Residential AdvanTex® Treatment Systems
The Product
Orenco’s AdvanTex® Treatment System utilizing the residential-sized AX20 can make raw wastewater up to 98% cleaner and meet the most stringent regulatory requirements. It can also reduce nitrogen significantly, depending on influent and system configuration. The AX20 offers all the following benefits:
- Consistent reliable treatment, even under peak flows
- Compact package, small footprint for small sites
- Pre-manufactured package, including textile medium, for quality control
- Low maintenance requirements; low life-cycle costs
- Production of clear, odorless effluent
The Program
It takes more than a product, however, to solve onsite wastewater problems. It takes a comprehensive program, one that ensures a successful project every time and provides support for the entire life of the system. While Orenco has engineered a product, Anchorage Tank administers a program that includes the following:
- Trained and Authorized Installers and Service Providers
- Round-the-clock system supervision via Orenco’s remote VeriComm controls
- Commitment to ongoing Monitoring & Maintenance (M&M), signed by system owners
- Web-based tracking of system and performance data on Dealer extranet
- Choice of specially constructed composite or steel primary treatment tanks
Photos courtesy of Orenco Systems, Inc.
Details
Steel Tank
The drawing below shows a residential (3-4 bedroom) AdvanTex® Treatment System using a steel tank. This is not your grandpa’s steel septic tank. It is fabricated from thicker steel and painted inside and out with a 100% solids coating, much like that of an underground fuel storage tank. This provides a lifetime tank worthy of having a fiberglass filter pod placed above it to minimize the footprint of the system in the yard. Here’s how it works:
The system begins treatment in a conventional manner. Sewage from the house enters the first compartment of the septic tank. The effluent in the second compartment is pumped up and into the AdvanTex® Filter and is evenly distributed across a manifold at the top of the filter where it showers downward. The hanging textile media then filters the effluent and it drains through to the bottom of the box. This liquid is now called filtrate.
The filtrate then returns to the second compartment of the tank to blend with unfiltered effluent, and the cycle repeats. When the liquid level in the tank reaches a certain level, meaning the effluent has been through the filter several times, a floating ball diverter valve will stop the flow of any further filtrate from reentering the tank. The diverted filtrate will be directed toward the drainfield, or trench.
Fiberglass Fully Assembled Package
While it works just like the Steel Tank configuration described above, this residential (3-4 bedroom) AdvanTex® Treatment System utilizes an Orenco Systems fiberglass tank. The system is pre-assembled at the Anchorage Tank shop for delivery to the job site. Installers prefer the fully assembled package (FAP) for its plug ‘n play qualities. One restriction to consider, however, is the invert of the tank inlet pipe cannot be any deeper than 48”.
Mini-Max Above Ground System
Sometimes you just cannot bury a septic system so Orenco Systems developed the AX-Max line of AdvanTex® Treatment Systems. Most AX-Max units are used in commercial applications however the Mini-Max is sized for 3-4 bedroom homes. Rather than a separate tank and filter pod, the AX-Max units are all-in-one insulated structural fiberglass boxes – basically a 7’ cube. If extra treatment is required, the unit may be extended in seven-foot increments. The AX-Max units are manufactured by Orenco Systems in Oregon and shipped to Alaska as a plug n’ play solution for aboveground or partially buried systems.
Discharge Options
Even though AdvanTex® Treatment Systems work wonders in making wastewater magically delicious, they don’t make the water disappear. It has to be properly disposed of. The most common method is the use of a drainfield where the treated wastewater either gravity flows or is pump pressurized and reintroduced into the soils. There is also an option for UV disinfection which could allow for marine or surface discharge depending on the permit secured by the design engineer from the local regulator.
Owners of an AdvanTex® Treatment System, have purchased proprietary pre-engineered advanced wastewater treatment technology. Although AdvanTex® is carefully designed and constructed, it’s still important to follow through with intelligent usage as described in the Homeowner’s Manual and to maintain the system in proper working order.
The equipment manufacturer, Orenco Systems, Inc., the Municipality of Anchorage, and the State of Alaska DEC require a Monitoring & Maintenance Agreement* to be in place for as long as the system is in operation. With M&M, homeowners can flush and forget.
* Contact Anchorage Tank for the current Monitoring & Maintenance Agreement applicable to your area.
Monitoring with Telemetry Works Quietly, Invisibly.
With Orenco System’s VeriComm® “virtual O&M” is practically invisible to the property owner or resident. Here’s how it works:
A telemetry-based VeriComm® Control Panel is installed on a site with the AdvanTex® Treatment System. The panel calls the VeriComm® Monitoring System, toll-free to communicate operating data in the middle of the night, usually once a month. No dedicated phone line is required, just an extension of an existing line. Digital connection via your home internet service may also be an option.
If there is an Alert or Alarm condition, the panel calls in immediately, 24/7.
VeriComm® saves Time and Money in O & M.
VeriComm® Control Panels, coupled with the online Monitoring System, save money on system operation & maintenance by:
- Notifying Anchorage Tank of alerts or alarms automatically
- Diagnosing problems and making recommendations for action
- Allowing Anchorage Tank to change many system settings remotely
- Making self-adjustments via “artificial intelligence”, based on trend data
- Resolving problems before they become serious
VeriComm® diagnoses the following:
- High and low liquid levels
- Stuck float switches
- Pump failure
- Clogged filter
- Excessive pump cycles/run time (a symptom of excess water use)
