how long have you gone between dumping your tanks?

[hawk232]

our camping consists, almost exclusivly, of weekending (fri night through sunday). until now i have just added water to the tanks to get them 3/4 or so full in order to dump them. the conservationist in me is eaten up with the wasted water and I am contemplating just dumping every two trips...

we camp AT LEAST once per month, sometimes twice per month. the longest that it would go is about a month, any problems with this?

[jesilvas]

Personally, better safe than sorry.
If you hate wasting water, better not hate wasting money possibly.

[clyon51]

We have gone 10 days before needing to dump black tank. When boondocking, we use very little water and use a high powered bacterial agent to digest solid waste. Grey tank is a bit different because of showers, ect. I never have or see no problem to leave either tank partially fully between trips. The only consideration I have is carrying extra weight when it isn't necessary.

[Kevinc2011]

I always dump and rinse the black tank as good as I can due to odor buildup between trips. I worry about buildup in the black tank, which is not easy to remove!

[hawk232]

i dont really think buildup in the black would be much of an issue. i have banned any "solids" execpt for TP necessary for #1. anything else, theres a bath house for that LOL

my gray would make two weekend trips but thats it, while i am at it i would dump the black (even though its only two of us and it only sees #1 use).

[Smithers]

The level indicators in my black & grey are broken so I always dump every trip. My father in law dumps once or twice a season.

[njs42]

You are not doing what I would do but I do not see anything wrong given your explanation. Keep going if you develop a problem I can't see how it would be a serious one. If so then do something else. Meanwhile I will have more water for my bourbon.

[jesilvas]

Originally Posted by njs42

You are not doing what I would do but I do not see anything wrong given your explanation. Keep going if you develop a problem I can't see how it would be a serious one. If so then do something else. Meanwhile I will have more water for my bourbon.

Who wants more water with their bourbon.

[TonyDi]

I'm not sure I would want my black tank "cooking". So I dump everytime my trip ends. Besides I don't feel like searching all the web sites to find methods to clean a "dirty" black water tank.

[Bubwheat]

Originally Posted by TonyDi

I'm not sure I would want my black tank "cooking". So I dump everytime my trip ends. Besides I don't feel like searching all the web sites to find methods to clean a "dirty" black water tank.

Cooking and evaporating! The tank is vented and depending on the heat and humidity, you could be losing a substantial amount of water on a daily basis. Why would you want to tempt fate?

[Dave1956]

we tend to dump every three to five days of camping. In our coach we had very large tanks and so I might only dump once a month (two or three weekenders). In our trailer we fill the tanks up in 3-5 days of boon docking. We have never had an odor problem. I probably over do it by rinsing a lot at the dump and only dumping after I have been moving the trailer, like when we first arrive instead of just before we leave. Also, after each trip I try to have the tanks with only 5 gallons of water, a laundry detergent soap pack and a deodorizer in them to clean them on the way home. Its cheap and I have not yet had a problem after many years of rving. I also use some water softener about once a year on a long tow.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by hawk232

our camping consists, almost exclusivly, of weekending (fri night through sunday). until now i have just added water to the tanks to get them 3/4 or so full in order to dump them. the conservationist in me is eaten up with the wasted water and I am contemplating just dumping every two trips...

we camp AT LEAST once per month, sometimes twice per month. the longest that it would go is about a month, any problems with this?

hawk232
I always use a cap-full of liquid Rid-X in the black tank, (and in the gray).
If I haven't dumped for two or three weeks I add a second cap-full, especially in warm weather.
Right now my black is 1/2 full and neither tank has been dumped for 3 months.
That's what I have done for over 10 years, (and I get no odor in the coach, perfume or stink).
Of course, the smell when dumping at a dump station is not pleasant, (but no worse than if I dump every 5-7 days).

Some will say "Rid-X is for septic tanks"!..... but I say, "Think about what is in a septic tank".

Mel
'96 Safari

[hawk232]

thats the kind of info i am looking for Mel! Most people tend to post up home cooked theories of why this and that shouldnt be done (not everyone does, and not all of them are wrong) but i was looking for someone who had done it before. i think i will give it a try and see how it works. as of now i do the bio-method and have had zero odor issues and have let it sit several weeks. just never a full month

[Lifemember]

The cleaning of an RV septic tank system doesn't have a fixed time schedule, and should be done periodically based on how much has accumulated in it. RID-X contains cellulase enzymes, the only enzyme that can digest paper.