots. I also have a garbage disposal, which some people will say you can't have. And I have a sewer ejector which pumps out fine solids that don't settle as fast. I had my tanks pumped this month, the last time was seven years ago. The first tank had a scum layer about 4" thick, the second tank had some scum patches floating in it. The time before I went many years without pumping, the scum layer in the first tank was about 10" thick with a snake and salamander living on it. How do you get clean effluent?
1-Install 2 big tanks.
2-Install a filter.
3-Don't put anything down in your tank that you have not eaten or will not eat.
4-Don't use pluggable wipes (also called flushable wipes).
5-Avoid microfiber cloths and the microbeads in toothpaste etc.
6-Keep the bugs in the tank comfortable at the right temperature, about 50 -90 degrees. In Minnesota do laundry in hot water in fall, winter and early spring. Cover the tanks and lines with leaves in the fall
7-High antibiotics or chemotherapy can kill the bugs in the tank after 1 - 2 years of use it could plug up the drainfield.
Conclusion: with a proper design, in proper soil, with proper installation, with proper use, with clean effluent, it should not matter what type of drainfield medium you install. How long could a chamber system last? I have three lines about 30' long, the last line has hardly any effluent in it. So if the first two lines last 25 years, the third line maybe another 12.5 years that will give me 37.5 years. Based on my system size and the data from our trade organization experiment, I would guess that chambers would last 46 years and rock 52 years.
@@buelowexcavating Don't forget to throw in a piece of raw chicken every few mos.
:)
Do you do that? In our training, we were told a few toilet uses will provide enough bacteria.
@@buelowexcavating Nice reply!
This is the first one that’s made sense to me. I see people putting these in with no pipes inside. Would that be another type of system. The effluent would drop at the start of the system. Thanks
When we install a system in sand, we are required by code to use pressure distribution like in this video. If it is not installed in sand are not required to put the pipes in the chambers, we have installed a lot of those systems and they perform well. But I agree with you, it would be better to have the pressure distribution. With gravity distribution only the first lines could receive liquid in them, with pressure distribution all lines get a dose of effluent at about twice a day, This will keep animals from using the dry chambers as a dump for their tunnel excavations, that could make those dry lines useless.
Hi. Can you combine rock with chambers?
I had no idea how flimsy those things are. It is easy to crush them under ground by allowing a heavy tractor to drive across the top of the field. I'd have to be crazy to use that again. It is twice the pain to dig it up and try again with something better.
Or you could dig a narrow channel, and cover that with pavers or something.
6" wide ditch, 12" wide tile for the cover
Sam is in the wrong business ,my grandma has more enthusiasm and speed !
Sam works hard and fast. I had to tell him to slow down a couple of times to give me enough time to make this video.
Why are u putting pipe under the infiltrator??