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Hemlock50 · Dec 13, 2009, 09:16 AM

I have a house built around 1932 & it has a grease pit in my back yard that collects the drainage from my kitchen & basement. (kitchen sink & washing machine & faucet for tub basin) The diameter is 18" & it's 3 feet deep. This is not connected to my septic (at least I don't think it is) & as far as I know drains somewhere towards the back of the yard.
My problem is it hasn't been draining properly & water overflows over the top, instead of the drainage line it's connected to. I just recently had it pumped out, along with my septic tank, hoping this would take care of the problem. But it didn't, so I either have a blocked line, or one that's collaped somewhere in the yard. This pit/crock is about 10' from my house foundation & that is my immediate concern, with the water overflowing instead of draining away from the house. I'm thinking of possibly getting a sump pump or some kind of pump to use for now to keep the water from overflowing so close to the foundation, but I'm not sure if this is even doable. I live in Western NY & winter is setting in, so I'd rather wait till Spring if possible, in case I may have to dig up the yard along this drain line if it has collapsed.
Thought I'd bring this up here & see what your thoughts are & possibly offer something else I could try for now.

speedball1 · Dec 13, 2009, 09:42 AM

Sounds like the drain line from the grease trap to the septic tank is clogged and needs to be snaked.
Grease traps, ( I have one myself) are there to collect the lint, fiber and trash from the kitchen before it gets out into your drainfield and clogs up the holes in the drainage pipes.
If you're on a septic system grease traps are a necessity and should be cleaned on a regular basis.
Good luck, tom

Hemlock50 · Dec 13, 2009, 10:03 AM

Thanks Tom. I didn't mention before but the drain opening in the trap is a 4" elbow that is actually pointing towards the bottom. If I remember correctly when it was pumped, it's only 4-5" from the bottom, making it difficult to snake. Even the guy doing the pumping was puzzled on why they did that.
So would this definitely be tied into the septic tank?
I also forgot to mention earlier there's another trap/ crock that sits behind the garage. (approximately 60') I have no idea why it's there, (definitely no drain in the garage) but I thought the trap that isn't draining may be tied into this.
Any other thoughts?

speedball1 · Dec 13, 2009, 02:53 PM

If you have a drainage problem with the present setup I would discontinue the discharge line from the trap and run another into the sewer line entering the septic tank. I haven't a clue as to what the other might be. Could it be a dry well?
Regards, tom

Hemlock50 · Dec 13, 2009, 06:34 PM

OK, thanks again Tom. I'll look into doing that.