Black Tank Management

[RonLC]

We have a Techma macerating toilet and a 75 gallon black tank. We have never put anything into the black tank but water and pee. Given the sorry state of some RV park toilets we are rethinking our practice and have some questions.

1. Do you put all used TP into the toilet or do you put some or all of it into a container to carry out?

2. On a 75 gallon tank should we let it get fairly full before dumping?

3. Should the tank get flushed from outside every time it is dumped?

I realize that there are many views on whether to use onboard facilities or the park's but that is not the question. Management of the onboard system is the question.

[cruisin66]

1. It’s fine to put toilet paper down the toilet. Use a septic safe paper and plenty of water.

2. Yes, let it get to 85-90% of tank capacity. By filling the tank you get better suction when emptying to better help getting the waste out

3. I flush every time I empty and have never had black tank issues.

Always add 5 gallons or more water back in the tank after you flush to keep from building up a solid pile. People that tend to have issues aren’t using enough water.

[BillJinOR]

Water water and more water is the key ... we use our toilet as normal. yes to toilet paper ( a type that dissolves .. and most do)
We Let ours get at least get 1/2 full (75 gal tank) before dumping , more if possible. I don’t use the back flush fitting every time but occasionally.
I do empty the black , leave the valve open and open the gray for a few seconds then close it. I do that a couple times . The rush of grey water backflushes into the black valve and black tank exit pipe. Let it drain , Close the black and finish the grey dump. No issues in 4 years full time and many years prior. Keep in mind besides human waste only tp is used not any other wipes or other “flushable” products. The macerator can handle solids well but not woven fibers. It’s worked for me.

[Smitty77]

Originally Posted by BillJinOR

Water water and more water is the key ... we use our toilet as normal. yes to toilet paper ( a type that dissolves .. and most do)
We Let ours get at least get 1/2 full (75 gal tank) before dumping , more if possible. I don’t use the back flush fitting every time but occasionally.
I do empty the black , leave the valve open and open the gray for a few seconds then close it. I do that a couple times . The rush of grey water backflushes into the black valve and black tank exit pipe. Let it drain , Close the black and finish the grey dump. No issues in 4 years full time and many years prior. Keep in mind besides human waste only tp is used not any other wipes or other “flushable” products. The macerator can handle solids well but not woven fibers. It’s worked for me.

Our coach does the same sort of back flushing when I leave the Black open, and then dump the Grey. I do feel it helps reduce the chance of any lingering debris along the bottom of the Black tank. (I've some rigs, where this will not work.)

I usually you our tanks rinsers about every third dump.

We also use Happy Camper, which I like to think helps, and I sure don't think it hurts!

Best to all,
Smitty

[Renegade RV]

Ron, we use our Tecma Toilet the same as we do at home. For TP we use an Aldi’s brand similar to Charmin Ultra Soft and have had zero issues. It is septic safe and breaks down very fast.

I use the black tank flush about every 3rd-4th tank dump or once a month at a minimum depending how much we are using the MH. When I flush the black tank I let it run until only clear water is discharging and then let it go another 10 minutes or so. Once I started doing this I found that the tank level readout is a bit more accurate. Not perfect by any means but workable. And it always indicates full when in actuality the blank tank is 2/3 full.

[RonLC]

Anyone have a link to the latest and greatest RV TP test? I saw one in this forum that ranked Great Value Everyday Soft as the best...rushed out to Wally to buy some...and discovered that it has been superseded by Soft and Strong. I wonder if it is the same.

Scott RV Rapid dissolving came in second in the above test but beat GV in another You Tube test I saw.

[MSHappyCampers]

We have been using Charmin UltraSoft toilet tissue for years. Here is my procedure for keeping the black tank working properly.

I keep the black tank dump valve closed and the gray tank valve open until the black tank level is at least 3/4 full. Then I close the gray tank valve before we shower. Later I connect the water hose to the tank flusher and turn on the water while opening the black tank dump valve. I watch the flow through the clear 45-degree fitting on the sewer dump outlet. When all the "stuff" is out and there is just a small stream of water from the flusher I close the black tank valve, wait 1-2 minutes with the flusher doing it's thing, then open the black tank valve again. I repeat this process until the water coming out is completely clear. Then I close the black tank valve and leave the flusher going for about 30 seconds to leave water in the black tank. Then I turn off the flusher and open the gray tank valve to flush out the sewer hose.

Finally, I go inside, run water into the toilet bowl, put in an application of Happy Camper tank treatment, stir it up thoroughly with the toilet brush, and flush it. Job done!

[les.warden]

I let it fill to at least 3/4 before dumping. If grey is full, I leave black open to get some back flush from the grey. I use the tank sprayer most every time, then close the black and run 5 gal or so into the freshly emptied tank.

When traveling I additionally do the below to wash it out.

Black Tank-5 gallons of water; 1cup of liquid laundry soap (Oxy-Clean); 1/2 cup of Calgon water softener OR Borax. The soap cleans and the Calgon leaves a slick surface that will make it more difficult for solids or toilet paper to stick.

[ByeTheWay]

When boondocking I keep plenty of water in the tank and dump every time I have a chance. No problem in 19 years.

[puttin]

Finally, I go inside, run water into the toilet bowl, put in an application of Happy Camper tank treatment, stir it up thoroughly with the toilet brush, and flush it. Job done!


X2 on the Happy Camper- my daughter usesit in her trailer. After she flushes the tank it looks like clear drinking water.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by RonLC

We have a Techma macerating toilet and a 75 gallon black tank.

We have both a Tecma and a regular Dometic. All #2 is done in the Tecma due to its macerator and we use Costco Kirkland Septic Safe toilet paper in it.

If we have the time we flush the black time each time we leave a campground or once a week if it's an extended trip. The 52-gallon black tank usually lasts four or five days anyway.

Since our gauges are the 1/3'rd increment type, we wait until the black is at the 2/3'rds mark before dumping. The Tecma uses its own level sensing system, which is kind of nice. When I see the Tecma go "yellow" I know we're at about 1/2 tank. When I see the Tecma go "red", only once so far, the black tank indicated 2/3'rds but very shortly thereafter went to Full.

Ray