emptying an old slurry pit

Sarah 1111 · 20-07-2019 9:33pm #1

We have just bought an old farmhouse with a couple of sheds - both sheds used to have calves in them and have pits at one end. Neither has been used for at least 8 years and are empty apart from about six inches of mud consistency sludge at the bottom of them.
We want to fill both pits with the rubble from renovations and then concrete to fill them in. We will be using the sheds to store furniture and other items and making a workshop in one of them.

Questions: Do we have to remove this sludge or can we just fill in over it?
Can I use the sludge on the garden?

What is the best way to remove it if this is what we need to do?
Thanks for any advice. It doesn't smell at all and is a nice brown earthy colour.

orm0nd · 20-07-2019 10:57pm

if it's only 6" I'd leave it and just fill over assuming the pit is at least a couple of feet deep,

Best of luck in your new home !!

Sarah 1111 · 20-07-2019 11:09pm

Great - thanks! yes, its about 3 foot if not a bit more.. that will make life much easier (and cheaper!).. and thanks for the good luck - we might need it!!

148multi · 21-07-2019 9:29am

Sarah 1111 wrote: »

We have just bought an old farmhouse with a couple of sheds - both sheds used to have calves in them and have pits at one end. Neither has been used for at least 8 years and are empty apart from about six inches of mud consistency sludge at the bottom of them.
We want to fill both pits with the rubble from renovations and then concrete to fill them in. We will be using the sheds to store furniture and other items and making a workshop in one of them.

Questions: Do we have to remove this sludge or can we just fill in over it?
Can I use the sludge on the garden?

What is the best way to remove it if this is what we need to do?
Thanks for any advice. It doesn't smell at all and is a nice brown earthy colour.

Spread on the garden, it's like best quality topsoil at this stage.

Lime Tree Farm · 21-07-2019 12:06pm

148multi wrote: »

Spread on the garden, it's like best quality topsoil at this stage.

There are many keen gardeners who would gladly avail of it, and empty it out for you in the process.

Sarah 1111 · 21-07-2019 12:17pm

Even better if I can use it on the garden - great, exactly what I was hoping...

Vote4Napoleon · 23-07-2019 10:01pm

Toss it out on your lawns, by the time you're finished building it will be gone into the soil and ul have a hugely improved lawn without living through the smell of it outside.

orm0nd · 24-07-2019 9:15am

for those recommending to put it on the lawn I'm sure your'e aware that slurry gas is lethal and is heavier than air, one lungful can kill a person, op asked in her post "What is the best way to remove it if this is what we need to do?"

I don't see any recommendations

BrokenArrows · 24-07-2019 9:18am

orm0nd wrote: »

for those recommending to put it on the lawn I'm sure your'e aware that slurry gas is lethal and is heavier than air, one lungful can kill a person, op asked in her post "What is the best way to remove it if this is what we need to do?"

I don't see any recommendations

Yes but if its been sitting there for 8 years then it will be fully decomposed and is likely just decomposed matter and water. Not toxic anymore and probably doesnt smell at all.

PoorFarmer · 24-07-2019 12:11pm

orm0nd wrote:

for those recommending to put it on the lawn I'm sure your'e aware that slurry gas is lethal and is heavier than air, one lungful can kill a person, op asked in her post "What is the best way to remove it if this is what we need to do?"

It's a 3' pit with 6" or so of sludge at the bottom. Assuming that the shed is bigger than the pit then the gas will dissipate evenly along the floor of the shed to a height of less than 6 inches (That's if the whole amount is gas only and no sludge). OP should be ok if they are taller than 3' 6" in height. The fact that no animal has been in the shed for 8 years or so would mean that the waste at the bottom of the pit is pretty much dried out and more of a topsoil consistency than slurry (Going on personal experience). A few assumptions thrown in there but safe enough I think.
OP, if the pit is enclosed within the shed if it smells of sulpher and is of slurry consistency when you break the skin get out and leave all doors open in the shed. If it is dried out and of soil consistency then you should be fine for slurry gasses.
Maybe if you can put up a photograph it may be some help.

TheBoyConor · 24-07-2019 4:47pm

How can you be so sure that the sludge doesn't off-gas when disturbed? Can you be certain of that it won't come more than 6" off the ground?

If someone is doing it by hand they will be bending down with the shovel and could very easily be overcome by gas if they come into contact with it. Then they fall down into the pit and suffocate. It is high risk activity. No-one should ever be going into tanks or pits of any sort without very good reason and it is absolutely unavoidable and there is no reasonably practicable alternative.

I would say that the sludge would have to be removed as leaving it in place means there is a very high chance that the fill will settle in and the concrete slab will settle and crack.
Removing the sludge should be done using a minidigger or similar if there is one on site for another part of the job.
If suitable it could be spread on the land or tilled into the landscaping.

The fill would also need to be very very well compacted so that the concrete will not settle and crack.

But infilling of these pits is totally the right course of action. They are absolutely lethal and countless people have died from defunct slurry pits.

Good loser · 25-07-2019 12:31am

I would leave the residue in situ and fill to level required; put in large 'blocks' first, say, to within 1 foot of the FFL.

The value of the residue as topsoil would be minimal; two bags of 10 10 20 would be equivalent value. And much cheaper/easier to manage.

emptying an old slurry pit

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