FORMCELL Living Filter®
www.formcell.com
Massachusetts (413) 566-0107
Connecticut (860) 604-6146 - (203) 605-6095
EFFECTIVE LEACHING AREA RATING
(Adjusted to State of Connecticut Department of Health Formula)
for
Leaching and Filter devices approved for use with Septic Systems
in the State of Connecticut
as approved by
the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health
The Products are listed in order of efficiency to deliver effluent into the subterranean. A higher rating will reduce space requirements for both the main system and the reserve area*** for most installations. This will preserve the environment by providing greater separating distances to sensitive areas such as water supply wells, aquifers, open streams and water in addition to providing more lot area for other uses.
All devices are measured for the total wetted perimeter (actual surface area where the biological clogging layer forms). The State of Connecticut Board of Health then assign an "Interface Factor (IF)" to the wetted perimeter interface. Some products may have more than one type of interface and are thus assigned a factor for each. The IF or the combination of more than one type of interface allows the CT DPH to assign en Effective Leaching Unit (ELU) for each product which leads to a rating in sf per lineal foot of installed device.
The method used, by the Connecticut Department of Public Health Subsurface Sewage Division to develop the "IF", is a highly guarded secret. An open bottom interface where it is prone to severe clogging is given a permeability coefficient of 2.0 (the highest), a fabric covered assembly of plastic aggregate is given a 1.5 which is double that given to the Living Filter at 0.75 (which uses a stone aggregate and has a long track record of superb performance unlike the other devices). Of course there are apparatus where employees (or former employees) of the State of Connecticut had or have financial stakes and thus it appears the rules are customized to favor those with which they have a personal connection. Oh well, get a state job to serve the public while writing the rules not only to facilitate certain in house products but also to downgrade the efficiency and cost effectiveness of products like our Living Filter (a competitor and originator of efficient septic treatment apparatus).
The Living Filter is assigned
the lowest IF (.75) and the open bottom chamber the highest IF (2.0) thus
the ELU rating of the Living Filter is much reduced vs the open bottom
chambers. This translates into open bottom chambers being rated for
more (20%) effective leaching area than that physically present while the
Living Filter is reduced by 55% from that physically present. It
is assumed that aggregate and filter membrane masking at the infiltrative
surface reduce the available infiltrative surface by 55% while the open
bottom chambers are given a 20% increase added to the actual surface area
based on the assumption that no masking occurs in direct soil open bottom
interfaces. The actual wetted perimeter (WP) of the Living
Filter LF3626 rated at 20.4 sf/lf is actually 45.5 sf/lf while the actual
WP of an open bottom chambers rated at 4.0 sf/lf may be less (3.5 sf/lf
+/-). The Ruck A fin is rated at 7 sf/lf with actual WP being approximately
7.7 sf/lf. The ELU rating of the Living Filter is thus ultra conservative
and provides a significant reserve which should also result in extended
performance.
NOTE: Other devices have been approved and
added by the State of Connecticut and may have higher effective leaching area
ratings (according to their secret method of
rating). Please check with the State of CT, Dept. of Public Health.
Be wary of long term performance. The Living Filter has been in the ground
a couple of decades without failure. There is one system which was
installed below the high water table in Westport, CT and drowned (flawed design
and installer). A commercial BIOREN / Living Filter System was installed
at the Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut and comprised eight
sections of Bioren / LF. After the installer had left all flow directed
into 1 unit (1/8 of whole system) for 1 year and 3 months the ground gave way
under the end of the Bioren System due to huge volumes of effluent entering the
ground. The Living Filters never failed in spite of having been overloaded
by a factor of eight (8x) for over a year. There are many new devices with
short reference time. Be ware. There is a knockoff product called
Green-Leach which has been in use for about three years. It can not be
treated as an equal to the Living Filter as the component parts of the LF has
been tested over the past twenty years with outstanding performance and comprise
proprietary materials.
| Rank | PRODUCT NAME Height / Width | ELA | C/C |
| 1 | Living Filter LF3626 36" High x 64" Wide | 20.4 sf/lf | 27 ft |
| 2 | Living Filter LF3026 30" High x 64" Wide | 17.1 sf/lf | 24ft |
| 3 | Living Filter LF2426 24" High x 64" Wide | 14.2 sf/lf | 21 ft |
| 4 | Living Filter LF1826 18" High x 64" Wide | 11.0 sf/lf | 21 ft |
| 5 | Living Filter LF3610 36" High x 29" Wide | 10.1 sf/lf | 21 ft |
| 6 | Concrete Gallery 48" High x 72" Wide (incl. stone) | 9.2 sf/lf | 18 ft |
| 7 | Living Filter LF3010 30" High x 29" Wide | 8.6 sf/lf | 18 ft |
| 8 | Concrete Gallery 36" High x 72" Wide (incl. stone) | 8.0 sf/lf | 18 ft |
| 9 | Living Filter LF1224 12" High x 60" Wide | 7.4 sf/lf | 18 ft |
| 10 | Concrete Gallery 27" High x 72" Wide (incl. stone) | 7.1 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 11 | Ruck A Fins -R1032C 7" High x 32" Wide | 7.0 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 12 | Living Filter LF2410 24" High x 29" Wide | 7.0 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 13 | Concrete Gallery 24" High x 72" Wide (incl. stone) | 6.8 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 14 | Concrete Gallery 18" High x 72" Wide (incl. stone) | 6.2 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 15 | Concrete Gallery 12" High x 72" Wide (incl. stone) | 5.9 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 16 | 30" Recharger 330 30" High x 52" Wide | 5.6 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 17 | Living Filter LF1810 18" High x 29" Wide | 5.5 sf/lf | 15ft |
| 18 | Eljen In-Drain Type B 7" High x 36" Wide | 4.7 sf/lf | 12ft |
| 19 | 20" Recharger 180 20" High x 36" Wide | 4.1 sf/lf | 12ft |
| 20 | Living Filter LF1210 12" High x 29" Wide | 3.9 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 21 | 14" Biodiffuser 13.5" High x 34" Wide | 3.7 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 22 | 12" Contactor 100 12.5" High x 36" Wide | 3.6 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 22 | 11" Biodiffuser 11" High x 34" Wide | 3.6 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 22 | 12" EnviroChamber 12" High x 34" Wide (Standard) | 3.6 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 23 | 18" Contactor 125 18" High x 26.5" Wide | 2.9 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 24 | 12" Contactor 75 12.4" High x 26.5" Wide | 2.6 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 25 | ENVIRO-SEPTIC 12" Diameter | 2.3 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 25 | GEO-FLOW 12" Diameter | 2.3 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 26 | SIMPLE-SEPTIC 12" Diameter | 1.5 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 27 | SB-2 10" Diameter | 0.9 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 20 | Infiltrator sidewinder 16" High x 34" Wide (High Capacity) | 3.9 sf/lf | 9ft |
| 21 | Infiltrator Sidewinder 12" High x 34" Wide (Standard) | 3.7 sf/lf | 9ft |
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