Pete Schmitz knew he had a tough job ahead of him when he decided to pump out his own septic tank back in 1996.

“I went to pump out my tank and there was a terrible, thick crust about 2 feet deep on it,” says Schmitz, partner with Crust Busters/Schmitz Brothers LLC. “Seeing how I had experience in the waste industry, I knew that I should get an agitator and mix it in order to suck it up into the hose.”  

Thus came the idea for the Crust Buster, a product that has been shown at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International (now the Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show) for the last 18 years, beginning in 1997.

“This is geared toward guys who are in the septic tank pumping business and grease trap pumping business, and also guys who are pumping car wash pits, it works great for that as well,” Schmitz says.

However, it didn’t start out that way, Schmitz says. When the product, which looks much like an ice-fishing auger, first hit the market it was marketed toward people who were just pumping septic tanks. After the second or third year of the show, Schmitz says people who were wondering if it would work in grease traps were approaching him.

“Up here in Minnesota there were not that many grease traps,” Schmitz says. “We did not have experience at pumping grease traps, so we weren’t quite sure if it would work as well.”          

Schmitz says after awhile, pumpers began trying them on grease traps with success.

“One guy came up to us and said that on our advertisement instead of it saying septic tank agitator, we should add grease trap agitator. After that we changed it to grease trap agitator also.”

The Crust Buster will circulate and agitate the crust, liquids and solids into a total liquid form, and has been field tested and proven to mix a 1,000- to 2,500-gallon residential septic tank in five minutes or less.

It comes in two- and three-blade models, and has undergone minor changes since it was first developed in 1996: A vinyl cover can now be purchased for the powerhead, you can mount it to your vehicle with Buster Brackets and you can get extensions to reach deeper tanks.

“We have the Buster Brackets which allow operators to mount the Crust Buster to their truck, so now you have a place to mount the unit as you’re going from job to job,” Schmitz says. “The advantage to that is you don’t have to disassemble the powerhead from the shaft if you don’t want to. It’s quicker to take it off those Buster Brackets and take it right to the tank.”

The shaft extensions are available in 2-, 4- and 6-foot lengths, with the standard shaft length being 80 inches. “The extensions allow the Crust Buster to be used in deeper tanks or hard-to-reach areas,” Schmitz says.

When Crust Busters returns to the 2015 WWETT Show in February, Schmitz says the company will have another extension available to customers.

“We’re going to be adding different-sized extensions,” Schmitz says. “I’m adding some longer ones because guys are getting to these tanks that are pretty deep in the ground and harder to access. So instead of just a 6-foot shaft, we’re making 9-foot shafts now.”

There’s a big reason Crust Busters has been attending the show the last 18 years: customers.

“We always pick up new customers there. We actually have people at the show tell us part of the reason they come to the show is to buy a Crust Buster and to see the Crust Buster,” Schmitz says. “We also pick up new customers not only from the U.S., but from other countries. We meet new clients and talk to our old clients. It’s a good way to communicate; you can meet people from all over the world there at one location.”

Schmitz says the 2014 show was a great one for the company, beginning with a sale as soon as the exhibit hall opened the first morning.

“I thought this past year at the show was very good for us,” Schmitz says. “People were coming into the booth looking to buy. They were looking to see what has changed or what is still there. It’s just a great way to meet the people and see what’s happening.” 888/878-2296; www.crustbusters.com.