Smelly vent stack.
Smelly vent stack.
(OP)
Anyone know of a product or any good way to eliminate the septic tank smell from drifting around a customers back yard from the vent stack that comes thru the roof? The pipe has been extended up even with the ridge line and the natural downdraft still pushes it down into the Deck / back yard area.





RE: Smelly vent stack.
RE: Smelly vent stack.
OK maybe not. Is this a vent directly from a tank? Around these parts there's no vent for the tank, other than it can vent into the building plumbing & vents, and for a properly operating tank there is negligible odors. Is there maybe something else causing the odor?
RE: Smelly vent stack.
You may be on to something with the odor being the problem, rather than the vent malfunctioning. Anyone else have any ideas.
RE: Smelly vent stack.
http://www.sweetfilter.com/
RE: Smelly vent stack.
http
Most building codes, but not all, allow their use - you may want to check.
www.SlideRuleEra.net
RE: Smelly vent stack.
Dik
RE: Smelly vent stack.
In the first case, the entrance to the septic tank should be submerged. The service pipe generally enters the septic tank and turns down under the water. Therefore, it is not possible for odors to travel from the septic into the house.
Secondly, you should not have much air flow going up the stack, so you should not be having the odors travel very far.
The stack is supposed to be about 12" above the roof penetration and 3-4" in dia.
Is there only one stack? The practice around here is to collect all vents into one roof penetration.
Is it possible that you have an empty floor drain trap that is allowing air to go up the stack?
Air admittance valves are not used on top of stacks nor are the sweetfilters.
RE: Smelly vent stack.
bimr,
The norm around here (at least on residential systems) is for the septic tank inlet to stick into the tank a couple inches and stop. I have never seen one that turns and goes down, I think this would make floating solids plug the line.
I agree that there should not be a lot of air flow up the vent line, I have no idea why it so heavy at times.
The stack is 3" schedule 40 and it is probably more like 24" above the penetration. All vent lines ar tied together in the atic and run thru this one roof penetration.
No floor drains are tied in, I checked all sink traps to ensure they were full.
Any more thoughts as you mull this stuff over?
RE: Smelly vent stack.
Without the baffle, you may be getting some type of stack effect where the heat in the house is causing air to rise through the plumbing stack.
"A septic tank must have devices such as baffles or sanitary tees to help ensure that settling occurs, solids are retained and venting is provided (Figure 1). An inlet device prevents the scum layer from building up and plugging the end of the sewer pipe."
ht
http:/
http://www.inspect-ny.com/septic/tanktees.htm
http://www.thenaturalhome.com/septic.html
Here is another report on odors:
How to Diagnose, Prevent, or Cure Odors and Hazards from Gases in Septic Systems
RE: Smelly vent stack.
A more likely source of the odors are failing septic tanks and leach fields in the area. This is particularly common in communities that rely soley on septic tanks for domestic sewage treatment and disposal.
There are a lot of communities out there who don't want to pay for centralized sewage collection and treatment systems either because they're too cheap and don't want their taxes to increase, or they're trying to prevent growth. The end result is stinky neighborhoods and horrible stormwater pollution.
If the odor is limited to the interior of the house, it's good to check for seldom-used p-traps that may have dried out. Dumping a bucket of water down the drain of a rarely used shower will reprime the p-trap and prevent odors from backing up into the house.
RE: Smelly vent stack.
http://orenco.com/catalog/PF26PT109.asp?pf=26