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Author:
cvcman (NY)
he got about 5 ft out from the wall and saw what he called a "baffle" and said it goes into a tank...either a dry well or the old septic tank...is it normal in 1965 to put a septic tank THAT close to the basement wall ?
He said the pipe was dry going to it...ths pipe is 5ft below the ground too....now im wondering this;;;;;during heavy rain and snow melts the pipe always fills with water...this past weekend we had like 3 or 4 inches of water...the pie was starting to fill Sat night...it rained ALL night long...when i got up Sunday I figured it would be full and the float shut off....it wasnt...the pipe was dry almost like it got sucked dry..
Now why in the world would that happen ? The ONLY thing I did any different was the night before when it was starting to fill I removed the plastic plug from the cleanout inside the basement after the trap before the pipe exits....could that have let air in and caused this ???
Or did the "tank" burst open and empty ??? I wish I could find the pump out pipe...any good way to locate it ?? How far underground would it be ?
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Author:
hj (AZ)
You are asking a lot of questions, but we do not have enough information to answer them. We might have that information if we were there and also saw the video of the drain line. The standard is to have the septic tank at least 10' from the building.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
yea this is no where near 10ft...I talked to an old timer that was the inspector and he said "most of the houses there the tank is right up to the house"...He said they were tar coated steel...should have been filled in...probably were not..
I still think ill dump some dye down it before the next heavy rain ans see if I see any seapage...
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Author:
Wheelchair (IL)
Time to bring out the plumber's stick and start probe'ing. The way you may be able to determine the size and location of the tank just out side of your building. Where then is the septic field from the tank?
Best Wishes
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
remember we have city sewer now,,,this tank is from years ago and 5 ft under ground
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Author:
hj (AZ)
quote; .He said they were tar coated steel.
Must have been a heating system inspector, otherwise he would have known they were "tar coated" cast iron, or tar coated cardboard.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Any "reputable" plumber who connected to the city sewer would NOT have left it connected to the septic tank. But if it were still connected the tank would be full of water. Something about your diagnosis is flawed.
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
HJ, not sure if im explaning it right...the old system was a septic system with a tank right outside the block wall....in 1969 they put in city sewer...it looks like they just removed the soil pipe going into the floor, capped it and the "new" city sewer soil pipe goes out the wall about 4 ft above the floor then 90's down after it exits the wall.
The inspector said MANY were NOT filled or disconnected....they were SUPPOSED to be but around here they do what they want and noone kept any records...
So this plumbers thought after putting the camera down is that they didnt disconnect and fill the old tank.I could see the picture from the camera and again it just went out about 3ft and you could see what looked like a Y pipe but he called it a "baffle" what ever the hell that is
...I just dumped about 2 ozs of tracing dye down the drain...
questions
1) if the old tank IS still there and open how many gallon tank would it most likely be ? 500 gallons ?
2) also you say these were cast iron NOT steel tanks ?
3) what is the likelyhood that this tank if leaking water out of it would have water seepage at the base of my inside block wall 10 ft away fro the area where the tank is...and if it IS leaking I should see the dye in the seapage right ?
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
Also HJ IF still connected WHY do you say it would be full of water ??? Wouldnt it still be leaching to the leach fields ??? And where would the water be coming in from ?
Thx for your insight...all the old timers that were around when this was done are dead and gone...except this one that was the inspector but he wasnt hired until AFTER my neighborhood was already done
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Author:
bernabeu (SC)
"TEHY" did not have time or money to do it correctly.
"YOU" will have time and money to do it again.
...Dig it out to the top...bust or torch it up...bury the pieces in place...fill up the hole
==============================================
"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
I just talked to the old guy again he said the tanks were sheet steel NOT cast iron....tar coated ....he said they never used cast iron
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
much of my issue is the pipe and tank are right under the incoming waterline from the street....im tempted to dig it up. puch some holes in the bottom and fill it with stone..this way IF anything ever flooded my basement the floor drain would still be active
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
cvcman.....The tank was for solids. When the liquids were high enough in the tank, they flowed out to the leaching field. If they left the tank, they probably didn't dig up the leaching field either. Got an area of lawn that's always green?
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
not really...mostly weeds but the tank is below the basement floor which is 5ft below grade...how low would the leach fields be ?
Also if the tank was full of liquid and rotted out...would the water rise to the surface or push thru my basement wall ?
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Author:
Paul48 (CT)
The depth of the leaching field would depend on the grade of the property. The line for it would come out neat the top of the tank.If the tank is ruptured the water is only going to come to the surface if the ground can't hold any more. The leaking basement wall can only happen if it was not water-proofed, or the water-proofing has failed. I know....Your next question is...why after all these years. I have no answer for that one.
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
I assume in 1955 it was NOT waterproofed...its was only like a sponge full of water...maybe 2 cups
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
also with the tank being below the basement floor.....would the water be up above the footers to the wall if the tank leaked
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Author:
hj (AZ)
quote; 2) also you say these were cast iron NOT steel tanks ?
I meant the drain pipe, not the tank. Many tanks were concrete, because the steel ones had a limited lifetime even with the tar coating.If it is a septic tank, it could be 1,000 gallons, but once it got "full" the excess water would go out to the seepage field, so the tank would probably NEVER overflow and back up, unless the ground got saturated, and then the water would flow into your basement until the ground dried out again.
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
Hj, aaaa gotcha....he said the tanks here were 500 gallon tanks...if the tank burst or leaked would it likely leak thru my block wall seeing as the tan is below the level of the basement floor ?
Just trying to figure out why the pipe is dry now
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Author:
m & m (MD)
Can you open the concrete where the pipe leaves the house and terminate it there (about a foot inside?) Then, open up a 24" X 24" square and drop a sump receptor in the floor and install a sump pump?
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
yes I could I suppose but two concerns here...
1) by opening the floor am I asking for water to come in that may be contained now ?
2) by terminatng the pipe I COULD still be allowing the tank to fill with water and IF its leaking its still beside my house wall
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Author:
m & m (MD)
1.) Concrete cannot contain water. If water is below your basement floor and the level should rise above the floor on the outside of your foundation, the water WILL enter the basement thru one means or another. You may find water under the concrete when you open it, but you would be installing a sump pump to deal with it.
2.) By capping the pipe inside the house, nothing has changed relative to the septic tank or water level in the tank. You are simply impeding its flow into the basement. If the tank fills and floods out, that water will move laterally thru the ground. Whether or not it ends up in your basement is unknown.
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Author:
cvcman (NY)
also my neighboe has a sump crock/pump....t doesnt run too much but he still gets water on the floor about 5 ft away from the crock !
Again the little I had once in 26 yrs I sopped up with a sponge and it was ina small area...I would say about 1 or 2 cups of water....I added the dye to the tank and have run water into the floor drain and it rained the next day about 1/4"....have not seen anythng since...
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