Venting into sewer line...

I've been searching the forums for some info on whether anybody has ever Tee'd directly into a main sewer line before. I live in a rural area and have my own septic system. I know gas's rise but after they've travelled through those shit lines and up through the holding tanks, would that not change the smell considerably? Or would it JUST be changing where the odor come's out, as by the septic field?
I read one thread whereby the fellow was going to vent up through his bathroom vent on the roof, but I'm not near that particular vent, at my place.
Also when somebody flushes the toilet, would the smell not back up, eventhough you have an inline fan pushing smell through to the sewer line?
This is starting to sound confusing to me, so I'm probably not wording it right, but perhaps somebody out there can relate. Thanks in advance for any input.

i think you can totally vent into the sewers, but you should be sure that your vented air cannot be tracked back to your house.

For instance, you would need to be far enough away from a 'service tunnel' so that your sewer line meets your neighbors before it can be accessed. If they could walk though the tunnel and look at individual house lines, they would probably smell your sewage & your buds. If it is the entire neighborhood, they could not check every house.

Thanx for the response. I'm in a rural area so each house has it's own septic system. I guess I'm worried that when someone flushes the toilet that the line would be now full of sewage and I wouldn't think the odor would be able
to enter, therefore, where could it go, other then back to the room?

Well that would really only effect it for the three seconds you're flushing ... don't fret so much.

Could be right. Might be "fretting" too much, however, if a person doesn't "fret" he/she become's too comfortable and maybe doesn't pay attention. Last I heard, it could cause complications...
Thanks Shroomdr. for your "educated" opinion.

I just figure that you're not going to be able to vent ALL of the smell anyway ... and a few seconds of smell getting out won't hurt that much. No more than smoking it anyway.

Your probably right.
I was just hoping that someone else had actually DONE it before and could advise me. It's been about 100 degrees out (make's one kinda grumpy), and the skunk strain is coming down in about 2 days, so it's WAY stinky and I've got to make some decisions before the next batch...

i think it would work, however i'd be more worried about the smell of sewage backing up through your vent system!!! you would have to have a good fan on 24/7

I'm picturing anyone else that is tied into that sewage line....sitting on their throne...wondering why theres something different in the air when the flush.

all sewer lines have traps, look under your sink, see the "S" in the drain? That's so no AIR can come back into your house. Once your exhause has hit the sewer line, you should not have to worry about smell coming back with the exception of the place you are tapped into. ....and if that's in your grow room, you have it confined!

SN

The stack in the roof is your sewer vent. If you blow forced air into a sewer drain in your crawlspace with a closed septic tank at the end of the pipe it's going to head up to the roof because it has nowhere else to go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ibmag

Thanx for the response. I'm in a rural area so each house has it's own septic system. I guess I'm worried that when someone flushes the toilet that the line would be now full of sewage and I wouldn't think the odor would be able
to enter, therefore, where could it go, other then back to the room?

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i do not know if anyone sayed this, but i do not think it will because if you flush the toilet at your house, the smell of the shit does not come so why should the mj.

Don't you think that the smell of the sewers will more than cover the smell of some plants?

is there a possibility of sewage backing up into your grow room and covering you plants with your crap? would it be good fert?

odor control...is not your problem....it would work for that...but venting into your sewage pipe...is a terrible idea...you will be getting bacteria into your room..not to mention a sewage back up...or flood...you would be better off going negative pressure through a organic filter.....just the gasses in the pipe building up in your space could be terrible...there is no way this would work corecctly...just go under negative pressure with filter...or use your dryer vent... ecoli sux ass..

Tis' covered on Overgrow FAQ



How can I vent through the sewer?

sounds like a SHIT-ty problem

Well, according to the OvergrowFAQ, it is possible. A little complicated, but possible...and if it works like it's supposed to, it might be very effective and stealth...

IMO, I would not risk it. Too many things can go wrong. I agree with The Yeag. I would spend your energy (and $) trying to develop a good neg-pressure system with a nice carbon scrubber.

G'luck.

TGF

I'm sure i'm a lot late in responding to this post but here's what is meant by venting into a sewer line.the title of that is deceptive,because it is what is done when you vent your room through a plumbing sewer vent line.it simply exhausts the air in your "attic room" without having to cut another hole in the roof.

go yeag go.......no one likes a poopy grow room

A basic understanding of how your septic system is plumbed will probably help you make your own decision here.

Take a straw, put it in a glass of water, put your finger over the hole in the straw and remove it from the glass of water. The water stays in the straw. Take your finger of the end of the straw and the water runs out.

Your, and every other, septic/sewer plumbing operates on the same principle. There must be places for free air to enter the drain pipes or the water will "lock" in the pipes. This source of free air comes from the vent pipes that go thru your roof. Since we don't want toxic/smelly air entering our living space, each drain pipe has a "trap" near the drain. This is the "S" shaped section of pipe under your sinks etc. It holds water and prevents bad air from coming back up the drain pipes. Bottom line, none of the air you blow into the drain lines is going to exit into your house, just the same as the smelly "sewer air" doesn't enter your house.

Forcing air into the sewer pipes means the air will follow the path of least resistance until it eventually exits somewhere. If you have a septic system, a small amount of the air will go into your septic tank and drain field, but most of it will simply vent out the pipes in the roof. Essentially, this will be the external source of your odor, so you need to determine what will happen with the smelly air once it exits the roof vents. You need to look around at what is downwind from your home and if the odor would be detectable before it dissipates.

Venting into the sewer line would require either running your vent fan 24/7 or capping the line when the fan is not on. Sewer gas contains some pretty nasty stuff that you really don't want in your grow room, or anywhere else where you are breathing the air.