55 Gallon Garage Septic

[bmxdad]

I've heard about this, but I haven't seen any plans around.
Any pictures or PDF's around?

How deep does the drum need to be?

I have some property with a hunting shack on it, and was thinking of adding one. I was going to get a 55 gallon plastic drum for solids but add a 30 gallon one to handle liquids by draining into a bed of rocks. The big drum would be stood on end with a pipe, coming out about a third of the way down from the top, going to the 30 gallon, which has drain holes all over the bottom and half way up the sides.

The whole thing is covered with landscape fabric and buried ... Well?

 

[Simeon]

What about a bio-gas generator?

http://www.completebiogas.com/B_55Gal.html

 

[benchracer]

A friend of mine did this for a urinal in his garage. He only buried it a couple of feet too, No problems yet and it's been about 5 years.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Study up on septic system design. The "bed of rocks" you are referring to is called a leach field.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I have some property with a hunting shack on it, and was thinking of adding one. I was going to get a 55 gallon plastic drum for solids but add a 30 gallon one to handle liquids by draining into a bed of rocks.

My brother-in-law did this, but stopped with the 55 gallon drum.

First, he has very sandy soil. I think he only went down about 10'. The bottom 1/3-1/2 is for solids and the rest for liquids. Multiple holes drilled around at about the 1/2 level. He actually uses it with a flush toilet (rain water) and a sink. No shower, but he has had up to a dozen people there, camping, for a weekend.

Your design is better, especially if you don't have very sandy soil. Remember you need to properly vent the inside plumbing.

 

[p_mori7]

We have this kind of setup at our hunting camp.

The drum is buried so the top is about flush with grade. We keep a lid on it and a few concrete blocks to hold it in place.

The inlet is about 6" below the rim.

The outlet is about 12" below the rim, on the opposite side. The outlet pipe is just a piece of ABS about 12' long with a bunch of holes drilled into it (going slightly downhill), covered with some sand/gravel mix that we got nearby.

When we leave the camp in the fall, we flush some yogurt down the toilet and let the bacteria do it's thing until we come back next summer.

Never had to empty it yet, been there 12 years without issues.

 

[Cyberbear]

A "poor man's septic system" is popular where I live in So. Calif. and many are used for simple garage/shop use. Plastic barrels are very good and you only need a couple for low usage to get the job done.
Just let the black water drain into them one to another and then out to the gravel bed, or what ever you use for the leach field based on the type of soil in your area. Easily removable covers is a good idea until you know for sure how your system is working. I found using a plastic lid from a 32 gal. trash can works well for making a concrete cover that won't rot like wood. Just pour it full of redi-mix, pop it out and you're good to go.
Good luck!!

 

[uncletater]

http://www.off-grid.net/2013/08/09/a-small-diy-septic-system/


Pretty easy to do.

 

[handyman1947]

cyberbear- the plastic trash can lid for the form for the top is a great idea- I'm going to use it if ya don't mind "Thanks"

 

[bczygan]

http://www.wikihow.com/Construct-a-Small-Septic-System

 

[bmxdad]

Study up on septic system design. The "bed of rocks" you are referring to is called a leach field.

Yea, I know ... but I'm not lugging a bunch of drain rock half way up a mountain. Just a hole with a bunch of rocks