Autonomous sewage system Unilos Astra: design, purpose and maintenance

• Every 3 months: - removal of sludge from the settling tank using the built-in mamut pump; — cleaning the “main” mamut pump of raw water and the filter for large fractions in the receiving chamber; — cleaning the walls of the secondary settling tank; — washing/replacing blower filters.
• Every six months: - removal of sludge from the sump using a drainage pump (if sludge has not been removed using a mamut pump as part of quarterly maintenance); — cleaning the hair catcher comb in the aeration tank.
• Once every 5 years - clean the equalization tank and aeration tank compartment from stabilized sediment.
• Once every 10 years - replacement of aeration elements (aerators) in the receiving chamber and aeration tank. The operation of the treatment plant is fully automated and does not require daily maintenance. It is only necessary to periodically check the correct operation of its operation visually with the lid open. During quarterly maintenance, it is necessary to clean the walls of the secondary settling tank from the layer of deposited sludge with a broom.

Technical data sheet Unilos Astra 2010. Size: 7.7 MB

Tariff plans for servicing Unilos Astra

One-time

from 4900 rub. for departure

• engineer visit
• Diagnostics Astra
• Carrying out maintenance according to regulations
• Guarantee on all work

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Hit!

"Seasonal"

Read also:  Design and principle of operation of a water pump and pump: types of equipment, characteristics, operation

from 8000 rub. in a year

• 2 engineer
• Diagnostics Astra
• Carrying out maintenance according to regulations
• Guarantee on all work

• Free conservation and re-preservation

"All year round"

from 16,000 rub. in a year

• 4 engineer
• Diagnostics Astra
• Carrying out maintenance according to regulations
• Guarantee on all work

• 2 more visits to eliminate any faults
• Free conservation and re-preservation

How often does Astra septic tank require maintenance?

We recommend the following maintenance intervals for Astra:

*The service life of Astra depends on whether you use the sewer system regularly or live in the country only in the spring and summer.

**Work is performed only by professional craftsmen.

What will happen if you do not maintain the Unilos Astra autonomous sewer system?

1. Air compressor failure. This is a fairly common problem faced by owners who neglect to clean their septic tank. The air compressor provides a continuous supply of oxygen to the treatment plant, guaranteeing a high level of wastewater treatment up to 99%. The operation of the main pump and the vital activity of aerobic bacteria depend on it. If there is insufficient oxygen, aerobic bacteria die and the quality of wastewater treatment decreases. The septic tank does not perform its functions, an unpleasant odor appears, and electrical equipment becomes unusable.
2. Septic tank overflowing with fecal waste. This problem often arises as a result of clogging of the airlift (mamut pump), which removes wastewater from the receiving compartment of the station. If the water reaches the upper limit, an alarm is triggered. The cause of airlift clogging can also be a breakthrough of the compressor membranes. Compressor membranes are an important element in wastewater treatment. Depending on the septic tank model, membranes should be changed once every 1.5 years. More detailed information can be found in the technical data sheet for the device.

How to Know It's Time for Annual Maintenance

Sometimes it is not entirely clear whether it is time for maintenance or not. It seems that the deadline has already come, but everything is working properly, there is no smell and the septic tank inside does not seem so dirty. How to determine exactly? To do this, you need to conduct a small test.

For the dough, prepare a half-liter plastic glass on a rope or a small bucket and a glass jar.

1. Scoop up the runoff from the aeration tank chamber at the time of aeration and pour it into a jar. Fill the jar to the brim.
2. Leave the jar on a flat surface for 40 minutes. During this time, the drainage should settle: there will be clean water at the top, silt at the bottom.
3. If the sludge is more than 50%, then it’s time to service the station.

However, if you need to preserve the Astra septic tank for the winter, then maintenance must be carried out in any case.

What kind of work do we do during maintenance?

• Checking the operation of the alarm system
• Checking Topas operating modes
• Cleaning the intake tank, air tank, stabilizer, and Unilos Astra compartments with clean water
• Checking and cleaning air lifts (mamut pumps) of the treatment plant
• Removing and cleaning the filter for large impurities in the receiving compartment
• Washing the hair trap comb in the aeration tank
• Inspection of the air supply system in the septic tank with inspection and cleaning of nozzles
• Pumping out excess concentration of stabilized sludge after control measurement
• Removing unprocessed fractions from the receiving compartment.

Do-it-yourself Astra septic tank maintenance

When servicing your sewer system, you can call a specialist, or do everything yourself. However, if you chose the second option, then you should purchase:

• Karcher (high pressure washer),
• a net with a long handle,
• drainage pump.

Maintenance cannot be performed without these tools. The service itself is divided into several stages. Let's talk about each in more detail.

Important! Before starting maintenance, the station must be disconnected from the network.

Cleaning the compressor filter

Remove the compressor from the compressor unit after unplugging it from the outlet. Using a dry cloth, remove all debris from the block - sand, grass, dust. Unscrew the screw on the compressor cover and remove the cover. Inside you will see a filter grayed with dust. Shake it out or wash and dry it.

Fig.1. After six months of use, the compressor filter must be cleaned

Sludge pumping

Pump out the sludge from the sludge collector (sludge stabilizer) and the aeration tank chamber. The stabilizer has a special service airlift for these purposes - you can use it, or you can use a drainage pump. There is no such airlift in the aeration tank, so only a drainage pump will help there.

First, pump out the sludge from the sludge stabilizer. To do this, lower the drainage pump to the bottom of the chamber, and its hose into the prepared barrel and pump out 50-60 cm of sludge. Then release clean water from the house and fill the chamber to the working level.

Fig.2. You can pump the sludge into a barrel or compost pit.

After this, do a similar procedure with the aeration tank.

To pump sludge out of the stabilizer using a standard airlift, remove it from the clip, lower the hose into the container, remove the plug and turn on the station. In this case, the toggle switches in the junction box must be in the following positions:

• On manual control of the solenoid valve.
• Direct phase is on.

Washing the main airlift, coarse filter and hair trap

Rice. 3. The main pump and coarse fraction filter are located in the receiving chamber and are marked in the diagram with numbers 1 and 5. The hair trap is a white brush in the aeration tank chamber.

Here you may need colored adhesive tape, thick threads or stickers. Use them to mark the air pipes that lead to the filter and the main airlift. When connecting back, they must not be confused under any circumstances!

Having marked the tubes, disconnect them from the airlift and filter. Remove the air lift and filter from the clips and remove it from the unit. Then remove the hair catcher.

Wash all elements under strong water pressure using a high pressure washer. Make sure you remove all dirt and debris from the filter and all sludge from the airlift.

Fig.4. Washed coarse filter, main airlift and hair trap

Septic tank washing Astra

Use a net to remove all non-degradable debris floating on the surface - candy wrappers, toothpicks, etc. - from the receiving chamber. Then wash the walls of the station with a pressure washer.

Fig.5. Washing the walls of the Astra station with Karcher

Preparing the Astra septic tank for connection

Replace the hair trap, main airlift and coarse filter. Be sure to connect the air pipes the same way they were connected before servicing.

Reassemble the compressor, install it back into the unit and connect it to the network.

After starting the station, make sure that all elements of the septic tank are working properly.

Fig.6. Cleaned septic tank Astra

Addition

Waste sludge can be used as fertilizer, but must be composted first. For this:

• dig a hole on your property under a canopy or in the shade of trees,
• fill the bottom with peat,
• then fill the hole with silt,
• Sprinkle peat on top again.
• New layers can be added (in the sequence peat-silt, peat-silt) throughout the season.

Frequency and types of maintenance performed by the Astra WWTP

According to the manufacturer’s regulations, the autonomous sewerage system with the Unilos Astra septic tank, which is operated all year round, must be maintained quarterly. If the system is used only in the spring-summer period, maintenance is combined with preservation/re-preservation.

Quarterly maintenance "Astra" from

To ensure the level of wastewater treatment declared by the manufacturer (at the level of 98%), Astra is maintained quarterly as follows:

• The sludge is pumped out. If the system is used very intensively and is operating at the limit of its capabilities, pumping may be required earlier. If you notice a decrease in the quality of wastewater treatment (color, smell), call Kanalservice specialists. We will check the concentration of activated sludge. In the air tank it should be no more than 20%, in the stabilizer - up to 80%. If the concentration exceeds these limits, or the level of activated sludge in the stabilizer and aeration tank is the same, sedum is needed without waiting for the next maintenance. You can use sludge as fertilizer. To do this, you need to let it sit for 2-3 weeks. The substance is suitable for feeding garden plants and vegetable gardens.
• The filtering equipment is cleaned (filter for large fractions, non-recyclable waste, etc.). If an element has lost its filtering ability, we replace it.
• The walls of the chambers are washed from deposits. We use high-pressure devices that ensure high-quality removal of any contaminants from the internal surfaces of the septic tank chambers.
• Removing waste from the receiving chamber. Carried out as necessary (depending on the degree of contamination). A fecal pump is used for pumping. Large contaminants are removed manually.
• Diagnostics and maintenance of compressors and pumping equipment. Depending on the type of maintenance, it can be performed on site or with dismantling.

The duration of maintenance for the Astra septic tank depends on the installation model and service number. On average, maintenance of a system serving a house with 3-10 residents takes 2-3 hours. The Astra 150 takes about 4 hours.

Seasonal maintenance

If the septic tank is not used year-round, it needs to be serviced and preserved before the autumn-winter period. In this case, we carry out all the activities provided for quarterly maintenance. In addition, part of the activated sludge is pumped out of the device, “floats” are placed in the chambers to prevent icing (which can damage the housing), the compressors are dismantled, and the entire installation is insulated.

In the spring, we will reactivate the WWTP and prepare it for operation. We guarantee that the system will return to normal operation within 1 day after launch.

Cost of servicing a septic tank Astra

Maintenance of the Astra septic tank does not require calling a sewer and can be done independently. True, for this you will have to buy some tools if you don’t already have them on the site:

Drainage pump for dirty water or fecal pump – from RUB 4,500. (service life 3 years)

High pressure washing – from RUR 9,000.

Net with handle – 600-800 rubles.

Or you can call a specialist. He will quickly and accurately clean your septic tank at a time convenient for you. At the same time, he will have all the necessary tools for maintenance with him.

Prices for servicing septic tanks Unilos Astra 3 and Unilos Astra 5

Service maintenance

Autonomous sewer systems are a simple and functional solution for private housing construction, cottage communities, industrial, warehouse, and commercial buildings. But even the successful operation of the equipment can be disrupted by such circumstances as a breakdown associated with a violation of the cleaning regime of the structures installed on the site. Carrying out this kind of event on your own may not bring results - the maximum that is available to the owner is removing excess sludge from the sump of an autonomous sewer system. But there is another, much more reasonable solution. You can entrust the maintenance of septic tanks to specialists and obtain optimal conditions for the successful and long-term operation of treatment equipment.

How does professional septic tank maintenance work?

If it is enough to empty a classic cesspool or storage tank of its contents by simply calling a sewage disposal truck, the situation with biological treatment stations is much more complicated. That is why you should not refuse the opportunity to enter into an agreement for servicing an autonomous sewer system on an ongoing basis. Specialists can take on a whole range of tasks:

• prepare the equipment for downtime in the winter - self-preservation can disrupt the successful operation of the equipment in the future;
• remove excess sludge deposits accumulated in settling chambers;
• free airlifts from accumulated deposits;
• remove insoluble residues (fat, solids);
• remove plaque from the walls of the septic tank using special equipment;
• remove accumulated contaminants from the filter that catches hair;
• check the operation of electrical equipment;
• put the system into operation after conservation, performing all commissioning cycles.

It is important to understand that even the most modern and efficient autonomous sewage system is a technically complex set of equipment that periodically requires thorough cleaning. To prevent the maintenance of your own treatment system from becoming a global problem for you, it is worth delegating the authority to solve it to professionals. Our specialists will offer the optimal solution for the frequency of technician visits, taking into account the characteristics of the equipment model, its volume, and seasonality of operation. And the selected equipment, after the arrival of specialists, will ensure uninterrupted and efficient operation and will allow you not to experience difficulties with its use, regardless of the volume of wastewater and other possible factors that can affect the frequency of cleaning.

How is the service going?

Quarterly maintenance includes the following activities:

• Measuring the concentration of activated sludge in the chambers of the septic tank (depending on the results obtained, the cleaning method is selected)
• Cleaning of excess sludge. If the sludge concentration does not go beyond standard values, then sludge is pumped out of the stabilizer using a built-in pump. If there is an increased concentration of sludge in the liquid, it is necessary to clean the working chambers using a fecal pump;
• Cleaning the walls of stations from the inside;
• Washing airlifts - pumps that transport liquid from chamber to chamber;
• Washing the filters used in the installation;
• Blowing out hoses.

Let's look at how these events are carried out in more detail.

Advantages of the Astra 5 septic tank

Why do clients prefer to order the Astra 5 septic tank? There are several main advantages that distinguish this design from similar devices:

• Four cleaning steps. The owner of a country house does not need to buy third-party devices for additional cleaning or disinfectants. Cleaning is carried out mechanically and chemically - dense particles settle at the bottom of the compartments and are exposed to the solution.
• High hull strength. Most components are made of durable polypropylene, which is not subject to mechanical stress and can withstand severe frost.
• Possibility of installation of gravity design and installation with forced discharge.

Another advantage is simple installation.

How is water purified in the Astra 5 septic tank?

When a client wants to buy an Astra 5 septic tank, he is interested in the water purification process. The device removes organic components in four stages:

• First, the water enters the septic compartment, where particles are deposited, the density of which is lower than water;
• The second chamber contains an aerator that supplies oxygen to stimulate the process of oxidation and fermentation;
• In the third chamber, the water is exposed to sludge, which promotes more thorough purification of the liquid (sludge promotes the decomposition of solid organic components).
• The fourth chamber serves as a settling tank, where the water settles and is finally purified from insoluble high-density particles.

In other words, water constantly circulates through these chambers, completely purifying itself of organic components. After completing all stages, the liquid is again ready for use.