Bizarre holding tank problem! It fills up on its own!

ADKDave wrote:

gbopp wrote:
I guess we should have asked more questions before giving responses. I thought the tank was filing while not being used. Apparently several of us had the same thought.

Anyway, the 'mystery' has been solved.
A pressure regulator may help a little. Lower pressure will result in a little less water going in the grey tank.

Enjoy your travels.

Well, that's the thing. In bed at night, at the back of the RV, I can hear the water cycle on and off. I just figured out how that is. I'm hearing the well pump cycle, with the sound carrying through the water lines.

Maybe I am nuts. But it seems like I'm finding water backing up into the bathtub a lot faster than I used too. But I guess gray water is no biggie. I can dump it on the ground where I am now.

A few thoughts on this thread. If your pump is cycling on and off you either have a faucet open somewhere or you have a leak. I hope it's not the latter.

Your grey could easily fill up in 3 days based on normal usage. This is normal.

These 2 things may not even be related.

I had a similar issue a while ago and figured out I left the shower head switch off but the water on. So not very noticeable and it appeared off, but that little switch on the shower wand is not a full proof valve and was dripping just enough to cycle the water pump and fill my grey quicker than normal. Not saying that's your issue, but a good example of things you need to look for.

stvdman wrote:
Taking showers and wshing for three days can quickly fill 50 gallon tank even.. If you dumped 11/13 and are full 11/16 after washing and taking showers...that seems normal.

me and the wife will fill our 50 gallon gray tank in 3 days if we dont conserve...

x2 - this is normal

Taking showers and wshing for three days can quickly fill 50 gallon tank even.. If you dumped 11/13 and are full 11/16 after washing and taking showers...that seems normal.

me and the wife will fill our 50 gallon gray tank in 3 days if we dont conserve...

Here's the verdict. Using the gray water tank almost full time for showers and washing, we can go for about three days before the gray water tank overflows. We dumped it Thursday afternoon in South Carolina, and this morning the bathtub drain backed up.

I was thinking that maybe somehow rain water might be making its way into a tank with a crack on top or something, but we haven't had any rain.

I'm really at a loss here. It isn't a problem here in Florida because I can just dump it on the sandy ground, but I can't travel like this.

I should crawl under the RV and try to find the gray water tank. Maybe tomorrow, running errands today. Maybe that will give me some ideas.

I wonder if the tank could be half full of crud? That might do it. I should flush it out somehow.

gbopp wrote:
I guess we should have asked more questions before giving responses. I thought the tank was filing while not being used. Apparently several of us had the same thought.

Anyway, the 'mystery' has been solved.
A pressure regulator may help a little. Lower pressure will result in a little less water going in the grey tank.

Enjoy your travels.

Well, that's the thing. In bed at night, at the back of the RV, I can hear the water cycle on and off. I just figured out how that is. I'm hearing the well pump cycle, with the sound carrying through the water lines.

Maybe I am nuts. But it seems like I'm finding water backing up into the bathtub a lot faster than I used too. But I guess gray water is no biggie. I can dump it on the ground where I am now.

I guess we should have asked more questions before giving responses. I thought the tank was filing while not being used. Apparently several of us had the same thought.

Anyway, the 'mystery' has been solved.
A pressure regulator may help a little. Lower pressure will result in a little less water going in the grey tank.

Enjoy your travels.

ADKDave,

So, basically what people are saying, is that your system is normal. Although going that long on the black tank might be unique, with just 2 I can see where that would be possible. The gray tanks on most rigs fill long before the black tanks. Without doing any scientific polling or calculations, I'd say about 3 times as fast, on average. If you're going 10 days on your gray tank, then that would be just about right for the 3:1 average.

Now, if what you're saying is that you used to be able to go longer, then most likely what is happening is that as you get more familiar with the rig, your water conservation practices might be getting a bit sloppier. In other words, you're using more water to wash up, shower, wash the dishes, etc.

Our rig has 75 gallons of freshwater, 60 gallons of gray and 45 gallons of black. With the five of us, we can go 3 days with mild conservation. We can extend it to maybe 4 to 5 days depending upon if we're solely using the motorhome for all meals and bathroom stops and just how strict out conservation measures are. (For instance, if we're out sight-seeing during the day we many not cook as many meals and use the RV bathroom facilities as much.) But usually it's running out of fresh water and filling the gray tank that limits us. The black tank generally does not fill first.

So, I believe your system is normal....except for the fact that you don't have a fresh water tank. Getting that fixed would be one of my highest priorities. Without a fresh water supply you have put a real damper on the ability for an RV to be "self sustaining".

Well, it WAS an interesting topic. :)

~Rick

ADKDave wrote:

Bill.Satellite wrote:
You say your gray tanks fills up on its own and I assume you understand that this is not correct. The gray tank fills up due to water being sent to the gray tank. I would start the investigation by making sure your fresh water tank is full, disconnecting from the city water connection and ensuring your water pumps are turned on. On the assumption that your black and gray tanks are empty when you start this test, what, if anything, happens when you are in dry camping mode? Do you hear the water pumps cycle? Is your fresh tank water level dropping while the gray tank level is increasing? Is nothing happening?

Our water tank and 12 volt pump are not hooked up.

Exactly! (Hummm, how can your water tank not be hooked up?)

wildmanbaker wrote:

We dumped the gray water in NY. About ten days later, it was full. We were traveling and showering at the farms and ranches we stayed at (we travel with four big dogs, two cats, a horse, and two goats). We only cooked dinners, so did dishes once a day. Bathroom sink used for the usual washing of hands and teeth brushing.

It seems to me that if we can go for a month on the black water tank, we should be able to go at least that long on gray water. With full time living and using our gray water tank, I'll bet we can't go more than three or four days.

Also, I've had this old motorhome for a couple of years. This is a new issue.

With 4 dogs, 2 cats a horse, and 2 goats?????? Must be crowded in the MH at times, no to mention clean-up. I would have to say that the MH is likely over-loaded!
Just for a comparison, we dry camp/boonedock a lot of the time, and have found that doing dishes is the biggest feed to the gray water tank. Showering uses less than half the water that doing the dishes does. A lot of water goes down the drain when rinsing the dishes.

HAHAHAHA! I drive the RV with two dogs and two cats. My wife tows the horse trailer with the horse. In our Kia Sorento, she has two dogs and the two goats. Yes, we got strange looks from the officers at the ag stop at the Florida border. All three on duty came out to see for themselves.

I thought that we were the only insane ones, but in Lexington, Virginia folks pulled in with two horses, three dogs, a rabbit, a sheep, and a pig. They were traveling from Maine to Florida.

We dumped the gray water in NY. About ten days later, it was full. We were traveling and showering at the farms and ranches we stayed at (we travel with four big dogs, two cats, a horse, and two goats). We only cooked dinners, so did dishes once a day. Bathroom sink used for the usual washing of hands and teeth brushing.

It seems to me that if we can go for a month on the black water tank, we should be able to go at least that long on gray water. With full time living and using our gray water tank, I'll bet we can't go more than three or four days.

Also, I've had this old motorhome for a couple of years. This is a new issue.

With 4 dogs, 2 cats a horse, and 2 goats?????? Must be crowded in the MH at times, no to mention clean-up. I would have to say that the MH is likely over-loaded!
Just for a comparison, we dry camp/boonedock a lot of the time, and have found that doing dishes is the biggest feed to the gray water tank. Showering uses less than half the water that doing the dishes does. A lot of water goes down the drain when rinsing the dishes.