klargester

[Honest john]

Help needed.
I have been told a Bio Disc is the best. Is that true ?
They are about a grand dearer than the air pump type.
Need to place an order this week.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Brian]

We've got several bio disc septic tank systems. They are Klargester but there are others on the market, from what I have heard Klargester are the best. Rarely have any problems with them, suck them out every 12-18 months and service them annually. Not a lot to them really. No experience of air pump type.

 

[crazy_bull]

If the bio disc goes wrong you need a forklift to get all the mechanism out and I believe bearings need replacing periodically, however with the air pump jobs a replacement air pump costs about £60 and is easily replaced, I recently bought a 'Tricel' 6 person tank direct from the manufacturer. I think it was £1600+vat ish.

C B

 

[Honest john]

Thanks for your replies.
I have gone for the bio disc as one was fitted 3 doors down. We have to get the OK from the drainage commissioners.
As I know that they have oked the Bio Disc I played safe and went for that.
Although the Anua Tricel etc at £1645 should also be fine for the job.

 

[Seb]

My Klargester Biodisc is 8 years old. It is anything but low cost. Kingspan, who own Klargester, are only interested in fleecing the customer, and of course, you are totally at their mercy when it breaks down. There are very expensive parts that do need replacing and they are remarkably uninformative about optimum care to maintain the system. Ours flooded, the motor stopped working, we had it emptied and booked Kingspan to come. (They demand a £200 payment over the phone to book a visit.) The system was checked. Parts are only replaced once you pay for them over the phone (additional £300 for new motor and a fan belt). We were told it would be fine for a year-18 months.

3 weeks later it flooded again and the disc stopped turning. Rang Kingspan and they were out within 24 hours. Left me a note saying it was a drainage problem and the motor was in danger of getting wet (yes, the motor that lives inside the septic tank cannot withstand any water). They kindly added the motor would not be replaced under guarantee if it did break. I was told drainage has nothing to do with them dispite fact the first fellow had run water into the soak away and claimed it was fine.

Moral of the tale: do not listen to their engineers. Empty it annually or the soak away will get clogged..all very obvious to me now but as the new home owner, I trusted Kingspan's advice given to the previous owner- 'all fine and doesn't need pumping out for 3 years.'

Going to be a very expensive mistake as we now struggle to locate soak away and have been on reduced water for over a month and had to have the tank emptied again..total in cost so far £800. They are a very frustrating company to have anything to do with.

Sorry for the rant but I am very cross and hope you can avoid my mistake.

 

[rob1]

My Klargester Biodisc is 8 years old. It is anything but low cost. Kingspan, who own Klargester, are only interested in fleecing the customer, and of course, you are totally at their mercy when it breaks down. There are very expensive parts that do need replacing and they are remarkably uninformative about optimum care to maintain the system. Ours flooded, the motor stopped working, we had it emptied and booked Kingspan to come. (They demand a £200 payment over the phone to book a visit.) The system was checked. Parts are only replaced once you pay for them over the phone (additional £300 for new motor and a fan belt). We were told it would be fine for a year-18 months.

3 weeks later it flooded again and the disc stopped turning. Rang Kingspan and they were out within 24 hours. Left me a note saying it was a drainage problem and the motor was in danger of getting wet (yes, the motor that lives inside the septic tank cannot withstand any water). They kindly added the motor would not be replaced under guarantee if it did break. I was told drainage has nothing to do with them dispite fact the first fellow had run water into the soak away and claimed it was fine.

Moral of the tale: do not listen to their engineers. Empty it annually or the soak away will get clogged..all very obvious to me now but as the new home owner, I trusted Kingspan's advice given to the previous owner- 'all fine and doesn't need pumping out for 3 years.'

Going to be a very expensive mistake as we now struggle to locate soak away and have been on reduced water for over a month and had to have the tank emptied again..total in cost so far £800. They are a very frustrating company to have anything to do with.

Sorry for the rant but I am very cross and hope you can avoid my mistake.

Why is it going to a soak away ? The discharge should be ok to go straight into a drain, have got an air pump type tank and usually have to replace a diaphram about once a year, had it seven years and not used up the spares supplied when new yet, didnt fancy anything that sits in shite all its life

 

[Blue.]

Always thought the air pump type better,as rob posted you should be able to discharge direct without a soak away.

 

[roscoe erf]

Always thought the air pump type better,as rob posted you should be able to discharge direct without a soak away.

I was told you could drink it without any Ill effect s

 

[Blue.]

I was told you could drink it without any Ill effect s

You can go 1st.

 

[roscoe erf]

You can go 1st.

I will hold the cup for you

 

[rob1]

I was told you could drink it without any Ill effect s

The double stage ones you can, after all they say london supplies have a large percentage of treated water, dont fancy trying it myself mind

 

[farmerste]

I was told you could drink it without any Ill effect s

we've had a bio disc for 7 years now, it discharges into a stream with ea consent but i definatly wouldn't be wanting to drink the water

 

[Jock]

Why is it going to a soak away ? The discharge should be ok to go straight into a drain, have got an air pump type tank and usually have to replace a diaphram about once a year, had it seven years and not used up the spares supplied when new yet, didnt fancy anything that sits in shite all its life

That's what I thought too.
Building a new house at the moment and soak away failed percolation test so was told biodisc or similar was the solution as they could emptying straight to pipe/ditch without need for soak away.

 

[brynseiri]

It sounds to me as if your soak away is blinded. As far as motors and parts are concerned, any rewind company will sort them for a lot less than you are paying kingspan. Get it emptied, and see what's what in the soakaway. I have in my past operated and maintained most types of sewage treatment systems, I used to have seven klargester bio discs on an air base up here, one we had with a blinded soakaway, so the motor was permanently isolated and we just tankered it as and when- not ideal at all. Arfon rewinds or sulzer dowding and mills are your best bet for fecked motors.

 

[Honest john]

Hi All.
A balls up today.

They came & pumped it out today.
Sometime afterwards it popped out of the ground.

We concreted it in with dry mix about 60% up from the bottom 4 yr's ago.

Now did we make a mistake not concreting it to the top ?

Should they be completly pumped out ?

We have had 5" rain in last 5 weeks so water table must be high.

Any thoughts please.

 

[Lazy Eric]

Bad luck,, is it a bio disc? The amount of rain will be a massive headache. Did you concrete in the metal tie rods that came with it?
Mine came with 3 rods that attach near the top and go about 3 ft down with plates on the end.

 

[Honest john]

Bad luck,, is it a bio disc? The amount of rain will be a massive headache. Did you concrete in the metal tie rods that came with it?
Mine came with 3 rods that attach near the top and go about 3 ft down with plates on the end.

We Lifted it out today.
The tie rods were not fitted.

If it's a help to others I dug the hole, levelled about a meter of dry mix in bottom. Lowered tank in, half filled with water, then 2 meters of dry mix.
Three days later another 3 meters of dry mix I think the builder did this clearly didn't fit the tie rods that were in the kit
Sadly the concrete finished just below the lip which would have done the job had it been concreted over the lip.

Still, the tanks in good order.

 

[Doing it for the kids]

At least you have some hard core

 

[Still Farming]

http://www.graf-water.co.uk/wastewater-treatment.html
Look at these - No concrete needed .

 

[Lazy Eric]

Oh well, if it's still in good order, dig it out and start again.