Graf waste water treatment plant, any thoughts?

[SuperJohnG]

3 hours ago, dpmiller said:

@SuperJohnG  I extended the air inlet hose about 6m with some buried 25mm conduit to place the snorkel in the hedgeline out of the way. Has no effect on the running of the unit, the volume of air required is quite low.

 

With Smart C there is no separate control box, there's an LCD built into the top cover flap of the pump.

 

Lift manhole, unscrew lid of "equipment capsule" to access.

 

Funnily enough I lifted the lid on ours yesterday for the first time in a year or so. Couldn't hear the pump at all until I lifted the manhole cover,  no odour whatsoever, and a seething mass below.

Thanks. Seems like a decent unit. I could either bring the vent back to the house which might be 8m or take it to the fencing but that would be maybe 12-15m and unsure if that's too far. 

 

Can't quite figure out why ita 1k.morw expensive though? 

[dpmiller]

If you were worried about the air supply, you could easily go up a size of duct to reduce restriction.

 

  Are they size-for-size? Solido comes in a few different tank sizes. Is the Solido you're quoted specced with pump out or alarm vs the basic one with airlift only?

 

Is the output quality same?

[SuperJohnG]

1 hour ago, dpmiller said:

If you were worried about the air supply, you could easily go up a size of duct to reduce restriction.

 

  Are they size-for-size? Solido comes in a few different tank sizes. Is the Solido you're quoted specced with pump out or alarm vs the basic one with airlift only?

 

Is the output quality same?

I'll need to check tomorrow on output but the solido is 8PE which can be turned down to 2PE. the ASP is 6PE but both gravity. The solido as far as I can see comes with the control panel as standard? Didn't see a basic version.

[dpmiller]

pretty sure our Smart is a 6PE? BL30 tank

[SuperJohnG]

For anyone who comes across this - I have decided to go for the Solido Smart. 

 

The ASP currently is £1750 vs £2630 (Gravity outlet and delivered for both, plus VAT).

 

It's 900 quid more expensive for the Solido however ROI is in year 7 based on the power usage, see below for table. This was costs per year and cumulatively added up, starting point was 33p/kWh and a 3% inflation rate over 20 years. So on year 7 the extra money is paid back and by 20 years it nearly pays for itself vs the ASP. 

 

Plus point is that the effluent quality and suspended solids is better by a factor of 2 nearly) on the Solido. Will I notice the difference, absolutely not. Do I feel a little better about it - Yes.   

 

The Solido also has a flat tank cover and you can move the vent elsewhere which means I wont run over it like the ASP. Both very good units and either would be a good purchase. 

 

 

 

[Thorfun]

my Graf got delivered the other day. will be fitted in a few weeks hopefully.

 

[Simplysimon]

8 hours ago, SuperJohnG said:

For anyone who comes across this - I have decided to go for the Solido Smart. 

check your finished height as you can ask them to add a riser which they heat weld on. you can get different risers to suit afterwards 150 and 300mm from memory

[Amateur bob]

On 16/05/2022 at 13:51, Thorfun said:

my Graf got delivered the other day. will be fitted in a few weeks hopefully.

 

some size how did u get on with it? can i ask for those of you on the forum who went for the graf did you install it yourselves and was it straightforward enough?

 

thanks

[Thorfun]

1 hour ago, Amateur bob said:

some size how did u get on with it? can i ask for those of you on the forum who went for the graf did you install it yourselves and was it straightforward enough?

 

thanks

well.....errrr.....we've started pooping in it and nothing has come back out yet so I guess it's working ok! 🤣

 

I got my groundworkers to install it while they were doing the drainage. seemed simple enough though I just didn't have the time.

[Amateur bob]

11 hours ago, Thorfun said:

well.....errrr.....we've started pooping in it and nothing has come back out yet so I guess it's working ok! 🤣

 

I got my groundworkers to install it while they were doing the drainage. seemed simple enough though I just didn't have the time.

haha well thats a good sign then, it looks huge is this a standard size? ill be needing one for 7ppl

[saveasteading]

They are big.

Using even the 100 litres per person per day figure, you get 700 litres and it takes time to work.

I like to use shallower designs so as to minimise excavation depth.

Do other things in it too! It is designed for the everyday mix from a house so may need more water than you imply.

[Thorfun]

12 minutes ago, Amateur bob said:

haha well thats a good sign then, it looks huge is this a standard size? ill be needing one for 7ppl

 

2 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

They are big.

Using even the 100 litres per person per day figure, you get 700 litres and it takes time to work.

I like to use shallower designs so as to minimise excavation depth.

Do other things in it too! It is designed for the everyday mix from a house so may need more water than you imply.

the Graf is a shallower dig than the conical type of tanks. we needed that as we have a layer of sandstone 2.2m down and I didn't want them to have to dig through that to install the tank

 

and we're washing, showering, weeing in it too. just using it as it was intended to be.

[MortarThePoint]

@SuperJohnG @Thorfun  I'm weighing up between the Graf One2Clean and the Solido Smart at the moment. I like that the Solido Smart has the pump tucked away in the plant, but in a sealed chamber. The Graf has a remote unit (kiosk or in the house as I understand). What's the maximum distance between Graf's pump and the unit itself as I expect about 20-25m between the house and the plant?

 

Have either of you had any issues. I hear horror stories of fixes needing software from Germany and laptops on site with expensive tools etc which worries me a bit. Also, availability of parts is a concern.

[flanagaj]

On 08/05/2024 at 18:29, Amateur bob said:

some size how did u get on with it? can i ask for those of you on the forum who went for the graf did you install it yourselves and was it straightforward enough?

 

thanks

I installed a 7 PE Graf with maxi extension just two weeks ago.  I went with the raised outlet so as reduce the amount of excavation required for the drainage field.  It was very straightforward.

 

[Thorfun]

44 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

@SuperJohnG @Thorfun  I'm weighing up between the Graf One2Clean and the Solido Smart at the moment. I like that the Solido Smart has the pump tucked away in the plant, but in a sealed chamber. The Graf has a remote unit (kiosk or in the house as I understand). What's the maximum distance between Graf's pump and the unit itself as I expect about 20-25m between the house and the plant?

 

Have either of you had any issues. I hear horror stories of fixes needing software from Germany and laptops on site with expensive tools etc which worries me a bit. Also, availability of parts is a concern.

i was told by Graf UK sales that the max distance between tank and pump is 20m. i did consider running the pump in the plant room but i would've exceeded that distance so i have my pump in the outdoor box next to the tank. it's so far from the house that i don't hear it. i have heard it a few times as i've come back with the dog after a walk but it wasn't excessively loud for me.

 

horror stories? not as such but my pump failed after about 1yr of use but it was sitting around unused for a couple of years before that. Graf UK were very helpful and had to go back to Germany to request a replacement as it was "out of warranty" by a short period of time despite only being in use for just over a year due to the delay in installing and commissioning it. it took so long for Germany to respond due to holidays and i guess more important things that the UK support just replaced it for free for me in the end. so i can't grumble at that! i'm hoping that my original pump was just an anomaly and the new pump lasts longer than a year!

[Russell griffiths]

@MortarThePoint

do not put the blower unit in your house, they are noisy 

mine is in a garden shed 3m away from the tank, you can hear it running when walking past the shed. 

[saveasteading]

Is there a good reason why the Graf pump isn't within the tank? It's just an air pump like in an aquarium.

We used a Marsh and it just needed an electric feed. Seems less hassle at end of pump life too.

[Russell griffiths]

2 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Is there a good reason why the Graf pump isn't within the tank? It's just an air pump like in an aquarium.

We used a Marsh and it just needed an electric feed. Seems less hassle at end of pump life too.

I think the idea is you can put it where you want, if it 2as in the lid you end up with a noisy lid in the middle of your lawn, their way you can put it in a shed out the way, or behind some shrubbery, your not limited to it being in the tank. 

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

lid in the middle of your lawn, 

That had not occurred to me. On a posh lawn anyway. I think I would hide it under a nymph statue or some such.

 

Our one isn't loud at all. Silent at a few metres. I guess it could be muffled if necessary.

My guess is that one was designed with a pump chamber in it, and it wouldn't fit in the other.

[BadgerBodger]

4 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Is there a good reason why the Graf pump isn't within the tank? It's just an air pump like in an aquarium.

We used a Marsh and it just needed an electric feed. Seems less hassle at end of pump life too.

Just a quick FYI on the pump being in the tank for Marsh. Yes it is normally BUT if you choose the pumped outfall it isn’t and can’t be (according to Marsh) 

 

I bought mine through my merchant choosing both options pumped and inbuilt but it came pumped only and only when I enquired did I find out it’s one or the other. 
 

 

[Kelvin]

My Graf blower makes hardly any noise as long as it’s sitting properly on its rubber feet on the metal plinth. If not it can vibrate. What does make a noise, in our case, is when the airlift pump is pumping the waste water into the drainage field which is a light bubbling noise from the vent pipe.