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Blocked filter bed?


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Oh how I hoped not to be one of those people with a fosse problem.

However, a couple of weeks ago dirty water appeared on the surface of the filter bed area.

We had the tank emptied.

No more water is appearing on the surface, but the water in the inspection chamber at the start of the filter bed remains almost at the top of the pipe.

The water at the end of the bed is clear and drains away as it should, and the level in the inspection chamber at the far end of the filter bed is as it should be.

We have rodded the drains running through the filter bed with our little twirly flexible cable and there appears to be no blockage - but there must be!

The system is about 8 years old and has caused us no problems until this sudden failure.

Has any-one any idea of what might be happening and if there is a simple and inexpensive remedy...?  I wondered if the biomat layer has broken down for some reason - but have not much of an idea if anything can be done to cure this, if that is the problem.

Any helpful suggestions welcome - by the way the installer has of course disappeared - I have his assurance decennale and will use it if needed!

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The tubes which run through the filter bed have small holes/slits to let the water drain out slowly and evenly. From experience I know these easily get blocked when the septic tank fails and overflows solids into the drains. When you got the tank pumped, you should have asked them to send up a special high pressure jet, which would have cleaned out all the small holes, they can suck out all the waste at the same time.

This is why it's always worth paying a proper company to come pump it out rather than getting a licensed farmer to do it, as they have all the right cleaning kit and should know what needs doing to get it all working again.

What you can try yourselves though is using a chimney sweeping attachment (which fit on drain rods) which will clean the pipes a lot better than standard unblocking tools, and creates suction whilst you rod.

Anyway hope some of this helps - I'm no expert on septic tanks, but we've had our fair share of problems I've had to sort out!
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Thanks for this.

It was a reputable firm I used but he was in a strop and refused to clear out the pipes - I should have insisted!  I'll make contact again.

I would NEVER use a farmer or similar - I have seen them discharge the effluent into rivers.

I will now try sorting the drains out following your advice - thanks again.

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Some of the farmers are licensed and allowed to spread the effluent on fields as far as I'm aware (it seems to be what most French people use).

Discharging into rivers is just beyond words awful though, and highly illegal.

Back in Cumbria, a local farmer completely wiped out a local beck by contaminating it with farm effluent, and was hit with a huge fine.

Deserved every penny.
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Most decent sized pressure washers would probably do this job, with a drain jetter: its a thin pressure tube which shoots out a radial series of jets but additionally, jets backwards so it self-propels along the offending pipe as you feed in the hose.

The critical thing is finding one long enough: and guiding into each separate branch.

Karcher make them in different lengths.

 

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hi ok

If your sand filter is blocked sorry but there is only one way out ... you need to replace the sand no amount of roding will clear the filter ...suspect your installer has used geo tex between the sand and the bottom gravel layer in stead of geo grille common coyboy cost cutting trick ..do you have a filter between the fosse and the filter ??

Dave
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hi ok

There should be a puzoline (sp ) rock filter ... a large basket of lava stone to stop ant solids from entering the sand filter ... it should be on the outlet part in side the fosse itself under second man hole cover or in the inspection cover on the inlet to the sand filter

Dave
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We have one - BUT it's in the very first chamber of the tank!!! and I think prevents the solids from passing from there to the second chamber.

Should we have another one? or is this one in the wrong place?  (It's very large and wouldn't fit in any of the other places.)

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[IMG]http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j311/daveolive/Pdr_0054.jpg[/IMG]

have a look at pic the inlet and vent face you the furthest man hole cover holds the rock filter , like I said you need to stop the solids from entering the sand filter

the other thing they get wrong is to only put the toilet waste into the fosse and the grey water into the filter bed anothe no no

[IMG]

Dave
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I wonder why it's not legal for a farmer to pump effluent into a river or a canal when every boat on said rivers and canals have 'sea toilets' which do just that same thing? That includes the big working barges down to the 'Tupperware Tubs' that the hire companies hire out to all of thousands of people who spend a lovely summer holiday on those rivers and canals?

I have asked a question several times before and never received an answer?

What is the difference between the 2 tank septic tank system that I had in my house in the Cotswolds for 23 years and the 2 tank system that we have here in France? Because the system in the Cotswolds was shared between 2 cottages and the lady who owned the other cottage had 2 daughters and could not afford to buy any special fosse friendly products. Any and everything was chucked at that tank and it worked all the time. No grease trap and nothing special.

This one here has to be treated with kid gloves or it will not work. We are supposed to put something like 'Septifosse' down the loo on a regular basis and feed the bugs? Our Cotswols system was never fed and the 3 times it was emptied in that time the guys said that it was in good condition and didn't really need emptying on 2 of those occasions?

Pray tell me what the difference is please?

Sorry for the hijack, but I would love to know the difference.

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