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Post by feather on Jan 28, 2019 23:38:24 GMT
In WI we are expecting -25 deg F, which is more than 50 degrees F below freezing (32 deg F). We had issues this past spring before it warmed up.
We have a couple feet of snow, which is insulating, so that is good. Our tank is probably between 600 gallons and 1000 gallons. It is sunk below the 3 foot freezing line, so it ought to stay below freezing, or near that.
I'm not sure this is a good idea but I'm running about 40 gallons of hot water out once a day. (4 gallons a minute approximately, for 10 minutes) The water heater is set high at 160 deg F, so it is steaming hot. It's probably not 160 deg F by the time it reaches the septic tank.
Any thoughts? Cabin Fever, I know that you know this stuff, or some stuff about it. Your thoughts? |
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Post by Cabin Fever on Jan 28, 2019 23:59:17 GMT
First of all, the link you posted is from the agency I work for.  If you're using normal everyday volumes of water, you should be okay. Here we have 2 feet of snow cover so our tank is well insulated. The top of our tank is only about a foot below the ground surface. We've never had a problem, even when temps have dropped to -40ยบ overnight.I really don't think you have to do anything special. Most freezing problems occur in households that have leaky faucets or toilet. The very slow and low flow of water cools off quickly on the way to the septic tank and freezes in the pipe to the tank. This frozen build up can continue to a point were the pipe becomes frozen. The other situation where freeze up is more likely to occur is with mound systems. The mounds are built above the ground surface and are more exposed to cold temperatures. The wastewater in the mound freezes, not in the septic tank. |
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Post by susannah on Jan 29, 2019 0:02:49 GMT
I'm not Cabin Fever, but I am all too well acquainted with -30F and colder in winter. You're right, the snow is a good insulator. Even better (in my opinion) is that your snow is relatively new and less likely to be compacted - compacted snow is more likely to push the frost down. See, all that snow you guys have been getting this past week or two is actually a good thing. One ridiculously cold year recently also was a relatively snow-free year for us - that wasn't great. We were grabbing every dead branch we could out of the woods (and cutting some live ones, too) and trying to insulate before the really cold air came in. Snow is easier. I always thought adding hot water couldn't hurt, and figured by taking long, luxurious, hot showers I was doing the septic a favor (and no one can tell me otherwise  ). Doing hot water loads of laundry (sheets, towels) seemed like a good idea, too. |
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Post by feather on Jan 29, 2019 0:26:34 GMT
Cabin Fever, susannah, thank you both for the reassurance! I think I might have a couple loads of hot whites to wash! Time to get that done! Thank you thank you thank you.....I feel a little more confident.
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Post by mollymckee on Jan 29, 2019 5:41:40 GMT
I lot of the problems we saw in WI were roads or drives that ran between house and barn or house and road. Driving over the drainpipes or the tank would make it freeze, as well as the water. Thawing it out was fun! If the pipes are metal and you can find someone with a portable arch welder they can thaw it. One of our friends used charcoal and kept a fire over the pipes going for three or four days. I'm glad we haven't had weather that cold since we moved!
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). Doing hot water loads of laundry (sheets, towels) seemed like a good idea, too.
