About dumping protocal: Questions

[Roll]

DW and I are not new to camping but after reading some posts in the Macerator thread I am wondering if I am missing some basic protocol information.

With full hookups I still keep both the gray and black tanks closed. I occasionally (sometimes often) partially drain the gray tank as it gets full with showers etc, even though we take "military" showers. When ready to leave, or if it gets full, I drain the black tank and then the gray tank. I thought this was the proper way to do it but...... sometimes the gray tank fills remarkably fast.

In a post about the macerator I read that one RVer leaves the gray open during the stay and then closes it up as departure looms so that he can use it to wash out the 3 in hose after draining the black tank.

So what is the protocol that most RVers prefer to follow?

I may be doing too much work and fiddling with the tanks is not my favorite part of the RV experience; but it’s not that bad either.

Roll

[jzick]

Most (?) rv users allow the grey to drain until about ready to dump the black tank and then close the grey to accumulate enough liquid to flush the hose after dumping the black tank. We have some plastic rain gutters that are used to protect the stinky slinky from weedeaters and mowers and when they are set up that is normally the way we do it. If the slinky is not protected we do not leave it attached and simply hook it up to drain. We will typically drain the grey tank three times before the black needs emptied, but when we have hookups we use water the way we do at the stick and brick. I have heard some complain that leaving the grey open will allow tiny flying bugs in but we have never seen that.

[FRR2EYW]

Roll,

I do the same as you. Leaving the grey tank open allows grease and other stuff to remain in the tank. It is just not that much of an issue to empty the grey tank every other day. My only advice is to buy a short clear section (I call it the poo view) that goes between the valve and the hose. I do this for two reasons. First I can see if a valve has leaked before I remove the cap avoiding the dreaded s__t shower, second I know how things are flowing out of the black tank and when I am flushing it I know when the water is clear.

[Cilrah]

I keep the gray tank open 24/7 when parked and the black tank closed 24/7. Sunday is my dump day, I usually close the gray tank sometime on Friday to build up enough gray water to flush the hose on dump day. After the black is done draining I use the flush system until it runs clear. Then I close the black and dump the gray and leave it open until next dump day.

I do have a clear section connected at the cap where the hose connects. I think this is great because I can see when the black water turns clear and also see if it stops flowing when flushing.

Ive only been at this for a year or so, so I'd also like to know if most people leave their gray tanks closed all the time.

[62_inrightlane]

Gary, in my opinion you are doing it exactly right.

Here are my thoughts:

The benefit of leaving the black closed is to keep the contents in a liquid state so and new solid waste enters the liquid and the bacteria begins doing it's job of breaking it down. Logic would be that the more waste in the tank the more bacteria to break down new solid waste.

After I dump the black tank I use the power flush and run it for about 20 min with the black valve open. During the 20 minute power flush cycle I'm doing other things to break camp.

After the power flush I dump the gray water and close up the system. I then go in the rig and add chemicals and about 3 gallons of water to the black tank. I add the same chemicals and a couple of gallons to the gray tank to get rid of the solids and grease that may make it down one of the sinks.

My guages never seem to have a problem letting me know how full the tanks are so I must be doing something right.

[RickO]

We bounce back and forth between sometimes leaving the grey tank valve open for a few days, and then closing it and dumping as required. No particular logic... that's just the way we do it and haven't had any problems.

Never do we leave the black tank valve open. I use the San T Flush just about every time I dump. I run it with the valve open for 15 min or so and then close the valve and let the tank get nearly full. NOTICE: don't forget to monitor while you're filling or you'll be in big trouble.

Then I dump the black tank again... close the valve... and add about 10 gallons of fresh water via the San T Flush along with about a cup of Dawn liquid. Then the grey tank gets dumped.

We always have FHU and I connect everything when we arrive including the slinky... which is sometimes elevated and sometimes lies on the ground.

Rick

[sdennislee]

See this link some good info
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f84/when-...ks-122194.html

[TW]

When we arrive at a campground, we leave both tanks closed for a day or two.
We hook the sewer hose up and drain the grey tank. Close the grey tank again to collect plenty of water for flushing the black tank stuff from the hose on departure day. Black tank stays closed until the morning of our departure.
We empty both tanks, so - that we save some fuel

If we have not enough black water in the tank, we leave it and dump at home base, since we have a Dump Station.

[AGP]

Gary.I have been rVing since 1989 do basically the same as you do .