Septic lids

 

Welcome to the forums!
If effluent comes out at the lid when you flush that's a drain field issue. The tank isn't supposed to get that full.

 

It’s full because rain water has filled it.

 

The system had no problems before these new lids. We had a crack in the square part where you pump out so we decided to replace lids. You can actually see down in the tank from where the lid doesn’t seem on. I was told to hook up a chain and wrap it around my stomach and pull the lid back on correctly.

 

It's supposed to go out to the drain field. If the field is waterlogged then it can run back into the tank overfilling. I doubt making the lid water tight will solve the issue.

 

Some is going out to the drain field. It’s when it rains and becomes to full is when it does this.

 

If it’s the drain field wouldn’t both tanks being doing this and possibly back up into house?

 

A septic tank/system is designed so the tank should never get full to the top. When the effluent gets to a certain height in the tank it is sent out to the field. If the field is saturated no effluent can go into it. Sometimes a saturated field will back up into the tank although you mostly see that when the tank is pumped out. Unless the tank is covered by a puddle a loose fitting cap shouldn't cause any problems .... other than maybe letting a little odor to escape.

 

It is cover by a puddle, but I dug a trench to drain it away from it so I could see it.

 

If no water is allowed to enter thru the lid [puddle drained] it shouldn't take long for the excess effluent to be absorbed by the drain field if it's working properly. Excessive rain can hinder a system's operation but should fix itself shortly after the rain stops and the ground starts to dry out.

 

Well I see that there were several posts since I typed this but here goes anyway-

Why did you get new lids? Did the company do anything else when they replaced the lids? As Mark pointed out, and as you can see in the picture, the liquid level should be far below the lids. But if the tanks are not draining properly out into the field because there is a problem with the field, then you could get liquid backup in the tank and the effluent could come out from under the lid.

When you say “the other tank”, do you mean you have a tank with 2 compartments like the one in the picture? If so, and it is the first compartment that is overflowing, but the second compartment is NOT overflowing, then possibly the channel between the first compartment and the second compartment (red arrow in pic) is partially blocked.

(I know those concrete lids are really heavy. I have a really hard time moving mine.)

I think Mark is correct about a loose fitting lid not causing the problem. Mine are a little loose but I think the amount of water that seeps in is minimal. At least that's the way it seems to me.

 

The lids are almost dry around it and the level has gone down since yesterday! We have had no rain and are not due for any until the end of the week! I will continue to check the level. I will update! Thank you for all the information!