Anyone had a sewage treatment plant installed recently?

[acme]

A rather necessary if not the most pleasant topic!

Thinking of having a new system fitted whilst the driveways being built, the old septic though working is 30 years old.

Having seen inside one I'm keen to avoid a Klargester biodisc variety (lots of working parts to go wrong), has anyone had one fitted recently and can make a recommendation?

One I've seen that may fit the bill is a Solido (or Solido Smart) by Rewatec. Looks like a simpler air system.

I'd like to make it as simple and as minimum maintenance as possible - I'm aware there's an on-going maintenance regime with these!

Cheers in advance.

[phib]

Hi we have a Klargester biodisc and to be honest bar two issues its been great.

Both issues our fault. One blocked outlet pipe and the other a blocked inlet pipe!

Apart from that faultless

Phib

[acme]

Thanks for the response, appreciated.

Can you advise of what maintenance you've had to do, other than the annual service if any?

[TLandCruiser]

I have an air system in my septic tank and I’ve never had it serviced, I just clean the air pump filter every six months.

It’s a mantair, there’s no moving parts, it’s just a big pvc cylinder in the septic tank, some air pipes and water exit pipe and that’s it powered by an air pump.

Edited by TLandCruiser on Tuesday 27th March 14:36

[phib]

acme said:

Thanks for the response, appreciated.

Can you advise of what maintenance you've had to do, other than the annual service if any?

We moved in 18 months ago and it had a history of it going wrong backing up and internally flooding great I thought.......

So after trying to workout where the clean water exit pipe was, I found it in a ditch under about 20cm of soil / leaf mulch. So it was never going to drain and would always back up.

Dug it out and its been good since. I challenged the "maintenance company" who had reported the same issue for 6 years!

And then fired them!

The other problem was toilet roll blocking the drain ahead of the sewerage getting to the biodisk. Which could happen with any system.

Phib

[acme]

Thanks again for the reply, appreciated. As I'm hoping to go from a septic with weepers to a treatment plant emptying into a ditch that's very useful to know.

[EggsBenedict]

In our last house we had a Mantair system installed: https://www.mantair.com/

Coincidentally the same contractor installed a similar system in our current house for the previous occupants.

No serious problems with either one over a combined 13 years or so.

In the last house, the outlet became blocked because the ditch it exited into became so dry one year in summer that silt built up and blocked the exit. Not the system's fault

In this house, the main issue was that the installer had forgotten the separate settlement tank, and when we had issues caused by a blocked outlet valve (it exits into a large pond, and there's a one-way valve that stops pondwater entering the system if the water level gets too high) it took a while to find them. Not the system's fault.

Might help you...

[nanodex]

We replaced an old septic system with the system you’re looking at (Rewatec Solido). We sold the house shortly after installation but based on short experience would recommend it; a big advantage over many other air pump systems is that the compressor etc is housed in a sealed unit in the tank neck as opposed to being in an above-ground enclosure - which can end up being noisy.

[andrewt1982]

nanodex said:

We replaced an old septic system with the system you’re looking at (Rewatec Solido). We sold the house shortly after installation but based on short experience would recommend it; a big advantage over many other air pump systems is that the compressor etc is housed in a sealed unit in the tank neck as opposed to being in an above-ground enclosure - which can end up being noisy.

Good Evening - my company service and maintain this type of equipment... If I was putting a system in for my own house I’d go with the Klargester BioDisc (we have no affiliation). They are simple, reliable and quiet.

The system described above (air blower in the tank) is prone to failure - it is in a continual warm/damp environment and housing the blower in here just leads to more frequent parts/blower replacements. Indeed a lot of our clients end up asking us to retro fit exterior blower enclosures to prolong blower life.

[monkfish1]

andrewt1982 said:

Good Evening - my company service and maintain this type of equipment... If I was putting a system in for my own house I’d go with the Klargester BioDisc (we have no affiliation). They are simple, reliable and quiet.

The system described above (air blower in the tank) is prone to failure - it is in a continual warm/damp environment and housing the blower in here just leads to more frequent parts/blower replacements. Indeed a lot of our clients end up asking us to retro fit exterior blower enclosures to prolong blower life.

Got to say i find this intriguing. Putting a compressor in a tank puts it in a damp enviroment. Get that. But a Klargester Biodisc puts the motor in the tank. Everyone i know with one has had at least one motor replaced, doubtless because its in exactly that same environment.

Cant fault Klargester for becoming a "brand" name. But the outfall from it barely passes the standard, and they put a pump inside the tank! Good for the maintainers, not so good for the owners.

Sadly ive been doing a load of asking questions as i too need to put in a sewage treatment system.

[acme]

Thanks for all the replies fellas, appreciated, but inevitably confusing!

Having been to see some actual tanks in operation the solido has the advantage of not running all the time, presumably meaning less wear and tear. Plus it seems to have less moving parts, though the electronics look fairly sizeable.

Having looked in the biodisc system the belt, not dissimilar to a camblet looks like a part that could easily fail, let alone the toothed wheel it sits on and the two huge turning wheels (for want of a better phrase). Plus I've heard issues re Klargesters.

Oh dear!

[andrewt1982]

monkfish1 said:

andrewt1982 said:

Good Evening - my company service and maintain this type of equipment... If I was putting a system in for my own house I’d go with the Klargester BioDisc (we have no affiliation). They are simple, reliable and quiet.

The system described above (air blower in the tank) is prone to failure - it is in a continual warm/damp environment and housing the blower in here just leads to more frequent parts/blower replacements. Indeed a lot of our clients end up asking us to retro fit exterior blower enclosures to prolong blower life.

Got to say i find this intriguing. Putting a compressor in a tank puts it in a damp enviroment. Get that. But a Klargester Biodisc puts the motor in the tank. Everyone i know with one has had at least one motor replaced, doubtless because its in exactly that same environment.

Cant fault Klargester for becoming a "brand" name. But the outfall from it barely passes the standard, and they put a pump inside the tank! Good for the maintainers, not so good for the owners.

Sadly ive been doing a load of asking questions as i too need to put in a sewage treatment system.

Ok - so a few thoughts on the above... On the various different plants we maintain the failure rate is a lot less on the biodisc type plant. Blowers housed inside sewage treatment plants seem to last less time than those outside.
I have to disagree about Klargester “barely” making standards - If sized and operated correctly, no problem at all - the technology/biology used is exactly the same for both systems.

However I probably should say that different systems suit different scenarios (cost, location property etc) - they are all simple systems and not difficult to maintain. Make sure they are tankered out annually, wet wipes will cause problems and too much bleach / detergents will damage the biology.

[nanodex]

The Rewatec system has the compressor in a sealed unit in the tank neck, so it's not _directly_ exposed to the tank environment. Whether an external kiosk would bother you depends on a number of factors, but we were in a particularly quiet location and it would certainly have annoyed me. One other thing I liked about the system was the fact that the tank lid was relatively small and flush with the ground - thus not a problem for ride on mowers etc. I may be wrong but had the impression that the bio disk type systems had a large dome type cover that was somewhat more obtrusive - and definitely not drivable over.

[acme]

Thanks again for the replies, appreciated.

Another type has been suggested as being fairly minimal maintenance required; Tricel sewage treament plants.

Like this; uk.tricel.eu

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences with this type?

From what I can see there are few moving parts and it still meets the EU requirements around waste water etc.

Cheers

[tazzatime]

I had a Klargester Clearwater E6 treatment plant installed about 18 months ago, to replace an old failing septic tank.
This unit is blower based, but the air pump is housed in a separate enclosure, not inside the tank itself.
There is a small amount of noise from the blower but it is not intrusive.

So far so good.

[Bumblebee7]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm buying a property in Cornwall with planning permission for an existing building to be converted into a house with the installation of a biodisc sewage treatment system.

I have some questions if someone is able to answer:
1) any recommended installers in Cornwall?
2) ballpark installation cost for a system suitable for 5 people with 28m2 soakaways?
3) rough annual maintenance costs?
4) rough annual running costs?
5) once installed, is it possible to move the system to another location in the future? (ie 10m further down the garden)
6) any drawbacks of installing a larger system than required?

Thanks in advance!

[acme]

Bumblebee7 said:

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm buying a property in Cornwall with planning permission for an existing building to be converted into a house with the installation of a biodisc sewage treatment system.

I have some questions if someone is able to answer:
1) any recommended installers in Cornwall?
2) ballpark installation cost for a system suitable for 5 people with 28m2 soakaways?
3) rough annual maintenance costs?
4) rough annual running costs?
5) once installed, is it possible to move the system to another location in the future? (ie 10m further down the garden)
6) any drawbacks of installing a larger system than required?

Thanks in advance!

An old thread resurrection clearly. I can answer some having originally posted this.

Mine isn't to soakaway but cost was approx 7k, originally quoted 12k ish, builder did in the end. I'd always over spec, the cost of my tank for 8 rather than 6 people was a few hundred pounds, I can't imagine it makes a great deal of difference to the hole size. I wouldn't want to move once in place, some are back filled with shingle, some are concreted in place, the latter clearly not easy.

If installing a larger system I'd have thought a smart system (ie Solido smart) would make sense, it can adjust according to how much through flow rather than static due to tank size - least this is my understanding. Mine is far larger than required but suits the size of the house/potential.

[Bumblebee7]

acme said:

An old thread resurrection clearly. I can answer some having originally posted this.

Mine isn't to soakaway but cost was approx 7k, originally quoted 12k ish, builder did in the end. I'd always over spec, the cost of my tank for 8 rather than 6 people was a few hundred pounds, I can't imagine it makes a great deal of difference to the hole size. I wouldn't want to move once in place, some are back filled with shingle, some are concreted in place, the latter clearly not easy.

If installing a larger system I'd have thought a smart system (ie Solido smart) would make sense, it can adjust according to how much through flow rather than static due to tank size - least this is my understanding. Mine is far larger than required but suits the size of the house/potential.

That's very useful, thank you.

The reason for wanting to potentially move it in the future is that the purchase is for two attached buildings, one with planning permission to convert into a house and one without. Part of the reason the other building could not get consent is that there is very little land with the property and the location of the bio disc would be too close for building regs to allow the 'annexe' to be inhabitable. My plan is to buy land (under current negotiation) next to the property allowing the bio disc to be moved to such a location that in the future it may be possible to make the other building habitable. I know these systems are pricey so wondered if it could be reused.

[Burningham]

acme said:

Bumblebee7 said:

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm buying a property in Cornwall with planning permission for an existing building to be converted into a house with the installation of a biodisc sewage treatment system.

I have some questions if someone is able to answer:
1) any recommended installers in Cornwall?
2) ballpark installation cost for a system suitable for 5 people with 28m2 soakaways?
3) rough annual maintenance costs?
4) rough annual running costs?
5) once installed, is it possible to move the system to another location in the future? (ie 10m further down the garden)
6) any drawbacks of installing a larger system than required?

Thanks in advance!

An old thread resurrection clearly. I can answer some having originally posted this.

Mine isn't to soakaway but cost was approx 7k, originally quoted 12k ish, builder did in the end. I'd always over spec, the cost of my tank for 8 rather than 6 people was a few hundred pounds, I can't imagine it makes a great deal of difference to the hole size. I wouldn't want to move once in place, some are back filled with shingle, some are concreted in place, the latter clearly not easy.

If installing a larger system I'd have thought a smart system (ie Solido smart) would make sense, it can adjust according to how much through flow rather than static due to tank size - least this is my understanding. Mine is far larger than required but suits the size of the house/potential.

Hi - I've been in this industry for 32 years this January, and have seen just about everything there is too see. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
I'll start with the various types of treatment plant.

All small treatment plant have 3 parts - a primary settlement zone where 'heavy' solids settle out, and treatment part in the middle, and a final settlement area where anything left over will float or sink - before what is relatively 'clean' will leave the system to go into a drainage field (not soakaway that is something different) or into a running ditch/ stream etc. The regulations state this must 'run' all year - no dry ditches.

How those 3 bits go together are the differences between the various systems and manufacturers. & it the middle treatment area that is key.

The main two options are the Disc types and the aerated types. Whilst a disc unit will be much more expensive (around £3500 for a 6 person unit) an aerated system is around 5/6 times more expensive to run in electrical consumption - but an aerated system will be much cheaper to buy - at less than £2k for an aerated system at the cheaper end.
Regs state they must be serviced & emptied at least once a year, no matter which type of unit you have.

Klargester are the most common of the disc type units - although there are others - but they also make aerated systems. But caution here - Klargester are owned by Kingpsan - they also own the Entec (old brand), Titan and Clearwater brands - and although there will be a price difference - they are all made by the same people in the same factory - just different labels on them.

most of the rest make aerated systems and they are just about al the same - only priced differently. The Rewatec unit mentioned is made by a company called Premier Tech, then you have Marsh industries, Tricel, Graf, Harlequin - loads of others that all make a vey similar type of aerated system. Some of them make a unit where the air compressor goes inside the tank. Even if this is in a separate compartment, this is really not a good idea, as the compressor needs to 'suck in' air to pump it into the system. If it is sucking in 'dirty' air from inside the tank than it will fail faster, and might even be the cause of some nasty smells.
Earlier in the thread someone compared this to the Klargester motor being inside the unit - but this is not comparing apples to apples - as the Klargester motor is spinning a shaft - that is how the disc system adds the required oxygen - but the motor has some protection against the environment it is in, and is not sucking in dirty air.
However, it is true that if the disc unit floods for any reason, the motor is submerged and requires replacing.

But a disc unit is virtually silent - whereas an aerated system with an above ground air compressor will be noisy.

In short buy what you can afford - but generally what happens is, if it is a 'contractor' building a house, they don't care and will buy the cheapest they can get away with - they don't have to live with it.
If it is self build, they usually buy a disc unit as it is easier to 'live' with it - as long as it is serviced and emptied and treated correctly.

& also - do NOT get one larger than you need, or smaller. Treatment plant all require 'balance' Enough waste going through it to establish a good growth, but not too much so the waste goes through the system to quickly.

Before you do anything, check out he government/EA rules on what you can and cannot do - search for something called 'general binding rules'.

Any specific questions please do let me know.

[EGEC]

The Klargester in principal is a good unit, BUT

BB unit installed in 2012.
In 2015 I found the the rotation had reversed, I changed the small start capacitor shoehorned inside the terminal box of the VIPPA spilt phase motor.
At the same time I checked the rotation alarm by removing the magnet which by now had ferrous corroded nuts and bolts, only to find the strobe beacon didn't come on,

The reason for this was that the installer had never turned on the dip switch Number 10 inside the control box.
To access the control box I had to drill out one of the four cover screws which were all ferrous and corroded.
I then changed all the fittings on the magnet, reed switch and control box and strobe beacon to stainless steel.

In 2017 the motor unit was noisy, banging and jumping so I changed the motor gearbox unit to a PANASONIC which has a separate capacitor, all is now fine. The capacitor being separate is more substantial.

The VIPPA gearbox was lacking grease on the gear train and had worn out, Unfortunately I fell into the period of the VIPPA motor experiment.

Conclusion, sloppy commissioning and ferrous hardware supplied by Klargester to be be fitted in a known hostile environment,

Klargester assure me that the control box screws are stainless, they weren't in my case and neither were the reed switch and magnet fittings.