Ever since we had the house, we've had problems with the drains. It's been frustrating as the system that this house has is the same as the one in the last house, down to the installer, and that system was 100% reliable.
The only difference is that this one makes use of an existing system, and just modernises it, where the previous one was purpose built as the system in that house wasn't big enough. In any case, there are two tanks, the first is where the business really takes place - the digester tank:
Don't worry, wasn't going to give a proper view of the whole inner workings, but basically there's an air pump that aerates the 'mixture' and gives the bacteria in the tank that live off the contents oxygen so that they can process the waste efficiently. The waste is broken down in to water, which is clear-ish. The water is gently pumped to another tank, which is a settlement tank.
Any solids that remain drop out of the liquid, leaving the top layer of water clear and fit to join the nation's watercourses (so we have a license to discharge into the pond, basically).
As I said, we'd always had problems. The installer came back time and again, blaming builders for putting plaster down the outside loo, the washing powder we use and so on. We'd told him that there was another tank, but he waved us away, and as he'd installed it, we believed him. This time, though, we were fed up, and as we are on holiday (ha-bloody-ha - who spends their holidays like this, for crying out loud?) we had time to investigate more thoroughly. I remembered that the previous owner of the house had provided a diagram of the drains, and so dug it out. Hey presto, two tanks. Lifted the manhole from the 2nd tank - it was so full of solids that there were slugs crawling on the top of it.
Off to our local Machine Mart to get the blue hose pictured in the above, and pumped out the tank. It was at this point I wished that I'd bought a longer hose, because instead of giving our rose bed a good feed, it's clegged up the lawn like some sort of environmental catastrophe:
That is what lives at the bottom of the settlement tank. Because there's no air pump, and because I doubt it's ever been emptied, it's black because the process of decay is anaerobic. It also stinks. A clean up operation is pending.
Having pumped the tank out, the outlet pipe was visible, and so that was rodded. It was clear that there was a blockage. I assumed at this point that the old clay pipes had collapsed, so bought a plastic pipe and an adaptor to get onto clay. I also ordered a little digger for a day's hire (that's Jem on the right - he's our helper on the weekends, and as it's the summer hols, he's also doing a couple of days here and there)
Digging up the exit pipe revealed a couple of things - one the clay pipe did have a small hole in it, but it wasn't collapsed. There was a concrete disc, and under it was this:
It's a valve - the exit to the pond is to the bottom of the photo, the tank to the top. So, if the weight of water is sufficient, then the water will push that round trapdoor open, and the water will exit into the pond. However, if the pond is flooding, then the valve will shut, preventing a backwash of water into the sewage treatment system. It's very clever, and we didn't have one of these at the last place. Needless to say, the valve was jammed shut. A bit of digging and poggling later, the valve was fully operational again. Jem and I also fixed the broken clay pipe:
And we also put back the concrete disc, for now. It will need a proper manhole cover in case this happens again, so for now, it'll have to stay like this until that arrives and gets fitted.
For now though, we have a fully operational sewage treatment plant! Exciting.
What is incredibly annoying is that the installer (who also services the plant annually, and empties the tank) has obviously never emptied the settlement tank. He's also been happily taking our money to investigate the problems we've been having, and never actually found the root cause of the issue. He's basically been taking the mick. In addition, if he had actually diagnosed the issue, he might have gained some business fixing the thing, and in doing so would have gained our trust and recommendation. Instead, we'll never use him again.
A set of well used drain rods!
The only difference is that this one makes use of an existing system, and just modernises it, where the previous one was purpose built as the system in that house wasn't big enough. In any case, there are two tanks, the first is where the business really takes place - the digester tank:
Don't worry, wasn't going to give a proper view of the whole inner workings, but basically there's an air pump that aerates the 'mixture' and gives the bacteria in the tank that live off the contents oxygen so that they can process the waste efficiently. The waste is broken down in to water, which is clear-ish. The water is gently pumped to another tank, which is a settlement tank.
Any solids that remain drop out of the liquid, leaving the top layer of water clear and fit to join the nation's watercourses (so we have a license to discharge into the pond, basically).
As I said, we'd always had problems. The installer came back time and again, blaming builders for putting plaster down the outside loo, the washing powder we use and so on. We'd told him that there was another tank, but he waved us away, and as he'd installed it, we believed him. This time, though, we were fed up, and as we are on holiday (ha-bloody-ha - who spends their holidays like this, for crying out loud?) we had time to investigate more thoroughly. I remembered that the previous owner of the house had provided a diagram of the drains, and so dug it out. Hey presto, two tanks. Lifted the manhole from the 2nd tank - it was so full of solids that there were slugs crawling on the top of it.
Off to our local Machine Mart to get the blue hose pictured in the above, and pumped out the tank. It was at this point I wished that I'd bought a longer hose, because instead of giving our rose bed a good feed, it's clegged up the lawn like some sort of environmental catastrophe:
That is what lives at the bottom of the settlement tank. Because there's no air pump, and because I doubt it's ever been emptied, it's black because the process of decay is anaerobic. It also stinks. A clean up operation is pending.
Having pumped the tank out, the outlet pipe was visible, and so that was rodded. It was clear that there was a blockage. I assumed at this point that the old clay pipes had collapsed, so bought a plastic pipe and an adaptor to get onto clay. I also ordered a little digger for a day's hire (that's Jem on the right - he's our helper on the weekends, and as it's the summer hols, he's also doing a couple of days here and there)
Digging up the exit pipe revealed a couple of things - one the clay pipe did have a small hole in it, but it wasn't collapsed. There was a concrete disc, and under it was this:
It's a valve - the exit to the pond is to the bottom of the photo, the tank to the top. So, if the weight of water is sufficient, then the water will push that round trapdoor open, and the water will exit into the pond. However, if the pond is flooding, then the valve will shut, preventing a backwash of water into the sewage treatment system. It's very clever, and we didn't have one of these at the last place. Needless to say, the valve was jammed shut. A bit of digging and poggling later, the valve was fully operational again. Jem and I also fixed the broken clay pipe:
And we also put back the concrete disc, for now. It will need a proper manhole cover in case this happens again, so for now, it'll have to stay like this until that arrives and gets fitted.
For now though, we have a fully operational sewage treatment plant! Exciting.
What is incredibly annoying is that the installer (who also services the plant annually, and empties the tank) has obviously never emptied the settlement tank. He's also been happily taking our money to investigate the problems we've been having, and never actually found the root cause of the issue. He's basically been taking the mick. In addition, if he had actually diagnosed the issue, he might have gained some business fixing the thing, and in doing so would have gained our trust and recommendation. Instead, we'll never use him again.
No comments:
Post a Comment