Septic loading or dye test water test volume:

This article provides a table of septic loading and dye test water volumes and septic dye powder or tablets required to perform a valid septic loading and dye test.

This table includes details of the Septic Loading and Dye Test procedure for testing the function of septic systems, focused on condition of the effluent disposal section, also known as a leach field, seepage pits, drainfield or drainage field.

TABLE OF SEPTIC TEST VOLUMES & SEPTIC DYE AMOUNTS - Table of Septic Dye Test Volumes and Septic Dye Requirements

Article Contents

• SEPTIC TEST VOLUMES & DYE AMOUNTS
  • SEPTIC TEST WATER & DYE TABLE
  • SEPTIC TEST FIXTURE FLOW RATE
  • HOW TO SET THE SEPTIC TEST VOLUME
  • WHERE TO BUY SEPTIC DYE

CAUTION: appropriate test volumes may vary depending on the type of equipment installed. Some designs, such as dosing systems, may be approved by local officials but may be capable of only very limited fluid handling capacity per hour.

Information provided by seller, realtor, visual inspection, or neighborhood history may indicate if special limited-capacity systems are installed. The following guidelines pertain to conventional tank and absorptions systems such as tank and trench-line drainfields.

The following table is a general guide to selecting the volume of test water and the amount of septic tracer dye needed to perform a septic loading and dye test. If you're asking "how much septic dye" or "how many septic dye tablets" should I use, look here and also look at the instructions from the manufacturer of your septic dye.

Notes to the Table of Septic Dye Test Volumes and Dye Amount

• Before selecting a test volume the inspector needs to know something about the design of the onsite wastewater disposal system that is installed.
  
  The table above assumes a conventional septic tank and drainfield are installed. If a dosing system, pumping system, or other special designs are present, flooding the system beyond the design-specifications for a given time period could damage the system or produce inappropriate test conclusions.


• The validity of a septic loading and dye test is not based on the length of time that water is run into building fixtures - though readers will see many inspectors who use this criterion.
  
  Rather the validity of the test depends on the total volume of water that was placed into the system along with other obvious procedural steps such as making sure that the fixtures used to introduce water into the system indeed drain into the septic system being tested and not to somewhere else.


• Calculating Septic Tank Volume: see Septic Tank Capacity vs Usage in Daily Gallons of Wastewater Flow calculating septic tank volume and septic tank size required


• Tramfloc Inc., (Tempe AZ) a producer of dye tablets and liquids, indicates the following dye amounts and capabilities:
• One Bright Dyes Tramfloc Dye Tablet will color 60 gallons of water. So to color 600 gallons you'd need to use 10 tablets.
• One pound of Tramfloc "Bright Dyes Standard Blue and FLT Yellow/Green will treat 120,000 gallons of water.
• One pound of FWT Red Dye (more expensive to use) will treat 60,400 gallons.
• One pint of liquid Standard Blue and FLT Yellow/Green will treat 12,500 gallons
• One pint of liquid Red 25 will treat 6,250 gallons
• "Treat" in this instance means that a strong, easily visible color is produced.
• Where existing surface water is murky brown colored, Tramfloc recommends the FLT Yellow/Green tracer dye.
• Tramfloc Inc. informs us that their septic dye products are non-toxic and are rated for use in potable water. However inspectors who put any dye product into a toilet which overflows or into a drain which is leaking will stain the building.

How to Determine Septic Loading Test Volume

Recommended Septic Loading: How to Determine Dye Test Water Volume, and Amount of Septic Dye

FIXTURE FLOW RATE - Estimate the test fixture flow rate during a septic test

Based on field experience, actual test measurements at 25 residences served by private well systems and observations of typical flow and pressure at residences served by municipal water supply systems, we find that 3 gpm is a reasonable estimate of flow from a single tub or un-screened sink fixture. Most private systems can deliver this volume.

Actual quantitative flow rate measurements taken at a single fixture at a single time are dangerously misleading since variations in pump pressure, pipe obstructions, valve settings, can affect flow.

If accurate quantitative measurement of flow rate is needed, and remembering that you're measuring the flow provided by the pump, pipes, valves, and fixtures, not the well flow capacity, a simple procedure is the use of a 5-gallon bucket under the test fixture, and a stopwatch. However multiple measurements may be needed to evaluate the variation in flow rate during the pump on-off cycle.

How to Set the Septic Loading or Dye Test Water Volume

Some authorities commonly test by loading the system with 50 gallons/bedroom over an hour - the likely maximum load for a typical residential system. A typical trench-type absorption field would contain this volume of water even if there were no percolation during the test period. Therefore breakout or failure at these volumes is a reasonable sign of system failure or inadequacy.

Typical septic system design handles 150 gallons/bedroom/day. [Ref. 30, Oberg, citing "Private Water Systems Handbook," produced by the US Dept. of Agriculture Cooperative Extension.]

Lockwood in our own article Septic Systems - An Engineer's View uses this same figure of 150 gallons/bedroom/day to estimate water usage in a typical residential building.

Also see Home & Outdoor Living Water Requirements for more detail.

Keith Oberg (ASHI, Binghamton NY) computes that a standard leach line for soils in central NY range from 90 lineal feet with a 3 foot wide trench and a percolation rate of 1" in 5 minutes, to 375 lineal feet of 3 foot trench with a perc rate of 60 minutes.

The gravel in a standard trench leaves approximately 38% of total volume available to contain effluent. Therefore, assuming no percolation during the test period, the water level will rise 2.35" in a 90' trench and .56" in a 375' trench. (Double these depths for more narrow gravel trenches.) These are not excessive increases in a leaching field which is typically set at least 12" below the surface with 18" depth of gravel as standard practice. It is therefore apparent that an adequate septic system should not break out when subject to this test.

Oberg applies this same test to all septic systems of all types, including sand mounds, sand filters, aeration ponds, jet aerators, drywells, cesspools, etc. If there are multiple systems the water load is split on each system and a 33% extra water load is added to account for errors in estimation of the percentage of total use.

Where to buy septic dye for septic drainfield breakout effluent indication

The first links below allow you to purchase septic dye directly from the producer.

Also see Septic Dye MSDS.

• Bright Dyes, Bright Dyes - A Division of Kingscote Chemicals, 3334 South Tech Blvd. Miamisburg, OH 45342, Tel: 937-886-9100, Toll Free - 800-394-0678, Fax - 937-886-9300 Email: sales@brightdyes.com. Bright Dyes sells Fluorescent Dyes in Yellow/Green, Red, Blue, and Orange colors and in various forms including liquids, powders, tablets, and wax cakes. The company also sells ultraviolet lights that can detect Fluorescent Dye at low concentration. The company describes their products as dye tracers, toilet leak detection, and UV lights.
• Pollard Water source of septic system testing tracer dyes
• Pylam Pyla-Tel Fluorescent green septic dye test dye powder, Pylam Products Company, Inc. 2175 East Cedar Street Tempe, Arizona 85281-7431. Phone: 480-929-0070 800-645-6096. Fax: 480-929-0078. Emails: sales@pylamdyes.com www.pylamdyes.com/contact.html
• Pylam Pyla-Tel Fluorescent red septic dye test dye powder
• Septic dye test powder may be packaged and re-sold by local plumbing or chemical suppliers in in your area.
• For example, we bought repackaged septic dye powder from Duso Chemical in Poughkeepsie NY
• Trace A Leak dye tablets - watch out to be sure you use enough for a valid septic test -
  
  See SEPTIC TEST VOLUMES & DYE AMOUNTS
• Trace A Leak liquid septic dye (fluorescent yellow.green) - Tool Experts - http://www.toolexperts.com/
• Tramfloc, Inc. source of septic system testing tracer dyes
• Septic, Cesspool Yellow Fluorescent tracer dye (powder) - http://www.professionalequipment.com home inspection supplier

...

Continue reading at SEPTIC DYE TEST REPORT or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR
• SEPTIC DISPOSAL FIELD CLOGGING INSPECTION
• SEPTIC LOADING & DYE TEST PROCEDURE - home
• SEPTIC INSPECTION & TEST LAWS & PROCEDURES
• SEPTIC TEST PRE-CHECKS
• OUTSIDE SEPTIC PRE-TEST INSPECTION
  • SEPTIC FAILURE EVIDENCE, VISUAL
  • LOOK FOR SEPTIC COMPONENTS
  • DIFFICULT SEPTIC SITE DESIGNS
  • RECENT SEPTIC WORK
• STEP BY STEP SEPTIC DYE TEST
• INSIDE SEPTIC DYE TEST STEPS
  • AVOID SEPTIC DYE POWDER CATASTROPHY
  • WATCH FOR INSIDE
• OUTSIDE SEPTIC DYE TEST STEPS
  • SEPTIC DRAINFIELD INSPECTION & TEST
  • SEPTIC FAILURE SIGNS
  • SEPTIC FAILURE SPOTS
  • SPOTTING SEPTIC DYE BREAKOUTS
• SEPTIC TEST VOLUMES & DYE AMOUNTS
• SEPTIC DYE TEST REPORT
• SEPTIC DYE TEST WARNINGS
• SEPTIC TEST FINAL OVERVIEW

 

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to SEPTIC SYSTEMS

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