Septic Tanks vs Sewer System

[tyroneweaver]

No it's not.

I pay less than $150 for a septic pump out every other year. What's your annual water and sewer bill?

dang, they rip me for about 350

 

[rightwinger]

the toal accumalated cost of maintaining a septic tank is much more expensive than a sewer bill.

I pay around $800 a year for sewer
How much does it cost to maintain a septic tank?

 

[Rodimus]

I pay around $800 a year for sewer
How much does it cost to maintain a septic tank?

the regular upkeep of a septic tank can cost much more than $800 per year. it can go into the thousands of dollars total for septic to maintain. the total cost of a lifetime of septic vs sewer.

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

I don't have to worry about any of this nonsense. I shit like an Arab and the world is my urinal. Can't get any more natural than that

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

The grass is always greener by the septic tank...................................Erma Bombeck

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

dang, they rip me for about 350

That's really shitty of them

Don't worry. Under the Biden Rescue Plan, we'll all have a little wooden shack way in the back yard with a half moon carved in the door

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

When looking for a home, make sure it is connected to a sewer system and not a septic tank. Septic tanks get backed up on a regular basis and you will not be able to use your toilet.

Ever hear of Ridex for septics. It loves to eat all the crap and Crisco goo

 

[Rodimus]

Ever hear of Ridex for septics. It loves to eat all the crap and Crisco goo

Yes I have.

 

[mudwhistle]

When looking for a home, make sure it is connected to a sewer system and not a septic tank. Septic tanks get backed up on a regular basis and you will not be able to use your toilet.

I've been living in the same home for 29 years with a septic tank.
I use Ridex and I try never to dump grease or coffee grounds down the drain.

 

[Blues Man]

I've been living in the same home for 29 years with a septic tank.
I use Ridex and I try never to dump grease or coffee grounds down the drain.

And live by the old adage

If it's yellow let it mellow
If it's brown flush it down

 

[JohnDB]

Usually older septic systems have issues with their drain fields.
And that's why you get a second one built and installed. Then you can have two separate drain fields and after the second one goes sour you switch back to the first one and a miraculous recovery has happened over time....it's good again. No more issues.

It also helps to have a grease trap installed on your kitchen sewer line to trap the huge amounts of grease. And those bits of metal from the metal scrubbers. They do more to trap grease in your sewer but they don't degrade either.

 

[ReinyDays]

I owned a 16 unit apartment complex out in the country ... no sewer connection ... I could tell you far more than you want to know about septic tanks ...

The TL;DR version is I'd have had wanted the sewer connection, even after considering the cost of installation ... over and above the cost of maintenance and amortization of the septic system is the value of the land used as a leech field ... ya can't build on it, ya can't drive cars over it, hell bells you don't even want people walking on it ... all you can do is mow it year-round ...

Granted ... I had sixteen times the poop to deal with ... and a good acre to an acre and a half of top quality land wasted (which was zoned "high density residential") ... it doesn't matter the sewer charges ... I could triple my inventory of rentals which would easily cover the extra costs ... with margins ...

ADVICE: Those pumping their tanks on a regular basis need to have someone run a three inch cutter through the inlet baffle when you pump ... that's one of the biggest headaches ... so add that to the cost of maintenance ... my pump rig guy's papa would follow him out and do this for me ... in all that time, I only had one or two outlet baffles plug up ...

Don't forget you junction boxes ... yes ... they need pumped roughly every third time you hit the tank ...

 

[eagle1462010]

Septic and Well water are far cheaper than city water over time. Only issue is needing a bigger generator during hurricane season due to in rush current.

 

[JohnDB]

I owned a 16 unit apartment complex out in the country ... no sewer connection ... I could tell you far more than you want to know about septic tanks ...

The TL;DR version is I'd have had wanted the sewer connection, even after considering the cost of installation ... over and above the cost of maintenance and amortization of the septic system is the value of the land used as a leech field ... ya can't build on it, ya can't drive cars over it, hell bells you don't even want people walking on it ... all you can do is mow it year-round ...

Granted ... I had sixteen times the poop to deal with ... and a good acre to an acre and a half of top quality land wasted (which was zoned "high density residential") ... it doesn't matter the sewer charges ... I could triple my inventory of rentals which would easily cover the extra costs ... with margins ...

ADVICE: Those pumping their tanks on a regular basis need to have someone run a three inch cutter through the inlet baffle when you pump ... that's one of the biggest headaches ... so add that to the cost of maintenance ... my pump rig guy's papa would follow him out and do this for me ... in all that time, I only had one or two outlet baffles plug up ...

Don't forget you junction boxes ... yes ... they need pumped roughly every third time you hit the tank ...

I am floored that you used a septic system for an apartment complex...
And it worked...

Mostly because of the things you said already but the renters really don't care about YOUR septic system...they flush anything and everything down the toilet and sink...grease, toilet paper by the roll, and etc...

You would have to have that ground completely dug up and refilled with rock. Then you can get it built on.

 

[petro]

Our septic system was 32 years old when the drain field finally failed.
Three years ago we updated to a three tank system with a pump station to the drain field.
Cost 16,000.
No option for city sewer as we live rural.

We should be good another several decades.

I wouldn't trade my clean cold private well water for any city chlorinated crap.

 

[evenflow1969]

When looking for a home, make sure it is connected to a sewer system and not a septic tank. Septic tanks get backed up on a regular basis and you will not be able to use your toilet.

Yep, use ridx and get that septic system pumped or bad shit happens.

 

[JohnDB]

Our septic system was 32 years old when the drain field finally failed.
Three years ago we updated to a three tank system with a pump station to the drain field.
Cost 16,000.
No option for city sewer as we live rural.
View attachment 582674View attachment 582675
We should be good another several decades.

I wouldn't trade my clean cold private well water for any city chlorinated crap.

Except for the pump...it will likely fail eventually...5-10 years is the lifespan of a motor. Any more than that and you are on borrowed time. They just don't build them to last. Usually it's the bearings in these high efficiency motors they build today. Sure they use less electricity and are stronger for their size but the bearings are more critical than ever before. Tighter tolerances inside the housing for the "wobble" that comes from worn out bearings and the motor burns up the moment the bearings get wear.
They aren't exactly fun to change either. But sometimes they aren't so horrible either...just depends on the installation.

Think about the difference between submersible sump pumps versus the ones with a long shaft.

 

[petro]

Except for the pump...it will likely fail eventually...5-10 years is the lifespan of a motor. Any more than that and you are on borrowed time. They just don't build them to last. Usually it's the bearings in these high efficiency motors they build today. Sure they use less electricity and are stronger for their size but the bearings are more critical than ever before. Tighter tolerances inside the housing for the "wobble" that comes from worn out bearings and the motor burns up the moment the bearings get wear.
They aren't exactly fun to change either. But sometimes they aren't so horrible either...just depends on the installation.

Think about the difference between submersible sump pumps versus the ones with a long shaft.

Probably my one concern is the pump.
Old system was a gravity system which is now against the new codes, so all systems in this area are getting the pump station. They installed a warning device in the house to monitor pump.

 

[JohnDB]

Probably my one concern is the pump.
Old system was a gravity system which is now against the new codes, so all systems in this area are getting the pump station. They installed a warning device in the house to monitor pump.

They are usually fairly simple...the warning buzzer isn't that loud. And if the power goes out for any length of time you are going to have issues. So consider installing a generator system. (Highly recommend against one of those automatic packaged systems). A manual transfer switch and manual electric start 20K watt diesel generator are much better and reliable for roughly the same money. However, if you live in an area supplied by natural gas you can get a natural gas powered generator. Much better than the diesel. No fuel to keep an eye on and change out occasionally. (Or diesel filters).

And then you can have no worries.

 

[petro]

They are usually fairly simple...the warning buzzer isn't that loud. And if the power goes out for any length of time you are going to have issues. So consider installing a generator system. (Highly recommend against one of those automatic packaged systems). A manual transfer switch and manual electric start 20K watt diesel generator are much better and reliable for roughly the same money. However, if you live in an area supplied by natural gas you can get a natural gas powered generator. Much better than the diesel. No fuel to keep an eye on and change out occasionally. (Or diesel filters).

And then you can have no worries.

Hopefully a future investment. When power goes out we also lose the well pump. Luckily in twenty years here we have never lost power more than a couple of hours.
We definitely could do the natural gas generator.