Homemade Septic Tank DYI Septic Tank

This is my homemade Septic tank for a camper. I didn't mention it in the video but I drilled holes starting from 18 in from the bottom of the barrels about 2 apart going up and then repeated the process 5 to 6 in apart all around the barrels. Feel free to like comment and subscribe.

[mattelgin]

I made one of these three years ago, but got lazy about it. I only used one barrel because I got tired of digging. Didn’t used any gravel around my one barrel — but filled it with water before filling the dirt back in the hole. My leach field is only a six-foot piece of PVC with holes drilled in the bottom, like I think he did it in this video. Mine still works great. Only problem I’ve had is when it rains non-stop for weeks and the ground is saturated with water, my toilet doesn’t flush. Apparently, the barrel can’t push out liquid into the leach field when the ground is saturated with water. Next time I do one of these, I will build the leach field into a hill and give the rainwater a way to run out. Basically, this guy did it right. But, these still work well even if you do it half a__.

[lrayvick]

I put in a similar system that lasted 7 years. One toilet, one person, no sinks, etc. Two 55 gal barrels with no vents or internal tees; 2 lengths of septic pipe each 30 feet long. Inlet to bbl 1 was 3" pipe extended down in the bbl about a foot. Outlet was about 4" lower than the inlet with a 6" extension down into bbl 1. Inlet into bbl 2 was into an el with a 6 " extension down into the tank. Bbl 2 outlet was about the same elevation as the inlet.
One 12" wide trench about 24 inches deep with 6" of rock on the bottom, pipes on top of that, with 3" of rock covering the pipe which was not covered with anything such as straw which is standard in SoCal. No vents except at the toilet. Never smelled any odor. Great perc rate. When removed, bbl 1 had about a foot of sludge and almost no mat. Bbl 2 had about a 2 inch mat. The pipes were pretty clean.

[loristearns]

We were needing a temporary septic for our camper while building our house. Trying this solution. Just my husband and I with no grey water. Wish us luck! Thanks for the video!

[nancygonzalez]

i’m gonna try this, excited and a little nervous. We will see how this turns out. thanks

[cesarmoreno]

The idea is great. The poop goes to the first tank, and the excess water goes to the second tank and to the leach pipes. People that have a SEPTIC tank know that you have to place toilet paper in a waste basket, and you only flush BODY WASTE, not toilet papers. I am surprised by the P trap. There is no odor coming to the RV from the tank. And the P trap could cause the 4" line to clog. THANKS.

[nomadnickbikehobo]

The pipe that connects the two barrels should be about 2' lower to keep solids in the first barrel... Solids float, so a septic system has a divider that blocks the top half, so the gloating sludge will stay and the liquid will go under the divider and to the other side... But it's important that if you do it with a connecting pipe like in this video, that it doesn't leak, and it's only one third off the bottom.

If you make a system using only 1 barrel, the inlet should dump high like into the top of the barrel. And the leach pipe, should come into the side up high where you want the water level to stay, but it should have an elbow or a t and drop down a couple of feet... Your grey water, should feed from below the gloating sludge, like 2/3 of the way down inside the barrel

[danbryan]

Thank you so much sir for your YouTube video I was thinking 30 gallon drums would work but I just needed to see a visual and you did a great job I'm proud of you good job thank you so much

[MrBugman]

Very good presentation and craftmanship

[brownsrvlifecampground]

You made a awesome video keep up the good hard work

[wesleygyger]

This is great, exactly what I'll be attempting for my RV pad at my cabin property. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. One thing that wasn't covered is how you plumbed inside the barrels. In other set ups like this, I've seen vertical "T"s installed where the inlets are. Did you do something similar?

[JaneTheDoe-idvx]

my dad made his own septic system when i was a kid. it was just a big poop hole in our backyard. i remember falling into it. of course it wasn’t legal

[oldengdg]

I think it would be geat for black water but I would just put grey water on the ground.

[uleamulaga]

Thanks for thise wonderful diy septic system. How long does it take to fill it up...I mean the life span ??

[shadogw]

I have a 12, / 24 building that I want to do this for. The finished product looks good. Is there another video showing how you did it?

[NaeimG]

Hey TJ, thanks for the video. May I know how much capacity does the system you installed have? How much waste water will it process? Maybe you can let me know how many bathrooms, kitchen, laundry etc. Thanks.

[MrRichard]

Speaking from experience but why the p-trap on the line coming from the camper? The toilet has it's own trap. Why put rock around the barrels that may puncture the barrels. You should have rock around the field drain lines not the barrels. Does the pvc connecting the barrels have a turn down inside the first barrel? If it works, fine. but I believe you have a few mistakes that may affect the longevity.

[vannerdherd]

Have you had any issues with these barrels floating? OR did you put some rock or concrete in the bottom of the barrels to keep them from floating?

[chevyrunsdeep]

Hey bro I'm working on something similar but wanted to get your opinion about just using 1 55 gallons barrel. What do you think? Thanks!

[gokmenozturk]

Congrats! I need to do this for my home asap. I have a guestion. İsn't there any fresh air pipe? and There is no need?

[rapnakaraibach]

Really great job. Im planning to do it as well. Plz let me know - i see you had closed barrel in other websites I see recommendation to make y-bent pvc and let one outlet open. I was affraid of odour. I see you have it closed. Everything is working fine like that? Is it closed or it is just a flap valve? Thx in advance