Septic Tank Riser

[sjvicker]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place.

I have a concrete tank and am going to be taking off the square hatch to add a round riser. The riser kit I bought comes with sealer and 1/4" concrete anchors and as I understand it, the process is to clean off the lid, drill and anchor down the connector.

Am I not getting something here, or are the instructions really to use a hammer drill on your lid while working above yesterdays tacos and hope that you don't get a crack and have a catastrophic lid failure?

Anyone have some insight? I was thinking about skipping the anchors and only using the sealer and some thinset on the plastic flanges to get a seal then letting the dirt keep it in place.

Thanks,
Spencer

 

[kabinenroller]

I added a riser to my tank and it was just held in place with the "gasket" that was supplied by the local manufacturer of the concrete tanks.
I would not feel comfortable drilling old concrete, if in doubt use some epoxy glue like the landscaping guys use on stone walls.

 

[doctordirt]

A few different way to do this. The way you are doing it is the expensive way, but you have the parts so do it. If it is the system I'm thinking of there is an adapter that is flat that gets bolted down with a gasket between the tank and adapte. Then the riser is epoxyed to the adapter. The economonical way is to use dual wall corregated pipe, and use butyal rubber to adhere directly to the tank. Normal size is 24 inches ID

 

[lakeroadster]

The county made us add two risers when we sold our last home. They just used the gasket material between the riser and the top of the tank, then put the original lid back on the tank, and then the new lid on the riser.

The tank lid had no gasket, neither did the riser lid.

Worth noting: After they did the installation you could smell the raw sewage every time you were near the riser... which was right beside our fire pit. Awesome....

 

[ducksface]

I am confused by risers.
Other than making it simpler to get to the lid because the riser displaces dirt, what's the point?
Leave the lid where it is, find a riser larger than the lid, set it around the lid and backfill if you need the more immediate access.

Why remove the lid at all?
You pop the cover of the riser, reach down and remove the old lid that seals your tank... Do your thing.....

What is the purpose of your new riser?

 

[lakeroadster]

I am confused by risers.
Other than making it simpler to get to the lid because the riser displaces dirt, what's the point?

As it was explained to us, that is the point. No digging.

 

[pstnbly]

Just clean the concrete really well and use Sikaflex to glue it on. We drill them all the time and use Tapcons, you only need a 1 1/4" screw.

 

[Boilerhouse]

I put the risers on with the gasket only. They stuck well, no need for additional anchors. One point is that the original lids were square and the slightly larger riser and new lids were also square.

 

[jhelrey]

Just hammer drill it!

 

[rburke65]

I added a riser ...?...probably 20 years ago but I don't remember any sealer or screws. The thimble was keyed. Just cleaned the mating surface, set it, lid on and back filled.

 

[BigSteve63]

Getting ready to do this myself over the coming weekend. The place I bought the riser from said to clean the concrete a bit and put down a ring of foam sealant; then set the ring into the sealant and let set up prior to backfill.

 

[Backyard Imports]

I just added a riser to our tank because it didn't have one. I was redoing the grass where it is located and I thought that I would save myself the headache of having to dig it up later to pump it. I didn't use a gasket or any bolts, I just set it in place, mixed up some "jet set" quick setting concrete, and muddled the snot out of it. I gave it a day to set up and then back filled it.

This is how I was told to do it by a friend who does septic for a living. And you don't have to use Jet Set if it is not available to you. You can use any sort of quick setting concrete mix.

 

[bullnerd]

"dual wall corregated pipe, and use butyal rubber to adhere directly to the tank"

This is what I did, sticky stuff!

Cast iron lid, hasn't moved, even after hitting it with mower.

BTW, whats your location?, code here is cast iron, no plastic.

 

[OzarkMan]

I just did the same thing to my septic tank which was buried about 3' down. I bought the PolyLok risers with butyl sealant and anchor kit. I didn't have any issue drilling the lid and preferred to secure the riser as it may have shifted during backfilling. I also didn't want to worry about run off water finding its way in there or worse yet, septic fumes.

I also had to do a little concrete repair at the outlet end due to erosion and installed a T fitting and effluent filter. I have a 36' deep seepage pit for the effluent water. I like my system as I do not have to worry about losing land to a drainage field.

As an FYI, the pumper guy needed to use my jackhammer to break the center lid off. Tank had never been pumped in 40 years. We bought the house two years ago and were told it had been pumped. Liars.








The building in the backdrop is my Shedamahol under construction. It will be sand finish stucco when done.
Getting there slowly! Needed a place for my tractor and everything else in the garage.

 

[ForceFed70]

I am confused by risers.
Other than making it simpler to get to the lid because the riser displaces dirt, what's the point?
Leave the lid where it is, find a riser larger than the lid, set it around the lid and backfill if you need the more immediate access.

Why remove the lid at all?
You pop the cover of the riser, reach down and remove the old lid that seals your tank... Do your thing.....

What is the purpose of your new riser?

Exactly how mine was done. Works great. Take the lid off the riser, then reach down and take the lid off the tank.

 

[Mikeske]

when I had the new risers put on my tank I had a local company do it, they removed the concrete lids, put the risers on, mortared the new risers onto the tank, screw the new plastic lids on. I had no issues with with smelling anything and it worked great.

 

[JerryB]

I put risers on my tank a few years ago. Really makes inspections and pump-outs much easier: No digging required.

The risers (from Orenco) came with flanges that were attached to the top of the tank using both fasteners (hammer-drilled into the concrete tank) and a gap-filling adhesive. The riser was then attached to the flange with an epoxy adhesive. The lid has a gasket material that seals it to the riser using 4 stainless steel screws. Really good water and fume tight construction.

I left the original concrete lids off. No reason for them to be there, they are hard to lift out when access is required. And no, there is absolutely no oder.

One problem a neighbor had (using a different brand) was that he didn't seal the riser to the top of the tank. That allows water to infiltrate and flood the tank. Not good!

 

[Chaznsc]

Don't drop your watch.

 

[zak77]

I put one on a month or so ago. I used tapcons and caulking under the mounting flange, man was that tank really rough and uneven. I tell you what, i made sure to hold onto that drill real good since i was working over an open tank. I'd be temped to use foam under the mounting ring since mine was so uneven.

 

[rburke65]

Chaznsc.....funny you say that as I lost my watch when installing my riser, but it did not "fall in" ....the strap broke and it landed between the riser and the edge of the hole. Yes, remove all watches and rings....glasses!

 

[bullnerd]

The butyl rubber "tape" that comes with the lid is very thick, takes up any irregularities in the concrete.

CI lid has a nice o-ring under the lid, no smell, two bolts and its open.

 

[Falcon67]

The building in the backdrop is my Shedamahol under construction.

Can't help the topic as we're on city supplied ******* tubes. But very nice building.

 

[OzarkMan]

Thanks Chris!
I really wanted a 3000Sq Ft shop, but the money is non existent at this point. The large shed which could really be a nice little shop is planned out only to store **** (Electrical biz) on shelves set in rows. My little Yanmar Tractor goes in the garage space to free up my main garage. I decided on block to help keep the voracious termites at bay. We have them real bad out here.

 

[WIHD]

I am confused by risers.
Other than making it simpler to get to the lid because the riser displaces dirt, what's the point?
Leave the lid where it is, find a riser larger than the lid, set it around the lid and backfill if you need the more immediate access.

Why remove the lid at all?
You pop the cover of the riser, reach down and remove the old lid that seals your tank... Do your thing.....

What is the purpose of your new riser?

older thread I know but am looking at installing a riser this summer. A main reason....the concrete circular lid on mine is cracked so would need replacement anyway (i planned that after the last pumping when I saw the crack). That, and lid is buried under 8-12" of dirt I need to dig out each time the tank is pumped (county requires every 3 years).

Like a poster above I do not want to 'drill into' an older septic tank to install screws to hold the base so will look at other options for that.

 

[WIHD]

Nice video of a guy installing a riser

 

[OzarkMan]

Keep in mind that most of those riser lids have no gaskets. I used to have to deal with the sewage smell in the summer. Ended up putting electrical tape around the edges. Not a pretty fix. Bought mine from Septic Solutions and had emailed them about the issue with no responses some 10 years ago. I need to do the same at the new house in Ozark as the tank is buried behind the shop. Just want to make it easy for the pumper to get to it and not add any extra digging fees.