cesspit and septic tank

[macafee2]

To me these two terms are so reversed.

A cesspit it a tank in the ground and waste is sucked from it by a "lorry" for disposal
A septic tank is a hole on the ground and waste dissipates into the ground

For those that do DIY, what do you do with paint cleaner, engine cleaner, that little bit of break fluid etc? If on mains drains no doubt they go down the main drain but cesspit and septic tank, do you collect separately and dispose or just let it go along with the bath water?

macafee2

[skellum]

Engine oil I take to the recycling centre which has a big tank for it, and last time I had a pint of old brake fluid just added it to the 5 litres of oil I was getting rid of.
White spirit/turps I wash down the sink if it's not too 'claggy' but if proper manky in a old jar with lid, and the recycling place takes it happily. Same with old paint tins.

[AndyN01]

If you're connected to a cesspit or septic tank - as we are - the last thing you want to do is muck it up so all our engine oils/brake fluid etc. gets taken to the Council "recycling" centre.

Andy.

[sewerman]

As you say a cesspit is a sealed tank which is emptied out on a regular basis so pretty much any thing can be put in it but if the emptying company think its got some dodgy stuff in it ( smells of petrol or thick scums of oil for instance)they probably wont take it as it may affect their disposal license .

A septic tank on the other hand is a crude treatment process were a certain amount of biological activity takes place to reduce the chemical content of the sewage, so tipping turps, break fluid, petrol etc can have serious detriment to the tank. Also if you have one make sure when it emptied they leave about 25% in the bottom so the bugs doing the biological work aren't lost.

The EA or local health officers may also take action if you put stuff other than domestic sewage in, especially a septic tank which discharges to the ground which could become contaminated.

So in summary best you only put toilet, shower, bath and sink waste in both.

Scott (34yrs a civil engineer in the sewerage business hence the user name)

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

[macafee2]

I have always been connected to main sewers and have never really thought about what to put down the drain, of course I'd not tip my engine oil down or creosote but
would not think twice about cleaning out the bottle when I've changed clutch fluid.

Tank and pit, they are the wrong way round, no wonder I've ben confused

macafee2

[edwardmk]

Originally Posted by sewerman

As you say a cesspit is a sealed tank which is emptied out on a regular basis so pretty much any thing can be put in it but if the emptying company think its got some dodgy stuff in it ( smells of petrol or thick scums of oil for instance)they probably wont take it as it may affect their disposal license .

A septic tank on the other hand is a crude treatment process were a certain amount of biological activity takes place to reduce the chemical content of the sewage, so tipping turps, break fluid, petrol etc can have serious detriment to the tank. Also if you have one make sure when it emptied they leave about 25% in the bottom so the bugs doing the biological work aren't lost.

The EA or local health officers may also take action if you put stuff other than domestic sewage in, especially a septic tank which discharges to the ground which could become contaminated.

So in summary best you only put toilet, shower, bath and sink waste in both.

Scott (34yrs a civil engineer in the sewerage business hence the user name)

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk

This explains why at our previous property we were spending £800/year to empty the tank, and at our current property we've spent zero in the last four years. I didn't realise the difference would be so significant. Of course, it may be that our current property has a better septic tank system, but it's a revelation to never have any smells and not to need to keep forking out to empty the tank!

[Phil th Barrow]

Septic tanks are a thing of beauty....!!!! As sewer man says and he's right they need to keep "digesting" We had a septic 3 tank system that then outlet to th ground. It was that healthy there were evan frogs on th top one year when we opened it up for inspection. We never put much bleach down th drain as that just kills th process. So nope don't put down petro chemicals in any drain as EA will be calling...

3 chamber explained here.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP-K0U5qOYk