How to locate my septic tank location?
Call a septic service or find a friend with a metal detector. The septic service can tell you where it is if they have a snake that can be traced from above ground. If you have a clean out on your main drain outside your house you can just follow the line with a probe until you hit it. If you can not find it and the septic guy can not find it then you can see if you can rent a GPR from somewhere. That will find it for sure. If a tank can be found in the front is surely can be found in the back. lol, there is no secret tank authority that says only septic tank in the front yard will be findable. :) Good luck.
How much would it cost to have my septic tank located?
The cover should be 2' or so below ground level. If the ground is hard, the easiest way is to have an excavator uncover it but also runs the risk of the equipment falling through the tank if they drive over the top if you really have no idea where it is. An excavator shouldn't cost more than $150 but certainly beats digging all day. Otherwise, expect to pay someone $15 an hour to hand dig. Usually, the septic companies expect it to be uncovered when they arrive but you might hit the jackpot and find who pumped it last and knows the location. I'd also look in the spot where the previous owner says. The tank will be in line with the connection to your home (most lines running from your home will be 2' down). The ground where the septic is should look different as opposed to the rest of the yard. Be sure to mark where the lid is once you find it by putting a large rock, wishing well, etc above the spot once the hole is filled in. Good luck...and you'll be glad you did this before winter!
The ground around the septic tank is dry, is that a problem?
That should not be a problem. The septic tank is connected to a "leaching field"; that's where the sewage actually winds up. Dry ground around the tank is a good thing: it means that the tank itself is not leaking, and that sewage is flowing properly out of the tank and toward the leaching field.
How to find underground septic tank?
Go into your basement or crawl space and look for a large plastic ( white or black) or metal ( rusty cast iron or copper) 4" pipe that goes through the foundation wall or out under the ground through the foundation. Next go outside to where the area of that pipe leaving the basement/crawl and measure out on a straight line about 10 feet. That is a good spot to start as most septic tanks are located at 10 feet from the foundation. You may see a pipe in the ground called a clean out, and that is usually located just before the tank so it can be pumped through that if needed. There should be a lid of some kind within 3-4 feet of that. You can take a piece of metal rod 2-3' long and GENTLY tap around with a hammer to find the top of the tank. I say gently because you don't know if you have a steel tank that you could punch a hole in if you hit too hard, most now are precast concrete. You will find the tank usually less than a foot under the ground. Once you find the top of the tank you can move your rod tapping out from there until you don't feel or hear it hitting the tank to identify where all the edges are ( it is going to be at least 4'X6'). Somewhere on top is the lid, only way to find it is start removing the thin dirt layer on top.
Should the level of water in my septic tank rise when it rains a lot?
Well, you should have it pumped and checked to make sure that everything is ok. We had the same problem and yes water from rain will go in there. The problem is most likely what you said... the leach fields are drenched and there is no where for the water to go. If there has been some construction in your area or a bunch of trees were cut down this could be your problem as well. The leach fields are being stripped away and are completely useless when there is not enough room for the water to go where it needs to. We found that by planting a few trees in the yard and starting a small garden it helps (tomatos love to live by a septic tank). However, you should have it checked to make sure that there are not cracks and that the places where the water leaves the tank are not clogged. We are getting onto public sewers soon (it is just becoming available to us) so we are trying to make this tank last until they have the plant up and running because they will charge us to connect to the main lines. Good luck, you should be able to let all of your water go out there... so something is wrong and calling in a service man may be your best bet.