Gray tank seems to fill up too quick

[FFF]

Anybody have this problem? Mine holds 37 gallons but it fills up after a couple short showers and a little other water usage.

[brandss]

I believe it can be only a few things.

You are using more water than you think. It doesn't drain completely when you empty it. Something is adding water to the tank that you are aware of.

If it were me, I would empty the tank completely, and then one by one add a 5 gallon bucket of water to the shower and see what the tank actually holds. Once you get the answer on how much it holds you can then go from there.

[Bahamaniac]

One shower will fill it up. We get wet, turn off water, soap up, and turn on water to rinse. It seems to help.

[Spoonsize]

Sounds like it might have an obstruction. There are adapters that allow a back flush into the tank.

[Oldmso54]

I don't know about that ^. We have a 40 gal grey tank and can take several showers (like 5 - 7) before it's full. And that's 'normal' showers - not 'army' showers.

[EdInArk]

Originally Posted by FFF

Anybody have this problem? Mine holds 37 gallons but it fills up after a couple short showers and a little other water usage.

When you say it fills up are you going by the gauge on the wall? Or do you know it's really full?

[Healeyman]

Originally Posted by FFF

Anybody have this problem? Mine holds 37 gallons but it fills up after a couple short showers and a little other water usage.

Amazon has a couple of Water Flow Meters for about $15. They attach to your city water hose.

https://www.amazon.com/Rainwave-RW-9...w+%2Caps%2C160

Buy one and see how much water you are REALLY using.

Or as someone else suggested, empty your tank, then fill it up and see what the meter says.

Tim

[legrandnorm]

The shower and the kitchen sink goes to the grey tank and the washer/dryer if you do have one !

[AKIQPilot]

Drop your shower head into a 5gal bucket and turn the water on. You might be surprised how much it flows.

My shower heads flow right at 2gpm. Two 5 minute showers is 20 gallons.

How long does it take before the shower water warms up? Showers use a lot more water than most people think.

[theroc]

Many of us have had RVs where we wish the gray tank had more capaicty so, yes, it's common to feel that way.

As other have implied, what do you consider a "short shower?" ...to some, 10 minutes is a short shower.

What is the GPM of your shower head? Similar to AKIQPilot's example, if it's an older one with a 2.5 GPM shower head, then two 7 minute showers will almost be at your capacity or (2.5 x 7) x 2 = 35 gallons so you're just about there.

On several RVs we've owned through the years, I've had to equalize the gray and black tank ...or push some of the gray water into the black tank so we'd have more gray capacity --good explanation by Ray,IN ...go HERE


If you've checked everything out by the suggestions given so far, then 1) take even shorter showers, and 2) change your shower head to one with a very low GPM ...at least one that is 2.0 GPM or less.

[powerboatr]

mine is 47 gallons, IT FILLS UP FAST


a load of dinner dishes and me showering, by rinsing then turn off to trickle, soap up then rinse, wife gets a shower and its time to empty.

[EdInArk]

It's just in how you use them I suppose. Our gray is 44 gallons and will go for four days pretty easily with two of us. We take short showers, just enough to accomplish the task with no undue hardship. We wash and rinse dishes but we don't just turn the water on and let it run.

One thing that helps us is the bathroom sink drains into the black tank.

[chindog]

You guys are scaring me. We have a 55 gallon grey tank, and can normally go 5 days before dumping. If we are staying a couple of weeks at a COE or state park with no sewer hookups, I've got a blue tote to dump into. But, we are currently staying 11 days in a national forest with no sewer, and I didn't know it when I booked, but there is NO dump station here. The nearest place to dump is a pay station across town, 5 miles away. We're trying to stretch it out by taking showers only every other day. When summoning the hot water, we put the shower head in a bucket, and dump the clean cold water outside on the ground. We're using paper plates so we don't have to wash dishes. Hope we can make it the full 11 days without have to drive the coach across town!

[ThePowells]

Originally Posted by chindog

You guys are scaring me. We have a 55 gallon grey tank, and can normally go 5 days before dumping. If we are staying a couple of weeks at a COE or state park with no sewer hookups, I've got a blue tote to dump into. But, we are currently staying 11 days in a national forest with no sewer, and I didn't know it when I booked, but there is NO dump station here. The nearest place to dump is a pay station across town, 5 miles away. We're trying to stretch it out by taking showers only every other day. When summoning the hot water, we put the shower head in a bucket, and dump the clean cold water outside on the ground. We're using paper plates so we don't have to wash dishes. Hope we can make it the full 11 days without have to drive the coach across town!

Have you tried the outside shower (if you have one)?