Home sewer vent as dump station?

[roadstar99]

We had a cleanout installed by the driveway that we used with our smaller motorhome. Even had 50 amp connection installed. All the convenience of a campsite. Then we traded for a bigger one, DS 41 ft. Won't fit in the driveway. Have to store it. We miss that convenience. We spent many a night there when power would go out in a storm.

No problems. Just stay with it till it dumps and make sure it is going down sewer line.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by 123Bill

Thanks everyone for your quick and comprehensive response. I do, however, still have some concerns about my current home sewer system set-up. My house if fifty years old and my pop-up is a 6 " cast iron pipe with a louvered cover. It looks like a vent. Everyone who responded to my post calls it a clean out. Could this louvered cover be something other than a clean out? Could I have a trap downstream? These are questions better asked of a plumber but I think someone on this chain may have the answer.

I have not read through all the pages yet however before I continue and loose track:

Is it 6 inches tall above the lawn or 6 inches in diameter and more flush with the lawn? A 6 inch diameter louvered cover in the front lawn can be a storm sewer drain for runoff which would be highly illegal to dump sewerage into. Best to ask your local municipality first who can look up the plans and permits for the property and tell you what was installed there. It could just be a pipe with a cistern or small leach field directly below it to resolve a flooding issue from the roofs runoff.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by NXR

Understood, but since I could have three bathrooms on my septic and none of them are in use when I dump, I'm not understanding any potential problem. (I've never had a septic home.)

Ray

The rush of water from dumping an RV's holding tank is quite different from a few 1 to 2 gallon toilet flushes or the relative trickle from a shower or two. A septic tank has so many hundreds of gallons of tank (in older systems typically 600 gallons for 4 people) before a waterfall to trap solids and so many square feet of surface to slow flow so solids do not pass over the waterfall and into the leach bed with its perforated media be it perforated pipe with crushed rock and septic paper or one of the newer integrated leach pipe products.

Create too great a flow over the waterfall and then you have the same situation as the Chesapeake Dam with sewerage and solid objects going over and causing a problem which may not reveal itself until the entire leach field is completely plugged up which can then require the entire field to be dug up and potentially depending on the extent of the damage may require a mound be built to proved a functioning leach system again.

Replacing a leach field is a large job that can cost several thousand dollars so its no small matter plus if its an older system they may due to code changes over the years require a the septic tank to be replaced with a larger one which depending on the local code may require the old tank to be removed instead of allowing for it to be pumped out and demolished in place which can require the additional cost of hiring a crane and its operator and of course the disposal fee for the old contaminated septic tank.


Something for those who are unfamiliar with septic tank and leach systems to consider before trying to tie into them.

[dominiccos]

Hi there at my previous house we were on town sewer network. I used the low sewer breather for my black and grey water and also my dogs droppings. I recommend flushing the hose down it afterwards as there is a reasonable drop from this breather to the line out to our road but I don’t like to tempt fate.

Where I live now we are on a biocycle system and I have been advised that it might not be good for the biologicals in the system to put black water with the sanitizer and such. A confirmation from the other readers would be great.

[GuyG]

Originally Posted by 123Bill

My home sewer discharge vent pops up from the ground beside my driveway. I am wondering if anyone has used their home sewer vent for a dump station. My thoughts are that (if necessary) my motorhome could be used to isolate a Coved-19 patient and the home vent connection would be quite handy. I suspect doing this could be against local codes but I am wondering if it functionally would work in a necessity. Has anyone tried it????

123Bill,
Is your home on a city sewer system or do you have a septic sewer system?

If city sewer, the pipe popping up from the ground would be a clean-out and definitely a good way to dump your tanks.

But if you have a septic sewer system, as others have mentioned, proceed with caution. You could really mess the system up--no pun intended.

[Walt Graham]

First you need to check to see if it is a vent or a clean out. A clean out will have a threaded cap of 4 inches in diameter. You can remove this cap and look down the pipe with a light and at that point you will understand if you can use it as a dump port location. Normally a vent on a sewer line will usually use the vent stacks that go through the roof and are fed by a sink or toilet location. Most building codes require a clean out as the plumbing exits the building or a change in direction on the sewer line.

[WVPete]

Originally Posted by djc290

That "vent" is not usually for your tank - its for the leach field. The LAST thing you want to be doing is bypassing your septic tank and dump solids directly into your leach field. If its a "clean out", you should know where that line goes before dumping into it. A very costly difference.

This is what I have at my house. The crap would go right into the leach field. Not good.

[helopilot880]

I have a drain im my garage, have wondered if it would be okay to dump the RV tanks into the garage floor drain. I assume the drain goes to the sewer lines. Has anyone done this?

[Gonzo34]

I'm fairly certain that if that vent is sticking up out of the ground, like a candy cane, it's not a cleanout but the vent for the leach field. You definitely don't want to use that. The only that goes into a leach field is liquid because the solids settle out in the septic tank. If you dump anything but liquid into that vent, you'll seriously damage your leach field. Very expensive!

[doorguy]

We frequent our two county parks alot but this year they started charging for dumping even as a paid camper. Our subdivision has 4" cleanouts at the sidewalk, so I just pull up to the curb with the drivers side and and with the cant on the street, it gives me a great angle on the coach to get a good clean dump. Use it all the time. I'm sure it isn't legal, but........

[US1]

Remove the vent cap in question and have someone in house flush a toilet or 2 and watch for the rush of water thru the pipe. A field vent won’t have a rush of water like the main sewer pipe from house to septic

[TheDixieCup]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/G29vhjupSafTLMB16

Our connection to the septic tank cleanout. One change from the photo: we actually use a 3/4" hose (this is 5/8") for greater volume and less strain on the macerator. A run of about 65 feet.

[Aphinn]

Originally Posted by TheDixieCup

https://photos.app.goo.gl/G29vhjupSafTLMB16

Our connection to the septic tank cleanout. One change from the photo: we actually use a 3/4" hose (this is 5/8") for greater volume and less strain on the macerator. A run of about 65 feet.

If it is vented there is a building trap underground and they where commonly used on a combined sewer system where storm and sanitary go into the same city main we come across them all the time ours usually has a mushroom cap on it venting on the underside of it

[SteveJ.]

Originally Posted by dominiccos

Hi there at my previous house we were on town sewer network. I used the low sewer breather for my black and grey water and also my dogs droppings. I recommend flushing the hose down it afterwards as there is a reasonable drop from this breather to the line out to our road but I don’t like to tempt fate.

Where I live now we are on a biocycle system and I have been advised that it might not be good for the biologicals in the system to put black water with the sanitizer and such. A confirmation from the other readers would be great.

If you must use a sanitizer, use one that says it's friendly to septic tanks. It should say on the bottle. I've gotten away from using them in the last couple of years. I've had crap in the tank for weeks on end with no issues, just don't huff the vent.
From time to time I put about a quarter cup of cooking oil in the toilet and grey tank for lubrication along with a bit of Dawn.

If you have an odor in the coach from not using sanitizer you have a plumbing issue.