Use Of Electricity By Klargester In Septic Tank

[jourdain2]

We live in a semi., next house on is detached. The tank for all three houses is in the garden of the detached  house.  It is a big tank and now 17 yrs. old.  The people in the detached house look after it beautifully, organise emptying etc. and the emptying firm sends 1/3 of the bill to each of the houses.  The electicity used by the klargester is taken from next-door-to-us and is so slight an addition to their bill that they never mentioned it to us when we moved here 10 yrs ago. Needless to say we're more than happy to pay our share, but weren't asked.

Next door is moving house (needs to relocate for schools) and completion due on Friday (tomorrow).  Purchaser suddenly says on Tues. that he won't sign unless we sign a piece of paper saying we'll pay him £3.00 per month for our share of the electicity used by klargester.  

We have no problem in saying we'll pay our share - but this man wants  the bill divided between the 3 houses! Detached house already does the day to day maintainence and we're all happy with the sit. which has existed for the  last 17 yrs. (10 yrs. for us.

Then there is the question of how much it is, exactly - no-one knows.  Somewhere between £2.30 and £2.80 per house per calendar month  is as  near as we can get. Everyone is now very  very upset.

Potential purchaser is a 28-yr-old single male who works in IT and works from home and wants to be left alone.  I can't, therefore, understand why he wants to live in a fairly isolated village where we all depend on one  another.  Sorry, rambling.

Suggested answer is to fit an electricity meter, but that costs money - quite a bit - and none of sees why we should pay for that when we have all got along with the current system.  It also takes time. As for us, we're quite happy to sling £3 through his  letter box every month - probably over the top, people in the know suggest a total cost  of c.£5 p.c.m..  I'm getting to the stage of deciding to give him a cheque every month and insisting on a handwritten receipt.

Any comments and ideas please.  C. next door is in meltdown - kids sleeping on  the floor in mattresses, house full of bags and boxes.  I've offered to do what I can, like laundry -- this guy is surely out of order? Help!

 

 

 

[Hymie]

If you are paying 40p/kWh of electricity, £9 will buy you 22.5kWhs – if you divide this by 30, that works out at around 0.75kWh per day.

I doubt very much that the Klargester is using anywhere near this amount of energy, equivalent to a 750W load running for 1 hour each day.

If power to the unit is supplied via a 13A plug, you can buy a direct plug-in energy meter that will record the energy usage – and then share the true cost between the households.

That said, to pull out of a house purchase for such a reason seems odd, given that they will have already spent a considerable amount money on a survey, solicitors etc.

I offer the following as a route that may be acceptable to all.

That you all agree in writing that the cost of running the Klargester will be shared equally between the 3 households, and to facilitate this an energy usage meter will be installed.

Direct plug-in meters can be purchased for circa £10; if the installation requires a dedicated energy meter to be put in place (by an electrician) all 3 will agree to share this cost.  Any electrician should be able to install such a device (including the device cost) for less than £100.

Your neighbour who is selling, will need to propose this to the buyer, providing you and the other remaining party agree with it.

[jourdain2]

Thank you very much Hymie.  I'll offer that as a solution - but neither C. next door nor I see why the house with has the trouble of the tank should pay the electricity.  Much food for thought though.  Didn't know about a 'plug-in' meter.  Thanks again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ToraToraTora]

Just call his bluff, don't sign. He won't back out if you are almost at completion. Later you can pay him by standing order a couple of quid a month.

[Hymie]

Here is an example of a direct plug-in energy meter:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404305190071?hash=item5e22779cb7:g:ZlkAAOSwX51kbylQ&;amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4OCRdEgdBPJAqFINZsrplKN2CnAH16MynJkCwfhC9mT1ya5ezI1Q2q%2FaDCWKvJTDloF9rCCJkVSm6czgjjtRIP%2BOKSZtYbOZtLrlD%2FaFQYQ3ojknwNNksDNkvT3jFuklC82%2BXLTeSfX%2FB4KTC%2FTReg991UZI1ksLV6dpx9dhJDDhnqPupcL8UiCFV4clqUDujrUT8HPm6Hq9goCP1aGWCKRzpodBnVOhewM0S351BrlSfWs%2BJQ82r4%2FV05B4pb4E0DX%2BQ3NhICjG2zPuZ6C0cIa1wYEqcRhN6ngq8HasWCTV%7Ctkp%3ABFBMvqPoi-5i

And here is one of the type that would require an electrician to install:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192411268739?hash=item2ccc9af683:g:stEAAOSwrLZjIRaB&;amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwMSDOSn1zW2hxdBfoQMpqxSZHrfYDarewVWtiTXk3HQMFs6J1SiWnXL53eo6ZH6pSy9OSJEa2XC%2B7LakYyLbCIYhOl5BN%2BE7zINaC%2BkIwSC3T8RORFQCu7jO3FYFW0c3mo40pVBZBt4CK8OYEYcjQ3mQU1JJ3vqEgtahwdcLAe5MVoKEjlHSCsHVRlRJRJ7ShYIExiv2xWzCYrafHfGavvjwaziZTbVAkNMns1OodEP8DXO4Ahz%2BCHffG6g1g0HzBg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9CKo4zuYg

[brainiac]

This should give you an idea of usage, then you can work out cost:

https://www.direct-drainage.co.uk/blogs/sewage-treatment-systems-faqs/how-much-does-a-sewage-treatment-system-cost-to-run

[douglas9401]

Ensure you take plenty of fluids and roughage to make certain of getting your moneys worth.

[jourdain2]

Only you, Douglas!  We will, we will.😂

To everyone else, thank you all so much.  Have some ammunition now.  Apparently this character lives with his mum, so can sit it out.  He's making himself rather unpopular amongst villagers before he arrives - and we've never even met him. A sheep farmer (family in village for over 200 yrs.) just grinned & said 'He won't last long, we've had those types before.....'   Bodes ill, methinks.

Right, off to speak to C. when she gets back.   Thank you all again.

[Ryzen]

These situations are great when everyone is friendly..however can get messy when things change.IMO..get a signed legal agreement  from all parties to cover energy use,maintenance and site rental. If the property with the tank changes hands or has a fall out it will all kick off again and could create more  issues down the line.

[jourdain2]

Yes, Ryzen, I think we're thinking along those lines now.  Poor neighbours still haven't moved.  I've discovered that buyer is still living with his mum, so he can afford to sit there and wait - causing chaos all down the chain.  I suspect that he's trying  to 'bounce' them into a big drop in price.  It's all getting very strained.