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Septic distribution box inspection - US EPA Septic System Drop Box Emergency Repairs
Temp Fixes for a Damaged Septic System Distribution Box

Temporary or emergency septic system D-box repair or elmination: how to keep effluent moving to the drainfield or soakaway bed if the drop box is damaged and not functional.

Septic system D box installation, specifications, inspection, diagnosis, and repair: in this article series about septic system drop boxes we describe the best procedures for locating and inspecting, repairing or replacing the septic drainfield distribution box, or the "D-box" or "Splitter box".

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Temporary D-Box Repairs - eliminate the Drop box?

Septic D box in trouble (C) Daniel Friedman N DayReader Question: My d box is damaged, can I just eliminate it and plumb directly to the leach field lines?

My d- box is only covered by 2" of dirt, I think the harsh winter last year did it in. Is it possible to just plumb the outlet from wetlands to the two drain field pipe?
I have excavated the box and there is a plastic bottom to it, the waste water is flowing into the fields evenly - Dave Brannen

Reply: yes but just in emergency - it's better to replace and set the D-box properly

Dave,

While you could just connect the effluent line from the septic tank directly to one or more drainfield lines using tees and elbows, what is lost by that approach is the ability to

- adjust or change the amount of effluent flow among drainfield lines in order to rest a line, avoid a low line that tends to flood, or otherwise balance effluent flow

- inspect the system for signs that one or more leachfield lines is in trouble

- assure that flow is properly balanced among the various drainfield lines

You have to figure that builders and septic installers don't waste time and money on components - there was a reason for the D-box in the first place. So while I agree that in an emergency, to keep the septic system in use, it's ok to make a TEMPORARY connection such as you describe.

But because your D-box is not deeply buried, because D-boxes are not expensive, and because they serve a useful purpose, the proper repair is to replace the damaged distribution box, set the new one to the proper depth, make sure it's level, and then install and set effluent flow balancing devices at the entry to each of the leach lines fed out of the D box.


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Continue reading  at SEPTIC D-BOX SPLITTERS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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Septic D-Box Article Series Contents

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SEPTIC D-BOX TEMPORARY REPAIR at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to SEPTIC DRAINFIELDS & D-BOXES

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