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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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poop talk...
"80' of leach line per toilet"
its not about number of toilets
poop doesnt go into the leech lines at all
its about how much water you use
AND
the kind of soil you have
remember the tanks are full all the time
80 feet of leech for one area may be ok
but 120 feet for another is correct
most correct estimates are done with water usage and type of soil
all leech systems need gravel
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by snowcat5
- a real septic tank should not be vented- |
OK snowcat. I was just commenting on your statement above and I see what you mean. Not vented at the tank but, vented through the house.
| Quote: | | I have found that the Infiltrator System ( for leach field construction), connected to a two compartment tank, is superior than the traditional 3" or
4" perf.ed pipe and is easier to install because it does not need to be back-filled with gravel, just native soil. Home Depot in Ensenada has carried
the Infiltrator plastic kits in the past. |
I've never seen anything like Infiltrator down here. I just built and had I seen it here, I'd have used it. I have real problem soil.
Another thing I did was mound over my two leech lines, maybe two feet high which, in effect makes the lines two feet deeper in the ground.
Infiltrator:
http://loomistank.com/infiltrator-leach-field-system.shtml
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Allow me to add a thought about sophisticated septic systems below the border.
The concept is largely foreign to most people here as they have never used them.
What they do use is the cesspool. They work when the soil will support them. Otherwise, they're just a pt full of cess that won't disipate.
I would rather have a composting toilet than a cesspool.
OK....Beer time.
[Edited on 10-8-2009 by DENNIS]
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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1. The septic sizing has nothing to do with the number of toilets.
Typically a house system is sized based on the number of bedrroms or occupants = design flow.
If you put 10 toilets in a 2 bedroom house with only 2-4 people living there, the extra toilets do not signify additional waste.
Drainfiled sizing depends on anticipated design flow, percolation rate of the soil and type of leachfield that is used.
2. Drainfields CAN be built without gravel. Infiltrators or EZ Drain are graveless alternatives.
3. It is NOT incorrect to built a septic tank with a vent. There are many of them around with vents although many municipalities no longer require
them.
In practice, neither the drain pipe or tank are typically filled to the top (they still have air space). This allows the system to vent back to the
house plumbing vents so no septic vent is needed in most applications. However, if a portion of the piping will remain full (as when you add an
outside trap) you will need to vent the septic tank side of the pipe to avoid a syphon draining the trap.
BTW, I am a Civil PE and design 20-40 standard and alternative septic systems each year.
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Sharksbaja
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5814
Registered: 9-7-2004
Location: Newport, Mulege B.C.S.
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What's a friggin P-Trap for?
With the seawater so close to the surface there at Bobs' seaside retreat the proper setup would probably be a cribbed sand filter. Who designed that
system? Probably a Mexican. So if you installed the leech field up on that area you raised up 5 ft you would have a good system for a location that is
adjacent to a lake, arroyo or stream or high water table. Conversely if your field is in the high seawater table area than you are potentially
contributing bad things into the bay.
Many people do not understand the dynamics of subsurface water. I am not an expert but know a little.
Imho the best solution for most apps in Mexico would certainly be an "infiltrater" system. Right on Snowcat! Easy simple inexpensive installation. We
were about to install a new one in Mulege.
It's apparent now though that ANY leech system along the flood zone presents a problem(as it always has) but recently flood after flood washing thru
so many septic systems CANNOT be a good thang.
I doubt that will change however. Maybe the city should consider a new sewer system You know like "real cities" have. The real only saving grace with the current town system is that the town never grew similarly and
exponentially as many towns in BCS did.
The fact that Mulege dumps half(?) treated effluent into the waters nearby adds to the leech field problem.
Nobody drinks the rio water so the importance of clean water there is nil. The city water itself draws from wells and fed to the reservoir and'or city
mains and is questionable. I never drank it but I know people who did/do.
The absence of vacuum breakers and checkvalves is really scary to me. Especially when the city is in the habit of shutting off the water for hours at
a time. That is really stupid I think. Every time they shut the water off it creates a big suction anywhere upsteam of the water column.
That means if someone had a hose running inside a septic tank or animal trough and the water was turned off the hose would syphon water back from
where it's placed, that is unless you had backflow prevention.
I can't even imagine how many homes, hookups etc. do not have that valuable and necessary part in a communal system. Actually it's a good idea to
have them at any service entrance.
Venting septic tanks is rediculous unless there is no other venting. Even then, it will vent through the drains. You will hear them glurble or
burp. Toilets luckily have built-in Mexican plumber proof trap.
For the life of me I really think some builders/plumbers don't understand wtf a trap does. I doubt they are "real" plumbers.
They most likely think a p-trap is for catching rings dropped in the sink. 
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Full Time Residents
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our leach field is in the "island" above ground
we used several plastic tanks before the 150 feet of leech field
the "pop" is eaten in these plastic tanks
by the time the waste water gets to the water table
it should be "drinkable"
(but i'm not drinking it)
the plants above the leach field "eat" the bad stuff
that's why they are so green
the trick with leech fields is to make them too BIG
and have plants above that consume chemicals
septic tanks in the orchard just drained in the river
you can see ALOT that are exposed today
mulege pumps the city sewer up stream and
dumps it in a purculating resovoir
then it goes into the river and to sea
if you hear gurgulling in your sink it's not made corectly
the plumer used a "j trap" instead of a "p trap"
a p trap is vented
a j trap isn't
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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Didn't want to start a new thread for this little beauty but, you and your better half will wonder how life will be without the closeness this item
will provide:
http://www.wiserep.com/productDetails.php?id=5769
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BajaNuts
Super Nomad
Posts: 1085
Registered: 5-11-2008
Location: eastern WA, the DRY side
Member Is Offline
Mood: no worry, no hurry....it's all good!
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with all this talk about venting septic tanks, I thought I'd share some info about mosquitoes that live in septic tanks and the necessity of screening
all septic vent pipes.
http://www.bajawesternonion.com/baja-insect-info.asp
scroll down a little to get to the mosquito info.
Googling "mosquitoes in septic tanks" will get you lots of information about it, lots of counties require screened vent pipes.
[Edited on 10-15-2009 by BajaNuts]
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