Flip Your Lid

Share your techniques for removing a stubborn, heavy tank cover without causing a back injury

Interested in Onsite Systems?

Get Onsite Systems articles, news and videos right in your inbox! Sign up now.

Onsite Systems + Get Alerts

This feature in Pumper reports noteworthy conversations that take place in Pumper Discussion, an email-based forum for industry professionals sponsored by COLE Publishing. Pumper Discussion provides for the exchange of information and ideas on septic and drainfield installation and maintenance, trucks and equipment, portable sanitation, chemicals and additives. To find out more about Pumper Discussion, or to subscribe, visit www.pumper.com.

Information and advice in Overheard Online is offered in good faith by industry professionals. However, readers should consult in depth with appropriate industry sources before applying such advice to a specific business situation.

 

Question:

I’m looking for a better way to remove concrete lids to gain access for septic tank pumping. Taking a tractor along is not feasible. Currently we use pry bars and stack boards under the lids. Any ideas?

 

Answers:

We usually pry them up and lay them against the dirt on top of the tank (imagine that the lid is on a hinge to the middle part of the top of the tank). Take a long breaker bar (we call them rock bars) and pry up the lid, then use a hook from the other side to pull the lid up and set it basically straight up.

 

***

With regard to a concrete cover set into a concrete tank, which I am assuming you are usually talking about; if you hit the center of the cover a few times with a heavy bar, it will often break loose and can be picked up. If you put a backhoe on it without breaking it loose first you will probably only damage the cover. I have been told if you put a plastic trash bag down over the opening before replacing the cover it will be easier to remove the next time.

I think you are talking about a pop lid. That’s what we call them anyway. I was referring to a full-size concrete lid that spans the width of the tank. Pop lids usually have a hook on them to pull them out, if not they can be pretty tricky.

 

***

How about the plastic lids that screw on? Those can be a pain sometimes. I usually spin them off with a shovel. If the tank collapses they are a nightmare to get on after being a nightmare coming off.

 

***

Yes, I was referring to lids that span the whole tank. They are usually in three sections. However, even at that, a 3-foot by 5-foot piece of concrete is very heavy. I do lift these lids without help from the homeowner or business. I was looking more for some kind of device like a tripod or something portable. Some of these lids are 3 feet or more below grade and very difficult to get a pry bar under to lift.

 

***

I used to tip them up by using a couple of shovels, get my hands on it and use brute strength to tip it up. Now I usually dig up one end, but I dig enough extra at the end of the tank to slide it off the end. Hopefully it’s a single compartment tank or you wind up digging up most of the top of the tank.

 

***

I carry a tripod and a come-along with me on each truck for stubborn lids. I usually have an old piece of strap (like a trucker’s strap or 2-inch ratchet strap) that I can tie around the lid if the handle is broken. Most of the time, I leave the strap with the lid and find a new piece. I had the tripods made at a local fabrication shop.



Discussion

Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Comments are moderated before being posted.