Septic Tank System DIY

How does a septic tank system work ?

A common questions we get asked is how does a septic system work? Whether you just bought a home with a septic system or planning to install a septic tank on your property, it’s natural to want to be sure of how a septic system works.

It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with how a septic system works in general so that you understand exactly what to expect from flush to flush without requiring a septic science and microbiology qualification.

Septic systems work very differently than what you would expect from a traditional house or residential sewer that is connected to the mains.

That said, a septic system doesn’t have to be complex, and it’s certainly not something that should cause you much concern in the future. In fact, many people swear by septic systems as they can be more affordable than sewer and also have a lower carbon footprint.

A septic system and tank, rather than letting all your waste flow down the public sewers, keeps all your flushable equipment on-site. That means solid waste can accumulate outside of the water unless it can be broken down and digested by bacteria, while the remaining water simply and safely drains elsewhere.

The excess treated water from the septic tank flows over the drain field or soak into the surrounding soil area. These systems help siphon out so your tank largely contains any remaining solids.

A septic system allows you to efficiently and cost-effectively manage waste on-site. Since septic tanks can only collapse so much, owning a septic system can also help breed good habits about what you do and don’t do.

Septic systems effectively neutralize waste before it leaves, meaning you never bring anything bad back into the local environment.

These systems are particularly efficient and certainly worth considering. The science is simple – apart from water, wastewater consists mainly of organic materials. Bacteria in the system, just like elsewhere in nature, break down these organic materials, which are primarily carbon and hydrogen based, to form carbon dioxide and water.

That was it. However, a good septic system is only as efficient as the person using it! If you don’t properly maintain your septic tank and system, you risk causing serious damage, polluting the environment and skyrocketing the cost of emergency pumps and blocked soakaways.

Bacteria

Ultimately, you can’t expect all of your household or natural waste to simply evaporate once it hits your tank.

It will sit there for a while until it biodegrades. However, the key component in biodegradation is bacteria. Bacteria can be nasty and a bit sinister, but they offer an incredible service when it comes to actively breaking down all types of waste.

Bacteria in your septic tank system will ensure that whatever is natural (i.e. anything that has come out of you and everyone else in your home) is crushed and eaten rather than persisting and creating septic sludge at the bottom of the tank.

Plus – if you dump too much fat, oil, and grease (FOG), a septic tank crust can develop on the surface, preventing air from entering the wastewater via the surface and starving the bacteria of vital oxygen

Lifetime

The longevity of your septic system really depends on the type and design of the tank. For example, a metal septic tank is unlikely to last more than 20 years max, while brick and concrete tanks typically last many, many decades.

People always seem to be most concerned about the tank when the more likely component of the system to fail is the soak. Once you have a major problem with the Soakaway, chances are you may need to dig up a new one. Generally they should last 50 years, give or take a few decades – it all depends on how you treat your tank and the excess undigested wastewater you dump into the sack.

Le Petit Chaque – Little Shack

Le Petit Chaque – Little Shack

Land size: approximately 1/2 acre
Structure size: 16′ x 12′
Location: Northern Ontario
Building materials used: wood, fiberglass insulation, sheet metal, styrofoam insulation (for the floor)

Heating

5-8kW Wood stove, firewood supplied from dead trees in the forest.

Power System

2x 100W solar panels
40A mppt charge controller
100Ah lithium-iron battery
500W inverter 12V -> 120V
2800 watt gasoline generator for running power tools, can charge the cabin battery using a 129V to 12V converter at the same time

Water

4L jugs carried in. Used for cooking and drinking.

Communications

Mobile Internet LTE / 4G

Food

– Beef occasionally from butchered cows on our farm.
– Local grocery store.
– Home garden located in a separate area.

Construction Phase

Special thanks to a OffGridEnclave community member for providing Pics and Infos to present this as Project.
If you would like to see more pictures or read up on details of the build , for questions or input join our community discord server.

Simple pressureless solar water heater

Pressureless solar water heater

In this configuration the system is used as “add-on” to an existing water system with a boiler.
While not able to run around frost temperatures or below ( 0°C ), it is a easy and comfortable way to produce hot water.

The collector/tank was mounted onto 8cm X 8cm wooden beams with proper screws.
For easy acces, a position on a “half roof” was choosen. The installation took about one day (with some modifications to the support frame).
The water installation is in parallel with the existing hot water boiler.

As connection 16mm semi flexible pipe(PEX – AL Henco) was choosen using compression fittings.

The device is an unpressurized tank (160L model with 18 vacuum tubes) with a heat exchanger coil. Overall the system does not need much space, the installation is pretty straight forward and the price is relative low.

Advantages:

-Does not need much space, very compact build.
-Since the tank is pressurless it has a basic overtemperature protection (evaporation cooling effect)
-Easy assembling/plumming
-Can go ruffly 2days with the 160Ltank and 3 people using it (without the sun shining)
-About 20 year life time expectancy
-Easy to integrate into existing hot water heating systems
-Higher efficiency compared to heatpiped models
-Needs about 6h of good sunshine to heat it up
-Better low shunshine efficiency compared to flat panel termal heater

Disadvantages:

-does not support freezing temperatures(has to be drained)
-hard water can cause a few issues down the road

Special thanks to OffGridEnclave community member Dank_meme_kong for providing Pics and Infos to present this as Project.
If you would like to see more pictures or read up on details of the build join our community discord server.

How to add a OffGrid Solar-System to a house that already has grid-power

How to add a OffGrid Solar-System to a house that already has grid-power ?

Situation

The following situation is a very common occurrence. It’s one we’ve had come up in the community a lot, and for most people in a semi urban environment this is the most likely scenario: The House already has a grid connection. However you want solar to have the option to be self sufficient if need be, as well as saving considerably on electricity costs.

Solution

The most easy solution for this is a OffGrid Island setup with a grid input connection. Basically it means to build a self-sufficient solar system with a battery, using a OffGrid-AllinOne-Units to then connect the existing grid power to the system. This also allows for an easy connection of a gasoline generator.

Types of OffGrid-AllinOne-Units

There is 2 main types of OffGrid-AllinOne-Units.
OffGrid Island Inverters with grid input option and Hybrid Inverters.

” While both systems aim to maximize the use of solar energy, their main difference lies in the way they handle storage of energy.  In an Off-Grid Solar System, the inverter will attempt to use solar energy for “self-consumption” by sending it directly to load or use it to charge battery.  If there’s any excess solar power, nothing will be done as there’s simply no more room for energy storage.
On the other hand, a Hybrid Solar System will still attempt to maximize the use of energy through load or charging battery, and any excess power will simply be “fed” to the grid, which act as a nearly limitless power storage. “(1)

Installation – Legal

In many countries the injection of solar power into the grid using a hybrid inverter will require some sort of paperworks and legal permits. Make sure to double check your legal situation before installing a hybrid inverter.

Going with a OffGrid Island setup with a grid input connection is more often the easiest solution, as one does not need to touch the existing house electric to install and operate it. The grid input can be done with a normal plug. One simply plugs the OffGrid Island setup into the existing electric system of the house like any other household device.

Using one of these devices also makes it easy to have a seamless fallback to grid power in case of no solar power present and the battery being empty. Most OffGrid Island Inverters will have detailed configuration options on primary power source, fallback source and such.

Configuration

This Video details configuration options for a Mpp-Solar OffGrid Island Inverter. Most other solid brands like Victron will have similar options but possibly different apps for the interaction.

Community

If you have any questions, ideas or input dont be shy…. join our community discord server.

(1) Source: https://www.mppsolar.com/v3/product-overview/

Earthship – Sunray Circle

Earthship – Sunray Circle

A magical circular earthship build deep in the wilderness of Northern ontario. Built from more than 80% reused or natural materials We cut the trees and milled the wood to build our home, and used 80,000lbs of earth rammed into tube netting for our primary walls.

Size of land : 50acres
Structure size:1000 ft² home with 400 ft² greenhouse
Living space: 1000 ft²
Location: Ontario, Zone 3a

Powersystem

1600 Watt Solar Panels
540ah 24v deep cycle marine Batteryblock
1400w pure sine Inverter
3000w modified sine Inverter
A gas/propane generator soon to be using methane digested from our animals (biogas).

Heating

Natural passive heat from earthship design.
6-8kW Wood stove and in floor radiant heat

Water

Water sourced from a sandpoint well that was driven inside the greenhouse.
Pump it to cisterns both in the house for the home water and up into a water tower where it auto irrigates all the gardens.
The home is 50ft from a large rivers edge, between two waterfalls, one 30ft and one 17ft. The plan is to to generate power from the river eventually.

Food / Garden

Size : 12,000 ft²
13 separate gardens, mostly keyhole style.
The garden is using hugelkulture mounds and permaculture companion planting, utilizing the local established ecosystem to create an abundance of wild forage including hazelnuts, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, mushrooms and plenty of vegetables.
Plenty of livestock: chicken, sheep, horses and such .)

Special thanks to OffGridEnclave community member Xivanari for providing Pics and Infos to present this as Project.
If you would like to see more pictures or read up on details of the build go visit https://www.facebook.com/SunrayCircle/ .

Cabine – Camp Decadence

Camp Decadence

Location: North-Central United States – Climate Zone 7

All framing is 16 inch on center. Main floor joists are 2×10 inches, walls and 2nd floor joists are 2×6, and roof rafters are 2×8. Roof pitch is 12/12 (45º). Everything is insulated with R-19 fiberglass.

Construction began in 2012. Total cost so far is around 13,000 USD and completion should top out around 15k. This includes a small amount for labor, specifically installing most windows, the roof, and the house wrap in 2013. It also includes some second-hand materials that reduced costs.

Cabine:

• Total Size : 400 ft² usable space
• 12×16 main room
• 12×6 covered porch
• 12×8 loft bedrooms (2) upstairs with…
• 12×5 landing/hall between

Power System
400 Watt Solar Panels
2x AGM Lead Acid Batteries at 24 Volt : 35 Ah
60A MPPT charge controller
1,6 kW Inverter

Heating
14 kW Stove for wood logs or coalbrickets. (can be leveld down to 3kW )

Water
Wash water is sourced from snow in winter, rain gutters/barrels in summer, and an on-property creek when those fail.
Drinking/cooking water is sourced in town and brought in jugs.

Special thanks to OffGridEnclave community member nirreskeya for providing Pics and Infos to present this as Project.
If you would like to see more pictures or read up on details of the build go visit https://old.reddit.com/user/bergamotandvetiver76/submitted/ .

Maintenance and small repairs of a deep cycle lead acid battery

Maintenance and small repairs of a deep cycle lead acid battery

We will be looking at maintenance and small repairs on a deep cycle lead acid battery. Commonly these are used for forklifts or OffGrid power systems. We are talking about big battery blocks, not the ones used for common cars.
To ensure optimal lifetime of your deep cycle lead-acid batteries you should do maintenance at least once every half year to a year.

On the image you can see here there is quite a bunch of sulfation that formed. Initially sulfation will be green but, over time it can take all sorts of colours. While it is still green it usually is rather easy to remove, once it turned brown’ish to black its becomes very solid. As an idea of size, this battery here is my main block, it has 1250 Ah at 24 volts.

For safety, before we start doing anything on the battery we will be disconnecting all the connections. First by turning the fuses from the inverter and all the solar charge controllers off. Next we physically disconnect the battery from the system by separating the connection plugs. For this system each inverter and charge controller has its own connection plug.

If you are interested in how this complete OffGrid power system works check out the Project Link.

After removing the connections to the battery, unscrew each of the batteries cell connections, and remove any sulfation you encounter around the pole.

This can require quite some force. It is recommended to wear safety googles and a dust mask for this.

After cleaning all the connections of sulfation, make sure to apply batteryfat to all the connections before screwing them back on.
This helps to protect against moisture and future sulfation or oxidisation.

Some 2-3 hours of work later, your battery should look something like this. No visible dirt, dust or particles of sulfation leftover. No sulfation on the connections and a fresh layer of batteryfat.

Next we will be checking the waterlevel of the battery.
Each battery cell has the connection for the distilled water in the middle.
when you look closely you can see there is a small window build in. Under that is a swimmer that shows the water level of the cell. This will indicate a need for refill.
Use only distilled water for this, do not use normal tab water as it will damage the battery!
After refilling the battery reconnect the system plugs and we are done.