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UsandThem
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2018 12:08pm
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Folks -
First post here, and wanted to say hello. I've read through many of the posts on here and there is a trove of useful information, to which I would say thank you.
I'm getting ready to build a two bedroom cabin and had a question about septic systems. I really don't want to deal with a leach bed, considering this will be a part time residence, mostly just weekends. Is it possible (or perhaps ideal) to just get a septic tank (say 1500 gallons) and keep it contained and just have it pumped out every so often?
Thank you!
U&T
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2018 03:51pm
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What your looking for is a "Holding Tank" which some regions / areas permit their use and others don't. Check your local building dept and see what their position is on them and their usage. The only drawback is you have to know the limits and that you will need to get it emptied at least once a year or more if you guys are heavy users...
Some diversion like kitchen sink, shower/bath, laundry even could go to a Grey Water system, lessening the load on the holding tank, but you would have to follow the rules for Grey Water too... again, not all regions & areas permit use of Grey Water and some will have regulations and minimums that will need to be complied with.
Good Luck.
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UsandThem
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2018 05:51pm
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Steve -
Thank you for the response. I intend to only run waste water into the tank with my grey water being stored and utilized separate. I'll check into this further with the county the land is in.
Thanks much!
U&T
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 2018 07:10pm
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Think twice about storing grey water. It goes grungy, smelly fast. Most jurisdictions that allow grey water use do not permit storage.
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PatrickH
Member
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# Posted: 23 Feb 2018 08:59am
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My neighbor has a 2500 gallon holding tank 2 of them live in the house full time it needs to be pumped every 3 weeks, My understanding about them is they only will allow them as a last resort option.
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 23 Feb 2018 09:28am
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Holding Tanks are commonly used in environments which cannot support a septic system, such as low lying shoreline areas, areas subject to flooding or protected sensitive watershed and wetland areas. These are more common in "Cottage Country" where such conditions more likely can exist. Holding Tanks can also be permitted on properties which do not have sufficient land surface to lay out a weeping / drainage field.
Dumping greywater directly into the environment is generally NOT tolerated because it can carry several potential pathogens and toxins. Many people still view toilets & sinks as general waste disposal and dump things in there that shouldn't be. Most often it is pre-filtered prior to going to a "dry well" which then takes it to soil / pond drainage or into a storage tank. There are numerous ways to address the use of Grey Water and that depends largely on the locality and what the area can handle... A Solution for Northern Canadian Wilderness stands a good chance of not being serviceable in a desert like the Oz Outback. There are commercial systems, to DIY systems that can work if used appropriately.
Anyone using 2500 gallons of water in 3 weeks has a lot of issues going on, that is incredibly high (insanely) for residential, unless they have 8 kids or more !
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 23 Feb 2018 07:36pm
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Quoting: Steve_S Anyone using 2500 gallons of water in 3 weeks has a lot of issues going on, that is incredibly high (insanely) for residential, unless they have 8 kids or more !
Not really. That's 120 gallons per day. Man camps I've been involved with plan on 90 gals per day per person. Anchorage requires a leach field to be able to handle 150 gallons per day per bedroom. A system for a 3 bedroom house has to be able to handle 450 gallons per day.
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Littlecooner
Member
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# Posted: 27 Feb 2018 09:41am
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Northern Rick is spot on with the design volumes for sewage systems. Real world on a holding tank, one can determine volume based on usage of cabin and number of people. Average flush of a commode is in the neighborhood of 5 gallons. A lot of that 100 gallons +/- a day/ per person is contributed to gray water - of showers, food prep and dishwashing, hand washing and other misc usage for producing gray water, etc. If the area has easy access to a company to pump the tank and local government will permit, I would think this would be a very good choice to handle sewage, depend on cost of each pump truck visit and applying a calculation of expected usage of cabin for a time interval that would produce a full tank, needing to be pumped.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 27 Feb 2018 07:00pm
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Quoting: Littlecooner Average flush of a commode is in the neighborhood of 5 gallons.
That's outdated. If one is building something new the flush volume should be 1.3 gallons US (4.8 liters) or less if one has a dual flush toilet or some other super duper efficient unit.
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NorthRick
Member
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# Posted: 27 Feb 2018 07:14pm
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I'd revisit why you don't want a leach field. Unless there is something about the site that makes it impractical (not enough room, poor soil, etc.) there is not a lot to them. If you are already paying an excavator come in to dig a hole and set and bury a 1500 gallon tank, it's not that much more to dig a trench and put some drainage gravel and a perforated pipe in it. You'd avoid the hassle and expense of having to get a holding tank pumped every time it fills up.
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Littlecooner
Member
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# Posted: 27 Feb 2018 08:45pm
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Have to agree NorthRick on why he does not want a leach field. In my part of the world, it would cost about $ 700 in material for a leach field for a two bedroom cabin and probably $400-500 labor for installation. Having a pump truck appear every so often would soon exceed this cost and once installed, these systems will last decades with no maintenance. To each his own, I believe we have not been told the complete story.
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1tentman
Member
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# Posted: 28 Feb 2018 02:33pm
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I have to agree with Northrick and Littlecooner put in a leach field, it will save you alot of money in the long run. If space for the field is a problem google infiltrator chambers. These chambers have been used for a long time ,you can get by with a smaller area for your leach field. You could also use a smaller tank which will be cheaper to purchase. They are easy to install, they dont require gravel ,although gravel in the base will work better but not necessary. This is what is going to happen, you will loose tract of when the last time the tank was pumped. You will go to the cabin for the weekend and somebody will flush the toilet and it will back up then you realize the tank is full. You call the pumping guy but he says he cant get there till next week. Your weekend is ruined.
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Littlecooner
Member
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# Posted: 28 Feb 2018 09:18pm
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Infiltrator is more efficient that a gravel system. My location, 2 bedrooms with standard perc rate is 200 feet of gravel system, with Infiltrator, its 120 feet, so we put in two 60 foot runs and the cost per 4 foot section is about $21 and it is so easy to install if you have a laser level. And no rock. We have been installing for decades and never had a call back on a system for failure of the infiltrator. My state allows the land owner to install his on system, but they are all inspected by the environmentalist before covering the system and placing in service.
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neckless
Member
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# Posted: 2 Mar 2018 04:25am
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in the north a leech feild is about 15000 bucks...... northwestern ontario
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Littlecooner
Member
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# Posted: 3 Mar 2018 08:16am
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Wow, in the USA south, we install complete systems for houses for under $ 4,000 and small cabins for around $3000, complete plumbing from the edge of the house. What about do it yourself if you have a "small cabin" in the woods off the beaten path? not very difficult if you can "run a level" and build something flat with a level bubble.
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neckless
Member
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# Posted: 4 Mar 2018 10:13pm
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well my a long story short.......government bbbbbsssss you even have to truck the sand in....
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UsandThem
Member
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# Posted: 7 Mar 2018 02:27pm
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Quoting: Littlecooner To each his own, I believe we have not been told the complete story.
You have the complete story so I'm not sure what you are inferring. I just didn't know if the cost of putting in a leech bed would be worth it based on very limited usage. One thing I don't intend to do is have the gubment up in my business for not following the rules.
Looks like based on all the feedback, that a leech field is the way to go. I appreciate the input.
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 7 Mar 2018 06:30pm
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Why don't you do what I'm going to do and add a urinal to the bathroom? That alone can save almost 40000 gallons of water per year (based on average daily use by 2 males). One model I saw at Kohler uses 0.125 gallons per flush.
http://ca.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?from=thumb&frm=&module=Commercial+Urina ls&item=27863602&prod_num=4991-ET§ion=2&category=20&resultPage=0--490225493
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