Flushable Septic Tank Locators
We’re here at a custom home project in Middleton, Idaho. We’re going to show you how we found a septic tank. It was challenging. We called for a camera from a septic system company, but they came out with another tool.
How the Locator Works
The technician placed the locator beacon into the plumbing system through a cleanout and flushed it down the toilet. Running water from a nearby sink helped carry the beacon through the pipes. Once inside, the device emitted a signal that could be tracked above ground with a handheld receiver (often called a toner).
The reading showed that the septic line ran about eight and a half feet below grade, consistent with the depth of the basement. This confirmed the approximate location of the tank’s inlet.
The technician explained that if the tank had a baffle, the beacon might have stopped at that point. If not, it could have drifted slightly inside the tank, though that situation is rare. Either way, the locator confirmed that they were directly above the tank’s inlet line.
Site Conditions and Setup
The property included an older addition that was poorly constructed and slated for removal. The cleanouts were located underneath that section, making access somewhat awkward. The septic line extended outward at an angle from the main structure toward the tank area.
To mark the location, the team drove two stakes into the ground, aligning them with the tank inlet. These offset stakes provided reference points for excavation.
Excavation Plan
Once the technician finished at another nearby job, the team planned to dig out the tank using a Massey Ferguson tractor equipped with a backhoe attachment. With the tank depth identified and the location confirmed, excavation could begin to expose the inlet and prepare for pumping.
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What’s Wrong With the Pill?
So the septic company said the pill that was flushed didn’t get enough water behind it. Somehow, it got hung up, so it didn’t stop where the tank was. The depth wasn’t correct either, and we broke a pipe.
The tank is 70 feet away from where we dug. These are the stakes right here. The two running across, you can see that they’re lined up here in the camera. Those two were marking the line where that thing was at. So, it picked up the tone for where it was in the pipe’s length. But the depth was off by two feet.
I stopped two feet above it and then I hit and broke the pipe at about six feet. To confirm that the tank was on the side of the pipe I’m standing on now, I went inside, turned on the water, and the water started coming out below my pipe. And that’s how I could tell that I was still on the house side of the tank where it was coming out, and it hadn’t gotten to the tank yet.
How to Fix It
When this place was bought, a culvert was sticking up where those sheep are. I stood back on this line where this pipe is. I thought, “Okay, where’s this thing going?”
I looked right where it was at, took the septic probe, and started probing down into the ground. And then I got to the end, and there was a spot where the sheep had burrowed out and were bedded down, and this thing was sitting right down here. So the man is getting ready to pump this thing right now. You can see it here and this hose is ready to pump.
This other lid that was sitting here wasn’t doing anything. It was an old lid or something, but this lid was a bigger lid that was sitting on top. So, the septic company is going to go ahead and start cleaning this out.
Next Step
At the end of the day, we put the stakes in here and wrapped some caution tape around here. We got about an eight-foot-deep hole that we wanted to avoid falling in. So, we need to get this pipe repaired and the hole backfilled in the next day or so. So, that’s the next step to get this one wrapped up.
All right, so the pump truck’s gone. Now, we must take and measure off this chicken coop, the house, the well, etc. Our goal is to see where this is at on the property. The leech field goes out this way, right toward the camera. That’s how you can see the baffle in this tank where it takes off. And we will show that on an as-built plan and submit that to the county for building permits.
If you need help building a custom home, ADU, or whole-house remodeling, request a project consultation with us. We have offices in Ramona, California, serving the San Diego County area, and Middleton, Idaho, serving the Boise Metro area. You can also explore our comprehensive collection of similar videos on our YouTube channel, The Real Property Show.
