Community Forums

MrsChilerick · 05-13-2019, 10:45 AM

Interesting thread. Until we bought our new coach with 2 bathrooms, I didn’t realize that there is more than one type of RV toilet and waste system. We used to have the standard gravity toilet located over the holding tank where time, water and chemicals would break down the solids before dumping. Now we have Vacuflush macerating toilets and waste system, that macerates everything before it even gets to the holding tank, so no solids ever in the tank to build up. A completely different set of issues to be concerned with, though. Our tank fills in about half the time, the macerator uses a lot of water.

Arkydoodle · 05-13-2019, 11:35 AM

Not to stir up any more comments but I usually don't hook up the slinky until dump day and then immediately return to storage when thru. I've had issues with line trimmers nicking my hose (not a pretty sight to see the resulting sprinkler) and I've stayed in an RV park in Colorado where the local critters (bears) ripped open 20+ slinky hoses one night looking for food (bacon grease / fish?).......and replacing that many hoses in REMOTE Colorado took days and hundreds of miles!

rocket051 · 05-13-2019, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LETMGROW

I never drain my black tank unless it is completely full. More often than not I have to add water to fill the tank. The additional pressure created by a full tank will aid in forcing solids from the tank. I call it the "Whoosh" effect.
After draining the tank I refill it with clear water and dump it again. I will continue to do this until I see clear water passing through the clear plastic coupler I have hooked up to the tank discharge fitting. Once I'm satisfied the tank is clean I close the valve and add at least 4 gallons of water to the tank to keep the tank bottom wet.
You will never get a complete tank flush by leaving the black tank valve open and running water through the toilet into the tank. The water will just trickle down and run around any solids left in the tank. The sides of the tank will not get wet so any clogged sensors will not get cleaned off.
Lynn

Exactly……. Dumping the black tank I always fill and drain twice, if time, I’ve done three. Even at that I have seen some small pieces of paper ect. STILL showing up. That valve that a lot of us have that’s labeled TANK FLUSH, should be labeled FILL to FLUSH cus that’s all it does.

Bunky Jones · 05-13-2019, 12:47 PM

If you are leaving your black tank drain valve open, I guarantee you have a build up of crap in that tank. While experience may be the best teacher, there's no harm in learning from others experience.

R0k0la · 05-13-2019, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie.

I always open the gray tank dump valve first for a few seconds. I would much rather deal with a leak from the gray tank than the black tank.

Good advice.

R0k0la · 05-13-2019, 01:06 PM

One thing I do that I've found works pretty well is on travel days, after dumping, get a couple gallons of water in the black tank and dump a bag of ice down the toilet. The cubes sort of slosh around and scrape any leftovers then they melt.

Jxfire · 05-13-2019, 02:40 PM

I have a question as a fairly new fifth wheel owner. I just had a washer and dryer installed in my Jayco Pinnacle fifth wheel. The installing dealer said to always leave my grey tank valve open if connected to a sewer connection in a cg. He stated that if I didn’t there was a good chance my rv could flood. Sounds reasonable to me but....all the time open? Why not when just using the washing machine? Just want to know if there is an answer from more experienced rv’ers and what they do......

UFO Pilot · 05-13-2019, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jxfire

I have a question as a fairly new fifth wheel owner. I just had a washer and dryer installed in my Jayco Pinnacle fifth wheel. The installing dealer said to always leave my grey tank valve open if connected to a sewer connection in a cg. He stated that if I didn’t there was a good chance my rv could flood. Sounds reasonable to me but....all the time open? Why not when just using the washing machine? Just want to know if there is an answer from more experienced rv’ers and what they do......

Before we start a load of laundry I drain the grey tank. After the laundry is done I empty again so we are ready for showers. I have a separate tank for the sinks and the washer and shower share another tank.

LETMGROW · 05-13-2019, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jxfire

I have a question as a fairly new fifth wheel owner. I just had a washer and dryer installed in my Jayco Pinnacle fifth wheel. The installing dealer said to always leave my grey tank valve open if connected to a sewer connection in a cg. He stated that if I didn’t there was a good chance my rv could flood. Sounds reasonable to me but....all the time open? Why not when just using the washing machine? Just want to know if there is an answer from more experienced rv’ers and what they do......

I would believe the installer was covering his own butt. What he is telling you is if your grey water tank was 1/2 full and you didn't open the valve to drain the tank your tank could overflow and flood.
By telling you to keep the valve open he is sure you won't have a flood condition lessening his liability.
Personally I would leave the valve closed until I wanted to run the washer at which time I would open the valve.
Even grey tanks can have a buildup of sediment and food particles if water is just allowed to run out slowly. This can cause a stink nearly as bad and sometimes worse than the black tank odor. You can also experience some bad odors coming back up through the tank drain line and going out your roof vent.
Lynn

LETMGROW · 05-13-2019, 03:44 PM

GEO Method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qfEM83kT7M

Miamicamper · 05-13-2019, 04:04 PM

Is this thread still closed? lol. That was hilarious

Bunky Jones · 05-13-2019, 05:33 PM

Been using this technique for about 15 years now: Your RV septic system learning to use it properly. - Page 6 - iRV2 Forums

Badgertr · 05-14-2019, 08:03 AM

I am a newbie. We purchased a 2018 class A Thor Outlaw last fall and just drove it into storage. We are planning our first trip and looking at campgrounds I had questions. The campgrounds listed full hookups and I was wondering about leaving the tanks open, we had a travel trailer and dumped at least 3/4 full. We don't intend on spending a long period of time in the coach, we are using to travel with our 3 dogs comfortably and overnights traveling to destinations or doing dog events. We are a couple years from retirement and will use it more then.

Now, I have a few other questions. What do you store the sewer hose in? Do you use a container that the hose, elbow and flushing hose fit in? What is your preferred length of hose? And do we need the support thing for the hose? Thanks

Polyian · 05-14-2019, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garry1p

I leave the gray open if staying more than a few days.

I also have a Flush King to flush both the gray and black.

Gray tank can get stinky if never flushed.

I also leave the gray open when we are parked long term otherwise we are dumping every three days. Adding a gray flush valve fixed my issue of false gray tank sensor readings and got rid of unwanted food decay stuck to the tank walls. I already had a black flush valve I use regularly.