He Uses Air Pressure To Open Septic Drain Fields

He Uses Air Pressure To Open Septic Drain Fields 32-6-8 Plugged-up septic system drain fields can be costly to replace. Here's a quick and relatively inexpensive solution to the problem. It's a machine called the Soil Shaker. Greg Posch of Holdingford, Minn., owns the patent on the machine. He's been using it in his own custom business and is now offering the machine for sale. The Soil Shaker is designed to loosen septic drain fields which are sealed, compacted or no longer draining. The patented skid steer attachment allows the operator to penetrate the soil using a 1 3/4-in. dia. pneumatic probe hammer. "The Soil Shaker releases air into the compacted and sealed soil, loosening it. The operator is able to control the probe hammer and release air from the skid loader seat," says Posch. "Within hours the entire drain field is restored without any lawn damage." A steel bracket mounts on the skid loader arms and is used to hold the air hammer and air tank. A trailer-mounted, diesel engine-operated air compressor with 100 ft. of hose supplies air to the air tank. "Leach fields eventually become saturated or sealed and water no longer percolates down. In many cases, effluent from the septic tank seeps to the surface, leaving wet spots and even standing smelly water in lawns," says Posch. "Done the traditional way, rebuilding a septic drainfield can cost thousands of dollars and take several days to complete because you're replacing the whole drain field. With Soil Shaker, it's all done in less than a day and any lawn over a drain field is left intact without getting ripped up." Here's how it works: A long narrow probe and a pneumatic hammer penetrate soils up to 6 ft. deep, depending on the depth of the leach field. Once the probe is in the soil, air is forced through it at high pressure, loosening compacted soil and creating a network of cracks. The cracks break up the "biomat" pan that develops over years in the drain field. The process is repeated every 3 to 4 ft. throughout the entire drain field. There are two control valves inside the skid loader. One valve operates the air probe and the other operates the air compressor. "In most cases you can aerate an entire drain field in about two hours," says Posch. Sells for $7,950. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Greg Posch, Soil Shaker, 39725 Co. Rd. 3, Holdingford, Minn. 56340 (ph 320 293-6644; t_county@hotmail.com).

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