My wife and I have been considering finding a small parcel of land and putting a fifth wheel on it to stay in. I’ve been thinking about waste products and how to responsibly dispose of them. And as luck would have it, I ran in to part 1 of this project. Obviously I watched it all the way through to part 3 because this is my first comment. What a great idea !!! A small septic system with a leech field is not only doable, but also the “responsible” way of disposing of waste products I’ve been pondering. You absolutely did a wonderful job of it. Turned out really nice and I’m sure works as designed. I will be keeping this project in mind as ours moves forward. Thank you for the great idea sir.
Michael thank you for watching and for taking the time to send this very kind comment. Good luck with your future project and hopefully these videos will be of some help. Barry
Keep studying ways to do septics. Search out “Solviva” book by Ana Eddy. This system shown is very tiny to handle about 2 people, & really minimal to deal with the clay soil & rain. Solviva farm, in MA, did a couple really good systems, without all that digging, & less costly in energy to maintain. It uses an insulated composting box on outside of house’s bathroom to flush to. That is filled with loose mulch, coco coir, etc., & worms to digest solids. Instead of a leach field, it drained quickly to a protected wetland planter. Totally contained, very efficient & long-lasting.
Thank you Glen! The infiltrators are an interesting design. Maybe folks will read your comment and decide that is the product they most fits their need. Barry
Nice job, Barry! Tied it all in and buttoned it up... with the proper slope and all so the fluids will all drain by gravity. I'll bet this was/is a job that gave you a lot of satisfaction and knowing you did "a job well done"! With your observation pipes, you can keep an eye on the system and make sure it's functioning the way it should. Good idea for those! You could turn your old tank into a little pogo boat - add some seats and put it on a pond (after a good cleaning and sanitizing!). Thank you for bringing us along in your work - something to be proud of!
Mr Sam Thank you for the very kind words. It was a satisfying project, for sure. Not so sure about a boat but we will keep it around, something will come up. Barry
Very informative tutorial. You're a badass! I did something very similar 5 years ago with limited knowledge of septic systems. Interior plumbing is more of my strong suit so I winged it. Some of your longevity details would have been helpful then, lol. Those missing details have caused me sludge in my drain field, I didn't install any baffles in between tanks. And honestly, my drain field was piss poor (pun intended). Version 2.0 will follow your instruction. Only positive I can say is version 1 gave me 5 years of use and cost nothing as I'm in the field and accumulated parts were used. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!
Joe Thank you for the kind words and good luck on your redo. Unfortunately we live in a society where the majority of folks have the mindset that things must be done professionally the first time or somebody screwed up. Sounds like you are one of the lucky ones who don’t mind a little failure, can cope with some uncertainty, and can live with a little extra work. Good on you!!!
@@barrylukebuilds7894 I was talking to an older guy one day long ago and he was telling me stories of yesteryear. He described a past where there was no building department or code, and neighbors came together to build wells and dig new out houses. That seemed like a wonderful thing to me. So as much as I do live in the present, I prefer that way of living when it comes to the government and my land. And hard work is the most gratifying thing on this planet when it's done for yourself or loved ones. It's nice that I now get to collect wisdom from others on here now that those folks have moved on from this planet.
Thanks Robin, and you are correct on the not getting younger. I do find myself taking more and longer breaks but I can deal with that. Grateful to be able to do what I can. Yup, we enjoyed the clouds and rain while they were here but now it’s just plain old hot. Barry
Thanks for sharing your septic system build! Just thinking about your craftsmanship and how difficult this type of work is solo!😅 Than you mention the difficulty of plumbing without a Gofer! Looking good!
Watched all your video to the end , great job . I had to help a friend who had a toilet problem in his new house Luckily it was on pure and beam. Just toilet when you flush it the water will go all the way up to the top of the toilet and slowly drain down This 1 on This 1 on for well over a year and 1⁄2This went on for well over a year and 1⁄2 before I Had a chance get under the house and check it , seams the contractor didn't get the vent pipe close enough to the toilet drain and was causing a Vacuum . I rerouted the line from the flange straight into a y connection to tie that to the vent line to correct it so if yours is draining slow you might check that out . great job .
Good morning Barry glad to see the part 3 on you finishing incomplete in the pipe work filling in the trench and piping it in from the house. Looks great and it should work well for you and for generations to come great job buddy. Have a blessed weekend
Maybe should leave the small drain pipe to carry away the graywater, so it doesn’t overload your barrel system…? Might coulda inserted a sewage line inspection pipe near the bldg….those things are real helpful to check if system is backing-up-nuisance to mow around, tho. We’ve had to replace the caps on ours a few times. Septic systems stop being aerobic, as soon as the tank lids get closed-they turn anaerobic once closed up. Only good way to keep a septic aerobic, is to slowly & consistently pump air into them-if you do pump air into the tanks, aerobic cultures do a better job of breaking-down the gunk, & keeping the leech pipe clear…..that could significantly improve the overall use-capacity, & help prevent system from clogging or back-flowing.
Once again, thanks for the tips. My system is done. I will monitor what flows between the septic tanks and the leach field. If a problem occurs then I will address it , otherwise I think I have a good system. Thanks Barry
You did a great job! just was wondering though aren’t the leaching field pipes suppose to be level so the effluent is distributed amongst the whole length of pipe so the whole field drains evenly?????…..just curios! Thanks for the video!👍
Good question Brian! In my mind, which has failed me in the past but anyway, this is why I sloped the line. The line is 68' long +/-. A toilet flush forces a gallon of liquid into the perforated leach field pipe. Without a slope all of that liquid will exit the pipe in short order and the gravel nearest to the septic tanks will be doing all of the digestion and the gravel at the far end will not get any play time. Just seemed like with the limited amount of waste we generate a sloped system would be a more balanced system. Wish I had a way to verify my hypothesis, but I don't. Thanks for watching and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Could it kept on digging right to that ravine ran pipe to that ravine with a cap on it or a valve and you could opened it straight to that ravine and let it drain out if it gets too much water in it or you could just leave it open for the access to run down in that ravine
If that much water sits in that trench just from a rain how is the discharge from the tank going to soak in the ground I hope it works for you buddy but I don't think it will
Thanks Well it wasn’t just a rain. It had rained off and on for two weeks and the site was not graded to direct runoff away from the trench. I am optimistic that the field will handle our modest needs. Thanks for watching and thanks for taking the time to comment. Barry
No, we flush regular ( meaning on sale) paper. Not sure why there was none visible. I did flush clean water twice and I did try to stir up the contents with the hose while running the discharge pump so maybe it was just too mixed up to see. Not sure.
The software I use to but together my little videos doesn’t speak RU-vid. So when I finish a video it has to be translated and ends up an icon on my screen. I have lots of icons on my screen and I clicked on the wrong one. I usually sit and watch my videos as soon as I post them but of course not this time. My son let me know something was wrong. All good now! Thanks Barry
Russell You may be correct, I don’t know. The problem with these rules are the assumptions that were used to make the rules. I bet having someone in the dwelling only one or two days a week was not a parameter. My fingers are crossed that I will be fine. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment. Barry
Russell, your comment gave me a brain worm I can't get rid of. So, I did some math, and this made me feel better. Using a week as comparison I figure at 100' per person equals a little over 15' per person per day. During the heat of the summer, I am there one night a week on average. That means that one person gets 76' per day of use. During nice fall and spring weather when my bride stays with me 2 nights a week that equates to 19.5 feet per day. so far, we are still good. And keep in mind we cook very little, have no washing machine, and our shower drains onto the ground. I feel better now.
All that work for 200 shits. If you have enough money for a mini excavator, buy a 500 gallon tank. At least do it for the next guy. It would have been the same amount of work.
@barrylukebuilds7894 😆 I understand that! But a septic system for a property is not something I would want to do twice. A good plumbing system, good heat/ac, and electricity is the key to health and comfort! Take one away and it's just camping.
