OT: Leaking Septic Tank

So a couple of months ago I noticed I had a sewer leak in my less than 2 year old $8000+ aerator system. Third leak since installed. I figured another joint had come loose in the piping so I started digging. Nope, pipes all good.

So I rented an excavator and started digging. Bottom half of the tank is cracked almost all the way down to ground. No warranty, both installer and tank supplier have told me I was SOL. If its not cracked on the bottom, and it doesn"t appear to be, but I can"t be for sure, would some of that hydraulic cement from UGL work? It"s the only thing I can think of that might. Then maybe even paint it with a coat of UGL Drylok paint? Any suggestions? Don"t much wanna buy a new $2500 tank...
UGL Hydraulic Cement

Can you patch it with something like Top'N Bond by Sakrete?

Oh, make sure you tell those guys that you will not buy a replacement from them, or have that guy install it.

There is a long list of things I would try before find'n a new tank supplier and a new installer.

I work at a water treatment plant at night and we have some stuff that I can't think of the name of. It looks like dry concrete but you add a little water to hand full of this stuff and it truns into a putty type/JB weld kinda stuff. We have used it to patch cracks in the concrete stand pipes going to our filters. I have to work tonight and will look and try to find a bucket of that stuff to get you name off of.

Good luck.

Dave

use the hydraulic cement we use it in manholes all the time

Years ago on a construction job we used some stuff that came in black 5 gallon metal buckets, believe it was called Water Plug, but I don't remember if that was a trade name or a generic name. It was a dry powder, and when you mixed it with water, you had about 2 or 3 minutes before it set up like cement.

Thats the stuff I was thinking of, couldn't think of water plug. Here is a can I found with a quick google search. Good stuff, kinda rough on hands, first time I used it boss just told me to smear it on by hand. I didn't have finger prints for months, but the crack I put it on ain't leaked for 3 years now.

Dave
water plug

The installer should be licensed and bonded. Take some good pictures, get copies of the paperwork and send them to the state. At the same time a copy might be need to go to their bonding company. Sewage is not to be taken lightly.

If they errored and refuse to fix the problem, the state needs to pull their license and the bonding/insurance company that represents them needs to be called into the picture.

If this situation contaminated the ground, the proper authorities need to be notified.

All these things might make the installer reconsider the error of his ways.

One thing you have to do on the installation, is get the floor of the pit very flat so the bottom of the tank bears evenly on the floor- it's very heavy when full, and if it doesn't spread the weight properly, it can crack- as you found out. Sounds like your installer may have s@rewed the pooch. No warranty? I'd argue that one a bit

I have been a state plumbing inspector since 1994.

In my state the code requires that the ground under the tank be flat and have 6 inches of sand under it. Check you subsurface waste disposal code and see what it says.

Second I'm very surprised effluent is showing on the surface of the ground. If your tank is cracked in the bottom I would sooner think any liquids would filter into the ground. Any tank I have ever seen that leaked under ground eventually plugged themselves with slough from the tank.

Third if you plan on digging up around the bottom of the tank I would strongly recommend you drain the tank first so it does not burst. If you do dig it up you should be able to see if the contractor put sand under it if you code requires it.

Forth if I were going to repair a tank that was cracked on the bottom I would pour concrete on the outside of the tank up to about three inches above the crack and then seal the area where the concrete meets the tank.

I don"t blame the installer near as much as the tank supplier. Basically, the supplier delivered and set the tank, installer just dug the hole and backfilled it. The installer did offer to come and pump it for free, so he"s at least trying.

This system was fubar"ed from the start. The state sent an enviromental engineer out 3 times to design it. The tank is setting on solid rock and the state new it was going to, only way it would work. The ground is sloped off at one end of the tank, and thats where the sewage was surfacing at. Installer told me he quit using this supplier about 6 months after he did my system do to quality issues, and has since heard that 2 brand new tanks from this supplier had collasped just from being backfilled. From the looks of the tank, it was either damaged when they set it, or it had a hair line crack from the start. It looks more like the latter. The sad thing is the state is suppose to inspect all of these tanks...must be the same guy that designed my system.

But the good news is the hydrualic cement looks like its holding. That stuff is tough to work with, and as dad would say, dry"s harder than hammered h@ll. Looking at the water plug you guys recomended, it doesn"t appear to much different than this UGL stuff. Appreciate the input.

Look into bentonite.
It's a clay powder, that expands when wet, possibly absorbing several times its dry mass in water.
It is used to plug abandoned wells and as a seal in landfills.
You should find it at plumbing and builder supplys.
But if it were mine, I'd go after the installer to repair or replace the tank.

Didn't build it without reo by any chance.??

Hydraulic cement is pretty miraculous stuff, but I doubt it will permanently repair your crack. Concrete has no strength in tension, and it sounds like earth movement is pulling your tank apart. I'd guess that the tank was improperly installed.

Warranty or not, no septic tank should come apart after a mere two years. I don't like to go around suing people, but given the problems you've had with this nearly new system, I suggest you talk to a lawyer.

"The tank is setting on solid rock and the state new it was going to, only way it would work."

Never ever put a tank on anything but a flat continuous surface. If there were just one high spot in the rock do you have any idea how much pressure that would put on the tank? A little sand would have helped a lot.