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Old 11-26-2006, 06:00 PM   #41
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Ken, the easy solution to filling the blue tote is to stand it up on end, loosen the small cap, install the regular-sized sewer hose to the large hole in the blue tote, and open the dump valve. You will get about 10-12 gallons in it doing this.
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Old 11-27-2006, 10:00 AM   #42
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Originally Posted by silverback
Chuck, can you explain the workings of the "gravity pumps"?
Thanks,
Ken
the explanation: it was a smart-@$$'d comment. a joke. it really isn't hard to get water to flow downhill. all that "gravity pump" is, is a washing machine hose. a 5/8 hose with 2 female ends.

what you do is get a sewer cap for your trailer that has a 5/8ths male garden hose fitting built into it. connect one end of the hose to it. Your blue-boy should also have a 5/8ths male fitting with a cap on it. connect the other end of the hose to that. then, take off the big 3" cap on the blue boy. open the dump valve on the trailer. If the top of the blue boy is lower than the bottom of your gray tank, it'll fill all the way, and you can easily watch the progress through the big 3" opening.

from your description, it sounds like you connected a standard slinky, and didn't open the little 5/8ths fitting to vent the tank. If air can't get out of the blue-boy, it won't fill.
I would be wary of using the 3" slinky, just because the flow could be so high, you might spill and make a mess. using the washer hose will be a little easier to control. But either one should work just fine, as long as the tank is vented.

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Old 11-27-2006, 12:28 PM   #43
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Ten gallon is my limit because of weight and for storage space in the back of the truck. You can not tow the 10-gallon behind a truck, as you can with some of the larger ones (the wheels are too flimsy).

Rarely do you exhaust the black tank, so reserve the blue for gray water. It is is not enough and the dump station is too far away, follow other suggestions on this forum for moving dishwater (etc.) from the sink to the toilet to make use of extra black tank capacity.

You can buy an optional how-full indicator for the blue tank but I found it of no value.
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Old 11-27-2006, 01:04 PM   #44
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I have one of the two wheel 25 gallon BB's, but upgraded the axle and fitted a pair of pneumatic tires (which is nice when it's a long haul to the dump station - quiet, too). Also use a 3" expanding test plug in transit so no chance of leakage. Sorta got to thinking about adding a small 12-volt inline pump that I can power from the trailer umbilical which would allow me to leave the BB up near the front of the trailer by the truck. This would allow me to empty the gray water on a slope if need be, as opposed to having to "find the low spot", or wind my way through trees and whatnot, lugging the full beast all the way. I can just hook the empty tank to the truck, hit the switch, and off she goes.
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Old 03-07-2011, 07:47 AM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clancy_boy View Post
Really - all this discussions on blue boys has me wondering again which size I need. I am looking 4 wheel but all the sizes have very flimsy "axles" and wheel combinations - how long do they last?
Wow...
Next, we'll have to start a "Frame-off blue-boy restoration thread", where we can share tips and tricks about axle replacement, and the best paint to use.
Just a thought...
Cheers!
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Old 03-07-2011, 08:03 AM   #46
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FWIW: I have the 32 Gal. Barker. I did upgrade the rear wheels to Pneumatics from Harbor Freight. I simply removed the old wheels (wiggled off the cap that held them on) and the new wheels fit right on the axle. I think tapped the caps back on and they have been fine ever since (of course a washer and cotter pin would be better and it's on my too do list, although the caps have stayed tight). It tows much more nicely without the solid wheels on the back and is not nearly as noisy rolling through campgrounds. I have not upgraded the front wheels at this time. I do use common sense towing it (low speeds and watch out for bumps and potholes). Some places I have to tow it a mile or so each way. BTW I have dumped both grey and (a few times) black tanks (only when absolutely necessary :-0 ). When dumping the black tank I pour some clorox in the tank with a bit of water and leave it in there to swish around. That has seemed to eliminate any odor problems that might occur and it really doesn't seem to be a big deal.
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Old 05-25-2011, 09:39 PM   #47
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I am in the market for a tote and have never used one. I will not use it for black water. The only reason my wife will camp with me is she loves the shower and won't use the bath house unless necessary. Generally how many gallons of grey will you use with a fair shower. Will I have to empty after each shower with less then a 25 gallon size. I try to stay at sites with sewage but it's not always possible.
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Old 05-26-2011, 05:28 AM   #48
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I have been trying to polish the classic blue boy I found on ebay. But the compound keeps rubbing holes in the plastic.

Am I on the wrong thread?
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Old 05-26-2011, 08:22 AM   #49
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Hi, I don't want to crash your party, but I hope I never have to have one of those things. [Blue waste tank on wheels.] Tanks, but no tanks. Trailer tanks full? Time to move!

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Old 05-26-2011, 08:31 AM   #50
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I am in the market for a tote and have never used one. I will not use it for black water. The only reason my wife will camp with me is she loves the shower and won't use the bath house unless necessary. Generally how many gallons of grey will you use with a fair shower. Will I have to empty after each shower with less then a 25 gallon size. I try to stay at sites with sewage but it's not always possible.
Figure 2-3 gallons per minute for the shower. Typically 10 gallons for a conservation-minded shower for us although it's possible to get by with much less especially for those with short hair.
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Old 05-26-2011, 09:32 AM   #51
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Maybe a bit off topic, and in any case, may not be of any use to you, but here is what I have done.


We very seldom camp without full hookups and so I didn't want to be carrying a blue boy all the time for the few times we would ever need it.


I do find that when we have had to camp without sewer hookup, we only seem to be able to go a couple of days before the gray water backs up into the shower. The black water tank lasts much longer.

So what I did is to get two plastic dish basins that are a perfect fit into our sinks.

When we wash dishes, we can dump the dishwater into to toilet, thus getting much better use out of our two tanks.

In the event that we stiil wind up filling the gray water tank, I bought a sewer outlet cap that has a standard hose connector built in, a short length of hose, and one of those collapsible 5 gallon water containers.

That way, if we were close to filling the gray water tank, i could just dump 5 gallons at a time and easily take it to the dump each trip we make out of the campground. (no, I won't use the five gallon container for drinking water!)


The sewer cap with the hose attached would also allow me to surreptitiously and slowly dump a little a little gray water somewhere under the trailer - but of course, I wouldn't do that!

We tried out the sink basins just last weekend - worked perfectly. We haven't had to use the five gallon container yet


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Old 05-26-2011, 05:03 PM   #52
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The sewer cap with the hose attached would also allow me to surreptitiously and slowly dump a little a little gray water somewhere under the trailer - but of course, I wouldn't do that!

Brian.

There are some locations that allow you - and want you to for drought reasons - to dump grey water on the ground.

Mike
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Old 05-26-2011, 05:24 PM   #53
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There are some locations that allow you - and want you to for drought reasons - to dump grey water on the ground.

Mike
Just not where I seem to camp I think!

I did meet a guy in Florida with a large motorhome who had installed a small 1/4 line and valve from his sewer outlet pipe near the cap and that lead back to an open end somewhere near his axle at the centre line of his motor home. If he had no sewer hookup and gray water was getting full, he said he would just open the little valve at night time - naughty fellow!


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Old 05-27-2011, 04:50 AM   #54
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Well,I think the phosphates in soaps were good for plant life, too, so dribbling gray water on the ground isn't all that bad a plan as long as it doesn't make a mess and degrade someone else's enjoyment.

Of course, a lot of states recently took phospate based detergents off the shelves.

(Any of you noticed that your home dishwashing machine doesn't seem to clean the plates and pans as good as it did last year? If you're still using Cascade, it's not the same stuff anymore. No more phosphates. Lousy cleaning.)
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Old 05-28-2011, 10:31 AM   #55
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Thumbs down

Do what the tent'ers do, just toss.

What's the fauna for after all.
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Old 05-28-2011, 11:04 AM   #56
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When on my property - I will use a long 50 foot hose and dump the grey via one of those "hoses with holes" used for watering - I use Burt Bee's soap products on myself and an organic liquid dish wash so my grey water I feel is safe for the environment - black goes to the public dump site at SteamBoat Lake...
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