In a country house or in a summer cottage, most often there is no central sewage system. An autonomous system comes to the rescue, without which normal vital activity is impossible. At the same time, there is always a choice which is better: a septic tank or a cesspool.
Which sewer to choose?
There are different ways to connect the system. They depend on preferences, features of the installation site, technical characteristics and cost of the device. The choice is better: a septic tank or cesspool, not so big:
· cesspool;
· septic tank with a filtration field;
· modern treatment facilities.
Features of cesspools
The simplest device for collecting household waste is a sewer tank. Nevertheless, it must be installed according to certain rules. The material can be prefabricated rings made of reinforced concrete (the simplest option), red brick or a finished container made of metal or plastic.
The design is sealed or absorbent. In the first case, do not allow fluid to leak into the ground. If the walls of the device are made of concrete, the bottom is also filled with mortar. From above, the pit is covered with a stove with a cavity for the inspection hatch made in it. Currently, plastic containers have gained great popularity. They can float from nearby groundwater. Therefore, at the bottom of the pit they lay or fill a slab of concrete and clamp a container to it with clamps.
The absorbing hole is essentially a filtering well. It is built only with walls, and layers of gravel, sand, crushed stone fall asleep on the bottom. The construction is economical, since part of the effluents will be absorbed into the soil and their removal will be less frequent.
Note! If the groundwater lies close, the absorbing hole will always be full. It is advisable to install a sealed container.
Disadvantages of Sumps
The disadvantages of cesspools are the cost of the removal of effluents and an unpleasant odor. Currently, effective means of neutralizing it are being used. Microorganisms are added to the pits, which eat sewage and provide better water filtration.
In a modern house with permanent residence, cesspools are ineffective, although they are still widely used. Many do not create problems for themselves with the question of which is better: a septic tank or a cesspool, but simply install a large underground tank and periodically remove drains. The access of the cesspool truck and the cleaning of cesspools should be convenient.
The sewage tank is hermetically sealed so that it does not freeze in cold weather. It is better to make two covers, with an air gap between them.
A septic tank for cesspools is also suitable, since it can be a storage tank.
It is advisable to build a device with the possibility of further purification of effluents, where in the future more efficient decomposition processes by bacteria can be added to their sedimentation and natural filtration through the soil.
What is the difference between a septic tank and a cesspool? Simple designs
Not everyone can afford the installation of a biological treatment plant because of the high costs. But the simplest septic tank can be installed by any homeowner or summer resident. The most profitable solution is a container of concrete rings. They are cheap and durable, unless there are problems with their delivery by special vehicles to the installation site. Reinforced concrete has an enviable strength and durability and will serve much longer than a plastic container. But here there is an optimal solution for a summer residence - a used Eurocube, which is easy to bury anywhere in the garden. Under the toilet in a small area, it fits well.
The first issue in installing a septic tank is the minimum possible number of cameras. If it is one, then there are few differences from the usual cesspool. But such facilities are installed, and with normally developed technology, they reliably serve. It is important to ensure good natural filtration through the bottom layers of sand and gravel with a thickness of 30 cm. The sewage passes through them and is cleaned by 50%, after which it goes into the ground. If it is clay, then the process takes quite a long time, and the capacity is likely to overflow. This option should be envisaged and a convenient access for the sewage machine for the removal of domestic wastes.
Homeowners often complain that septic tanks overflow with rainfall. In this regard, the construction of a septic tank should ensure its tightness.
Features of the operation of septic tanks
If the liquid part of household waste leaves through the soil, a solid remains, which does not decompose without special measures and gradually accumulates. It will have to be periodically taken out by a tank truck. There is one more nuance here - the capacity of the tank should be sufficient to take out the waste in one go. The capacity of the tanker based on ZIL is 3.6 m 3 . Other brands of cars can transport up to 8 m 3 . Before construction, the septic tank will not hurt to consult with the district’s cesspool services on export volumes and tariffs.
The volume of the septic tank should be a three-day supply. One user consumes an average of 200 liters of water. For a family of 5 people, the three-day consumption will be 3 m 3 . If you use a septic tank for cesspools, drains will have to be taken out every 3-8 days (depending on the capacity of the tank of the sewer machine). It follows from the calculation that the treatment of cesspools is inefficient and an autonomous system is needed for the processing of sewage waste.
The uneven flow of liquid waste requires at least two sections for the treatment system. In the first, most of the solid particles are deposited, after which the waste will be easier to recycle in the next section, where it enters by overflow through the pipe. There, the remaining large particles are deposited to the bottom, and from above the water enters the filtration fields, where it goes into the ground.
Cleaning the septic tanks from precipitation using a sewage machine is necessary, although it is done much less often than cesspools.
The use of microorganisms for the decomposition of effluents
It is advisable to buy septic tanks for a country house from plastic, adapted for the treatment of drains with the help of microorganisms. Distinguish between anaerobic and aerobic digestion of sewage. In the first embodiment, their decomposition occurs with the help of bacteria that multiply without access to air. The most economical way to enter them is to load sludge from working facilities in the amount of 15 liters per person. The septic tank will begin to work effectively if the unpleasant odor disappears and the liquid becomes lighter. You can also introduce biologics through the sewage system at home, but it will cost more.
Under normal operating conditions, septic tanks are cleaned in terms of pumping out thick sediment once a year. Drainers should be called up when the sediment layer approaches the surface by 200 mm. For a continuous process of processing it is necessary to leave 10-20% of the sediment in the tank. For post-treatment, water with a residual contamination of not higher than 100 mg / l is supplied to the soil.
Sewer treatment plants
Biological treatment with aerobic bacteria (in the presence of atmospheric oxygen) is most effective, but equipment and drugs are expensive. Devices are volatile, since drains must be constantly aerated to maintain bacterial activity. With the right technology, the degree of purification of sewage waste reaches 99%, after which the liquid can be used as process water.
The systems are compact and easy to use.
Toilet pit in the country
The main design that provides comfort in the country is a toilet. You can build it yourself if you know the theoretical foundations. First of all, you should decide whether to build a cesspool. It is sealed if the groundwater is high. If they are lower than 2.5 m from ground level, you can make a cesspool without a bottom.
According to sanitary standards, the toilet is located more than 12 m from the buildings and at a distance of 20 m from water sources. It should be removed from the neighbor’s fence by at least 1.5 m.
An access to the cesspool car should be provided to the pit. The length of her sleeve is 7 m.
A cesspool should not be located in a lowland. There, the pit will quickly fill up with rainwater.
If it is planned to take out the drains of a tank truck, the volume of the pit should be made at least 3.6 m 3 . Under such a volume, it is quite possible to build a two-chamber septic tank. Structurally, it will be distinguished by the presence of a partition and an overflow between sections. The walls are laid out of concrete, brick, stone. New materials appear, for example plastic rings, from which tight walls can be assembled. You can do with improvised means: slate or car tires.
How to make a cesspool with your own hands?
1. A foundation pit digs under the pit and the bottom is concreted.
2. The walls are laid out with bricks (as one of the options). In the lower part, the masonry is made with holes in a checkerboard pattern. Through them, water more easily goes into the ground. In this case, the masonry should be covered with crushed stone from the outside, thereby creating a filter layer for water.
3. A concrete slab with a 70 cm hole for the inspection hatch is made from above. A manhole is laid out above it and closed with a lid on top.
4. The slab is filled with soil to ground level. This will be a protective layer for insulation. The manhole is blocked by two covers so that the drains do not freeze in winter.
How to make a septic tank?
Septic tanks for a country house can be made on the basis of existing cesspools. In order for the storage tank to function as a septic tank, another pit of greater depth is dug. It is being built in the same way as the first, with the creation of an overflow from one to another. Only the bottom is made with drainage through layers of crushed stone with sand. During cold winters, the top of the septic tank should be at a depth of 80 cm from ground level so that the containers do not freeze.
For its functioning, biological preparations are added to the tank, which ensure the processing of sewage waste. Recycled bacteria are more easily absorbed into the ground.
If the wastewater treatment process slows down in winter, a septic tank should be used for cesspools, periodically removing waste.
Conclusion
Which is better: a septic tank or cesspool, depends on many factors, and each solves the problem of creating an autonomous sewage system on its own. Proper construction of cesspools and septic tanks creates greater comfort in private homes and in the country. It is advisable to ensure self-disposal of sewage waste into the ground.