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Old 07-12-2023, 12:23 PM   #15
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I use Aqua-chem. 8 oz/35 gallon tank. It works good. I tried May environmentally friendly ones and never had much luck with them. I don’t usually rinse the tank unless I’m storing it. What’s the point? There might be a fleck of tp or a small bit of poop. The first thing you are going to do after you put water and chemicals into it is dirty it up again!
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Old 07-12-2023, 11:49 PM   #16
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There are some variables. We have macerator toilets which grind everything and use a lot of water. 90% of the time, water is sufficient. In really hot weather, I'll throw in a scoop of Happy Camper. A couple of times a year, I fill the tank half full, add two doses of Happy Camper and drive it home, leaving it half full until the next trip. This seems to help the external sensors that Newmar uses work better.
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Old 07-14-2023, 12:44 AM   #17
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Quantity

I use 8 oz per 35 gallons. I use Aqua-kem
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Old 07-14-2023, 07:58 AM   #18
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Someone suggested you throw all of the left over ice in the toilet for the ride home to help clean the tank. Thoughts?
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Old 07-14-2023, 09:25 AM   #19
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Ice doesn’t work. There is a video somewhere with a guy showing a clear plastic tank and the results.

We use Happy Camper. They don’t say what’s in it, but I am guessing water softeners and maybe some of the SPC mentioned above. We don’t use it for odors, but to just keep the tank “stuff” from getting stuck. Water is the key ingredient. We always put at least 5 gallons of water in the tank after dumping. Even when rationing water while boondocking, we are liberal with the water used for flushing the toilet. We still end up needing to dump because of the gray tank, never the black tank.
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Old 07-14-2023, 06:34 PM   #20
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Check out the videos von Klein Tank. This company specializes in cleaning out RV and other tanks. The videos and web site will share with you tips and their recipe for clean tanks. Check it out.
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Old 07-14-2023, 06:57 PM   #21
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I've found that if you shut off the vent fan just BEFORE you flush, it helps keep the odors in the tank, instead of pulling them back up through the toilet and out the vent with the fan on.

I throw one of these in the black tank when I know it will be many days before I can dump the tank:
Walex Porta-Pak RV Black Holding Tank Deodorizer Drop-Ins.

Boondockers will recommend that you lay 3 to 4 squares (connected) of toilet paper across the bottom of the bowl from left to right and another 3 to 4 squares from front to back before you have a BM. This saves water and all the material is essentially wrapped in an nice bundle, not leaving any skid marks..
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Old 07-14-2023, 09:37 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parafango View Post
Boondockers will recommend that you lay 3 to 4 squares (connected) of toilet paper across the bottom of the bowl from left to right and another 3 to 4 squares from front to back before you have a BM. This saves water and all the material is essentially wrapped in an nice bundle, not leaving any skid marks..
Worse idea ever. The way to keep down odors is to keep solids in suspension, covered in liquid. This does exactly the opposite.

Signed: RVer who boondocks around 100 days a year.
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Old 07-15-2023, 06:47 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UTTransplant View Post
Ice doesn’t work. There is a video somewhere with a guy showing a clear plastic tank and the results.

We use Happy Camper. They don’t say what’s in it, but I am guessing water softeners and maybe some of the SPC mentioned above. We don’t use it for odors, but to just keep the tank “stuff” from getting stuck. Water is the key ingredient. We always put at least 5 gallons of water in the tank after dumping. Even when rationing water while boondocking, we are liberal with the water used for flushing the toilet. We still end up needing to dump because of the gray tank, never the black tank.
Basically agree with this.
You can throw the ice out the window and it works just as well (or equally as bad)

I have seen threads that list the ingredient in Happy Camper but don't recall exactly... it is not SPC.
If you want/need to clean sensors and want softer water, which does help, why not buy & add Calgon liquid water softener? Available in many grocery stores in the laundry section. Add a LITTLE Tide (or other soap/detergent) to assist w cleaning.
There are all kinds of hacks that people use but if you check SPC one of its applications is sewage treatment plants... what a novel idea... use what the "pros" use instead of some other "off label" concoction.

This isn't magic and you are not trying to "treat" the effluent... just assist the normal breakdown and avoid any clumping of solids and/or TP so it can flow through the discharge.
Sufficient water is key... picture an empty 30-40 gal tank and you dump in a toilet ful of water (maybe 1 gal or less) and a healthy #2... what do you think happens?
The water results in a fraction of an inch in that large empty tank and the #2 sits there mostly "hi and dry"...
Sorry for the description but that is the biggest problem many RVers encounter trying to conserve water and avoid filling their tank too quickly.

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Old 07-15-2023, 09:25 AM   #24
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I have owned campers since 1976 and have always used water, plenty of water in my black and gray tanks and have never had a problem with build ups of anything. In extremely hot times I do add a scoop or two of "Happy Camper" as a cautionary measure against odor build up and always use a 1/4 cup or so of the cheapest liquid laundry detergent I can find to keep my sensors clean and reading accurately. I seldom let my tanks get above 1/2 full before filling them with clean water before dumping them to let the pressure carry anything laying around in the tanks out and be gone.
No Voodoo, just common sense good maintenance practice.
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Old 07-15-2023, 09:58 AM   #25
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Another vote for water. If there is an odor, something is wrong, I would just fix the problem.
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Old 07-15-2023, 11:30 AM   #26
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We've had 3 different motorhomes with holding tanks. I have used the blue chemical deodorant a few times over the years but that was just to help keep odors down while dumping. Water works just fine and the tank sensors on our 20+ year old rig have always been accurate.

I definitely agree that trying to keep holding tanks spic and span is a needless "waste" of time.
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Old 07-15-2023, 12:42 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UTTransplant View Post
Worse idea ever. The way to keep down odors is to keep solids in suspension, covered in liquid. This does exactly the opposite.

Signed: RVer who boondocks around 100 days a year.
While everyone is entitled to their opinion,
I would say it depends on how many days the boondocker is away from a dump station...
This idea was presented at a seminar with hundreds of attendees (Escapees Escapade in Tucson March 2023 - 900+ rigs in attendance) as a method for water conservation when boondocking, not strictly for odor control. The skid marks can be quite a unsightly mess, producing it's own odors if not handled. I presume there is enough water content from other flushes into the tanks to keep things in solution.
I only boondock for 2 days at most at a time so this method works OK for me..
If water conservation is not a concern, this method helps reduce the residue when flushed.
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Old 07-18-2023, 09:28 AM   #28
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Happy Camper SDS: https://www.happycampersworld.com/wp...17/11/MSDS.pdf
Happy Camper is 99% monohydrate. Look it up, then decide if it's worth the cost.
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