Every day we receive calls from desperate homeowners with serious septic tank problems. Unfortunately there is a great deal of misinformation available on the internet causing serious confusion. There are also several products available that can cause serious property damage, significant personal injury, or death. As the industry leader in septic tank aeration we have grave concerns about the products that are sold on the internet.
Anti-Engineered
In the world of technology and engineering there is a well known term, kludged. The definition is:
Kludge – A system that is constituted of poorly matched elements or of elements originally intended for other applications.
While this may seem to be a minor issue to the companies that produce these products it should be a huge issue to the homeowner that purchases these products. The companies that put the kits together simply do not understand the safety risk and the personal injury risk that they are putting the consumer in.
Property Damage and Serious Personal Injury or Death
The fundamental problem is that they are selling air compressors that are not intended for the outdoor application for which they are being used. From the compressor manufacturers installation and instruction web page they state: … “SXXXh pumps are weatherproof. However, they should not be exposed to direct sunlight, rain, or snow. The pump may not be stored in direct sunlight or at high temperatures. The rubber parts would age too quickly.” Another company thinks they are circumventing the UL listing requirement by offering a plastic “dog house” to place the compressor in. By their own admission they state that the enclosure will provide “Longer lasting air pumps, safer installations keeping pets and small children away from the electrical components ….” This activity is reckless and appalling.
These compressors are rated for temporary outdoor use. Similar to an electric leaf blower, the products are to be used outdoors and stored indoors. The materials from which the compressors are made of have significantly different property requirements related to UV degradation and fire resistance. The plastic parts will degrade in the sunlight and allow water to penetrate the electrical housing. This presents a serious shock hazard to people and pets. Additionally, UL does not intend for theses products to be operated unattended. A curious child playing near the product could be fatally shocked.
Another serious issue is fire potential. Because of the potential for water intrusion into the electrical enclosure and unattended operation, a malfunction product could do significant property damage and cause personal injury or death.
Pond Diffusers
Because the companies that produce these kits have limited technical knowledge and training they choose a “cool” looking pond diffuser from a catalog and suddenly they have a product to resolve your septic tank problem! Again, the fundamental problem is they are using a product not designed for the application. Aerating a pond requires eliminating the stratification layers of the body of water as close as possible to the bottom. In a septic tank stratification is desired. The “synergistic lift” quad pond diffuser eliminates any solids settling in the septic tank. This results in significant suspended solids flowing to the drain field and creating more problems than you started with. The only way to remove this amount of solids is to replace the entire drain field by excavating your yard.
Trust the Experts
Don’t trust you septic tank problems to amateurs. Don’t put your family at risk of personal injury or sustain significant property loss. Depend only on the patented and UL Listed permanent outdoor appliance offered by Aero-Stream®. The small amount of money that you may save initially will be long forgotten when bad things happen.