FearOfTheSkull
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I was informed that putting yeast down the drain after fermenting into a septic tank is a big no-no. Has anyone else heard this?
Dumping Yeast in Septic
- Thread starter FearOfTheSkull
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christpuncher123
Well-Known Member
I would think the more bacteria in there the better. I put some roadkill in mine every time I get it pumped. I don't know if it works or not but that's what my grandfather always did!
Kaiser
Well-Known Member
I always dump my yeast into the septic. But I'm curious what knowable folks have to say about this.
Kai
Kai
KegWrangler
Well-Known Member
I'm a wastewater engineer. I dump mine into the septic system. Worst case is they become more nutrients for the bacterial cocktail down in there.
KegWrangler
Well-Known Member
On a similar/serious note...I switched from Iodine to Starsan for my septic's sake, since it becomes a nutrient once it's diluted.
terrapinj
Well-Known Member
yeast are Fungi
Been dumping my for 10+ years when we refinanced it had to be pumped out. We removed the cover and in the grey water side we could see the bottom it was so clear guy couldn't believe we hadn't had it pumped since we moved in. It must do something + most of are detergents are biodegradable.
If you put your yeast into a septic system, you are now fermenting a macro brew (fill in name of least favorite macro here).
I do it too. I also make wine. We have the septic pumped once every three years. The last time the guy came his eyes bugged out and came back saying, "well, one things for sure!! You've got a TON of bacteria down there doing what they're supposed to".
I have also heard others say not to do it... not sure why and would love to hear someone explain the issue, if there are any.
I have also heard others say not to do it... not sure why and would love to hear someone explain the issue, if there are any.
I had heard many years ago that the yeast will ferment whatever is down there and cause back ups/poison gas/exploding tanks. I laughed at each one of those every time I heard them, followed with, "You flocc-ing idiot."
I'd guess that if you've already got a good bacterial population in your septic tank, the yeast will not be able to compete. I can't see this being a problem.
I'm certainly no expert though. I'd like to see the argument against.
I wonder if you can have fermentation in your septic tank that creates alcohol and then inhibits bacterial growth. Hmmmm. Someone get pellicle pics please.
I'm certainly no expert though. I'd like to see the argument against.
I wonder if you can have fermentation in your septic tank that creates alcohol and then inhibits bacterial growth. Hmmmm. Someone get pellicle pics please.
FTG-05
Well-Known Member
When we sold our other house over 20 years ago, I had the septic tank pumped.
The septic tank guys recommended that I throw a couple packs of yeast into the tank to get the bacteria started. That was over 20 years ago and it seemed to work pretty good for the new owners.
The septic tank guys recommended that I throw a couple packs of yeast into the tank to get the bacteria started. That was over 20 years ago and it seemed to work pretty good for the new owners.
PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
I can't believe none of you did a Google search. I did, "is Rid-X a yeast? Everything I read is that yeast is a very good thing for septic tanks.......
haha, you should have googled it
Rid-X is bacteria, not yeast, which is a fungus (think mushroom). Did I understand you correctly?amandabab
Well-Known Member
we were just forced by the county to connect to the new sewer line. The contractor that did the connection and disabling of the septic system couldn't believe that it hadn't been pumped in 15 years and was in as good shape as it was.
PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Rid_X is a bacteria. however that being said, yeast is very good for a septic systemhaha, you should have googled it
J-Pizzel
Well-Known Member
Pretty sure this is what they did at Lagunitas, in Lagunitas, Ca., leading to a pretty nasty mishap somehow and got them kicked out of town...
PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Pretty sure?
high5apparatus
Well-Known Member
A fellow brewer on septic had to have his solids tank emptied for the first time and the $h1t slinger said he had the best septic tank in the county. Asked if he did anything special and he said he brews and dumps his yeast in the sink. Septic guy said the yeast is great for the system.
The only thing I can think of (and I'm trying to think practically about negative impact because no one else is posting anything) is that the trub may become an issue. If it builds up and offsets the amount the solids tank can hold then that will overflow to the liquid side of the tank and eventually push the solids out to the runs and clog them up. I pump my tank regularly so this shouldn't be an issue... anyways, that's all I got as far as negatives go...
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Guys, you are talking about dumping, what....1-3 gallons of brewing waste at any one time, when an average of 69 gallons of waster water gets dumped per person per day (EPA estimate)?.... That's 276 gallons for a family of four.
I can't imagine that it would make a s*it's bit of difference, one way or another... (expletive used merely based on subject at hand!)
I can't imagine that it would make a s*it's bit of difference, one way or another... (expletive used merely based on subject at hand!)
I'm an environmental engineer and yeast is not on any of my lists of "what not to dump down your drain" that we give to clients. Anaerobic bacteria are in the trillions in your septic tank. It is unlikely that yeast will do anything but fall to the bottom in an anoxic environment.
Why dump trub down the drains though? It's just going to add to the solids in your septic tank. If you have a yard just pitch it out in the lawn...won't hurt anything. I never dump food trash or liquids down the drain that could be dumped outside. If it's biodegradable I dump it in my woods behind the house.
If you dump anything and everything down your drains because you have city sewer...well you are the kind of people that are the scourge of the wastewater treatment plants and the reason your sewer bills keep going up!
Why dump trub down the drains though? It's just going to add to the solids in your septic tank. If you have a yard just pitch it out in the lawn...won't hurt anything. I never dump food trash or liquids down the drain that could be dumped outside. If it's biodegradable I dump it in my woods behind the house.
If you dump anything and everything down your drains because you have city sewer...well you are the kind of people that are the scourge of the wastewater treatment plants and the reason your sewer bills keep going up!
broadbill
Well-Known Member
What's the diff between dumping it out your lawn, versus sending it out to your lawn via the septic?
I think the difference is the fear that the yeast will basically ferment in your septic tank causing buildups and blockages and keeping your septic tank from functioning. Maybe it could produce a "yeast cake" of buildup in the tank and contribute to failure. From what I've read, most small breweries that use a septic system (not very many) actually boil, nuke, or pressure-cook yeast before dumping it down the drain or even mixing it with their grains. I assume large quantities of live yeast aren't super-good for cattle to consume as far as the latter part of that.
My shed brewhouse has a 55 gallon drum for a septic tank- it is ONLY used for brewing and despite my efforts to keep solids-down-the-drain to a minimum I'm sure that plenty of yeast and trub have ended up in there. It has worked just dandy for years without a pumping.
I'm interested if anyone has a horror story they can directly correlate to yeast-dumping; otherwise it appears so far that it is a beneficial practice rather than the assumed-by-some horrible negative. There are quite a few other HBT threads about this subject, and they all seem pretty positive.
My shed brewhouse has a 55 gallon drum for a septic tank- it is ONLY used for brewing and despite my efforts to keep solids-down-the-drain to a minimum I'm sure that plenty of yeast and trub have ended up in there. It has worked just dandy for years without a pumping.
I'm interested if anyone has a horror story they can directly correlate to yeast-dumping; otherwise it appears so far that it is a beneficial practice rather than the assumed-by-some horrible negative. There are quite a few other HBT threads about this subject, and they all seem pretty positive.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
I think the majority of people on there don't have septic tanks, or they don't know how they work. Yeast solids are going to have zero effect on a septic compared to the vast quantities of other solids that end up in them. By solids I mean "sh*t"... Septic tanks are designed to handle solids.
For some reason, it is also assumed that yeast would even survive and propagate in a septic system. Not sure why people jump to this conclusion...I will admit I don't know for sure, but from my quick googling it seems that most people equate yeast with bacteria and thus they must grow in a septic. I hope us homebrewers can see what's wrong with this argument...
Then it comes back to the sheer amount that would end up in the septic itself. Again 1-3 gallons of yeast/trub compared to the 69 gallons per day each person of the household ends up dumping into it...
For some reason, it is also assumed that yeast would even survive and propagate in a septic system. Not sure why people jump to this conclusion...I will admit I don't know for sure, but from my quick googling it seems that most people equate yeast with bacteria and thus they must grow in a septic. I hope us homebrewers can see what's wrong with this argument...
Then it comes back to the sheer amount that would end up in the septic itself. Again 1-3 gallons of yeast/trub compared to the 69 gallons per day each person of the household ends up dumping into it...
wetzie
Wetzelbrew
10+ years and I have never had the septic oumped ( are you supposed to). Everything except the spent grain goes down the drain.
It depends who you talk to. I do it... I know others who don't/
A septic tank is an anoxic environment (no oxygen). Bio-decomposition is much more effective in an oxic (oxygen rich) environment therefor it is much better to put safe bio-degradable solids into a compost system or spread it in a vegetative area to let nature do the work. Putting in solids (even vegetable scraps via a garbage disposal) results in more chance of your septic system (leach field) becoming clogged due to higher BOD (biological oxygen demand) within the wastewater stream and more solids settling as black "sludge" in your septic tank that will need pumped.
High strength waste water (lots of solids) results in much faster clogging of gravity septic trenches which will cause them to fail and back up (water ponding in your yard where your septic trenches are would be the first sign of failure). Most older septic systems are failing. The company I work for manufactures state-of-the-art alternative septic systems to replace these failing systems and believe me, you don't want your system to fail and have the local Health Department knocking on your door! A replacement system can cost $10,000 - 25,000!
MTBear
Member
You will know when it needs pumping.
broadbill
Well-Known Member
Said no one ever.
They sound cool in therory!
I once read an article about people who had to switch from septic to "city". They would clean them out and make "guest rooms" in them. Man, I'd turn it into a fermentation room. Free insulation down there. The only pain would be moving your beer in and out, but it wouldn't be hard to rig something up.
I once read an article about people who had to switch from septic to "city". They would clean them out and make "guest rooms" in them. Man, I'd turn it into a fermentation room. Free insulation down there. The only pain would be moving your beer in and out, but it wouldn't be hard to rig something up.
Is that an april fools day joke? First, gross. Second, they must have had the most gigantic septic systems ever. They are 500-2000 gallons for the average household....not quite the size of a missile bunker or anything.
Mother in law suite?
Brewsit
Well-Known Member
I see this coming up as the next fermentation chamber build!
If I had one, I would. I've been trying to find the one I read, but its been years. I always think about it, guess I have $h!t for brains.
here's something I found.
http://dragonflyhill.org/2012/10/21/a-door-able/
here's something I found.
http://dragonflyhill.org/2012/10/21/a-door-able/
KegWrangler
Well-Known Member
That one is huge! My 3 Bdrm is typical size at 1,000 gallons (or 134cf). I think inside iomensions are like 4ft by 5.5ft by 6ft or so. Definitely a MIL suite.
