The device of a septic tank from eurocubes and the principle of its functioning. Advantages and disadvantages of the drive. Modification of the container before installing it in a regular place. Sewage collector assembly technology.
A septic tank from a eurocube is one of the options for a sewage waste accumulator, consisting of several plastic containers of a small volume. Manufactured from factory-made containers for the transport and storage of liquids. We will talk about how to make a septic tank from Eurocubes in this article.
Septic tank device from eurocubes
People living in a country house are always faced with the question of disposal of domestic sewage waste. Often the problem is solved with the help of eurocubes - special containers that are used to store water, various liquid substances, including sewage. They are made of polyethylene with a thickness of 1.5-2 mm, reinforced with stiffeners. To protect the walls from external influences, the product is fenced on the outside with a steel mesh. For ease of transportation and installation, the tanks are installed on wooden or metal pallets.
Tank characteristics:
- Dimensions - 1.2x1, 0x1, 175 m;
- Weight - 67 kg;
- Volume - 1 m3.
A prefabricated container for sewerage systems is equipped with a cleaning hatch, openings for draining, draining clean water and ventilation of the inner cavity, as well as adapters for connecting external communications. Products that are used for transporting and storing liquids do not have technological openings necessary for the operation of the storage device, therefore the openings are made locally. To create a septic tank from eurocubes with your own hands, you may need several containers, depending on the wishes of the owner.
Brief information about such structures is given in the table:
| Number of Eurocubes | Application | Septic tank cleaning |
| 1 | For a family of 1-2 people who sometimes live in the house | Sewage is pumped out by a sewage truck or discharged into a filter well |
| 2 | When creating a non-pumpable septic tank for a family of 3-4 people | Content is discharged by gravity onto filter fields |
| 3 | If it is impossible to remove the treated wastewater to the site | The purified water is collected in the third tank and removed by a sewer truck |
Single chamber septic tank
from a eurocube resembles a classic cesspool with sealed walls and a bottom. However, its small volume limits its use in local sewer systems.
Most often, the owners collect septic tank from two eurocubes, which are enough to serve an ordinary family. The two-chamber device functions as follows:
- Waste water from the house enters the first container through the sewer pipe.
- Heavy fractions settle in this tank to the bottom, while the lungs remain floating on the surface.
- When the liquid level reaches the overflow pipe, the effluent flows into the second chamber.
- In it, the fragments are decomposed into liquid and gaseous components. Gas exits through the ventilation system, liquid fractions are removed to the outside through a drain.
- To improve the rate of processing of organic matter, special microorganisms are added to the second Eurocube - bacteria for septic tanks, which are able to live without sunlight and oxygen.
- After the accumulator, the water must be additionally purified in soil filters, which are built nearby.
- Solid fractions from the first container will have to be removed mechanically once a year. The volume of insoluble elements is no more than 0.5% of the total volume of effluents, so the container will not fill up soon.
Third tank
used in the scheme of septic tanks from European cups, if the soil on the site is swampy or the groundwater level is very high. The purified liquid is drained into it, which is then taken out by a sewer truck.
If there are no sewage products on sale, buy a non-food container or unwashed used containers (they will cost less). The main requirement for them is tightness, absence of cracks and other defects.
Advantages and disadvantages of a septic tank from a Eurocube
Such septic tanks are very popular among the owners of suburban areas. They have the following advantages:
- Great structural strength. Thanks to the reinforcement, the walls can withstand horizontal ground movements.
- Eurocube drives do not require operating costs.
- The material from which the tank is built does not react with chemical elements that are often found in groundwater.
- The product is lightweight, so it can be installed in place even alone. Installation is carried out without special equipment.
- To assemble a septic tank from Eurocubes, no special knowledge is needed.
- The purifier functions without electricity.
- The price of the product is small, so it is affordable for most users. The tank will cost you even less if you use a used tank.
- After installation, no additional work is required to commission the device.
- If necessary, it is easy to increase the volume of the cleaner by digging in another container next to it.
- Maintenance of the device during operation is very simple.
- Installation of a septic tank from containers can be carried out at any time of the year.
Even such simple septic tanks from Eurocubes have their drawbacks. Users should be aware of the following:
- The light weight of the structure can lead to the floating of the reservoir during floods. Therefore, during installation, consider how to fix the container in a vertical plane.
- The walls of products are thin and fragile, which can cause them to break or deform after backfilling with soil. In such cases, a protective shell of cement or concrete is created around the cube.
- Tanks that are not intended for use in sewer systems have to be modified locally.
- It is necessary to buy overflows, ventilation pipes, adapters, tees, insulation and other consumables, which increases the cost of installation work.
- The metal frame around the tank corrodes and after a few years becomes unable to protect it from soil attack. You will need materials to create a protective belt around the product, and this is an additional cost.
- Wastewater treatment in such sedimentation tanks lasts 3 days, which is more than in treatment plants.
How to make a septic tank from a Eurocube?
The process of assembling a septic tank from eurocubes is simple, but requires operations in a specific sequence. The order of work is described below.
Preparation for the installation of a septic tank
Before building a sewerage system, which will include a septic tank from a Eurocube, perform a number of preparatory operations. These include the following works:
- Choosing a place for container installation … The location of the sealed container on the site is determined by the owner's decision and mainly depends on the method of disposal of the contents of the container. It should be located at a distance of at least 50 m from the source of drinking water, 30 m from the reservoir, 5 m from the road, 10 m from the river, 6 m from the house. Do not place it far from residential buildings, so as not to complicate the installation of sewer pipes and not to increase the depth of the pit for the device.
- Selecting a method for additional wastewater treatment … In the sump, the liquid is purified only by 50-60%, it is unsafe for the environment. The classical method of additional purification of septic tank effluents from eurocubes without pumping out involves their output to the filtration fields. If the groundwater is close to the surface, it is impossible to pour liquid from the reservoir onto the site. In this case, it is taken out by a sewage truck. To allow the machine's hose to reach the bottom of the tank, place the tank next to a fence or make a road for vehicles to approach the tank.
- Determination of the type of soil on the site … The composition of the soil affects the installation technology of the product. For example, on sandy soils, additionally reinforce the walls of the pit under the container with boards or concrete partitions so that the soil does not crumble and load the container. In some cases, the bottom of the pit is concreted.
- Determination of the groundwater depth … The procedure is performed in the spring, when its level is maximum. Drill a well to a depth of 1.5-2 m using a garden drill and leave it for a day. Check the moisture content of the walls. If they are wet, the water gets too close to the surface.
- Determination of tank volume … It is calculated by the formula V = (180 x K x 3), where 180 is the standard volume of water per day per person; K - the number of people living in the house; 3 - the standard number of days for the purification of effluents in the septic tank. It has been experimentally established that a tank with a volume of 800 liters is enough for a family of 2 people. It is also necessary to take into account the number of drainage points - bath, washing machine, dishwasher. Therefore, buy a container with a volume margin so that it does not fill up under the lid. It is forbidden to install a tank whose volume is less than the calculated value. With a larger number of residents, several containers can be used. To do this, install them side by side and connect them in series with jumpers.
Excavation
For the installation of the eurocube and sewer pipes, a large amount of earthwork will have to be performed. They are performed in the following sequence:
- Dig a hole according to the dimensions of the selected tank, adding 30-50 cm on each side. The increased size will allow you to fix the insulation to the container and fill it with sand around the perimeter. Make the depth of the pit such that, after installation, the product hatch remains above the surface, but not more than 3 m. Otherwise, there will be problems with pumping out sewage with a sewage machine. It is better to dig a large hole with an excavator, followed by refinement with a shovel. Level the bottom in a horizontal plane with a mixture of sand and gravel with a layer of at least 20 cm. You can fill it with concrete. The base prepared in this way will not allow the tank to float during the period of heavy rains or spring floods and will not sag under a filled Euro cube. If the septic tank consists of several containers, make the bottom stepped, because the subsequent containers will be 20 cm lower than the previous one.
- Reinforce the walls of the pit dug in the sand with wooden boards or concrete formwork. If the requirement is neglected, the product may be damaged by soil or the entire structure will move, which will damage the sewer system.
- Install a eurocube in the pit, placing it in the middle of the pit.
- Dig a trench from the house to the septic tank. If there are places in the tank for connecting sewer pipes, lead a ditch to it. The depth of the ditch should be below the freezing level of the soil with a slight slope towards the tank. For a product with a diameter of 110 mm, slope 2 cm / m.
- Place water lines in the ditch.
- If the drainage of treated water to the site is provided, dig a trench and make a soil filter for sewage treatment. The post-treatment system can only be built on sandy soils, and also if at least 1 m remains to the groundwater.
- If there are no technological holes for the sewer pipe on the tank, mark its location as you wish.
- Remove the tank from the pit.
Refinement of the euro cube for a septic tank
If the container was not originally intended for use as a drainage reservoir, modify it. Perform the following operations:
- Unscrew the plug from the flange through which the fluid from the tank is drained. It is too small and too low to be used. Apply sealant to the threads and tighten the plug. This drain is not required during operation.
- Cut a hole in the first container for the sewer pipe at a distance of 20-30 cm from the top. In the second tank, make a drainage hole at a distance of 30 cm from the bottom of the tank.
- On the wall of the first container, opposite to the one to which the sewer pipe will be connected, cut an opening for the overflow pipe, 15 cm lower than the inlet. Prepare the same hole in the second container.
- At the top of each tank, make holes for the ventilation device.
- To inspect the product in the upper part of the tank, prepare an opening, install a large diameter pipe in it. Seal the joints with sealant. Through it, the interior of the structure will be inspected, the insoluble sediment will be removed and the liquid will be pumped out.
Septic tank assembly instructions
The installation of containers in the pit and the arrangement of the sump takes place in the following sequence:
- Install the products in their proper place in the pit, and place the second container 15-20 cm lower than the first.
- Check that the overflow holes in the walls of the Eurocubes are in the same vertical plane.
- Weld the fittings to the metal grids on the products and fix them to each other to prevent the tanks from moving during operation.
- Secure the containers from floating up with cables, which you tie to the handles on the container and to the dowels driven into the base of the pit.
- Connect the sewer pipe to the tank.
- Install the L-shaped adapters into the holes of both containers, bending down.
- Fix the ventilation pipes in the holes, placing them 10-15 cm above the inlet and overflow openings.
- Seal all connectors on the container.
- Install the pipelines on the filtering field and connect them to the drain hole on the Eurocube.
- Insulate the outside of the container with any heat-insulating material that does not collapse under the influence of moisture. Styrofoam or expanded polystyrene foam is suitable.
- Fill the gaps between the cube with dry sand and cement in a 5: 1 ratio. Add the mixture in layers, 20 cm each, with the compaction of each layer. Before this operation, it is necessary to fill the container with water to avoid deformation of the chamber walls.
- Cover the top of the tank with an insulator, and then with soil on which a flower bed can be planted.
Rules for the operation of a septic tank from eurocubes
During the operation of septic tanks of their Eurocubes, the following must be remembered:
- A fully filled plastic cube can burst from internal pressure in winter. To avoid damage, bury a drain tank in the ground, which should be located below the level of the drive, or insulate the container securely.
- Each compartment in the septic tank must be ventilated.
- Install a ventilation pipe in the sewer system to suck in air. It is needed to eliminate the rarefaction of air in the system, which makes it difficult to drain the effluent into the container.
- Once a year, clean the containers from solid impurities that have settled to the bottom or float on the surface. The sludge is removed through a hatch at the top of the device. With intensive use, the drive will need to be cleaned more often. Solid fragments can be piled up in compost heaps and then used as fertilizer.
- After the winter, be sure to check the condition of the septic tank for dachas from European cups, especially if no one lived in the house during this period.
- If any defects are found, stop using the drive and repair it as soon as possible so as not to contaminate the area with impurities.
- Do not pour substances into the sewer system that can destroy plastic or kill bacteria colonies. These include petroleum products, solvents, medicines. A 50% solution of nitric acid is capable of dissolving even artificial material.
- Do not dispose of solid objects that cannot be recycled into the tank - debris, cigarette butts, etc.
- If the house is used seasonally, mothball the sump for this period.
How to make a septic tank from euro cubes - watch the video:
Now you know the device of a septic tank from eurocubes for a private house and the technology of its installation. Due to the ease of installation and low cost of the material, the sump can be characterized as the most affordable option for collecting and discharging sewage in a country house.
