How to make a septic tank from European cubes with your own hands: step-by-step assembly instructions

With an independent sewage system, life in a country house or in your own home will not be frightened by the lack of basic amenities. If there is no extra money for the purchase of a ready-made sewer, you can build a septic tank from eurocubes with your own hands. It does not require special investments. Agree, this is a solid plus.

We are ready to share really valuable information with site visitors. We have described step-by-step the process of organizing sewerage with wastewater treatment in a makeshift design. All the subtleties of the technological process are stated, which guarantee the trouble-free operation of the system and its long faultless service.

The information presented to your attention is based on the personal experience of independent builders of their own sewer structures from eurotare. The requirements of regulatory documentation are taken into account. In order to facilitate the perception of information, step by step photos and useful video guides have been attached.

Features of arranging a homemade septic tank

The arrangement of the sewer system using eurocubes in the environment of summer residents is considered one of the most economical options.

Moreover, a properly manufactured and high-quality septic tank is able to effectively cope with the functions assigned to it.

Before deciding on this option, it is necessary to learn about some of its features. Firstly, a home-made design and its further installation will require enormous labor costs. You may have to resort to the help of 1-2 friends, acquaintances, hired workers.

This is due to the large volume of earthwork - you will have to dig a lot. Also, to lower the already prepared tank into the dug pit, you will need third-party help. Despite the small weight of the structure, do not forget about the dimensions. Alone with such a whopper will be hard to handle.

To install a home-made septic tank you can’t do without helpers - the design comes out voluminous, although not heavy. One such cube weighs an average of 60 kg

Secondly, this solution to the issue of local sewage will be successful only if it is installed correctly. Otherwise, a septic tank may crumple after a couple of months or a year under the influence of environmental factors. All efforts and money spent on the project will be in vain.

Thirdly, it should be borne in mind that additional cleaning will be required - after all, a septic tank from Eurocubes is able to clean drains by 50-60%. Water leaving it must pass through another filter without fail.

You should think about this at the design stage in order to calculate everything correctly. So, for example, to equip the filtration fields, you need a decent area.

It is important to immediately decide which option of post-treatment will be equipped - filtration fields, an absorption well or an infiltrator

Assembly and installation technology

Often, homeowners, wanting to save as much as possible on the arrangement of sewers, think about how to make a homemade septic tank from European cubes.

This option looks very attractive financially, which allows it to look advantageous against the background of expensive factory settings. Moreover, if you do everything yourself, without ordering a turnkey project, the savings will be significant.

Step # 1 - design and calculations

The decision to equip a local sewage system using so-called “flasks” or eurocubes is quite common. Some summer residents are enthusiastic about this option, calling it successful, profitable and effective.

Others, on the contrary, say that once they regretted money for high-quality factory equipment, they had to pay twice - such a septic tank was crushed with soil in a matter of days.

Under the septic tank, Eurocubes are used for non-food products. Moreover, you can buy a used tank that has not been cleaned - this does not appear in any way on wastewater treatment

The rights in this dispute turn out to be both supporters and their opponents. In fact, these containers can successfully fulfill the role of a septic tank only if they are installed correctly. It is important to consider the type of soil in a particular area. If you ignore this moment, then the capacity will simply squeeze and you have to start all over again.

Before you start collecting the septic tank with your own hands, you have to calculate the water consumption consumed per day for household needs and drained into the sewer. This is convenient to do if a counter is installed. Otherwise, you have to calculate the value yourself.

It is not advisable to take the recommended norm of 200 liters per 1 person per day, because often a family of 5 people uses only 400-500 liters. The real value will have to be multiplied by 3. It is of this volume that the septic tank will be - drains for 3 days should be placed in it.

Having decided on the volume of capacity, you have to choose the best place to place it. Here it is worth considering that the pipes to the septic tank and from it go in a straight line, without bends. Otherwise, clogging will often occur, which will have to be eliminated.

It is important to adhere to generally accepted standards for the removal of septic tanks from wells with drinking water, the foundation of the house and ponds

First, you have to dig a trench for laying the supply pipeline, through which sewage will fall into the first tank - the receiving tank. Then you need to dig a foundation pit under the septic tank, given its size and adding to them an additional 15-20 cm on the sides for proper installation.

The depth of pipe laying connected to the treatment plant should be below the freezing level, but not deeper than 3 meters from the surface.

Next, you need to dig a trench for the outgoing pipeline and choose the option of additional treatment of effluents leaving the septic tank. After all, they will be cleaned by 50-60%, which is extremely small for safe diversion to the nearest body of water or to relief.

Fluids to undergo additional treatment:

• in the filtering well;
• in the fields of filtration;
• on filtering mounds (embankments).

It is one of these options that is most often used. Therefore, it is important to immediately provide a place for the equipment of the additional filtration zone.

The next step is the conversion of the Eurocube into a septic tank. For these purposes, it will have to be slightly modified using pipes, tees and consumables. The container itself is airtight, wall thickness from 1.5 to 2 mm. It is made of polyethylene, capable of withstanding corrosive substances and acids without reacting with them and without being destroyed.

Eurocube is a flask enclosed in a rigid metal frame. At the top of it is a hole for filling with a substance, and at the bottom there is a crane for extracting this substance

When converting the flask into a septic tank, the drainage place will be hermetically sealed to avoid leakage of sewage into the ground. The same should be done with the second, third cube, if the future septic tank will consist of more than one camera. Most often, home masters use 2 or 3 Eurocubes. Options with 1 or more than 3 are rare.

For septic tanks buy containers designed for non-food products. Moreover, you can save a lot of money by opting for the unwashed used flask. It is not difficult to wash it with water, and complex pollution will not affect the effectiveness of the future septic tank.

It is necessary to take into account the norms for connecting the sewer pipe. It is 20 cm below the top edge of the container. Next, it is necessary to place 2 tees inside the tank, cutting a hole of sufficient size for this. Subsequently, the holes have to be carefully brewed and covered with a layer of waterproofing.

When making cuts in a eurocube, you can use a grinder or other tool - the material is well cut

The inlet pipe and the pipe going up are horizontally connected to the first tee. It will be used for cleaning and revision. A pipe will be attached to the second tee to connect the 1st tank to the second and a pipe of smaller diameter for ventilation.

All pipes are reliably connected to each other and their sealing is performed. Moreover, it is more advisable to use plastic pipes, they are durable

Moreover, the outlet from the first flask, through which it will be connected to the 2nd, should be lower than the inlet. All joints and openings are carefully sealed to avoid leaks.

For sealing, you can use silicone sealant, epoxy

As for the second tank and the subsequent ones, if they are provided by the project, then each of them should be located 20 cm below the previous one. On this basis, all holes have to be cut.

Their number is the same as for the first flask. Only the outlet in the last Eurocube will be connected to a pipe that displays the treated effluents to the filtration fields. It is advisable to supply it check valve.

It remains only to rigidly connect all the containers to each other, welding metal rods to the frame. It is important that the structure does not fall apart, otherwise all pipes connecting the compartments to each other will break

Step # 2 - installation and installation

When all work on the installation of pipes and sealing joints is completed, you can proceed to the next step - installation.

Here the type of soil matters - in clayey, moving soils, it is important to seal the bottom with the highest quality possible by building a pillow of sand and gravel. A concrete screed should be made on top of it so that the bottom probably does not deform under the weight of the filled flasks.

When pouring a concrete screed, it must be taken into account that the foundation pit should have a stepped bottom, because each subsequent tank is shifted 20 cm below the previous one

Then you have to lower the septic tank into the pit. It is advisable to anchor it in order to additionally fix it in place and protect it from floating. Now you have to connect the incoming and outgoing pipelines to the septic equipment.

Pipes are laid with a bias in the side of the septic tank of 2 cm per 1 m of length. Moreover, the outgoing pipe with purified liquid is laid at a slope to the filtration field. A section of the pipeline laid above the depth of soil freezing in the region, it is desirable to insulate

The walls of the septic tank and the pipeline will need to be insulated. To do this, you can take polystyrene or other material. It remains to fill the cleaning equipment, assembled with your own hands, with water and fill everything with sand.

Between the walls of the pit and the septic tank, as well as from above, carefully foam or other insulation must be laid

With a high level of groundwater, the walls of the eurocube will have to be further protected by pouring concrete. For this, reinforcement or boards are placed in the gap between the tank and the wall of the pit and the concrete is carefully distributed. If everything is done sequentially, without forgetting to fill the septic tank with water, then the walls do not deform.

To prevent squeezing with heaving soils and damage to the casing, backfilling of the walls can only be done with sand, carefully tamping

Concrete the top of the pit or not, depending on the terrain. Pipes protruding above the surface must be protected so that nothing superfluous gets into the septic tank through them.

To perform soil post-treatment of wastewater treated in a septic tank, one of the following structures is required:

Step # 3 - Further Maintenance

In private households, each screw requires periodic attention from the owner. Local sewerage also is no exception.

A do-it-yourself septic tank will last a long time only subject to periodic inspections and maintenance. For this purpose, special pipes of large diameter were installed at the installation stage.

The large diameter of the pipes mounted in a homemade septic tank is useful for visual inspection, removal of insoluble substances and sludge pumping.

On the surface of the drains in the first chamber at 2, 3 or more chamber septic tanks, fatty substances, pieces of polyethylene and other light substances that enter the sewer float.

Periodically, a non-degradable layer will have to be removed mechanically. The frequency of such manipulations depends on the intensity of use of the septic tank and respect for it.

Also in autumn, the amount of solid deposits at the bottom of each tank should be checked. With a sufficiently large accumulation of them, it is necessary to call a sewage machine or pump it out independently with a fecal pump. Such sediment can be discharged into a compost pit for further use as an organic fertilizer.

Every spring, you must definitely check how the septic tank survived the winter. Especially if no one lived in the country during this period. In case of damage to the tank, it is necessary to immediately carry out work on its repair or replacement.

Sewerage with a faulty septic tank must not be allowed to run - drains can get into groundwater, which will harm the environment.

If on the site before installing the tanks no loess rocks and peat were selected, and the septic tank was not concreted, then in the spring the Eurocube can be crushed and it needs to be dug up urgently

To accelerate the decomposition of organic waste, special bacteria can be filled up for septic tanks. But with regular filling of the tank with drains, there is no special need for this. Microorganisms that feed on organics multiply and process everything that comes without third-party intervention.

Pros and cons of a septic tank from eurocubes

A homemade septic tank made from one or more eurocubes has a number of positive and negative sides. It can be a convenient and economical option for private home ownership, having solved the issue of arrangement autonomous sewage for a bath or all objects on the site.

Disadvantages of the purification system

It is worth noting that the independent assembly and installation of cleaning equipment from eurocubes will take more than one day. But, if all the work is carried out correctly and in full, the result will delight every zealous owner.

The following most significant disadvantages of this treatment plant can be distinguished:

• large front of hard work;
• strict installation rules;
• need for periodic maintenance;
• short term of operation.

If excavation is not scary and there is no desire to invite helpers, then digging a foundation pit and trenches can be done alone in a week or two. Everything will depend on the length of the working day of the home master - the work is simple, but hard in physical terms.

In addition to installing a septic tank and laying a pipeline, there are still filtration fields to arrange. And this is additional work and investment

As for the strict rules, their non-compliance will lead to the septic tank becoming sore and all work to be carried out again, except for digging trenches for pipelines. Moreover, about this scenario, you can read a lot of reviews on the network.

Seeking to equip the sewerage in private ownership more quickly and sacrificing the quality of work, the owners got an extremely unsatisfactory result.

If you want to do everything quickly with a minimum investment of time and energy, it’s easier to buy ready-made biological treatment equipment with installation by specialists. It will be cheaper than spending two or three times on the construction of a septic tank from improvised materials.

Homemade construction, like many other types of sewage facilities, will require periodic maintenance. After all, insoluble substances in the form of fat, randomly washed plastic bags and other items will accumulate in the container in the upper layer.

Such waste will have to be caught from the surface, and solid mud deposits will need to be removed from the bottom.

A sewage treatment plant mounted from Eurocubes is capable of processing waste water for at least 10 years. Moreover, its service life will directly depend on the type of material used when installing the containers.

A small defect in the form of a broken crane will make it possible to buy a used tank cheaper. This breakdown does not interfere with the septic tank installation - the drain hole still has to be sealed

If a frame was made around boards made of previously not impregnated with a special protective compound, then such a structure will rot very quickly. In the future, everything will have to be excavated and additional work done - after all, a Eurocube, simply buried on the site, cannot serve as a septic tank.

In order not to crush him, you need to perform a number of measures, depending on the type of soil and its mobility.

The advantages of a homemade septic tank

Home-made equipment made from eurocubes can become a reliable part of the sewer system in a country house / cottage.

It has a number of positive qualities:

• simple and inexpensive components;
• ease of capacity preparation;
• reliable wastewater treatment;
• the ability to install additional sections;
• assembly of the system does not require special knowledge and skills;
• complete energy independence.

The system does not require electricity, which is the most significant advantage for many summer residents. Sometimes this factor is crucial when choosing the type of local sewage.

Eurocube flasks are absolutely airtight - they, despite the thin walls, do not allow the liquid to pass both outside and inside. This gives them an additional advantage for use in areas with high GW.

The price of containers is relatively low, especially if they are used, plastic pipes, cuffs, tees, other accessories and consumables allow you to build an inexpensive septic tank. This attracts hardworking homeowners with skillful hands.

The undoubted advantage is the ability to add one or two additional sections at any time, i.e. increase the total volume. To do this, even at the design stage, it is necessary to install a spare pipe, closing the hermetically sealed hole. You should also choose the installation location so that additional sections, when such a need arises, fit on the site.

If these conditions are met, then going to connect an additional tank, it remains only to dig a pit for it and prepare it accordingly. Then it remains only to connect the new Eurocube with the one already installed in a single system, using the previously set and preserved pipe outlets for this.

The connection of the two containers is quite simple - the outlet pipe of the first is connected to the incoming of the second bulb. Joint sealed

A plastic container made of dense material can last a long time. But in view of the absence of stiffeners and the presence of an external metal lattice that protects it from compression, various scenarios are possible.Such a septic tank will be afraid of corrosion - if the frame collapses, the plastic container will quickly collapse.

Instead of Eurocubes, you can use a ready-made septic tank in the device plastic containerTrue, its purchase will increase the costs allocated for the construction of the system.

Therefore, it is possible to talk about a service life exceeding 10 years, but with a reservation on the materials used during installation. The more durable and reliable they are, the longer the self-made septic tank will last.

The very same polyethylene container can last more than one decade, if you do not drain into the sewer substances that can destroy plastic - chlorine, fluorine, a 50% solution of nitric acid.

We offer home craftsmen to get acquainted with another budget option septic tank facilities, which is actively used in the arrangement of suburban areas.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Video material about earthworks performed for the installation of a septic tank from Eurocubes:

A step-by-step video on installing a septic tank from 2 Eurocubs with your own hands. The second part of the video confirms the fact that with a quality installation nothing is crumpled:

A detailed video about the preparation of a Eurocube under a septic tank:

Video about the types of containers that can be used to make a septic tank:

Having studied the issue of self-production and installation of a septic tank from European cubes, it is easier to decide whether this option is suitable for a summer residence or a house with permanent residence. This type of sewage treatment plant for local sewage is simple to implement, but it will require a lot of effort to properly and correctly carry out installation.

We are waiting for your stories about how you yourself built a septic tank in a suburban area using waste constructions such as Eurocubes. Please write in the block for posting comments. Ask questions here.