Put pop up sprinklers to be able to mow over them without any problems. I did this with mine 10 yearsago because the existing setup had the heads about 2' out if the geound and that was just dumb.

Any type of sprinkler head works just fine. I pilfered a couple of 6" couplings from the jobsite and installed those around the sprinkler head, fillwd the gap with river rock so when it needs to be replaced its a bit easier to do.

Mine are 3/4" female NPT, so i just reduced the 1' pvc down with a 3/4" male adapter. Easy, simple and nothing hard about it.

TX_COWDOC said:

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Get ready for more zero turn fun! My son chopped damned near every hose I owned in 2. Once he was assigned splice duty, he got more careful. By 16 was pretty solid. Good luck!!

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My mower deck is set at 3" to avoid hoses and cables. I have a lot of rock so it avoids that too.

You probably have a french drain built around the perimeter of your house next to the foundation to collect rainwater that may run down a wall. It's to help prevent foundation problems in homes built on deep soil. Helps keeps the runoff wall water from seeping under the foundation. That exposed section of pipe is connected to the french drain to drain it

Have a pool? Definitely a drain, but not for septic.

If you want to know what your layout of your septic system is, your county Health Department should have schematic of it.

I should have mentioned in my earlier posts that I did septic work/installations/service while I was at A&M.

Based on the photos provided, I'm fairly confident the pipe in question is not related to the septic system unless the homeowner added an emergency overflow to prevent the system from backing up into the house, and even then, it's unlikely.

Also, if you have spray heads, and an aerobic system, why are your tanks buried?

I'll have to do some digging to see what it's connected to. A French drain is all I can think of, but I don't know where it would be. There are no retaining walls, and I don't think there is one around the foundation.

But- if it is a drain, why would it have terminated with a 90 and a cap? Wouldn't you want a drain to simply dump out? I wish I could remember exactly what kind of cap it had. It was green, and I can't remember if it was vented or solid.

Naveronski said:

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Also, if you have spray heads, and an aerobic system, why are your tanks buried?

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Is it more likely anaerobic in that case?

You generally have two types of system: conventional and aerobic.
Aerobic system will have an air pump that forces air down into the second tank to help everything break down and a spray field with visible sprinkler heads.
A conventional system still has multiple tanks, but terminates into a leach/drain field.

Aerobic systems are becoming more common, though they require maintenance from a licensed provider.

Do you have an air pump?

Hybrid systems exist, but they're not nearly as common, and I don't think it would be the case here.

Naveronski said:

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I should have mentioned in my earlier posts that I did septic work/installations/service while I was at A&M.

Based on the photos provided, I'm fairly confident the pipe in question is not related to the septic system unless the homeowner added an emergency overflow to prevent the system from backing up into the house, and even then, it's unlikely.

Also, if you have spray heads, and an aerobic system, why are your tanks buried?

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Our field system went bad over the 36 years it's been in and since we are on rock Comal Co R&R wouldn't let us replace it with another field system. We had to go aerobic and our tank is buried with about 3 inches of fill on top of it. One tank, 3 compartments

I wouldn't break my back digging. Doesn't appear to be very deep. Get or make a probe and follow it and see where it goes.

Larry S Ross said:

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I wouldn't break my back digging. Doesn't appear to be very deep. Get or make a probe and follow it and see where it goes.

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Brilliant!

House appears to be well elevated. I'll vote for gutter down spouts drain. I have my back yard gutter downspouts and pool deck drains going into a 4 inch sch 40 pvc drain pipe.

Naveronski said:

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Also, if you have spray heads, and an aerobic system, why are your tanks buried?

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??

All tanks are buried, conventional or aerobic.

Mas89 said:

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House appears to be well elevated. I'll vote for gutter down spouts drain. I have my back yard gutter downspouts and pool deck drains going into a 4 inch sch 40 pvc drain pipe.

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Maybe old and no longer in use?

I know that none of the current gutters feed into a drain.
All terminate in black plastic pipe 2-4' from the house. Also- with all the rain yesterday, nothing flowed down the pipe.
And it had a 90 and a cap on it- so I'm not sure how it would have drained. Both 90 and cap are now reduced to the quantum realm.

If it is an older home, it could be an old grey water drain. If the previous owner had to replace the septic, the county may have made them reroute the grey water into the new septic system and they just left the old drain line...

schmellba99 said:

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Naveronski said:

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Also, if you have spray heads, and an aerobic system, why are your tanks buried?

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??

All tanks are buried, conventional or aerobic.

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I could have phrased that better.

Yes, the tank is buried, but the lid should be accessible for maintenance/service so the tech doesn't have to dig it out each time.

This is definitely not the case. No lids that I can find anywhere, exposed, covered, buried, or otherwise.. That is odd to me. I will be marking them with the septic guy on Friday.

Older tanks have concrete lids without risers, attaching a pic.

Interesting to hear what your septic guy finds.

That is phrased better and makes sense

Naveronski said:

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Older tanks have concrete lids without risers, attaching a pic.

Interesting to hear what your septic guy finds.

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This would make total sense! Thanks. If he doesn't bring one, I'm going to order a probe, so I can locate them exactly.

Before you do any digging verify that the downspouts coming off your roof gutters aren't connected to a similar pipe going under ground. Most may daylight at bottom of DS, but it looks like you have 1 or 2 close to the back porch which may have been moved to prevent ponding or splashing on porch during rain event.

Looks like thin wall pipe. Perhaps an old yard drain or french drain.

If you have a snake long enough, I would start to see how far it goes.

Here's what our aerobic looked like going in. I can see the lids for service after they covered it. Just the line coming from the house and the line going to the sprinkler heads. No random drain out to the yard

Exact same setup we had put in last July. You're lucky you have good deep sandy soil. They had use a big jack hammer attachment on a back hoe to make a hole for ours. I'm standing 30 feet away and could feel the vibrations through the rock and into my feet. There is a plus side though .....our house foundation is on a huge rock about 8 ft thick so I don't think we have to worry about settling and foundation cracks

Ha yeah the down side is 4 years later we're getting some serious settling with our sandy soil

The great septic mystery continues.

I spent time this am verifying that the gutters from the house are not connected to any central drain. There is no grey water, washing machine, or hot water drain that ties into anything like this either.

I walked through the septic system with our inspector, and now know all the in's-and-out's. Our air pump is over on the side of the house beside the septic pump box. It is an aerobic system for sure. The tanks are actually over beside the house, not down further as I suspected. The inspector didn't like that the tanks were completely buried, and there wasn't risers/access to the first tank. There is a box on the second tank, but it's just a water meter box, which he suggested should be switched out for a specific septic box. Our chlorine fill is over there as well. What do you guys think? Is it imperative to change the box to a septic box, or add access over the first tank? Below is a pic of our setup, but my crappy drawing may not be accurate.

I'm not really wanting to spend $2000 for 4 risers installed if I don't have to. He also quoted $700 to change out the single box to a proper riser. I would deeply appreciate any advice on if this is necessary- or if we just pay for the digging if we ever have a problem that we need to access the first tank for.



*NEW THEORY ON THE STRANGE PIPE*

The septic sprayers are downhill, in the lower yard. There is one random pipe that got hit by the mower we have been trying to ID. I accidentally left out a key piece of info for you guys, because I completely forgot- my apologies. Not too far away from the septic field is my barn, which has a toilet in it. There is no way that toilet ties into the house septic, as the house is uphill and the septic is a long ways away on the other side of the home. The toilet works and has been inspected. The septic guy and I theorized that the pipe that got hit is actually a clean out for the barn toilet.

See pic below- we found some old pipe with holes in it, and he said people will use that pipe as a rudimentary septic leach field, and have the pipe terminate with a cap so you could clean it out if needed. This would make perfect sense, as the pipe runs in the already established septic field for the house. I will get a rod and try to follow the pipe to see if it turns to the barn. We could not find any other clean out or plumbing for the toilet, so I'm thinking this pipe has to be it. Would you concur?


*yes, I know all the crap needs to be cleaned up to help with the snake problem. I'm working on that, ha ha!*

Thanks again for all of y'all's help and advice! You guys are the best.

I have been thankful many times that I had easy access to the tanks. I've had to drop an electric pump down to lower water levels when something went wrong w system. Then you can at least keep flushing and shower until septic discharge pumps are repaired or replaced.

The first tank needs access to pump it out. I pump mine every 3 years so I don't need to pump the others out. Some folks elect to wait and pump all tanks but that means inefficient process as they get full. Did your inspector note the sludge levels? After you get a riser on tank #1, I would have septic service guy use sludge judge and test the tank levels. If neglected, you may want to see what provider says about pumping all tanks now then just pump #1 every 3 years. My company is $185 for first then $155 for additional tanks.

My pump company charges extra ($50-$75) to dig up the access plug in order to pump out a tank. The buried tank should have a square concrete plug that is tapered (like upside pyramid without a point) and calked into place. These plugs may leak and allow excessive water into your system during heavy rains. You see lots of septic sprayers going off during heavy rains.

You can buy the riser and install yourself for less than $700. My septic service guy sells sediment-tank access risers. They will install for $115 labor plus cost of material. Price for 18" dia. is $60 for 6" tall or $75 for 12" tall.

You can buy online. This site had DIY installation video too. I'd dig first to see how deep you are and what diameter works best. https://www.septicsolutions.com/septic-parts/septic-tank-risers

The pump tank should have better access too. The pump for the sprayers needs replacement once every 10 years. Lids should be screwed down for safety.

Great info, thanks so much!

This riser would just be to replace the "water meter" style box over the last tank, correct?

He found no sludge today when he checked the tank. He said everything look good, and no pumping is in our near future.

The white pipe next to square box is likely the place you add unscented liquid bleach. It is probably next to the pump tank. The square box is probably over your pump tank. Did you see a pump stand with float switches when you took the lid off? If you tested the tank and it doesn't have sludge, that also suggests it is your pump tank. I would at minimum put riser on sediment and pump tanks.

The 2nd tank is fed by an aerator. The tank has air diffuser at the end of the air line. If that needs replacing, you need access to that tank.

How often did your septic guy recommend you pump?

Whoop Delecto said:

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The white pipe next to square box is likely the place you add unscented liquid bleach. It is probably next to the pump tank. The square box is probably over your pump tank. Did you see a pump stand with float switches when you took the lid off? If you tested the tank and it doesn't have sludge, that also suggests it is your pump tank. I would at minimum put riser on sediment and pump tank.

The 2nd tank is fed by an aerator. The tank has air diffuser and the end of the air line. If that needs replacing, you need access to that tank.

How often did your septic guy recommend you pump?

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Yes, the white pipe is the bleach fill. In the box is our pump, float switches, and where he tested for sludge, and triggered the sprayers to test them.

So it would be best to switch that box to a riser, and add a riser on the sediment tank also? Sounds easy enough, as I'm not afraid of a little digging and DYI.

He also talked about these yellow filters he could add on the baffles (or the pipes between the tanks, I may not be explaining it correctly). Yellow plastic grated that fit inside of the pipes. He said that would increase the time needed between pumping. Any experience or advice on those filters? He estimated we might need to pump every couple of years (3-5, depending on use). We are a family of 5 and it's a smaller house, so I'm guessing we will be in the faster end of things.

I appreciate you helping with the clarification.

Be wary of pumping recommendations by those that stand to profit from said pumping. I've got a family of 4, 3 women aged 15-48, I've pumped my tank once in 16 years. Aerobic system very similar to yours.

It's kinda like oil change intervals. Lots of opinions and good reasons behind them. I'm a 5,000 mile guy but my brother is an oil life monitor interval guy.

My approach is to only pump the sludge tank every 3 years. Two person household. $185 to pump . This way minimizes sludge flowing into the other tanks. No additional filters are needed between tanks and it keeps system working well for me. Never replaced the spray pump in 20 years. Spray heads don't clog up.

Others wait til the system is full enough until it clogs the spray pump or spray heads and it backs up into the shower. Then it's $650 to pump all the tanks.

Many monitor levels and fit somewhere in the middle.

My approach requires risers on both tanks. It costs an extra $50 to dig out the sludge tank plug each time and those costs will eventually pay for a riser. Sometimes the plug gets damaged when they pry it out and it will not seal well or needs replacement.

I have heard the argument to keep the sludge tank plug in place and buried to prevent odor. My tank has 4 risers and no odor.