# Finding septic tank



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...i know it sounds funny, and might have been asked a few times, but my search was unsuccessful
So here i am...bought this house...have a pipe going straight out of house to a limited area of lawn.
Now i probed the hack out of it, but nothing...
How deep could this been hidden?
Tried to follow lawn pattern and did the 12-15 food of house method...
Any other good idea besides taking the whole lawn out and dig?
And once i found the tank...how to i detect the lid then?
City hall does not have location of septic tank or leach field...
House is build 1986...so what tank would you expect? Concrete or plastic?
Just asking to know how hard i can probe...since i dont wont to poke holes into plastic tank

Thx and happy Monday!!!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Concrete, most likely. 

I would call around to local septic companies and see if anyone has records.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If you are probing with sonething like rebar, you won’t poke a hole in it.

You aren’t hammering it down, are you?


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## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

Suggest you consider renting a quality "Metal Detector". There will or should be "Clean'outs" of pumping the tank. They will have large "metal" hose clamps. Did you check with all the tank pumping companies in the area, to see if they have a history of pumping the tank......???


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

20 years ago, I wondered where mine was. I finally decided that when it stopped up, it would back up and I'd know.

So far, it's not stopped up, backed up, and I still don't know. However, if I was very curious, I'd determine where the main drain left from under the house by crawling under and finding the spot, start probing in that same space on the outside of the house, and when I lost the "feel", I'd dig down right there til I uncovered the pipe, and keep on following it. If I never "felt" the drain pipe, I'd dig right where it comes out of the house until I find it. If it's ABS, you could crack it if you pound a rebar straight on it.

So, if you do so, filling a hole full of water a time or 2 will soften up that hard pack ground enough for a pike, pickax, shovel, and post hole digger to help you complete your search.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

If on a slab, there is no crawling under.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

There are no metal clamps on my system. Glued PVC.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello and thx so far...
It is a slab house but i have a "service" pvc screw lid access at my porch and see which direction it goes from there...
I also can hear the water going doing this pipe...so direction seems clear if not surprise bends...
Can it be deeper than a foot under the lawn?
Cause i haven't tried deeper than that yet...
Did no call any septic guys yet, but like the idea...thx...
Just want it pumped to have a known good here...
Would it make sense to really fill it first, to soak or be conservative until pumped?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Leave it alone if there are no issues. More water to pump out is no benefit. 

Is this a field drain system? Aerobic?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Pondering here.....

The line should run perpendicular to side of your house. You know where the clean out is. Run a string out from the slab toward the open area adjacent to your house. Probe for the drain line and follow it out.


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

Its going to be below your local frost line. Looking on the internet, I see NJ frost line as 36-42 inches. It'll be below that.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

I cannot tell what kind of system...since i dont see any further evidence that it is there besides the pipe going out of house...


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Clem said:


> Its going to be below your local frost line. Looking on the internet, I see NJ frost line as 36-42 inches. It'll be below that.


You are kidding, right?
that a good meter to go down to...no wonder why i did nit find a thing with my poking car antenna that i used for probing


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

It's code. Always has been, so yeah, it's that deep. 

ETA: Not always, but for as long as I worked on houses, anyway. And code could be different in your state.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Most likely field drain system. 

I hadn’t looked at your location. 

Stake out a string. Probe deeper. 

OR, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

You might call your county as well. Where I live, the county has records of where septic tanks are located; if installed with permits.


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## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

Check the recorders office, there should be an "as-built" survey recorded. If you just bought it, did you get a "Pre-Lim"......??


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Since you have located a cleanout you can call a line locator to run a wire/cable down there and trace it to the tank. Someone might also be able to do it with a good metal detector.

WWW


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

If your septic tank drains by gravity to the leach field, the top of the septic tank shouldn't be more than 2.5 to 3ft below the surface. I say this because in most States the bottom of the leachfield trenches/beds cannot be deeper than 4ft from the surface.

An easy way to find your septic tank is to flush a transmitter down the toilet. The receiver picks up the signal out in the yard above the tank. Of course, you'll have to find a rental store or septic professional that has one of these units.

Transmitter









Receiver (Locator)


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

In the code book for my State, I found this:

*305.6.1 Frost protection.*
No traps of soil or waste pipe shall be installed or permitted outside of a building, or concealed in outside walls or in any place where they may be subjected to freezing temperatures, unless adequate provision is made to protect them from freezing. Waste and soil piping leaving the building shall have a minimum cover of 3 inches.

Which interprets to "below frost line." In some of the South-eastern parts of the state, there is no frozen ground, and even there, 3" minimum coverage.



I can't imagine our state code is substantially different than any other. However, as has been mentioned before, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Some people feel that a regular cleaning of the septic tank will prevent a catastrophe. I don't know one way or the other about that, but it makes sense.

ETA: I had a lot of fun looking this stuff up, because google don't really work like it used to, it works by who pays to have their site listed first, I guess. I wasted a lot of time, but it was OK. Now, I have to look around for other stuff to do to prove to myself that I'm more important to the machinations of the world sitting in the AC than outside, where I belong, in 100 degrees.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

@Clem, I believe that code is for "traps" where water sits in them constantly. That code would not apply to the line from the house to the septic tank or a septic tank.

I live in Northern MN where the frost line is 4 to 4.5 feet below the surface. The top of our septic tank is only 1 foot below the surface.


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## Clem (Apr 12, 2016)

In that case, ignore everything I said, since my understanding was based on the entire line needing to be below frostline. But...Wouldn't the traps be in line with the rest of the drain line? Why would they be higher?

Which just goes to prove that my real place in the universe is outside, in the blazing heat. At least I'm used to it. Plus, it's good practice for the future...
Satan"Howdy Clem. Hot down here, ain't it"
Me "I've seen hotter"


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Wow...so much info...i really appreciate that.
Tomorrow i have contractor over and will be off whole day at house...so i will have time to play hide and seek with the septic...
Will hopefully report success a day later...


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Meinecke said:


> Can it be deeper than a foot under the lawn?
> Cause i haven't tried deeper than that yet...


Yes, depending on the topography and how the soil perks.
Try to find a thin metal rod to use as a probe.
Something close to the diameter of clothes hanger wire can be pushed in deeply by hand


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

I have one of these stainless steel screw on antenna's for trucks where i cut off the to flimsy part...
So will check deeper now...


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Do you have a water witch in your area. They should be able to find it in a few minutes.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Sewage drain lines that do not hold standing water do not need to be installed below frost line, and neither does the top of your septic tank. It's unusual for a clean out to be much deeper than about 3' max. If you can't find it by other means, just find where the main drain line exits your house, go outside and dig down to expose it, then keep digging following the pipe till you get to the septic tank.


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## FreeRange (Oct 9, 2005)

Have you asked the previous owner? Or maybe neighbors? If your house was built by the same builder, they should have a good idea. 

Usually, the septic tank is near the main building drain - outside a bathroom around here. Should be 10-12 feet from the house. There should be a cleanout between the tank and the house, a pipe sticking up from the ground. 

Have you looked for an aerial photo of your home on google maps? sometimes you can see the lateral lines from that perspective.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...thx for those tipps...
Asked the neighbor but they were just roughly guessing like i did...
Septic companies around are asked and funny wise noone knew the property...
Insane...really


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Maybe home built. We did that a few decades ago.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Meinecke said:


> Septic companies around are asked and funny wise noone knew the property...


If it's an older house the company who did it could have gone out of business.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Just tried to find the old engineer or contractor stated on paperwork, but also no luck...i am afraid i have to rip whole front yard apart...grmpf...


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Walk around the yard and drive a rod every three feet. The tank should not be more than two feet down. If the rod hits the tank you will feel it. If you were closer I would come over and show you how to witch for it.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Thx for the offer...tried that but there is literally no chance to poke something into the ground without a sledge hammer down to 2 feet...way to rocky soil...and dry right now...was hoping to see a dry spot in lawn, but even that did not work out...
If i ever find that thing i will make a gig mark or a raised lid ABOVE ground


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I am starting to wonder if you have a septic system. One old house that I owned was built in 1912. A bathroom had been added to the house decades later. There was a small holding tank in the back yard, and a drain line that ran toward the creek.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

No i have the septic paperwork with peculation analysis etc...contractor name and engineer...build 1986
Problem is the drawing is total useless


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I have that kind of paperwork on a system that was not installed at one of my properties.


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## FreeRange (Oct 9, 2005)

If you have a lot of rock under the surface, wouldn't the top of the septic be the only place you _could_ poke a rod deep? Assuming, the septic company backfilled over the top with sand like ours did.

With our house built in 1983 (in TX), the septic tanks were about 6-9 inches under the surface. I couldn't keep grass green over it in the summer but when I watered, it greened up first.

Did you see anything in an aerial view?


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Maybe you can guess...the clean out pipe coming out of house is marked with my crappy little yellow arrow...
I could guess a rectangular shape but what would you say and where would you expect the lid? middle/left right?
Thx


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

No way to guess.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Meinecke said:


> Maybe you can guess...the clean out pipe coming out of house is marked with my crappy little yellow arrow...
> I could guess a rectangular shape but what would you say and where would you expect the lid? middle/left right?
> Thx


A bit of a mystery...
You have a cleanout by house? I would snake that to get a sense of how far the tank is from house. I seem to recall the tank/field should be 25 or 50ft min from house (code up here). That being said, I've seen tanks under porches. 
Do you know where septic field is? 
I see two possible locations for field (possible signs of field - perf lines)...in front of house, and over by power pole(?). Usually, I would expect tank by field, if space isn't an issue because one has dig for a field, and it makes sense to have tank where one is digging for a field.


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## Lowe.Buuck (Jul 1, 2017)

If you can find a clean-out you could try putting a small spray nozzle on a garden hose (so the hose makes some noise with the water running).

Snake the hose down the line and listen for it with a *DIY Geophone*.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Heureka...i found the tank...not the lid yet but at least something
I was sick of the whole poking and getting nowhere and did what i tried to avoid...digging into the blue...
BUT...i was lucky or at least good guessing, so i found the far left corner of a concrete construction.
Did some more digging on the other end and found the other end of the tank...
With some logic i was able to determine the shape of the tank...just not sure how long it might be but at least i know relative position...and it is about one foot deep.
So my assumption now is that on a 1986 tank, i should have two lids, right?
So one on the first third and one on the last third of the tank?
And most likely middle!?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

There is no SHOULD BE in old septic systems.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

In 1986, if the tank is precast concrete and made by a septic tank manufacturer, at a minimum there would be a manhole over both the inlet and outlet baffles. Those are the two manholes you'll want to uncover.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Great...two more holes...damn...so any idea how long this tank might be foot wise?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Let us know when you have it dug out. 

I am guessing more than five. Less than fifteen.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Meinecke said:


> Great...two more holes...damn...so any idea how long this tank might be foot wise?


Quit whining. It's only a foot deep.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Not whining...just to many other pressing projects with the house at the same time so playing in the sand pit is not my favorite way to spend my time...warm water fix would be more my thing...haha


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Refresh my memory....

The septic system is working, correct?

Look back to the first page of this thread.

You are wasting summer time on a non-existent issue.

There is a handy technique called prioritizing. Make a list of important projects that need to be done. Next to the name of the project, write one of the following terms. 1. Urgent. 2. Important. 3. As time allows. 4. Maybe.

Sort by priority. Do the urgent ones first.

Re-lable and re-sort as necessary. 

Get back to us for your next step.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Warm water and septic clean out are on same priority...
As a German i am pretty anal when it comes to clear ground from start on...
Want to know that i pumped it and when and where it is...it is like making a list of checked and good or checked and bad...
Inventory kind of deal...
And since its summer, heat is not as pressing as it would be in 5 month from now...hahaha...


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Good news! A couple of feet from corner should get you over a lid. 
I hear you about wanting to know where septic tank is...especially if in need of a clean. 
Not only that, one doesn't want heavy vehicles, walkways, decks, etc., over a field or tank. As we say in the oil and gas biz, you have a 'tight play' judging by how clean the hole is...at least you don't have boulders in the mix.


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## FreeRange (Oct 9, 2005)

Congrats! I would like to start out with a clean tank too. Then, when you have a house full of company on Thanksgiving day, you know all the toilets will flush. BTDT.

So where was it? in the front yard?


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Front yard...about two yards out of porch...and today i even found a/the lid...not fully uncovered yet, but already found the steal bow which might be meant as the opening handle...will def build a riser...cant imagine to do this digging every three years...
Thx so much to all of you...but one tipp to anyone...probing with a stick/metal rod etc...nonesonse...in my dirt, you would never have found it...
hopefully, when i inspected it, it will only have one lid...hahaha


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

We installed clean out risers on ours last year.  If you are going to dig them out then I would spend the extra and do the install now. Never again will we have to lift those concrete lids.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

And, if you do install the risers, make sure that they have locking lids or some other child proof mechanism to keep kids from opening the lids and falling in the tank.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

My house was built in '64 and the grandfathered in septic tank has a flat cement slab covering the whole top! The tank is just a rectangular cement box. Pretty small in my estimation.

Why didn't you have the tank inspected and cleaned as part of the contract? Sure would have saved you some trouble.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

@Wolf mom Water and septic inspection was excluded from auction procedure...otherwise i would have done it...
@All...first found lid was just intake inspect baffle, but from their i was able to determin location of main lid...
Found this, opened it and determined size of tank...1300 but water level some lower so i think 1200 water content...
Will get riser as soon this thing is pumped...
Thx for all your help...


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Soooooo...
Got pumped today...
1200 G full with wet wipes building an armor on top...
Outside baffle gone, but easy to fix...
One more thing of the list...Yeahaaaa.
Fresh start and dont have to think about it for the next three years...
Thx all...and subject could be closed if that is a flag somewhere i haven't seen yet


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I would suggest fixing that outlet baffle now by simply installing an effluent filter. Do it now before your tank refills up to the outlet level.


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

How often are you declogging that baby?
Will do def the T- part...not sure where to get this cool pipe cleaner...


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Meinecke said:


> How often are you declogging that baby?
> Will do def the T- part...not sure where to get this cool pipe cleaner...


I clean it once a year in the fall. It has never clogged.
Get one on Ebay: With baffle or without baffle


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Cool thing...just ordered...
Now i only have to dig out the outside lid to not have to jump in for repair...haha
And have to find a place where i get these big black drain pipes to cut risers out of it...
But i will find them on junkyard real easy...


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Soooo...
Here a few final pics from my journey


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

The outlet end opening is odd shaped. It almost looks like it was punched through the concrete. How are you going to cover that?









Good job putting in the effluent filter. Make sure you clean it once a year, or it could eventually get plugged and cause a back up.

Did you install a riser? 

That's the first time I ever saw a rectangular cover on a septic tank. Every cover I've seen are round. Do you know why manhole covers are round?


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## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...
Round holes are more stable in term of material stress and the optimum of volume to surface ratio...
The square one surprised me as well.
The broken through one is a round one but "grew" together and by pulling the rotten metal handle i only had a sub piece of it in hands...so i left the rest alone since i was able to pump, inspect and put filter in
Risers are in but no pic of them...sorry...


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Meinecke said:


> Hello...
> Round holes are more stable in term of material stress and the optimum of volume to surface ratio...


Not exactly. A round manhole cover will never fall into the manhole, whereas a square or rectangular cover could fall into the manhole.


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