DIY Septic System for a Small Cabin

Move over composting toilet, hello flushing toilet!!! In this video I walk through our small septic system which only processes one toilet, no grey water. Also, I talk about the overall cost and materials.
IBC tote, some 4" pvc pipe and fittings, 2 - 55 gallon plastic barrels, roofing paper and a whole lot of rock!
Don't forget to hit that Subscribe button to see what it takes for this pair of city dwellers to fulfill their dreams at Hanbleceya Ranch - an Off-Grid Homestead in Maine.
We're on FB, IG, TikTok and Patreon @ Hanbleceya Ranch - links are on our KZbin home page.

[@myoutdoorlife3833]

Nice video! This is exactly how I was contemplating building my septic system for my off grid cabin. I too live in Maine! I noticed this video is two years old, how has this septic system been working for you, and would you do anything different? Ty

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Hi, thanks for the comment 😊 We have wet ground and as a result our tank collapsed due to frost heave. We had to remove the system…but we do plan to upgrade to a concrete tank. Hope that helps! 😊

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Found the video I hoped you made. Thanks

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

😊👍

[@commonman7776]

hi today i found your channel watched about 4 video's, good job good luck Tom thumbs up in support of your channel

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thank you for your support!!!

[@rayhanariff8514]

Slow n steady will sure get the work done 😀

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Yes it will!! Thanks for comment 😊

[@chadbrailer643]

On your leaching could you put French drain pvc on the upper level all the way to the end... where it would drain in each container? Instead of. A large leach field

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

So long as the liquid waste is dispersed I would think that’d work.

[@HoustonR6ryda]

nice work-should work for a recreational use .. not like a family of 4/5 constantly pooping/showering everyday..saved a ton of money and no permit/inspection BS

[@BrownsSelfStorage]

You made a great video

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thank you!👍

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

We are gonna use the earth ship design to recycle gray water through indoor planters. I gotta go deep with septic because of frost depths.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

That’s a great idea! 😊

[@jaywatts333]

to each their own lol, but i would have used the big 1 container to catch the solid waste and a 55 gal barrel to catch the over flow liquid with a hole in the top for your sump pump to sprinkler system water the yard. the big container ad rid-x to eat the solid waste. much easier and less work. again, lol. #2 with just solid waste in the big container (no gray water) you could have made your own bio gas to heat the cabin and cook on a gas stove. by letting the bio gas bubble up tru purified water it will produce a purer blue flame to heat and cook with. lol

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Hi Jay, thanks for the comment. We are using the larger container to catch the solids and using Rid-X. This system may see 2, 3 flushes a day - no grey water. I looked into bio gas systems and unfortunately it wasn’t something I was ready to take on at this stage. Might be something we revisit in a couple years but we’ll see. Thanks again for the comment! 😊

[@gmflower]

that will work.. great job.. a side note this is legal most places with acreage.. not done on 1 or 2 acres legally in the us

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Thanks!! Yea we’re on nearly 60 acres way off grid.

[@volt8399]

Hey where can I find out the legality of this type of a system? I am on 5 acres in Florida and I can't find any information for this type of a system.

[@gmflower]

@@volt8399 where you get building permits

[@ResearchersOfTheTruth]

We are in Maine with acreage and I see 'YIKES!!!".

[@jacobkincaid123]

so pvc pipe is angled down from tank to leach field, and leach field is completely level correct?

[@scottfoster2487]

Sadly this will end up becoming a nightmare of maintence. A drain field is supposesd to perk water up to to the soil above the leach line. Been better off using the barraels as tubs and add rock and clean healthy top soil to encourage percalaltion. Hope is works out .

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

I appreciate your comment. We’ve spoke to a few folks who have similar systems and are fairly confident in this system. BUT, only time will tell. We’ll be sure to do an update after we’ve used it for some time.

[@mattide7348]

That would be so illegal here in Canada where I live lol

[@testuser1239]

I'm curious why you put your leech field so far away from your tank? Seems like a lot of extra digging.

[@HanbleceyaRanch]

Honestly didn’t think the leach field was that far from the tank. That said I did want to make sure the field was in a reasonably good drainage area as opposed to right next to the tank. Hope that helps 😊