Changing from a septic tank to sewage treatment system
Discussion
I live in a village with no mains drainage. A company has dropped off flyers offering to swap septic tanks for sewage treatment systems FOC. They claim the phosphate credits, you get your septic tank replaced.
Has anyone here swapped their septic tank for a treatment plant?
Our current tank is probably as old as the house (so 50+ years). We have had a couple of issues which have been resolved by water-jetting the pipe to the drainage field, but other than that it has been fine. My concern is that we might move from a system that causes us very few problems to a "new improved" solution which might not work as painlessly.
So - any experiences would be appreciated. I'd be interested to hear of any teething problems your system might have had, and how they were resolved.
The main downside appears to be that the treatment system has some running costs associated with it (electricity and an annual service) which the septic tank does not (they both need to be emptied at similar intervals).
The upside is that we get a new system to replace the old one which could be nearing end of life. It will also produce cleaner output, which I guess can only be a good thing.
Has anyone here swapped their septic tank for a treatment plant?
Our current tank is probably as old as the house (so 50+ years). We have had a couple of issues which have been resolved by water-jetting the pipe to the drainage field, but other than that it has been fine. My concern is that we might move from a system that causes us very few problems to a "new improved" solution which might not work as painlessly.
So - any experiences would be appreciated. I'd be interested to hear of any teething problems your system might have had, and how they were resolved.
The main downside appears to be that the treatment system has some running costs associated with it (electricity and an annual service) which the septic tank does not (they both need to be emptied at similar intervals).
The upside is that we get a new system to replace the old one which could be nearing end of life. It will also produce cleaner output, which I guess can only be a good thing.
this is my username said:
I live in a village with no mains drainage. A company has dropped off flyers offering to swap septic tanks for sewage treatment systems FOC. They claim the phosphate credits, you get your septic tank replaced.
Has anyone here swapped their septic tank for a treatment plant?
Our current tank is probably as old as the house (so 50+ years). We have had a couple of issues which have been resolved by water-jetting the pipe to the drainage field, but other than that it has been fine. My concern is that we might move from a system that causes us very few problems to a "new improved" solution which might not work as painlessly.
So - any experiences would be appreciated. I'd be interested to hear of any teething problems your system might have had, and how they were resolved.
The main downside appears to be that the treatment system has some running costs associated with it (electricity and an annual service) which the septic tank does not (they both need to be emptied at similar intervals).
The upside is that we get a new system to replace the old one which could be nearing end of life. It will also produce cleaner output, which I guess can only be a good thing.
Yes made the change in late 2021. We were doing work that needed a new sewage connection. In doing this we established that the existing septic tank wasn't working properly & appeared somewhat unconventional. We replaced with a Clearspan unit. As legisaltion on septic tanks continues to seem to tighten it seemed to be a sensible thing to do to replace.it & be done No issues to date. A FOC installation seems very generous & too good to be true.. Has anyone here swapped their septic tank for a treatment plant?
Our current tank is probably as old as the house (so 50+ years). We have had a couple of issues which have been resolved by water-jetting the pipe to the drainage field, but other than that it has been fine. My concern is that we might move from a system that causes us very few problems to a "new improved" solution which might not work as painlessly.
So - any experiences would be appreciated. I'd be interested to hear of any teething problems your system might have had, and how they were resolved.
The main downside appears to be that the treatment system has some running costs associated with it (electricity and an annual service) which the septic tank does not (they both need to be emptied at similar intervals).
The upside is that we get a new system to replace the old one which could be nearing end of life. It will also produce cleaner output, which I guess can only be a good thing.
This is becoming fairly common standard practice in nutrient neutrality affected areas without official credit schemes, of which there really are not many across the UK. It's one of those few cases where the offer really is not too good to be true. However, standard advise applies of undertaking your due diligence on the PTP system (and choice) on offer, warranty and the contractor who will undertake the work.
What is effectively taking place is a contractor has found an existing gap in a (presently, very grey) market to effectively be a middle man on the transfer of phosphate credits from existing sites to new sites. The benefit to the contractor is that they simultaneously gain two sewage private treatment plant installation contracts. The benefit to you is that you receive a new PTP. However, the real benefit is to the client of the new site who requires their own PTP and (desperately) requires phosphate credits to offset their own installation. It is the latter who pays for all of the work on both sites.
There is also a market for you to undertake the sewage system upgrade work yourself and through doing so, offer to sell the phosphate credits that arise to a new development. There are online broker services that can assist you with this and obviously take their cut.
What is effectively taking place is a contractor has found an existing gap in a (presently, very grey) market to effectively be a middle man on the transfer of phosphate credits from existing sites to new sites. The benefit to the contractor is that they simultaneously gain two sewage private treatment plant installation contracts. The benefit to you is that you receive a new PTP. However, the real benefit is to the client of the new site who requires their own PTP and (desperately) requires phosphate credits to offset their own installation. It is the latter who pays for all of the work on both sites.
There is also a market for you to undertake the sewage system upgrade work yourself and through doing so, offer to sell the phosphate credits that arise to a new development. There are online broker services that can assist you with this and obviously take their cut.
Hi,
I live in Cumbria and my neighbour and I are considering signing up for the septic tank replacement scheme. I am wondering if you finally went ahead with your tank replacement and what your experiences of the replacement scheme and the new equipment have been.
Any thoughts you would like to share on this subject would be gratefully received.
Thanks.
I live in Cumbria and my neighbour and I are considering signing up for the septic tank replacement scheme. I am wondering if you finally went ahead with your tank replacement and what your experiences of the replacement scheme and the new equipment have been.
Any thoughts you would like to share on this subject would be gratefully received.
Thanks.
The whole thing has gone quiet. The original commercial company had the wind taken out of their sails by a local authority / grant funded scheme which is planned to go through the area offering free upgrades - but that scheme is moving very slowly. Slightly frustrating but a not a problem as our tank is still working fine.
I had a Klargester BioDisc installed and it caused nothing but trouble from start to finish - a very expensive mistake. To be fair and after lots of squabbling with them, Klargester eventually installed another one under warranty and the second one was even more troublesome than the first.
If you go down this route my advice would be to give Klargester a very wide-birth.
If you go down this route my advice would be to give Klargester a very wide-birth.
Joscal said:
I m worried that a waste treatment tank needs electricity, what happens when there s a power cut?
Ours was off for a week during last years storm..
Most of the current ones seem to have a small pump which just blows air in to the tank to break the stuff up when it comes in to the tank and aerate the whole system. I'd imagine that it can tolerate moderate periods without power. Ours was off for a week during last years storm..
Joscal said:
I m worried that a waste treatment tank needs electricity, what happens when there s a power cut?
Ours was off for a week during last years storm..
You are correct about the electric, with ours anyway. We now have a WPL tank that has a remote external air pump to blow bubbles through the actual tank.Ours was off for a week during last years storm..
https://www.drainagesuperstore.co.uk/product/wpl-d...
This one is also fitted with an external emptying tank with an additional pump to empty the treated water into the ditch as the main tank is below a level suitable for emptying by gravity.
With no electricity there are so many variables as to when untreated sewerage would be pumped into the ditch. We have a small standby generator for such occasions. We're fortunate that our electric has never been off for more than a few hours.
Backtothenorth said:
I'm in Cumbria too Greenwild and need to replace my septic tank (as I think does most of rural Cumbria !).
Most of my neighbours just sweep the issue under the carpet but I am not so sure.
I had to rod a blockage in ours a couple of weeks ago....I can't imagine sweeping it under the carpet smelling to good Most of my neighbours just sweep the issue under the carpet but I am not so sure.
Our village is now on mains, but it would cost us thousands to dig up the drains to direct down to the road.....we will carry on as we are, paying for a annual clearance - which went up almost 50% over last year
, but still less than mains drainage would cost, I suspect..... Snow and Rocks said:
Why are you emptying your septic tank every year? I did ours recently after 5 years and it was fine, my elderly neighbours have never emptied theirs and they've been there since the 60s!
Well....it's a smallish tank....but it probably can go to 2 years. We will 'monitor' it more closely....If your septic tank is designed, installed and working “properly” it shouldn’t ever need emptied - or only very rarely. Just as well cause it’s bloody expensive.
We have a plastic onion type septic tank installed in 2006 and we’ve emptied it once - in 2008 because my wife had been flushing things down the bog she shouldn’t have been. It’s been fine since
We have a plastic onion type septic tank installed in 2006 and we’ve emptied it once - in 2008 because my wife had been flushing things down the bog she shouldn’t have been. It’s been fine since
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