Frostline charts?

[Kamper]

Does anyone know a site or have a link to the frost depths in New Hampshire?

I am considerring a project to send my laundry water straight into my leach-tank (not leach-field). I am considerring other options too, but this data is understandably of interest to me.

Thanks in advance!

[ITD]

I'm pretty sure that's illegal and not very good for the lake, I'm sure others with more knowledge will comment. At a minimum you will need a permit.

[idigtractors]

Originally Posted by Kamper

Does anyone know a site or have a link to the frost depths in New Hampshire?

I am considerring a project to send my laundry water straight into my leach-tank (not leach-field). I am considerring other options too, but this data is understandably of interest to me.

Thanks in advance!

That's a hard one to answer as it can vary from one street to another no matter where you are located. A pretty set depth for not freezing is 4 feet or deeper. When I built our home and dug the foundation at the end of Jan beginning of Feb. it was just below 4 feet. Good luck.

[Kamper]

Thanks for the replies so far. This is not for the Lakes area. This is the only NH forum I participate in and I knew somebody here would be able to help. I got a link from another board to a chart that showed my zone (southern NH) in the 60-70" range but I feel that is far too pessimistic.

At some point I will need to speak with my local code officer if I want to go this route. My leach tank and dry well are grandfatherred but if this is considerred a "major" change to the system, permits and other responsibilities may make it cheaper to just use a laundrymat.

Thanks!

[Old Hubbard Rd]

I'm confused. You want to send this to the holding tank correct?? I might be wrong but it goes something like this:1st to holding tank then to distribution tank (which is very small) then to leach field. If this is the case your not doing anything really wrong. I'm sure someone will disagree. This is the way my home is designed.

[Kamper]

Originally Posted by Old Hubbard Rd

I'm confused. You want to send this to the holding tank correct?? ... then to leach field. ...

No. I have a leach-tank instead of a leach field, for my septic. The laundry currently drains into a dry-well. The only difference between a dry-well and a leach tank is the size of the chamber. Liquid drains into them and dissipates into the earth like a leach-field. Laundry dry-wells eventually get saturated with detergents and drain slower and slower until they are effective clogged. The leach-tank is large enough to last another century at least. By then I wont care.

Neither is legally acceptable for new installations. Existing examples are "grand-fathered." Modification is a gray area and I will be checking with code enforcement on that. Mine are 50+ years old and the septic/holding tank is newer.

I dont want to access the holding tank. Just send the gray water straight to the leach-tank. I dont really need any advice on the practicality of that. I am satisifed that it is workable subject to the frost problem.

My town's code-officer is "user-friendly" and if the project is legal will tell me what I need to tweak, to remain in compliance. He's advised me on other projects and will tell me if it's a lost cause before I make a major investment of time or labor. I just prefer to have more info before I bother him so I will be able to answer his questions.

Thanks.

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Kamper

I dont want to access the holding tank. Just send the gray water straight to the leach-tank. I dont really need any advice on the practicality of that. I am satisifed that it is workable subject to the frost problem.
Thanks.

I do not see any reason for not wanting to go through your tank then into the leach pit. It isn't going to hurt anything that normal soap detergent doesn't hurt. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, what is the purpose for by-passing the septic tank???

[Kamper]

Originally Posted by RLW

I do not see any reason for not wanting to go through your tank then into the leach pit. ... what is the purpose for by-passing the septic tank???

I figure my septic system is working fine as it is and I dont want to mess with it unless I have to. The extra effort is worth it to me for piece of mind reasons. No option is completely ruled out until the job is done, though.

Thanks!

[RLW]

Originally Posted by Kamper

I figure my septic system is working fine as it is and I dont want to mess with it unless I have to. The extra effort is worth it to me for piece of mind reasons. No option is completely ruled out until the job is done, though.

Thanks!

Bye-passing your tank is not going to help you one bit nor will dumping into it hurt the tank. The only thing that will help and it is illegal, is to put it into a dry well.

[Kamper]

Also, someone else has pointed out that I may need shoring for a trench this deep. Also, 4X4X45' is a lot of dirt to move. I may just keep it as is until it quits then think about it some more.

[TomC]

Originally Posted by Kamper

... 4X4X45' is a lot of dirt to move....

I assume you don't need a 4' trench for a pipe... you can rent these machines at larger equipment rental outfits.

[Kamper]

I thought you might want to know wht I have decided for now.

To summarise: My laundry started to spit back about a cup of water during the drain cycle a few weeks back so the dry well may be nearing the end of its service life.

I have remedied the siutation for now with a "splash-box" that will handle over-flow up to 35 gallons which is more than a load on my machine. Now that I am using the interim solution of an over-flow reservoir, I am able to do as many loads as I want again.

The "splash box" takes the pressure from the over-flow and several gallons flow into it each cycle. Almost all the water drains out by the end of the cycle. In some ways I am better off because I have a sight-line and will know the dry-well is full and should wait to do the next load. I have done 3 loads in a row with this system and it still drained.

This situation could last another load or another 50 years. Since simpler is usually better I think I will cross my fingers and leave it at this. It has been suggested that I run a snake through the line to clear and buildup but I havent done that yet.

Thanks for your interest. Wish me luck!

[idigtractors]

Originally Posted by Kamper

I thought you might want to know wht I have decided for now.

To summarise: My laundry started to spit back about a cup of water during the drain cycle a few weeks back so the dry well may be nearing the end of its service life.

I have remedied the siutation for now with a "splash-box" that will handle over-flow up to 35 gallons which is more than a load on my machine. Now that I am using the interim solution of an over-flow reservoir, I am able to do as many loads as I want again.

The "splash box" takes the pressure from the over-flow and several gallons flow into it each cycle. Almost all the water drains out by the end of the cycle. In some ways I am better off because I have a sight-line and will know the dry-well is full and should wait to do the next load. I have done 3 loads in a row with this system and it still drained.

This situation could last another load or another 50 years. Since simpler is usually better I think I will cross my fingers and leave it at this. It has been suggested that I run a snake through the line to clear and buildup but I havent done that yet.

Thanks for your interest. Wish me luck!

We all wish you luck with the system and that the BOH doesn't read this site as it doesn't sound legal to this reader.