Wiring a time switch to air pump on bio septic tanks?

Man of Aran

Looking for opinions on pros / cons of putting a retrofit timer in circuit, from plumbers, sparks or just interested home owners on here.
Advantages should be:
A/. Reduced power consumption, I have a 100W aerator running 24/7 as are most countrywide. That's 2.4kWh daily.
B/. Prolonged life of pump/ clapper solenoid - feedback indicates they last 2~3 years typically, not surprising if running constantly.

Has anyone wired in a timer and if so what would suitable interval be, such as cycle 30 mins on / 30 mins off ?


MODS: please feel free to move to Electrical if a more relevant section.

Man of Aran

Man of Aran wrote: »

Looking for opinions on pros / cons of putting a retrofit timer in circuit, from plumbers, sparks or just interested home owners on here.
Advantages should be:
A/. Reduced power consumption, I have a 100W aerator running 24/7 as are most countrywide. That's 2.4kWh daily.
B/. Prolonged life of pump/ clapper solenoid - feedback indicates they last 2~3 years typically, not surprising if running constantly.

Has anyone wired in a timer and if so what would suitable interval be, such as cycle 30 mins on / 30 mins off ?


MODS: please feel free to move to Electrical if a more relevant section.

Any thoughts on this?
Either it's a very bad idea or it's so elementary, everyone is doing already but keeping quiet ,,,,sssssshhh!

my3cents

A neighbor has done this, I'll check with him how long its on for but I think his is more like 4 hours on 4 hours off?

Whatever the timing the septic tank has been running that way for over a year probably nearer to two with no problems.

dathi

cons,
you have a bio system that was designed to break down your sewage by running an aerator through the sludge 24/7 you now want to run it half the time. so to save yourself 25c you run the risk of contaminating your neighbour's and your own ground water hope you are not on a well

dathi

my3cents wrote: »

A neighbor has done this, I'll check with him how long its on for but I think his is more like 4 hours on 4 hours off?

Whatever the timing the septic tank has been running that way for over a year probably nearer to two with no problems.

so how do you know there are no problems have you had the out flow from the septic system tested or have you had the ground water tested it bull to assume that the system is treating the sewage when working for half the time it was designed to work for

Man of Aran

dathi wrote: »

cons,
you have a bio system that was designed to break down your sewage by running an aerator through the sludge 24/7 you now want to run it half the time. so to save yourself 25c you run the risk of contaminating your neighbour's and your own ground water hope you are not on a well

Good points Dathi, of course adherence to & compliance with all relevant authority standards for health and emissions at all times is important.
Simply researching and seeking opinions on the matter. Sort of what if it could be done , without risk, query.

The primary purpose of the aerator is to further encourage a rich oxygenated environment for the colonies of aerobic bacteria present to thrive.
According to papers from USA Uni of Mn and Uni of Az, colonies of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria live inside the tank- the aerobic in fact tending more to dwell near the leach-field site or outlet of the tank.

I did not study microbiology but would be interested if there are SME who could provide inputs on that aspect.
My understanding is the aerobic live without the air bubbler but populate better with it - otherwise what would happen if we had for example, an unattended aerator failure or a power cut of 4~ 8 hours duration.

Just spent over E300 supply& fit to have a replacement mini air compressor ( Japanese good brand) changed on my BAF system. It was last changed in 2011.
What if the unit could have some quality off cycle time to cool down, without risk to the aerobic colony. That's why I queried 30 mins on / 30 off rather than 4 hours off at one time.


Just my observations.:o

antoinolachtnai

You really need to contact the manufacturer of the overall system for their recommendation.

They will probably recommend leaving it as it is. Are they correct or just being conservative? Well, they probably are correct. If they aren't, there's really no way for you to find out for sure without trying it.

Giving the unit 'quality cooling time' won't necessarily lengthen the life. You could well shorten the life by doing this, because the unit's components, will expand and contract during each on/off cycle. Again, you really have to rely on the manufacturer's instructions and technical advice.

freddyuk

Man of Aran wrote: »

Good points Dathi, of course adherence to & compliance with all relevant authority standards for health and emissions at all times is important.
Simply researching and seeking opinions on the matter. Sort of what if it could be done , without risk, query.

The primary purpose of the aerator is to further encourage a rich oxygenated environment for the colonies of aerobic bacteria present to thrive.
According to papers from USA Uni of Mn and Uni of Az, colonies of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria live inside the tank- the aerobic in fact tending more to dwell near the leach-field site or outlet of the tank.

I did not study microbiology but would be interested if there are SME who could provide inputs on that aspect.
My understanding is the aerobic live without the air bubbler but populate better with it - otherwise what would happen if we had for example, an unattended aerator failure or a power cut of 4~ 8 hours duration.

Just spent over E300 supply& fit to have a replacement mini air compressor ( Japanese good brand) changed on my BAF system. It was last changed in 2011.
What if the unit could have some quality off cycle time to cool down, without risk to the aerobic colony. That's why I queried 30 mins on / 30 off rather than 4 hours off at one time.


Just my observations.:o

Could you tell me the voltage/amps/flow rate of the pump? PM if required.
Thanks

Man of Aran

freddyuk wrote: »

Could you tell me the voltage/amps/flow rate of the pump? PM if required.
Thanks

Thanks Freddyuk, PM of model type and specs sent to you.