Pumping Out A Soak Away Tank

[dickie58]

Can anybody recomend someone who can come along with a small tanker & pump out my soak away tank in my garden for a reasonble price?

Last guy i used sometime ago, wanted so much a centimetre, put a stick in his tanker & said 1700 baht riduclous cost?

Then he just emptied his tank into some waste land just up the road from my house.

We tried City hall last time, but guy never showed up, & the office were just not intrested when we asked them where he was.

Edited September 27, 2009 by dickie58

[pattaya_girl]

Can't you invest in a small water pump and do it yourself !!

I used City hall on numerous occasions and they never let me down, maybe try them again.

Don't use the guys that come shouting at your gate with a stick, they are a complete rip-off.

We paid them a lot and the very next day it was full again.

[NanLaew]

^ Is that you recommending someone else just pump their septic tank into the gray-water drainage system? Might as well do your own oil change on the car and do the same.

What was the latest bill from the City 'perfume wagon' by the way? In Udon it's 600 baht/tank drianed so would assume that Pattaya could easily be double with all them rich farangs.

[joskydive]

I'd agree with Pattaya_girl and get onto City Hall again. They take a while to come but it's a standard charge. I think it's about 400bt.

[gmac]

The big problem with those soak away tanks is that, in the rainy season, it's not your waste water going into them but the rain water soaking in rather than out. Doesn't matter how often you empty the thing, while the subsoil remains waterlogged, every time it rains your tank will become full again.

[xerostar]

If possible get another tank installed a few metres away from the old one. Usually the soil around the old tank has become clogged so the water doesn't soak away fast enough. A new tank nearby taking the overflow will help a lot.

If you have the room, the best solution is to install a long leach drain under the surface. This increases the soaking area a great deal. You also need to check that nobody is using bacteriacides in the toilet or washbasins in your house. This kills off the bacteria in the tank that break down the effluent and clogging will happen more often. You can get some additives that will replenish the bacteria. They can bring about a quick cure. However if the water table around your house is close to the surface, none of these remedies will be very effective until you get proper deep drainage installed by the local council.

[CDNinKS]

I am trying to understand what the OP is referring to when he says soak away "tank", does he mean pit? I have had numerous septic systems in Canada, both in dry climate areas and wet ones so am quite familiar with the operation of them.

The septic tank is where most of the bacterial action takes place in normally a 2 compartment tank, then the "water" flows into a drainage field that consists of a distribution box with 4 or 5 perforated plastic pipes running off that at a 90 degree angle. These pipes are about 1 - 2 feet from the surfaces as most people think this water only seeps into the ground, however a lot of it is evaporated or used by plants.

Why is this not used here instead of this "soak away pit" method? These pits will of course become saturated over a short period of time.

Edited September 28, 2009 by CDNinKS

[loong]

Why is this not used here instead of this "soak away" method? These pits will of course become saturated over a short period of time.

A lot of houses are built on small plots and there is not the space

[CDNinKS]

Ok, well that makes sense I guess....but I have a rai of land, so that is not a problem.

[dickie58]

I am trying to understand what the OP is referring to when he says soak away "tank", does he mean pit? I have had numerous septic systems in Canada, both in dry climate areas and wet ones so am quite familiar with the operation of them.

The septic tank is where most of the bacterial action takes place in normally a 2 compartment tank, then the "water" flows into a drainage field that consists of a distribution box with 4 or 5 perforated plastic pipes running off that at a 90 degree angle. These pipes are about 1 - 2 feet from the surfaces as most people think this water only seeps into the ground, however a lot of it is evaporated or used by plants.

Why is this not used here instead of this "soak away pit" method? These pits will of course become saturated over a short period of time.

I have 2 septic tanks & they are working fine, the soak away is for the grey water, it usally works fine in the normal dry period, but with all this rain at the moment the ground is saturated, & it is struglling to cope.

In the area of my house there is no city draingage system, & it is illegal to pump your grey water into the street or onto somebody else's land

Edited September 28, 2009 by dickie58

[CDNinKS]

I have 2 septic tanks & they are working fine, the soak away is for the grey water, it usally works fine in the normal dry period, but with all this rain at the moment the ground is saturated, & it is struglling to cope.

In the area of my house there is no city draingage system, & it is illegal to pump your grey water into the street or onto somebody else's land

I think you may be confusing "gray water" with what comes out the end of your septic tank. Gray water is water from showers, sinks, laundry etc. Black water is solely sewage, i.e. what is flushed down the toilet into the septic tank. Some people have seperate systems for these two types of water as the bleaches and soaps from the gray system are harmful to the septic tanks bacteria and sometimes even kill it off, which is not good.

The liquid ( I really should not call it water) that exits your septic tank is what I'm referring to when I talk about a drainage field. It can be a problem if you are in an area with poor drainage and/or a high water table, however I believe it would give a lot less problems than a simple pit would, as that is likely to easily become overwhelmed in the rainy season.

[PattayaBunLover]

Anyone have contact # for City Hall "honey wagon"?

How often do you need to have the holding tank drained and how does one tell it's getting full?

I've rented a house for over 2 years and never had it done yet and my toilets still flush fine

[CDNinKS]

If you are referring to the septic tank and not the soak away pit, in Canada it is recommended to have the septic tank pumped out every 3 - 5 years. This depends entirely on usage, tank size and how the tank is treated. By treated I mean what is allowed to be put down the drains. Never allow things like sanitary napkins to be flushed into the septic tank. As I said earlier, if only sewage and small amounts of white (not colored) preferably single ply toilet paper are flushed down and it is a house for an average family of 4, then 5 years may be acceptable. However if lots of laundry water, bleach etc is sent to the septic tank, the bacterial breakdown is hampered and sludge will build up sooner.

DO NOT wait till the toilets don't flush properly, that is usually too late as now your field, or pit, is plugged with sludge from the tank and will need replacing.

I just re-read your post Bunlover. Unfortunately there is no way to know if your tank is "full". Actually the tank is always full, that is the way it works. Sewage and waste water enters the tanks and solids settle out and the bacteria goes to work on that. The liquid then flows into a second chamber where it settles again, then the relatively clean water flows out to the field. The only way to check is to open the cover of the tank and have it pumped out. If the tank is working properly, there should be a fairly hard crust on top of the first chamber, this is normal. Then a section of "water" below that, followed by the sludge at the bottom. As long as the sludge is not more than 3/4 of the way to the top, you should be fine. What you don't want to see is basically a slurry in the first chamber, that would mean that the bacterial action is not functioning properly and this slurry is going to the next chamber. Be sure to have both chambers pumped out while they are there. Some people think that you should put some raw chicken or fertilizer in your tank to promote the bacterial action. This is not necessary, the bacteria naturally occurring in our bodies will do this just fine, again, as long as you do not destroy it with bleaches, etc.

Edited September 28, 2009 by CDNinKS

[dickie58]

Anyone have contact # for City Hall "honey wagon"?

How often do you need to have the holding tank drained and how does one tell it's getting full?

I've rented a house for over 2 years and never had it done yet and my toilets still flush fine

We called City hall this morning: -

038-253276

They have just come & pumped it out for 500baht, perfect

In 6 years i have had it pumped out twice

Edited September 28, 2009 by dickie58

[PattayaBunLover]

CDNinKS and dickie...thanks for the information and the contact info

My house is in a moobaan so I just have tanks. I believe the toilets have dedicated septic tanks and the "grey water" drains directly to city sewers. Therefore, there should be little contamination of the septic tanks except what I deposit in there.