Retrofit Parts Extend the Useful Life of Septic Tank

After pumping a 41-year-old septic tank, a pumper had observed that there was no inlet or outlet baffle in this old single-compartment tank. The pumper had informed the homeowner of this condition. The homeowner, stunned at the cost of a new tank and possibly a new leachfield, then asked “what is my other choice?” The pumper replied that he would not feel good about letting it go as-is. He knew Polylok had some great retrofit parts that just might work here. The pumper and homeowner decided to use the much lower cost option of extending the useful service life of both the tank and the field.

The pumper opted to use a Polylok Extend & Lok at both the inlet end and outlet end of the tank. Because the inlet pipe was made of cast iron, this made an easy decision. After breaking off the deteriorating pieces of the cast iron pipe, and somewhat cleaning the inside of the pipe, the 4-inch Extend & Lok was simply hammered inside the exposed end of the pipe. This provided a perfect PVC 4-inch Schedule 40 pipe surface to glue on a Polylok PL-68 “T” for an inlet baffle. 

This same installation procedure was done on the outlet side as well; the difference being that the outlet pipe was already a 4-inch Schedule 40 pipe (as there must have been some type of previous repair done). However, it was too close to the inside of the tank wall to solidly glue on a “T” or filter housing. Fortunately, the Polylok Extend & Lok is designed for all 4-inch pipes. It was hammered into the end of the outlet pipe to extend it away from the inner wall. A PL-122 filter and housing was then glued to the Extend & Lok.

The project was finished off using Polylok adapter rings, risers to grade and covers. Typical cleaning of this septic tank and filter was performed approximately every three years. Polylok covers and risers made that a simple task. The last inspection on this tank occurred in August of 2020. Upon inspection, everything was still in perfect working order. That was 16 years later, and who knows how long the life of this tank and field have been extended for?


Polylok, Inc. is an international supplier of plastic injection-molded products for the precast, drainage and wastewater industries. Unlike the majority of our competitors, we design our products in-house, and manufacture in the USA. We have two manufacturing facilities in Connecticut, and one in Indiana. In addition, we hold more than 75 patents and produce more than 200 different products. We are constantly striving to develop new and innovative products.

877-765-9565 | sales@polylok.com | www.polylok.com 



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