It has been a long time since my last post because I just have not had the time to sit down and write something.  Actually, I have been writing a lot...design reports, site plans, new system designs, computer code etc.  My work load has necessitated that I put this aside for a while. 

We have been installing Eliminite systems in various configurations at an amazing pace and I appreciate the trust that has been placed in our products.  The pace has been so brisk that we have added two new distributors who have become very busy keeping up with the orders and installations.  I'll try to remember to get some photos up for you to look at.  

I know that some of my clients will see this new post and wonder why I am wasting time with this blog when I have system quotes to get out for them.  Don't worry, I'm getting caught up and you are next on my to-do list. 

If you are designing a system please please please, give us a call before you begin and discuss options.  I feel so bad for the guys that design with a competing system because they "design as I see fit" (actual quote from one of the particularly enlightened engineers) only to have their client find out about Eliminite and how much better we can serve them.  This situation leads to all kinds of ill feelings where we wind up redesigning the system (sometimes the whole development) and the developer vows never to use XXX and Associates ever again.  It is really pretty embarrassing for the engineer/designer so don't get hypnotized by their glossy marketing and slight of hand.  Eliminite makes sense and it is just plain better that peat pods, aerated septic tanks or textile filters.

Owners Prefer Eliminite
I spoke to an engineer a couple of days ago that told me his clients have NO CHOICE but to install a textile filter plastic pod system.  The engineer stated that the client MUST install a field of buried plastic boxes filled with fish tank fabric because they are required to do this by some obscure, unnamed entity.  In my opinion this sounds as if the engineer has some agreement with the supplier or manufacturer of the textile system because the client is surely not under any order to install the plastic pod system.  I spoke with the client on this job and he had no idea what the engineer was doing and had in fact been given an entirely different story than the engineer gave to me.

 At $700,000.00 for a 14,000 gpd textile pod septic system somebody has a pretty significant financial stake in this one.  The truth is I hear this line pretty often.  I think it is because most people want the best value for their money and when they compare Eliminite to every other system, we usually represent the highest value and they select one of our systems for their project.  Losing the sale causes the competing distributor to suffer from a sever case of heartburn and this is where the shennagins start.  They will tell the owner that they cannot even obtain a quote from Eliminite because, for instance, the State required the textile filters(absolutely untrue) or that we are working out of my garage(again untrue....my garage is so cluttered that I can barely walk through it let alone work out of it).  If you are an owner and start to hear statements like these, give me a call.  I will honestly discuss your job and your options with you. 

What really bothers me about the 14,000 gpd system above is that is it for a school and the students are trying to raise money for the septic system on Youtube.  So these kids are working hard trying to come up with creative ideas to build a septic system and the engineer will not even entertain the thought of a more reliable, less costly alternative.   The money they save could be used for silly things  like BOOKS, and TEACHERS.  This kind of crap is so common in this industry that it usually gets overlooked but it just makes me sick.  The engineers should b ashamed and demand that K-Mart refund their money for the licenses they purchased during a Blue Light Special.

Textile Company Decides Eliminite has the Best Design
In a previous posting I wrote about the well known septic textile company that is viewed by many as leader in the onsite industry copying one of our designs, effectively establishing Eliminite as the state of the art.  Our systems are designed deliberately to function reliably in a harsh environment.  Contrast this approach with the apparent acts of desperation of the textile company.  Maybe this explains why they have so many malfunctions, alarms, failures and discontent among their users.  Our goal is to provide reliable systems for a reasonable price.  I think, considering our growth, sales and now, imitation by big companies, we are accomplishing this goal.

Drowning with the Turkeys
Back in January 2007, Onsite Installer magazine published an article titled, "Soaring with the Eagles".  (I loved this one so much that I scanned it and saved it.  I was looking through an old USB thumb drive the other day and rediscovered it)  The article describes a treatment system in Minnesota that makes me laugh until I nearly cry every time I read it.  It reminds me of those Far Side cartoons that no matter how many times you read it it's still funny as hell.  This one is a classic.

It tells a tale of a 99 lot subdivision served by a peat pod system.  Now I don't know exactly who or what cast the spell over the designer that caused everyone of his/her synapses to fuse into a useless mass of mental slag,  but if I didn't know better I would think this is one of the best Onsite April Fools jokes of all time.

The system is comprised of 320....yes...you heard that correctly 320...plastic peat pods.  This one even beats the textile pod nightmare in Montana that used something like 45 individual plastic fish tank fabric filters. They rig these things together as if they were stringing popcorn to decorate a Christmas tree.  It is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen and is an embarrassment to this industry. I am working on a 109 lot development and the footprint for the system is about 30' x 30' and it is fully accessible all year. 

The peat system is clearly visible from outer space (you can see it on Google Earth) and if there are extraterrestrials watching our development it will surely postpone their planned visit to introduce themselves because from the looks of that system earthlings still have some evolving to do.  The development is listed for sale for about 4 million and not a single home has been built so I guess,on the bright side, 3 years later,  the pods haven't clogged.   I pity the person that buys this monstrosity.  Soaring with the eagles...come on.

Trickling Filter, Packed Bed Reactor, RTF, Fixed Film Bio-Reactor

I will be presenting several technical references related to the treatment mechanism utilized in the Eliminite system.  The first is from WEF Manual of Practice 8.  The section I am posting should answer questions related to the ability of trickling filters to equal or exceed suspended growth processes.  If you click on the image it will be easier to read.

The key to achieving high treatment levels is a thorough understanding of how these types of systems function.  I talk to quite a few people, usually "experts" that tell me RTF systems cannot match the performance of suspended growth systems.  The fact is, our systems can meet suspended growth performance and usually exceed them because the process is inherently more stable and resistant to upsets.  The result is more reliable treatment performance, lower energy consumption, lower O&M costs and lower capital cost.  The next technical post will discuss media size and its relationship to fouling. This should help with decisions related to media selection employed by specific systems.  ie. MetaRocks vs. gravel vs. fish tank filter floss(textile) vs. peat moss vs. foam cubes. 

Treated wastewater from a cluster system

This is a sample of treated effluent from an Eliminite MBR (MetaRocks Bio Reactor) .  It was tested and found to have less than 1 mg/l ammonia and obviously no TSS.  I spoke with the operator and this system has been producing treated effluent to this degree since it was installed almost four years ago.  He has never had to change, clean, fluff or hose off the fixed film media.  The photo below was taken through the access hatch and lets you see the condition of the MetaRocks.  They are clean and full of large pathways for air movement. A thin bio-film has developed on their polar surface but the main paths or oxygen transfer are available and open.  This means the microorganisms providing the treatment have easy access to fresh air and the MBR will remain aerobic.  Eliminite systems remain aerobic while using much less power than SBR, membrane reactors or other suspended growth systems. This means they cost less to operate and need a lot less babysitting.   

I get frustrated when the "experts" of this industry pound their desks and proclaim with conviction that onsite systems need constant maintenance to function properly.  Maybe the mainstream onsite systems, (Peat, textile, foam cube, aerated septic tanks etc) need constant operation and maintenance hand holding, but Eliminite systems absolutely do not.  I know this concept shatters the perceptions of those in government and academia and it is clear that those people are reluctant to even entertain the possibility that maybe there is a system that is far more robust and stable that the mainstream gadgets.  Apparently they think it better to cling tightly to their opinions and close their eyes to possibilities than to simply admit that they have modified their position based upon this new evidence.  (It reminds me of the controversy that erupted when Copernicus published his theory contradicting current thinking  and stated the the Earth was not the center of the universe).  

 An Eliminite distributor suggested an analogy between Eliminite and some of the other, more well known, systems.  He said Eliminite is like a 20 year old man that eats anything and everything with no concerns for calories, sodium, fat or carbs and still stays thin.  Who stays out late and gets up the next morning ready to go.  Who plays extreme sports, takes a bruising, shakes it off and keeps on playing.  Who has never been sick a day in his life.  The other systems (textile, peat, foam cube,aerated septic tanks) are like a 90 year old man.  He has to watch everything he eats carefully or he will get develop stomach problems.  Who takes a rainbow of different medications every day just to keep going.  Who, if he falls down will have to have his hip pinned.  Who has a history of illness and constantly has one foot in the grave and he other on a banana peel, ready at any second and for the slightest perturbation in his schedule, to give up the ghost.   I think that is an accurate analogy.

The picture on the bottom shows Eliminite effluent compared to bottled drinking water.  It is time, if you are truly looking for a system providing high treatment levels and ease of operation that you investigate Eliminite.   Oh...we cost a lot less and occupy a much smaller area than peat, textile or foam cube systems.  Or I guess maybe it it is heresy to suggest that the earth is NOT at the center of the universe.

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Eliminite 120 C

Click on the link for a list of 120 C features.

120 C Benefits Table

Eliminite-C-Series-Description

A short comparison of advanced wastewater treatment systems

Three main concerns clients express when exploring options for onsite wastewater treatment systems:

• What is the initial cost?
• Is the system reliable?
• What are the O&M Costs?

In reality O&M costs and system reliability are opposite sides of the same coin.   First consider the two main classes of onsite systems: 

• Fixed film
• Suspended growth

Fixed film systems include Eliminite, textile filters, peat bogs, sand filters, upholstery foam and others.   Suspended growth systems do not have nearly the wide variety of bright ideas as the fixed film systems and are really just aerated septic tanks.  

If you ask people familiar with the industry you will find that suspended growth onsite systems are notoriously unreliable.  I am not arbitrarily slamming these systems, it is just a fact that when you use an undersized septic tank, dump into it all the liquid, solids and grease and bubble air into the resulting "soup" you are going to have problems.  The only positive aspect of these aerated septic tanks is that they are cheap!   But, once an owner has one of these installed, there is a reasonable probability that the permit limits will never be met.  The unreliability of suspended growth onsite systems has caused many manufacturers to turn towards fixed film systems.

The first Eliminite was installed in early 1994.  At that time most of the advanced onsite systems were suspended growth systems.  There were no textile filters...the main purveyor of these systems was busy selling sand filters.  Foam upholstery cubes were unheard of and most of the peat was still in the bog.  I am being facetious to a degree but you get my point, the industry was dominated by suspended growth systems.  Maybe this is one reason why there was such a huge push in the 1970's and 1980's to sewer everything; it was a well accepted concept that onsite systems simply did not work.

Fixed film systems changed that.  But, what is the most important thing that has to be provided to a fixed film system for it to function?  Well wastewater of course...second most important thing then?....AIR.  If air cannot get to the biofilm, the system is going to have problems, period.  Now think.....Imagine laying on you back and having someone shovel two feet of saturated peat on your face.  Can you breathe?   Probably not, and you have the benefit of a diaphragm muscle expanding your chest cavity to allow air to be forced into your lungs in response to atmospheric pressure.   Microorganisms growing on the surface of the wet peat do not have diaphragm muscles.  How about textiles?  At about 1/2 inch thick these fabric sheets also become saturated with liquid effectively blocking the free diffusion of air to the biofilm.  Eliminite uses our proprietary MetaRocks as the medium to which microorganisms attach.  When dosed with wastewater,  MetaRocks allow the development of a thin liquid film across their surface.  A film sufficiently thin to allow efficient oxygen diffusion into the biofilm.  But that is not all....the size and shape of the MetaRocks allows air to move freely and if we go back to the example of trying to breathe through wet MetaRocks you will see that the large pores allow free air movement.  In fact, even as the biofilm develops on the surface, the pores remain open and available to unhindered passage of air.  This is not the case with the other fixed film media.  Think about it.  Their tiny pore spaces quickly become closed off due to inevitable biofouling.  The only thing to do then is to pull the filter media out and clean it.   MetaRocks do not require cleaning.  So back to the point,O&M.

Do you suppose that maintenance costs will increase if the saturated, dirty media has to be removed and cleaned regularly?  Will the maintenance costs be lower for a system that has already considered the potential for biological fouling?  Why do some systems have such large lids/covers?  These big covers are expensive and a manufacturer would not add them (and their additional cost) unless they were absolutely necessary.  But they are not necessary to get the media IN, they are necessary to get the media OUT for cleaning or replacement.   Eliminite MetaRocks were designed to address and overcome the issue of biological fouling.

Look at the photo of the MetaRocks in the tank (click on it to enlarge the photo) and notice the huge interstitial openings.  These wide open passages allow air to move freely.  They also accommodate a wide range of hydraulic loading meaning the system can handle varying waste strength and flow.  We measured the hydraulic capacity of the media at over 200 gallons per ft^2 per minute.  At that rate flushing (even though I have never seen a situation where it has been necessary) is as easy as opening a valve.

Another really useful feature of MetaRocks is that they are lightweight and free-flowing.  This means that you can build larger systems by using larger tanks.  Think about that for a minute and compare an Eliminite system treating 5000 or 10000 gallons to a peat system or textile filter.   The Eliminite system can be built in one tank, two tanks, you choose.  The peat and textile configurations are only available as a daisy-chain of little toy pods strung together.  Which option sounds easier and less expensive to build and maintain:  a single central treatment plant or a spread out maze of little parts and pieces?

Eliminite Advanced Treatment Systems Produce Superior Results for Less Money

As many of you know, Eliminite was developed in Bozeman, Montana (Oh, and for the record, it is snowing horizontally today in Bozeman).  A unique challenge presented by this fact is that it is cold here and it stays cold for a significant part of the year.  I know it can get just as cold in say, Wisconsin, but the difference and probably more important is the length of the growing season not just the lowest reported temperature.  The growing season is very short in Bozeman....Last year I had a garden full of frozen, green, cold weather tomatoes to prove it....My point is, the climate in Montana provides a harsh proving ground for our onsite systems.  So when I provide data showing our system produce total nitrogen concentrations in the low to mid teens, those systems are in Montana.  If you hunt you can find Montana results for some of the competing systems, for instance, the textile filters average around 30 mg/l total nitrogen(when they are working).  Our results are about two times better and our cost is about half as much as a typical textile system(This means you will be at least 4 times happier with an Eliminite system than a textile system.  Unless of course you already own a textile system...then nothing short of winning the PowerBall Lottery can make you happy!).  The aerated septic tank systems (you know, the ones with blowers and compressors and fans) total nitrogen results are abysmal.  I feel sorry for a homeowner that gets duped into buying one of the aerated septic tank systems thinking that they are going to meet state nitrogen standards.  There will probably be more than a few lawsuits once homeowners become aware of the fact that the stinky, noisy thing in their backyard has never met their septic system permit requirements. (You don't have to take my word for it...just ask around)  But back to my point.   Eliminite has been steadily growing and moving into new areas.  New Mexico is one such area.

We have several system installed in New Mexico and have been receiving nitrogen numbers for those systems.  This is interesting to me because it is really the first time we have installed Eliminite systems is a less severe climate.  (We have quite a few in Colorado but those are in the mountains at 7000 ft and above where it is cold.  The nitrogen numbers from these systems are generally in the low teens with the exception of several of the community systems....these are single digit systems.)  Here are some numbers from a residential system in NM.
3/15/10  TN ~58 mg/l
3/24/10  TN ~40 mg/l
4/16/10  TN ~9.5 mg/l
The numbers improved in response to an operational change I made.  I expect them to improve on the next sampling run. 

Another system in NM reports total nitrogen of about 8 mg/l.  These are real systems serving real homes with real wastewater.  And can you guess how many alarms we have received from them since thay have been installed?  ZERO.  Not one alarm....and no washing of textiles...no fluffing little foam cubes....no shoveling feculent peat, no wood chips to replace.  No "maintenance".  Just Inspections as required by the permit.  Now I know the "experts" scream that onsite systems require perpetual operation and maintenance contracts in order to function (most of them don't function even with the perpetual operation and maintenance contract) but the fact is any system requiring this level of maintenance, such as needing to be connected to a dedicated telephone line 24 hours a day, is simply an unreliable system.  Eliminite is reliable and simple to maintain because it was designed to be that way.  I get the sense that other manufacturers deliberately designed unreliable systems in order to develop an additional cash stream resulting from the maintenance contracts.  It is similar to the cell phone company giving you the cell phone if you sign up for the contract....but that's just my opinion.

Eliminite to provide advanced wastewater treatment for 33 lot development in Ravalli County Montana

This project had been approved by the State with a competing wastewater system but when the time came to start building, the owner decided to tell the competition that he was not going to use the XXXXXXXX but rather, decided to install Eliminite.  The distributor of the XXXXXXXX whined about how he had been involved with the project for several years and now that it was done the developer was cutting him out.  To be fair, the developer did not want to install the USED equipment the distributor quoted and, this is pretty bad, the distributor, in order to get his price down, did not include manufacturer and State required components in his cost estimate.  In other words, it was like he gave a quote for a car but failed to mention that that quote did not include an engine or air bags.  (This is not the first time they have tried to deceive an owner in order to make the sale)

Our quote was fair and, this is cool, about the same cost as the competitors "modified" system.  So, even when they resort to these tactics, they cannot beat our prices or our quality. 

From the data I have available, it looks like Eliminite has overtaken the big competitor in Montana. (Look out Colorado and New Mexico XXXXXXXX dealers because you're next!)  I am pretty sure the tide has turned and engineers, developers and homeowners have realized that we have the best products and the best prices.  Engineers that still specify the other guys equipment are in for a shock when their clients find out about Eliminite.  The developer I mentioned above was pretty upset with his engineers for not calling out Eliminite on their plans.  They may not realize it but this omission has a real backlash effect and will probably hurt their business down the road because when the owner discovers that Eliminite is an alternative to the XXXXXXXX and the engineer did not make the owner aware, Eliminite gets the job and the engineer gets fired.