FOSSE SEPTIC

[Roslyn]

hi there,  hopefully someone can shine some light on a little problem I have.  Just recently (within 2months) we have just had a new fosse septic installed - it's all very state of the art and eco friendly etc etc.  It was fitted by a company called Eparco.  Now our problem is that there is often a terrible stink around the garden.  The company have told us that this is usual and will take at least 3months to settle.  But I'm not sure wether or not they are just fobbing us off.  I would love to hear what anyone else thinks - perhaps you've had the same problem.

Look forward to your responses

Roslyn

[Gyn_Paul]

Have you charged it well with bacteria? Eparcyl (or equivalent) ?

[Monika]

We have exactly the same problem, brand new fosse and it smells. Somebody told us that the ventilation pipe does not go high enough (in fact it is placed between two windows on the edge of the roof and not on the highest point on the apex) I have written to the firm but no answer yet.

[Roslyn]

That's interesting. Well we've also written to the company and luckily for us they have responded and they are paying a visit to us on Friday. So, if they can tell us anything I shall let you know - hopefully it'll be something straightforward and might help you too.

Roslyn

[Roslyn]

yes, I think that we have done all that is necessary. Thank you

Roslyn

[Roslyn]

Hello Monika,

Well, finally the guy from Eparco turned up yesterday and he told us that it was because that our ventilation pipe wasn't hiigh enough!! So, he's arranging for it to be moved. Lets hope that this works and perhaps this is what you should do too.

Good luck

Roslyn

[Jhc]

Hi - our ventilation pipe was not high enough with our new FS about 2 years ago.  I was able to climb a ladder to reach the top and fasten some old mesh ladies tights to cover the top - I was told that this is what the French locals do and it still allows sufficient air to go in and out of the vent pipe - there has never been any smell since.  I will, of course, need to remember to remove it if the Assainissement man pays us another inspection visit.

[Jonzjob]

Oh dear, our fosse is about 20 years + old. The man from the officials is coming to inspect it next Monday. The fosse is 1/2 way down the garden, at least 40 yards from the house and the top of our vent pipe is all of about a foot high from the ground! Mind you saying all that, we get little or nothing of any smell from it, so everything that I am allowed to mention on this forum is crossed!!

One thing that I still don't understand after a couple of years here? Why is a French fosse so fussy? We had a very similar setup in the U.K. for 23 years, shared with neighbours. We did not need to be anywhere near as careful with that tank as we seem to be with this one here. Our neighbours were not the kind who got fosse friendly stuff, they bought cheeeep! We had no problems and the tank was only emptied 3 times in that period. 2 famlies, 5 children between them, teenagers. That tank would, it seems, have been dead for years here. WHY? What is the difference.

A bonus from that tank was that we had a rhubarb plant directly on the postage stamp soakaway and we had the most wonderful rhubarb you couls imagine. One stick weighed in at 4 1/2 pounds and was lovly!!! The soakaway was all of about 6 foot wide and then an eight foot drop into a field through a Cotswold dry stone retaining wall. I know what the wall was, I built it...

[Dave&Olive]

hi

  ok the reason is polution of the french waterways,  as you can imagen with most of rural france on a fosse ,it`s  modern detergents that are causing havoc , and with the "old way " they were set up mostly  to get rid of  body waste with everything else bypassing the tank , but our waste is bio-degradeable, you could quite happily spread it on a field and it will break down and benifit the soil, but it`s the bath water sink water and detergents from the washing machines that are causing the problems. just for info

                       dave

[Monika]

Thank you Roslyn and Jhc, that's interesting about the hight of the pipe, our company has still not contacted us, so we will try the trick with the tights until such times!

[LaBessane]

Hi,

Can somone possibly point me in the right direction to keep my fosse in good condition?

My house is 800m up and covered in 2m of snow from Jan-April.  Last year the temp dropped to -17C. As such I close the house during this period, empty all pipes and the CH boiler.  What can I put in the toilet u-bend and the ubends of sinks, white goods etc. to stop damage from freezing and not kill off my Fosse?

I can't drain these pipes completely due to their location and the way the pipes are sealed.  I can't use anti-freeze, or oil, as the Fosse can't handle these, but it does need to be something liquid.

I expect that the solution is simple and I am just being a bit stupid.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[cooperlola]

Probably daft but: salt?

[LaBessane]

Mabe not, but would a salt solution cause damage to the toilet porcelain if left for 4 months?

[Gyn_Paul]

The porcelain wouldn't be damaged by the salt. A two or three tablespoons of salt in solution, flung down the pan last thing will effectively lower the freezing point of the water by about 10 C or so, and even then the water will be 'slushy' rather than frozen (think of those ghastly day-glo drinks full of E-numbers) for about another 5 degree or so.

In my experience, plastic U-bends (like washing machine wastes for example) tend not to split when they freeze, but for the ice plug to rise up the pipe since it's not under pressure (like a supply mains) nor does it have a particularly great surface area/volume ratio (unlike the toilet pan which will crack eventually).

As a belt-and-braces, you could always use the tennis ball trick: the ball floats and is then compressed when the water freezes. I have also seen a block of expamded polystyrene used, but the only time I tried it (on a swimming pool), I found that it was frozen into the top 1/4" of the ice. Can't imagine it providing much compressable volume in a toilet pan.

I would be careful of the salt solution (ha ha) anywhere there is metal (like a kitchen sink with an old copper waste for example), as you certainly will have  corrosion problems.

When the spring comes, flush/rinse abandonnement and all should be well. Salt will, in theory, tend to inhibit the bacterial action of the fosse, but by the time it's diluted in 3000 L it will be practically undetectable.

p