Our systems are designed to accommodate variable and intermittent flows, including only weekend use, although the air blower operates continuously regardless of inflow.  However, for seasonal use properties, the air blower may be shut down if the system is not going to be used for an extended period of time.  The blower should be re-started at least three days in advance of system use if possible.  

During a power outage, the blower will cease operation and after about twenty-four hours treatment quality will begin to diminish.  However, your system will still allow wastewater to pass through and will not create a backup in the house unless a separate pump station has been installed.

Yes. Your system is designed to require minimal service, although a schedule of regular inspection and service is necessary. Inspection and service every six months is necessary during the first two years of use to assure proper operation.  Your systems extended service policy mandates semi-annual inspection or service visits from a trained and certified provider.  (This schedule may be altered for seasonal and part-time use). 

Like an ordinary septic tank, sludge must be removed from your system periodically (such as once every two – four years).  Your service provider will provide guidance for you on this and if necessary will help to arrange for a septic tank pumping company to provide this service.  Pump-out frequency depends on waste stream strength and use; please consult with your service provider to help determine the frequency that is best for you

A CE5 or CEN5 treating 450 gallons per day is about 15.6 cents per day or $56.80 per year.

No. Garbage disposals are never recommended with septic systems.

Your new system is a living culture, you should avoid flushing or draining toxic materials into the system such as paint, household chemicals and antibiotic medicines as they can harm the natural bacterial action that is present.  Other items to avoid flushing into the system include bulky or non-biodegradable materials in general such as sanitary napkins, paper towels and cigarette butts.   Coffee grounds and excessive cooking grease are not helpful for system processing and should be disposed of through your compost/recycle/solid waste stream instead of though your treatment system.

On occasion, a contaminated well needs to be disinfected (usually with bleach).  If you need to do this, do not run the chlorinated water through your septic system.  Instead, open the outside water faucets and let the water run for several hours or as long as necessary to flush the chlorine out of the well.  Meanwhile, avoid using water inside the house.

No! Toilet tablets and drain-clean products will generally deplete necessary bacteria from the system.  Products that advertise drain field health are typically unhelpful to the system and often temporarily emulsify fats, oils and greases, only to re-coagulate after they reach the drain field.

Your alarm/control panel monitors all important functions of your system and an alarm (both audio and visual) will be triggered in the rare event of a problem, such as water is not being discharged from the system or your air blower is not operating properly.    In the event of an alarm condition, go to the alarm panel, find the toggle switch on the outside right and push toward “silence.”  This will mute the audio alarm, although the visual alarm light will remain lit.  Next, contact Water Quality & Compliance at 207-882-5476.

As a general rule, the more natural the cleaning product the better.  Synthetic surfactants designed for toilet bowls for example, often contain chemicals, synthetic dyes, chlorine bleach, ammonia, petroleum-derived ingredients, and other harmful ingredients, such as Triclosan (prevents mold growth) that are incompatible and hazardous to a healthy bacterial eco-system living within your system.  Ideal choices might include white vinegar, Borax, or other citric acid based cleaners.

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As a general rule, the more natural the cleaning product the better.  Synthetic surfactants designed for toilet bowls for example, often contain chemicals, synthetic dyes, chlorine bleach, ammonia, petroleum-derived ingredients, and other harmful ingredients, such as Triclosan (prevents mold growth) that are incompatible and hazardous to a healthy bacterial eco-system living within your system.  Ideal choices might include white vinegar, Borax, or other citric acid based cleaners.

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Our standard hydraulic sizing assumes domestic strength influent (i.e. about 250 mg/L BOD and 150 mg/L TSS).  Models to treat higher strength waste streams are upsized linearly based on organic loading strength.

Yes. Air blower operation is independent of hydraulic flow. 

Yes. Decibel levels are provided in the table below. In general, noise from the MACBlower “R” series line places Fuji Mac blowers as best-in-class category (Please refer to the O&M Manual for blower sizing information). Most residential units use a MAC80R air blower.

The following table provides empty tank buoyancy information for Fuji Clean residential system models.  As stated in the Installation Manual, for high groundwater sites we recommend anchoring the tank using precast concrete anchors (deadman) and 1 inch galvanized coated strapping or equivalent.  Set deadman 12” away from tank.   Please do not use lifting lugs with turnbuckles to anchor tank.

Empty Tank Buoyancy:

Model CE5:  5,270 Lbs.

Model CE7:  7,210 Lbs.

Model CE10:  10,400 Lbs.              

Model CEN5:  7,210 Lbs.               

Model CEN7:  10,400 Lbs.             

Model CEN10:  14,500 Lbs.

Since there is a national law in Japan that requires annual pumping of all onsite systems, our best long term sludge accumulation data comes from Australia where it was determined that average time to reach pumpout depth is every 4 years.  We requires that sludge be measured at each 6 month service visit. As directed in the O&M Manual, system pumpout should occur when sludge levels reach 24” in the sedimentation chamber (first chamber) or 18” in the anaerobic chamber (middle chamber). Based on “normal” full time household water use, we therefore recommend pumpout once every 2 years with higher frequency for higher hydraulic or organic strength flows – particularly if a garbage disposal is being used.

Assuming a recommended start-up configuration (2/3 clean water, 1/3 septic), our systems achieve NSF 40 standards within 1 week of operation, understanding that there are many variables that contribute to start-up performance.

Our system is designed to accommodate variable flows, in large part due to the recirculation airlift pump which has a built in mechanism for leveling variable flows to maximize retention time and treatment.  For extreme variable flows (such as in a church where there is a very large peak flow one day a week), we recommend the installation of a preceding settling tank large enough to accommodate total peak flow and then metering flow to the system throughout the unused periods.

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Yes. As noted in the Installation Manual, we recommend insulating the upper half of the system tank, discharge pump (if applicable), discharge line and D-box for all installations in cold climate environments.  Recommended insulation is 2 inch rigid foam board (R-10 insulating factor) covering the system and about 6” over discharge lines to stop frost penetration into the ground.

Yes. Please contact us for additional details and engineering assistance if necessary.

We have successfully completed NSF/ANSI 40 and NSF/ANSI 40 & 245 testing.  A summary of results is available in our technical specifications. 

Yes.  Our CEN model line (tested for NSF/ANSI 40 & 245) will provide single digit BOD and TSS results (as well as highest quality TN removal) with domestic strength wastewater as demonstrated in NSF testing.  A summary of NSF testing results is available in our technical specifications.