Combining black and gray tanks?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by w7ts

In my opinion, moving water from the gray tank to the black tank is no problem, but doing anything that allows black water to enter the gray water tank or plumbing is not a good practice. If for no other reason, the gray tank outlet plumbing is not usually constructed to allow efficient rinsing. And of course, no matter what, it is a good idea to pay attention.

Ken

Ken.

You answered your own question.

Also, it's not a matter of what may back up. it's also a matter of contamination of the gray water plumbing.

Anything, repeat anything, that can cause a health hazard issue, should by all means be avoided.

Any Doctor will attest to that.

Andy

[zlee]

Anything, repeat anything, that can cause a health hazard issue, should by all means be avoided.

Any Doctor will attest to that.

These days it seems like everything is a health hazard. I'd stay home in bed, but they tell me that's hazardous to your health as well...!

[r carl]

Originally Posted by w7ts

What possible "HEALTH HAZARD" is created by pumping or diverting some of the gray water into the black water tank?

In the houses we all live in they quite quickly mix with one another. I don't think the human waste from the toilet climbs back up into the sinks.

How about some facts to back up your "DRAMATIC" claim.

I'm pretty sure he's not contemplating using his fresh water sytem to effect the transfer.

Ken

If you slip on the brown sh$t on the bottom of your tub you could break your arm.

[UAPachyderm]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Anything, repeat anything, that can cause a health hazard issue, should by all means be avoided.

Any Doctor will attest to that.

Andy

Andy,

GET OFF YOUR COMPUTER ASAP!!!

Typing could cause CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME.

Anything, repeat anything, that can cause a health hazard issue, should by all means be avoided.

Any Doctor will attest to that.

See our point? LOL!!!

[zlee]

Originally Posted by UAPachyderm

See our point? LOL!!!

Well, let's not go too far to one side nor the other, extremes are a problem in general. :roll:

[UAPachyderm]

Originally Posted by zlee

Well, let's not go too far to one side nor the other, extremes are a problem in general. :roll:

Agreed

[robwok]

Originally Posted by zlee

Not that I think I'm going to change your mind or anything, Rob, but sometimes water isn't appropriate for an environment. Especially water that's loaded with even biodegradable stuff. Is it going to end the world if you dump a gray tank in a wilderness somewhere? No. But it might bring the end that much closer.

Sure, there's context for everything. If I was in a protected desert situation that prevented water from being dumped, or some weird ecological preserve that was delicately balanced in ph that would be affected if I were to dump the gray water, of course I would respect that, however the likelihood that such a delicate system would allow me to drive my trailer on top of it would be unlikely. I'd rather make my decisions based on the 99% and use good judgement for the 1%, should the situation ever present itself.

[robwok]

oh, and on the Dave Mathews band thing? That's just horrible. Not only was it human waste, just think of all the tripping the fish were doing off of whatever drugs that passed through the systems of the band members. And in the middle of the day? I'm going to venture a guess. It just seems too unlikely - meaning, if he looked around, he should have been able to dump and run without affecting anyone. It should have dumped quick and the boat shouldn't have been moving that fast. The boat was a leisure cruise. Dumping on the people may have been intentional... Just think of a bunch of drunk guys on a band bus seeing the opportunity, and not having the long term planning that is the halmark of band musicians....

[tphan]

Originally Posted by trvler

My 31' Classic has a 54 gal freshwater tank, and a 39 gal gray tank, and 37 gal black tank (or vice versa). The problem is that when we are travelling, we usually use much less water in the black tank ( no No. 2 in our black tank!) and therefore overflow the gray water tank.

Has anyone figured out a way of letting the gray water tank share the black water tank? When I've been desperate, I've opened both drain valves with the outflow pipe sealed with the cover, but that is a bit messy when it comes time to dump the tanks.

Thanks
Paul

Yes, I think that would be desperate indeed!
Lots of good ideas already given here to divert or minimize the greywater. The obvious direction they all point to is to use less water, especially when boondocking. Use as few dishes/glasses/etc as possible during the day, and wash all of it each evening (or less often) rather than after every meal. Try taking a sponge-bath instead of a shower. Brush your teeth with a small glass of water. Pretend that your freshwater supply has to last you twice as long as you've planned for. If you consciously think about living as lightly and conservatively as possible, you'll come up with all kinds of ways to reduce your trips to dump stations and garbage containers.

[Inland RV Center, In]

A person could also take along a kids plastic swimming pool.

Dump the gray water in it and let the "SUN" evaporated most of it.

Then dump the rest down the toilet.

Andy

[zlee]

Originally Posted by robwok

Sure, there's context for everything. If I was in a protected desert situation that prevented water from being dumped, or some weird ecological preserve that was delicately balanced in ph that would be affected if I were to dump the gray water, of course I would respect that, however the likelihood that such a delicate system would allow me to drive my trailer on top of it would be unlikely.

Actually, it wouldn't have to be a desert. Not to beat a dead horse, but... Many alpine and other forested environments are very finely balanced, for instance, as are meadows. The addition of a lot of water and nutrients that they wouldn't normally get at a time they wouldn't normally get it can be troublesome, in terms of things like overgrowth, freezing, and more. Environments are both a lot more sturdy and a lot more delicate than we realise, often at the same time.

Burying your food, for instance, is actually not going to stop your average bear or fox or raccoon or...well, anything with a sensitive nose and the ability to dig, including some hiker's dog, unless you've buried it pretty deep--latrine trench might do it. Better to pack it back out.

"Leave no trace" is great, and I try to practice it myself, but we often mistake that for "nothing being visible." They're not quite the same thing.

[zlee]

By the way, the flower seeds thing was irony, right? You'd have to make sure you were bringing seeds that were native to the area, of course, and make sure it's the right time of year to plant, otherwise you'd be introducing species into an area that might be overwhelmed by them.

I had a boyfriend whose ex-wife was from New Zealand. His proud Texan momma went to visit the inlaws, and somehow missed all the warnings and got through Customs with her gift of a few packets of bluebell seeds. When she presented it to her farmer hosts, the entire room gasped and the father-in-law turned white, immediately casting the packets into the fire and adding wood.

It took them a week to make her understand what she'd done, including her own son, and to this day i believe she still thinks they were making too much of a fuss.

[tphan]

@zlee: not very PC of you to beat your poor, dead horse! I'm going to call PETA right now...

[robwok]

I think leaving a dead horse in your camping spot would cause more of a problem to the ecology.....

I do understand the micro climates of some delicate camping spots. Whenever I parked on the Galapagos islands, I was very careful to extinguish the fire after we finished our "turtle in the shell" soup.... I also only scatter invasive species seeds. That way, at least for a year or 2, I can fondly look at that spot and know I was there - after that, it gets confusing. It's also fun to release SnakeHead fish and watch them crawl across the campsite to get to the lake. They're so cute, and hungry! (where's that sarcastic smiley....) Here's the point. I understand the risks. I rarely camp outside of a my own state for now, but I have a really good understanding of everything mentioned. If in doubt, I wouldn't drain out my gray water. However, I think a careful, concientous respect of my environement is 1,000 times better than your average large business. I live in VA, where you can't eat 90% of the fish in our streams, and pregnant women can't eat any of it. I think there's a big difference between my rinsing a biodegradeble toothpaste out in the sink in a field or forest and a large manufacturer dumping kepones, mercury, and who knows what else. By the way, have you ever reviewed the process for how aluminum ore that makes up our precious trailers is extracted? Not entirely environment friendly. I know you all have the best intentions, and this is probably somewhat fueled by the actions of irresponsible and careless individuals, but I can assure you I am very careful. I recycle most of our waste, I buy local and organic, I rent rather than buy when prudent (even my TV) I have dual flush toilets, all my lights are led or CFL and I compost. We have chickens for eggs and I raise bees. I have water containment on my gutters and do intensive gardening. You are not going to make me feel guilty for dribbling out some gray water.

[zlee]

I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. It's great that you do all that. Now how 'bout a little more?

[zlee]

Originally Posted by tphan

@zlee: not very PC of you to beat your poor, dead horse! I'm going to call PETA right now...

Actually, if someone is getting their thrills out of beating a dead horse, I'm not sure PETA wants to know!

[tphan]

Originally Posted by zlee

I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. It's great that you do all that. Now how 'bout a little more?

To expand on one of Robwok's points, the very act of manufacturing travel trailers and trucks, and then hauling them into the woods to go "camping", has an effect on this planet that is more damaging, complex, and difficult to discuss (amongst us trailer owners) than dishwater will ever have.
But- I'm curious: what do you propose people do when hiking, backpacking, tent-camping, hunting, etc? Or would you ban those activities that necessitate the occasional watering of the local landscape with dishwater, solar-shower water, and pee?

[zlee]

Originally Posted by tphan

To expand on one of Robwok's points, the very act of manufacturing travel trailers and trucks, and then hauling them into the woods to go "camping", has an effect on this planet that is more damaging, complex, and difficult to discuss (amongst us trailer owners) than dishwater will ever have.
But- I'm curious: what do you propose people do when hiking, backpacking, tent-camping, hunting, etc? Or would you ban those activities that necessitate the occasional watering of the local landscape with dishwater, solar-shower water, and pee?

That's why I have a used trailer, me buck. Also, most backpackers don't use gallons of water. It's nice for one's feelings to say, "I do all this stuff, so I'm not worrying about grey water," but you're not the only one out there, y'know? Leave No Trace isn't actually possible. Dumping grey water isn't "harmless". Mainly, I think it's hilarious that all this energy is being expended trying to rationalise that it is so you aren't put to the trouble of taking it back out.

You guys really prod easily, don't you? Seriously, you're going to do what you're going to do.

[Ag&Au]

When I was a kid, we used to play a game called "capture the flag"

I think what is going on here is a adaption called "capture the goat".

The only problem is that both sides have revealed the location of their goat.

I suggest you each once again conceal your goat's location and start over.

Ken

[zlee]

The problem with your theory is that there's this thing called a "wind up"...