Bought a "Sewer Solution"....

[Jim Stoltz]

So I bought a Valterra Sewer Solution pseudo-macerator pump so I can dump my RV at home into 1 of 3 sewer clean-outs in my yard. I went to Home Depot and bought 100-feet of plastic sprinkler lines and associated fittings to hook up to the Sewer Solution kit.

Got it all home and pulled one of the "clean out" caps. Auuuuuugggggggghhhhhh! They're not sewer clean outs - they're all for a dry well that I didn't know was there that collects rain water from the roof. 

There has to be sewer clean outs somewhere - they're required - but they might be buried under the lawn. 

Good news is that I didn't blindly dump the tanks into those 4" pipes sticking out of the yard. Bad news is that I need a Plan B. I'm thinking of running the pipe in through a basement window and into a real sewer clean out in the basement. I'd need to make sure it was sealed up pretty good so there's no spillage down there. That would really, really suck.

[Rick Faunce]

Do you have city sewer or a septic system in-ground? If in-ground and it is a mound you do not want to put the tank directly into the mound, you need to go into the holding tanks first. Only clear water goes out to the mound. If you have city sewer you should have a clean out before the street connection but it is probably out close to the street. Or the one you mentioned in the basement. You could always put in a drop into the line outside.

[Jim Stoltz]

I have city sewer. I can't find a clean out anywhere. I suspect the builder buried it when he put the lawn in. I'll have to look a little harder, but if it's close to the street it does me no good anyway. That's the steepest part of the driveway and I can't dump from the street - too busy.

[Rich Thomas]

Hi Jim, I had city service in my Town and it had no clean out between my house and the city connection. I'm not sure of the code though and at the time it was built it may not of been needed. When we built my current home the Plummer placed a clean out about 4-5 feet out side where the pipe left the house I know this stuff is a pain in the @$$ but I know the plummer was a certified contractor and this was up to current code for my area. what I'm saying is to look in the area mentioned maybe it will save you some time and energy looking. good luck 

[Jim Stoltz]

If there was a clean-out close to the house that would be great. There has to be at least one somewhere per code, but I'd bet it (or they) got buried. It's a 500-foot run from my house to the street so I'd guess there's more than one.

[Rick Faunce]

It should be on your survey that had to be done when you bought the house. That should give the locations of the clean outs and water shutoff's. As steep as your driveway is it is possible that there are no clean outs from house to road due to the drop in the line. The likelihood of a clog in a steep drop in a straight line are very slim and if there is a clean out outside as there should be it would not be an issue. We used to have Route 24 service company come out to the place I worked and jet lines 1,000 feet in some cases.

[Jim Stoltz]

It should be on my survey but it isn't (maybe there isn't one). It's a whole 'nother story, but I had natural gas brought up to the house last month. The backhoe operator hit a septic tank down by the road. I don't have septic. Turns out it was from the house that was on the property before (was demo'd). The guy that built my house in 2011 didn't properly close the septic system. I called the town to inquire about closure permits and they told me that not only is there no permit for closing septic on file, there also is no record of a permit for the city sewer connection that I currently have. I decided not to pursue it any further - could be a can of worms. I had the septic tank filled with QP and covered it back up.

[Rick Faunce]

I would not worry about the sewer permit, That is one the town will not want to visit either since it was their inspector that let it slide. Since there is city sewer I am positive the house is required to be tied into it so I am sure it was done at building. Their guy never inspected nor logged it. Probably pocketed the money from the contractor. Your best bet is go in the house and measure from a corner wall to the sewer pipe outlet, go outside and measure the same wall and add 8" if you have a standard block foundation and mark the spot. Now you now where it comes out. Now go down and measure from the top of the foundation wall, or as close as you can, down to the pipe. Go outside and measure from the top of the foundation to the ground and now you know how deep it is. Get a i/4 inch rod and probe into the dirt and you should hit the pipe. Do not ram it in the ground or you could puncture the pipe. Just push it down, you know how deep the pipe is. Once you find it line two spots out from the house you now have a line to follow. Put a couple stakes in the ground directly over the pipe where you found it with your probe and stretch a line out 20 feet. Now just walk along that lime and sink the robe about ten inches or so every few inches. If there is a clean out you will find it. I would push all the way down to the pipe every five feet or so just so you know you are still on line. If I were closer I could do this with dowsing rods for you. I would also be able to find a clean out if it was there. If you are not really pressed for time my wife has been bugging me to go out for a ride some day, maybe I can come up your way.

[Jim Stoltz]

So I wound up running the pipe into the basement window. I used 1" sprinkler hose line with PVC adapters at each end to connect to the main sewer line in my basement and to the Sewer Solution. It was about a 4-foot or more rise up to the basement window, then about the same amount drop to the sewer line. The water pressure from the hose created plenty of pump-action to empty the tanks. It's not the greatest thing in the world to watch as the water jet pulverizes the contents of the black tank but it's necessary to see when it's empty. I flipped the lever to the rinse mode and couldn't believe how much junk kept coming out of the black tank with each rinse. After about 5 rinses it came out clean. I followed it with the gray tank and then a thorough rinse with fresh water. I let gravity do its thing and let it drain into my sewer line for about half an hour. When I disconnected it not a drop came out into the basement. It's not the most elegant solution but it's effective and so nice to be able to dump at home.