Right or Wrong or any Feedback here - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Right or Wrong or any Feedback here

REX OR MARY · RV-Dreams Community Member

We hook up our sewer hose right away and open the galley tank and the gray tank, because the valve pulls on the galley tank are under the slide out and very difficult to reach with the slides extended. We keep the black tank closed and empty that once a week, and at the same time fill and rinse the tank twice. We are full timers spending several months on the same site. We also replace the sewer hose every two years as we are in the west and the desert sun does quite a beating on rubber and plastic. Right or wrong it works for us.

wmalefyt · RV-Dreams Family Member

We always hookup the sewer hose right away, but keep all valves closed until one or both tanks are nearly full or it's time to break camp. I then empty the black water tank first followed by the gray water tank(s) which flushes the black water out of the sewer hose. This seems to work well for us.

Sandra · RV-Dreams Family Member

We only hook up when we have to dump and then disconnect again.

Darrell and Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

We generally hook-up the sewer hose during our initial set-up and then open the bath tank for the washer/dryer. Never, never, never leave the black water tank open because it will cause build up of solids which will eventually lead to failure of the system. We use the galley tank to flush the sewer hose after dumping the black water tank. Also, we only open one tank at a time to prevent cross any contamination of tanks.

Tmcblane · RV-Dreams Family Member

We hookup, open grey's and leave black closed. Day before leaving we close the grey to have something to flush the black with.

Luvglass · RV-Dreams Family Member

We also hookup, open grey, and leave black closed. When the black is getting close to full we close the grey to have something to flush the hose with.

We also have a flush system for the black tank which I do maybe ever other time I flush. I think this helps keep the sensors reading better.

Fred

Howard · Host

We connect as soon as we pull into the campground and set up. We keep all valves closed until the black is almost full, then dump black, gray, and galley in that order. Okay, sometimes we reverse the galley and the gray. smile

Or we will dump the gray or galley anytime they need it, just as long as we allow enough usage for them to fill back up before dumping the black.

Since most tanks have a lip that prevents complete drainage, I personally think its best to let as much liquid build up in the tanks as possible so there is more pressure to flush out the heavier, unwanted stuff at the bottom. Of course our valves are also very convenient, so dumping frequently is no big deal. smile

I don't think there is any right or wrong except I believe 99% of experienced RVers would agree that you keep the black tank closed at least until it is 2/3 or 3/4 full to prevent the build-up of solids. Beyond that, do it any way you want. smile

Judy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Ditto....we do it just as Howard does his. We are thinkiing food particles will be in the gray tank and its like it needs the extra fullness to give it the "WOOSH" in emptying.
All of us have our own way in doing it.
southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdog

jomago · RV-Dreams Family Member

Also do as memtioned-- with exception of when extra quests are staying, we open the gray tank valve.----?----?
When the son and family stay for a couple of days , the gray tank can fill very rapidly. and the DIL will ask "is there suppose to be water in the bath tub"?
She is a compulsive cleaner upper and the gray tank fills in just a couple of hours.

So when your normal routine is changed, remember to compensate.

HighwayRanger · RV-Dreams Family Member

I, too, have found that food bits collect in the grey tank, and they flush out better when I wait until the grey tank is at least 3/4 full. I use a Flush King device to refill and dump both tanks several times before we put the moho away, which does a really good job of cleaning them. We also believe in the Calgon/Dawn method, which seems to really help keep things clean.

When camping, we dump the grey tank about twice as often as the black, so every other grey dump I'll dump the black tank first.

-- Edited by HighwayRanger at 12:43, 2007-11-23

V4Vagabond · RV-Dreams Family Member

Highway Ranger,

What is the Calgon/Dawn method?

As you can guess, I am VERY new at this.

Vee

SoCalToolGuy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Here is another tip that we picked up somewhere. Since the gray tanks seem to fill up quite a bit quicker than the black tank, we keep a small plastic dish pan in the kitchen sink when we do dishes. After we are done we empty the dishpan into the toilet. It helps clean the black tank and kind of balances out the tanks filling up. We have a separate gray tank for the bathroom sink and shower that we use to clean out the dump hose after dumping the black tank. This system works very well for us. Hope others find this helpful.

Ray

HighwayRanger · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi Vee,

Some of us read the Geo method (which you can google or find in various RV forum searches) and decided to adopt 2 of the 3 parts, which are adding Calgon water softener and Dawn dish soap to the tanks as part of a regular maintenance/cleaning process.

I've found that adding about a cup of Calgon water softener (liquid or powder) to the black and grey tanks creates a very slippery surface inside, which allows things to flow out better when dumping.

I also add about a 1/2 cup of Dawn to the tanks with several gallons of water before we hit the road. This creates a nice sudzing action that scrubs the inside of the tank as it sloshes around. When we get to the campground, things are nice and clean with no odors. If I'm going to the RV storage place, they have a dump station so I can dump/rinse the tanks with fresh water and they are like new until we use them again.

Neither the Calgon or the Dawn are harmful to septic tanks found at lots of campgrounds.

With this process, I rarely ever add any holding tank chemicals. aww