What Size Is My Septic Tank?
Most tanks around here are 1,000 to 2,000 gallons. If your house was built in the last few decades and has two or three bedrooms, 1,000 gallons is the safe bet. Bigger houses run 1,500 or 2,000. And if you are on a lake, you might not have a septic tank at all, you might have a holding tank, which is a different thing and often bigger.
Nobody actually knows their tank size off the top of their head, and you do not need to. When we come out, we find the four corners of the tank, mark them in the yard, and measure. Once we pump it down we measure the inside walls and convert that to gallons. Our smaller truck also has a gauge on it that reads at 750, 1,000 and 1,500 gallons, so on that truck we watch the number come up on the dial.
Why it matters is the bill. We charge 35 cents a gallon, so a 1,000 gallon tank is $350 and a 2,000 gallon tank is $700. Knowing your size ahead of time will not change the price, but it stops the surprise.
One more wrinkle from the lake: some of the older waterfront places have no drain field, just a holding tank, and some of those run 3,000 gallons. We pump one customer's pair of 2,000 gallon tanks every single year, all 4,000 gallons in one visit. If that sounds like your place, the holding tank page is worth two minutes.
Call (269) 434-6385 and we will figure out what you have got. Measuring is part of the job, not an extra.
Where to look it up
Start with paper, because it is free. Your county health department keeps the original septic permit for most houses, and the drawing on it usually lists the tank size and where it sits relative to the house corners. Van Buren, Allegan and Berrien County all have these on file, and a phone call is usually enough.
If the house sold recently, the inspection paperwork from closing often has a sketch too. Ask whoever handled the sale before you start digging holes.
How we work it out on site
When there is no paperwork, we measure. We find the four corners of the tank, mark them in the yard, and measure the outside. Then once it is pumped down we measure the inside depth, and those numbers convert to gallons. It is not guesswork and you can watch us do it.
Our 1,500 gallon truck carries a gauge that reads at 750, 1,000 and 1,500 gallons, so on jobs we run with that truck we can tell you the size from what came out.
Why the size matters to you
Two reasons. It sets the bill, because pumping is 35 cents a gallon, so a 1,000 gallon tank is $350 and a 2,000 gallon tank is $700. And it sets your schedule. A couple on a 1,500 gallon tank can stretch toward five years. A family of five on a 1,000 gallon tank should be closer to three, and a garbage disposal pulls that in further.
If you are on a lake and someone tells you that you have a holding tank rather than a septic system, that is a different setup and usually a bigger one. Those get pumped on schedule because nothing leaves them at all.