What are the differences between a sludge suction truck and a cesspool suction truck?
3 Answers
Main differences: A sludge suction truck can suck up sand, stones, and bricks, as well as feces from septic tanks, while a cesspool suction truck can only suck up feces from septic tanks. Below are the relevant introductions: 1. Sludge suction truck: It is a new type of sanitation vehicle used for collecting, transferring, cleaning, and transporting sludge and sewage to avoid secondary pollution. The sludge suction truck can perform self-suction and self-discharge, operates quickly, has a large capacity, and is convenient for transportation. It is suitable for collecting and transporting liquid substances such as feces, mud, and crude oil. The sludge suction truck uses a domestically leading vacuum pump with strong suction power and a long suction range, making it particularly suitable for sucking, loading, transporting, and discharging sediment in sewers, especially materials like sewer mud, sludge, stones, and bricks. 2. Cesspool suction truck: It is mainly used for cleaning and sanitation work in environments such as septic tanks, sewage ditches, and sewers. Along with sprinkler trucks and garbage trucks, it is known as one of the three major sanitation vehicle types. For a long time, these vehicles have received support and care from national policies and are exempt from purchase tax.
I've been driving a vacuum sewer truck for almost ten years. These two look like brothers but do completely different jobs. The vacuum truck specializes in handling thick sewage from septic tanks, with just a simple sealed tank. You stick the hose in, suck it all up, and haul it away—super straightforward. The vacuum sewer truck is way more complex. Its tank has pressurized water jets and sludge filtration screens, capable of sucking up things like sewer sludge and rainwater well accumulations—those thin, watery messes. It can even use high-pressure water to unclog blocked pipes. We municipal workers use vacuum sewer trucks to clear road blockages, only calling in the vacuum truck when septic tanks overflow. Professional division of labor is crucial.
Last time the septic tank in our neighborhood overflowed, a vacuum truck came to handle it. The driver told me it was a 'dedicated warrior for waste.' The tank is just a single layer of metal, and once it's full, it's directly hauled to the treatment plant to be emptied. However, a sewer cleaning truck is different. I've seen workers operating near drainage wells—those trucks come equipped with high-pressure hoses, washing and suctioning sewage simultaneously, even handling leaves and sludge. Sewer cleaning trucks are far more versatile than vacuum trucks, but they're also significantly more expensive. Most ordinary communities can't afford them, so only municipal authorities tend to purchase them.
