I have a septic system that has three chambers and a lift pump. The chamber sizes are 600, 800 and 1000 I believe. I can't get a straight answer as when to have it cleaned I've been just told that it will last for years. That don't cut it. Knowing this forum has all sorts of experts on chit (pun intended) I figure I would pose the question. Seriously though, I know the old single chamber vaults would go about 3-4 years my system is running 3 adults. How long can I go without having a smelly swamp in the back yard?

I have a 2 vault system went 10 years with 2 adults and 2 kids when I had it emptied last time the first vault was full and the second vault was less than 1/4 full.

Just me and mama know so I figure I'm gonna go another 12 before I have it pumped again.

There are formulas for calculating when to pump a tank, but pumping a tank at regular intervals, say every 3-5 years is far cheaper than paying for a new disposal field when they fail.

Its impossible to say how often is enough for your system because it all boils down to what waste and chemicals are going into the tank and how well the bacteria are digesting solids.

You could have 2 identical systems with different users and totally different results.

You can either check solid content in the first tank with a pole or pump every 5 years to be safe as long as large amounts of grease aren't in the system.

I'll prolly have it pumped in the next year or two just to be safe and gauge it from there.

The answer isn't always very clear,

I'm assuming your treatment tank is the 1000 gallons you mentioned,

In the State I live in, The maintenance cycle for 3 adults with a 1000 gallon tank would be every 3.8 years,

However many maintenance cycles are based on number of bedrooms,and using that formula the number comes to 6 adults which brings you to maintenance every 2.1 years.

However, these numbers can be tossed aside at times because Wisconsin requires maintenance every three years.

It's all about keeping a happy balance inside the tank with the Sludge level, Scum level and liquid effluent level.

Anaerobic bacteria can only break down so much, and at some point without the required maintenance,larger solids will be passed out into the absorption field, which can lead to a failing system.

The people who go 10-12 years without pumping are playing an expensive poker game...Some win, Some Lose....

we manage several properties with septic tanks, we have some that have gone 20+ years with out being pumped and are fine, and we have some that we have to pump once a year.

I have a 1000 gallon two chamber system pumped it last summer because I had to dig it up to locate the tank/drain field due to some work I was doing. Didn't want to pour the patio over it. It hadn't been pumped for nine years. Everything was in good shape but I had it pumped having it uncovered. One of the big problems with septic tanks is garbage disposals. With the two of us now I may never have to pump it again. I put a little Rid-X down it a few times a year. When we opened that baby up I thought Obama must be coming up the drive!

I friend told me to pump it every election cycle so it's easy to remember

I just did mine after 5 years, probably would have lasted a few more but the filter was starting to clog. I wanted to pump it the summer vs a emergency in the winter when the ground is frozen solid. $300 seems like cheap insurance every 4 years. Now I with a filter cleaning I could probably go 10+ years if I needed to.

My tank was buried so I had to find it and dig it up. I added risers so the lids at ground level now and I'll put a small deck/plant stand over it so it's not so ugly.

How do you make a determination that a tank needs to be pumped?

Mine is the old single chamber type. Its a year old, and the drain field was put in at that time too. I get two answers to this. If I ask the guy who pumps tanks in this area he says every year. If I ask the guy where I buy the activator chemicals he says it should go for ten years if the activators are working.

The contractor who helped me put the system in said his mother's tank hasn't been pumped in twenty years.

The OP has a much more sophisticated system than mine. We don't use a disposal in the kitchen and there are just two of us. I am going to pump it out every two years, but have no factual information to base that on.

Explain this please.

disposals are a source of many solids that are slow to break down (or don't).

My septic runs about 5 yr between pumps and we just decide to do it. Don't know if it is needed or not

I have the older single chamber style, and laid out leach field, the one thing the plumber and septic guys told me was to make sure to feed it bacteria every month, some thing like Rid ex and its ilk, have do so now for over 25 years and inly have had the chamber pumped once.biggest advantage I have is no disposal,as the old system doesn't have the mandated grinder the new ones have,plus a French drain for the softer system for water and washer machine

Lots of things that get put down the disposal don't decompose very fast. You'd be surprised at the things people put down there. My old HS buddy used to get rid of his beer bottles that way so Mom wouldn't see them in the garbage.

Grinding organic matter into fine particles is a bad thing?

Compared to the many many gallons of water and waste we put into the system?

I'm no expert on Crap, but some times the internet is damn funny...

And no, we don't need to go into the differences between Anaerobic and Aerobic bacteria either...

Hello from IA, My first post is about crap, probably a bad omen. Pull the cover/s or if you can't find the covers dig them out and add a curb or two to make sure you can inspect when you need to. Or just wait until the bubbling crude comes to the surface...

Welcome Iowan. Which part?

My mom passed right after Christmas of this year and my dad passed in 01. We are in the process of selling there house that was built in 1971 the real estate agent wanted the tank pumped, we opened it for the first time sence the house was built and found that it had about 3 inches of sludge on the bottom and the only solids were made by Trogen. There was always a box of Rid-X put in it once a month or so.

NW by Sioux City
Thanks

Very good advice (in a nutshell!).

We just replaced our grinder-lift pump today, after pumping the septic tank four days ago. (grinder pump shorted out necessitating our latest go-round with the pooper pumper).

Might not hurt to check with your county to see how often they expect home owners to pump out their septic systems!