Proper dumping of Black Water

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

Welcome to the forum. Like any forum you can find urban legends being repeated here to. The ice cubes in the black tank has been empirically tested by the FitRV and found to be a waste of time and money.

I'm surprised someone at JC recommends this, without any reference to any kind of testing. It's an urban myth, created by someone who thought it was a good idea, told others and the rumor mill took care of the rest.

When you think about it, ice floats, it can't "scrub" anything and it just bumps against the sides of the tank. I have used a tank treatment chemical that you put in and then drive several hundred miles, dump on arrival. That worked very well for ours, got rid of a LOT of the smell in both tanks.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by rollieboy

After opening of gray valve and moving on to the black is it necessary to run water back thru the system? This is on a 2016 model.
Thanks in advance

I got into the habit of draining the black first, then the grey. The grey flushes the stink out of the hose. Then flush the hose with fresh water, (not using your city water hose.) I also keep sturdy rubber gloves for handling the hose. I try to never cross the city water hose or the power cable with the sewer hose, JIK.

I'd like to take credit for this idea, but it's not mine. I filled a old tube sock with gravel and tied the end closed with a plastic wire tie (tie wrap). Then put that sock into the mate and secure with another tie wrap. Now you have a handy sand bag that conforms to the hose at the ground fitting. It keeps the end firmly in the ground, and is easy to store.

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by hhendrix

The manual states you should use the black tank flushing connection every time you empty the tank. If you don't, the small holes in the sprayer can get plugged and it's very difficult if not impossible to clear them.

Second, I strongly recommend a clear view adapter to monitor what comes out of your black tank. I know it sounds disgusting, but you'll soon discover it's better than watching almost anything on network TV especially celebrity worship shows like Entertainment Tonight and similar crap, no pun intended.

The reason I recommend this will become evident if you close the dump valve after the black tank it empty. Run the flushing connection for a few minutes (I know the instructions say don't, but try it). DO NOT LEAVE WHILE THE FLUSHING CONNECTION IS RUNNING.

Then open the dump valve and you will be surprised how much more material comes out of the tank. Mostly paper but a lot of it.

I concur

[dasams]

Like others, I dump black then grey. Here's the deal:

1. My city water hose has a Y adaptor and then two 10' lines. One is for the fresh water and runs through the filter. The other goes through a quick connect and then to the black water flush.

2. During normal usage, the quick connect is disconnected so that there's no way to accidentally put water in the black.

3. To dump the black, I connect the quick connect and turn on the flush water. Then dump the black and let the flush run for a few minutes. When complete, shut off the water to the flush valve and disconnect the hose. Then close the black valve.

4. Finally dump the grey. Easy peasy.

[jcanavera]

Black first, then grey is the recommended order. Try to make sure you dump the black as full as possible. Add water to it to get the levels up prior to dump if needed.

Jack

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Ok, let's back up a bit. Are you at a dump station with 20 people in line behind you? Are you at home and moving water in a bucket? Are you at a campsite with full hookups? In each case there are other factors that impact "what's right".

At the full hookup campsite, by all means use water. If the gray is normal open, close it the night before. Let it fill up a bit. Flush black first, close it and start running water into the tank. Dump gray next and close it. Start running water into the gray tank. Dodge back and forth a couple of times. Both should be running clear pretty quickly. Then play with the flush wand in the black tank. If it's the last run before long storage, fill them both and flush once again after the normal clean process.

At the dump station with all those angry zombie's in line ... dump fast. Put a bit into both tanks and drive on down the road. Do a more complete process at your next stop. The sloshing will clean things up a bit. Less hoses to horse around is always better when you are in a hurry.

At home ... errr .... check Google and see if there is a campground nearby. Even a 20 minute drive may be better than those stupid buckets. Doubly so after you trip over the dog toy

One other note: Check what goes where in your trailer. In some, it seems that the sink in the bathroom goes to black water. In others that sink goes to gray water. Simple drill is to turn on the sink for a while and see what's what. I was a bit confused about that part on my trailer (it goes to gray and not black). Having "enough" water in the black tank is a "really good idea" in terms of flushing everything out of it. Water conservation is fine up to a certain point ....

Lots of variables ....

Bob

[Rich W]

I just found this link, seems to be useful. It has both a listing by state and city, or you can click on the map link to see a visual locator.

I know some states have RV dump stations in their rest areas. Kentucky's have gone the way of the dodo, too many people abusing the privilege. I thought Florida and Georgia had some but they must have closed those too, I don't see any on the map although I've seen where they were set up. They must have sealed them up.

http://www.rvdumpstations.info/

[Daquenzer]

Not sure you have an smart phone. But there is an App called ALLSTAYS. It is really useful. It will list all the dump stations, campgrounds (Public, private, etc), and a host of other things for RVer's. Well worth it. Extremely handy to plan a trip.

I just bought a flojet electric septic pump. Coming today. Anyone have any tips on their use? I live in the country with a septic tank which is about 40' from where I park my AS. Being able to dump at home sounds great. Then I have time to clean those thanks out very well. It's also handy if you are staying at someone else's home (like my kids) that are in country. I can dump in their systems. No trying to find something along the way to the next destination.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The trailer needs to be reasonably level when you go to clean out the tanks. That isn't possible here at my house. It may work fine at yours.

Bob

[Silver.Sanctuary]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Ok, let's back up a bit. Are you at a dump station with 20 people in line behind you? Are you at home and moving water in a bucket? Are you at a campsite with full hookups? In each case there are other factors that impact "what's right".

At the full hookup campsite, by all means use water. If the gray is normal open, close it the night before. Let it fill up a bit. Flush black first, close it and start running water into the tank. Dump gray next and close it. Start running water into the gray tank. Dodge back and forth a couple of times. Both should be running clear pretty quickly. Then play with the flush wand in the black tank. If it's the last run before long storage, fill them both and flush once again after the normal clean process.

At the dump station with all those angry zombie's in line ... dump fast. Put a bit into both tanks and drive on down the road. Do a more complete process at your next stop. The sloshing will clean things up a bit. Less hoses to horse around is always better when you are in a hurry.

At home ... errr .... check Google and see if there is a campground nearby. Even a 20 minute drive may be better than those stupid buckets. Doubly so after you trip over the dog toy

One other note: Check what goes where in your trailer. In some, it seems that the sink in the bathroom goes to black water. In others that sink goes to gray water. Simple drill is to turn on the sink for a while and see what's what. I was a bit confused about that part on my trailer (it goes to gray and not black). Having "enough" water in the black tank is a "really good idea" in terms of flushing everything out of it. Water conservation is fine up to a certain point ....

Lots of variables ....

Bob

One thing I haven't seen in this thread is any mention of NOT opening both valves at the same time. Plenty has been said to document the fact that lots of stuff remains in the black tank after dumping it (references to the clear adapter) but I NEVER open both at the same time... since black contents could get into the gray tank. Even when using full hookups, I open the gray since it fills faster, but only occasionally close the gray and open the black...
then close the black and reopen the gray. When not at a dump station with a line, I use the flush valve on my clear adapter to force water back into the black tank (water pressure permitting) and then let it drain back and watch all the contents until it drains back perfectly clear without any paper or other solids coming with it (note that my unit is older and does not have a black tank flush valve). Although there is some element of "downhill" in the gray tank, if both valves are open at the same time there is a chance the black tank contents could get pushed back behind the valve on the gray and then what?

Am I over thinking this? It is really not hard to keep one valve closed at all times... and flushing the hose at the end of the dumping exercise with water from a non-drinking hose connected to the clear adapter flush connection (assumes you have a clear adapter with the connection, but if not you should buy a new one with it).

Also I find that a mascerator (mine is a Flojet) can pump contents of either tank up hill, so filling a blue boy sitting on the tailgate is a snap, and it also works to pump contents of either tank up hill about four feet to the clean out in front of my house so I don't have to sit in lines 20 units long and waste travel time waiting to dump. Worked great to transfer gray water from the gray tank to the flush toilets in Yellowstone where there are campgrounds without dump stations and no showers. This way "marine" showers are possible and a blue boy transfer of gray water using the mascerator to pump the gray water to the blue boy in the truck and then from the blue boy in the truck to the flush toilet using a "gray water" garden hose is quick and very clean. I did this several times and didn't lose a drop of gray water in the transfer. The mascerator blade is not a factor here, but the pump pulls everything out of the blue boy and the blue boy gets sucked dry and even starts to bend inward from the suction.

[xrvr]

Yes you are over thinking this. Black and gray are both waste, and toxic, you don't per in your shower?

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you take a look at how the plumbing works at the drain end of things, opening both valves is not going to force a lot of "stuff" back into either tank. What *can* happen is a plugged outflow pipe. That *might* push things here or there.

The bigger issue is that dumping the black tank takes some "flow" to make the dump process work. Leaving the black valve open all the time means no tidal wave of flow. You will have "stuff" accumulate in the tank if you just let it drain all the time. It's not designed to operate in this mode.....

Bob

[J-K Georgia]

Originally Posted by hhendrix

The manual states you should use the black tank flushing connection every time you empty the tank. If you don't, the small holes in the sprayer can get plugged and it's very difficult if not impossible to clear them.

Second, I strongly recommend a clear view adapter to monitor what comes out of your black tank. I know it sounds disgusting, but you'll soon discover it's better than watching almost anything on network TV especially celebrity worship shows like Entertainment Tonight and similar crap, no pun intended.

The reason I recommend this will become evident if you close the dump valve after the black tank it empty. Run the flushing connection for a few minutes (I know the instructions say don't, but try it). DO NOT LEAVE WHILE THE FLUSHING CONNECTION IS RUNNING.

Then open the dump valve and you will be surprised how much more material comes out of the tank. Mostly paper but a lot of it.

I agree with hhendrix, dump black then add water and dump again until the picture is clear.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by hhendrix

The manual states you should use the black tank flushing connection every time you empty the tank. If you don't, the small holes in the sprayer can get plugged and it's very difficult if not impossible to clear them.

Almost every dump station I have been to has had the brass screw connector cut off. Unless you carry an adapter, it's just not easy to clean the sprayer. I do it when we get home, using the garden hose.

Originally Posted by Silver.Sanctuary

One thing I haven't seen in this thread is any mention of NOT opening both valves at the same time. Plenty has been said to document the fact that lots of stuff remains in the black tank after dumping it (references to the clear adapter) but I NEVER open both at the same time... since black contents could get into the gray tank.

On mine, the gray pipe is 1.5" diameter and the black tank is 3". If both are full I would think the black water pressure would overwhelm the gray.

We buy the gallon jugs of spring water for our coffee. I save 4 of them in our shower (closet ). When we break camp I fill all 4 of them, then head to the dump station. I pull black, dump contents, then dump 2 gallons of water into the toilet, dump the black again. Then I pull gray, dump contents, the dump 2 gallons of water into the big sink, dump gray again.

This method works well and is pretty fast, no holdup at the dump station.

[Piggy Bank]

Rich,
I have been doing essentially that as well, but use a 2 gallon bucket which I fill at the dump station. Works great.

I may try your way and see which is easier.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Piggy Bank

Rich,
I have been doing essentially that as well, but use a 2 gallon bucket which I fill at the dump station. Works great.

I may try your way and see which is easier.

My way, the water is already in the trailer and my wife can dump 1 gallon at a time (easier for her to manage). I just have to remember to keep 4 empties in the shower or under the bed for when the time comes.

OTOH, your way, you have a 2 gallon bucket for other uses, which I don't. There's a upside and downside to everything.

I thought about filling up the kitchen sink and then putting the cover on it, but then I thought it over and figured I'd just slop it on the floor at the first turn. The gallon jugs work the best for us, along with the see through elbow on the discharge valve.

[TravlinMan]

Originally Posted by richw46

Almost every dump station I have been to has had the brass screw connector cut off.

What I do is unscrew their hose and use my garden hose.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by TravlinMan

What I do is unscrew their hose and use my garden hose.

I guess that's what I'll start doing. I have a couple of sections of old hose that I use with the blue boy. I wouldn't want to use those for the BT sprayer. I could fix up a small section of hose and just keep it in the bumper storage.

Thanks for the tip.