Days 34 – 39: Septic Issues & Inspection Time
There’s a lot to update you on with regard to the septic, but I wanted to wrap it all up into one mostly-final septic post. So here we go!
It includes approximately 32 minutes of video footage though, so you might want to either grab a cup of coffee before you dive in, or maybe just watch a bit and watch the other parts later (if you’re interested).
Oh yeah, and I also took this picture to show the effluent filter with the makeshift handle extension looks like:
So yeah, that’s all – except for filling everything back in, which is no small task in itself, but still nothing compared to the septic project as a whole.
I haven’t decided yet whether I want to rent another machine to fill it back in or maybe pay one of the locals a couple hundred bucks to do it all by hand. Either way though, I’ll probably get it started myself by hand to ensure that everything is snug first.
This comes at a good time too because my RV’s tanks are basically at 100% capacity right now, so I can finally actually use the system.
In fact, I’ll actually be putting a lot of water in the tank too for multiple reasons:
1) It’s best to have a lot of weight in the tank while you’re filling in the sides so that it doesn’t shift around when you’re filling it in, and
2) Unless I want to mess around with heating pads hooked up to a dedicated solar panel and battery – which I most certainly do not – then any IBC tote full of water won’t survive the winter because it’ll freeze and crack the tank (which would be sitting above ground).
But if I put the 330 gallons from an IBC tote in the 1500-gallon septic tank, not only would it fill just a portion of that tank, but it would also be several feet underground and covered too, so it simply won’t get cold enough down there to freeze solid.
Aside from that, I’m pretty much done here at the Colorado property for the winter, and I’m looking forward to heading back to Indiana for the holidays and then on to Thailand! So cheers to that 🙂
Until next time…
FANTASTIC work and achievement Tim!! I think it is so very cool to have you share this experience!
Now comes a well deserved winter rest, eh?
Love you,
Dad
Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying following along.
It is tempting to get started on drilling the holes for the piers – and maybe even fill them with concrete and set the brackets for the posts – but I suppose I need to fill in the septic system dirt first.
I am ready for a break, but I still have a whole month before I head back to Indiana. So I guess we’ll see how motivated I’m feeling.