Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

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ephemeraldog
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Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by ephemeraldog » Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:12 am

Hi,
Any advice on kindest sterilisers to septic tanks? I have an old 2-chamber & soak away system that I BioBoost with digesting bugs each month, but we have a holiday cottage here too & guests sometimes use a whole bottle of bleach in a week(!!!), therefore I want to be as kind to our bugs as possible, especially as I plan to up my brewing frequency.
Cheers for any advice,
Tristan
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Brewing this week: ---
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LeeH
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Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by LeeH » Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:33 pm

I just try and reduce what goes down into mine. I try and throw most of it on to the gravel drive etc.

I use the bio boost too, not sure if it makes any difference. Who often do you pump it out? Ours lasted well over 3 years without the boost.

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Carnot
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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by Carnot » Tue Sep 11, 2018 4:34 pm

Chlorine bleach is not as bad as you might think. It is an oxidising streriliser so it will be consumed by organic matter which it will oxidise. The oxidised chlorine products can be more persistent (especially with ammonia), but unless you are using huge amounts of bleach then it should not be an issue. I assume that all waste water is routed to the septic tank and therefore there will be more than adequate dilution, even with a whole bottle of bleach per week.

A more expensive option is to use Sodium percarbonate which forms hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate in contact with water. The hydrogen peroxide will oxidise organic matter but will not from persistent breakdown products. Sodium percarbonate is the active ingredient in Vanish and Lidl Formil.

Starsan is a mixture of phosphoric acid and DDBSA. I would not call it a steriliser by any means, but it would have a very low impact in a septic system.

(Pine disinfectants and products like Dettol and Jays Fluid are the worst options; though I doubt if anyone would use these for brewing, but obviously there are always exceptions)

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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by IPA » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:44 pm

I think you might be confused with a septic tank and a two chamber tank. The former only took toilet waste and the latter takes all waste water and should be emptied regularly. Whereas the former only needs emtying when full.
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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by wezzel01 » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:06 pm

I understand a cesspit to be a large tank that simply gets filled and emptied.

A septic tank is normally a 2 chamber tank, often made of brick and concrete, that uses bacterial digestion to break the waste down before outfalling to a soakaway. Septic tanks only need to be emptied when too many solids build up, which in our case is about every 2 years.


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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by LeeH » Tue Sep 11, 2018 8:53 pm

2 years is about average i think.
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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by ephemeraldog » Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:49 pm

Thanks for the comments. Yes, ours is an old 2-chamber brick setup hidden in a field about 20m from the house, takes all wastewater. Its been emptied once in the 4.5 years we've been here. There was a blockage in the outflow pipe (a fist sized ball of lime!) that I had to rod from 2 sides before it budged.
It's reassuring to hear that the bleach shouldn't affect things too much. I'd thought about using Starsan for cleaning some brew-ware, but was worried it could have effects 'down-stream'.
Tristan
Untappd: Ephemeraldog

Brewing this week: ---
FV1: Uncappings Mead
FV2: ---
Conditioning: 5 pm Sprint; 2nd Hop Winter ale (hopped kit) "MK18.1"
Drinking: Dark Half 5.6% Dark IPA; Le Mash-up 4.5% Bitter (French hops); Imperial Russian Stout (various vintages & a.b.v.)

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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by IPA » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:23 am

ephemeraldog wrote:
Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:49 pm
Thanks for the comments. Yes, ours is an old 2-chamber brick setup hidden in a field about 20m from the house, takes all wastewater. Its been emptied once in the 4.5 years we've been here. There was a blockage in the outflow pipe (a fist sized ball of lime!) that I had to rod from 2 sides before it budged.
It's reassuring to hear that the bleach shouldn't affect things too much. I'd thought about using Starsan for cleaning some brew-ware, but was worried it could have effects 'down-stream'.
Tristan
Are you sure the blockage was lime and not fat? If the septic tank is more than two metres from the house there should be a grease/fat trap installed before the septic tank.
"You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Dean Martin

1. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming... "f*ck, what a trip

It's better to lose time with friends than to lose friends with time (Portuguese proverb)

Alone we travel faster
Together we travel further
( In an admonishing email from our golf club)

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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by sonicated » Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:56 am

Carnot wrote:
Tue Sep 11, 2018 4:34 pm
(Pine disinfectants and products like Dettol and Jays Fluid are the worst options; though I doubt if anyone would use these for brewing, but obviously there are always exceptions)
Thanks for that information - it's all really interesting. Obviously Dettol and Jeyes Fluid are not used for brewing but purely out of interest could you expand on why they are bad for septic tanks etc?

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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by Carnot » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:31 pm

Jeyes Fluid is based on p-chlorocresol and rar acids whilst Dettol is mainly chloroxylenol. This probably does not mean too much to most people. What these two products have in common is some chlorine and and a ring structure in the molecule, making them quite stable not not readily biodegraded . These two products are suitable for external contact but not for internal use. They will be fairly persistent and have a relatively long half life, far longer than an oxidising biocide like bleach.

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Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by LeeH » Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:49 pm

I still wouldn’t put a bottle of bleach a week down mine.

Interesting stuff though Carnot.


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Re: Kindest sterilisers on septic tank system

Post by ephemeraldog » Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:46 pm

IPA wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:23 am


Are you sure the blockage was lime and not fat? If the septic tank is more than two metres from the house there should be a grease/fat trap installed before the septic tank.
Quite sure, we had the whole building repointed & rendered in lime 18 months before the blockage. I guess some of the work crew washed things down into wastewater drains. I think the limeball is still kicking around my garden somewhere.
We have no idea what the build of the septic system is, other than 2 chambers & a run off pipe. It probably dates back to 1970s, not sure what building regs were for tank installations then.
Untappd: Ephemeraldog

Brewing this week: ---
FV1: Uncappings Mead
FV2: ---
Conditioning: 5 pm Sprint; 2nd Hop Winter ale (hopped kit) "MK18.1"
Drinking: Dark Half 5.6% Dark IPA; Le Mash-up 4.5% Bitter (French hops); Imperial Russian Stout (various vintages & a.b.v.)

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