Looking for set up for small/mini septic system for cabin?
I have a small cabin and want to put in a mini septic system for one toliet, one shower, and a sink. Can anyone suggest a set up using 55gal plastic drums? My water table is high and a mere 48" below ground.
Public Comments
- Probably need to contact your local hardwarestore/plummer to get a good estimate.
- There is no such thing as a mini septic system. Septic systems are designed for your use. Check with your local building official. There may be a code for minimum requirements in your area. All septic systems work on the same principle. The debris flows into a tank. The tank allows the solids to sink and the liquid to pass to a drain field. The drain field consists of perforated piping which allows water to leach into the drain field. That's it. For what you want you would need two plastic drums. Bury them both in the ground such that the top of the barrel is about 6" below the surface. Connect the two drums with a pipe about 6" below the top surface of the drum. The connection should not allow seapage. Connect the household discharge pipe at 1" below the top of the barrel. Connect the leech field line at about 1' below the top of the second barrel. The barrel that does not have the household discharge pipe connected to it. To determine the amount of leech line you will need you will need to perform a perk test. The link below should help with the rest. God Bless
- The county or state you live in has guidelines for small, private septic systems. The first step is to determine if your soils will percolate the discharged wastewater adequatley. this is called a 'perc' test. If the soils are adequate, you can follow the quidelines to size your tanks and lateral line system. You might have an issue with the water table which may preclude you from using this type of system. An alternative might be a small aerobic unit which treats the waste and you use the wastewater for irrigation (sprinklers). Depends on how much acreage you have. It should be very small for the volume of wastes you are describing. Have you considered an outdoor shower and outhouse or a waste lagoon???
- The first thing you must do is contact your local health department. They will be the ones to tell you what you can and cannot install. If it's a fairly simple system, you might be able to install it yourself. Check out the website below. I generally try to encourage homeowners not to do it yourself.
