leaving black tank full

yeabuddy wrote:
Our trailer is parked on a seasonal site this year and after the long weekend our black tank read full right before leaving. I shut off the water, looked down the toilet and sure enough the "water" was just below the bottom of the drain. My question is... is it ok to leave it full for 2 weeks until we come back up so as to let the chemicals do their work (break down waste and tissue etc.) or should I empty it?

Thanks folks for the replies. Sounds like I'll be fine. The vent pipe is working well, I have a good liter of water in the bowl covering the seal and more than enough deodorants mixed in the tank. I was more concerned about the weight of all that being suspended from the trailer for 2 weeks than any odor.

...and the references to it being a HOLDING tank and not a septic system. I do understand these things.
But now makes me wonder if anyone here has ever tested what the chemicals advertise e.g. "break down waste and tissue"? Is there any truth to that?

One more thing... don't put RID X in an RV holding tank

"Q: Can RID-X® be used with:
Recreational Vehicles (RVs)?

RID-X® has not been tested on recreational vehicles (RVs). therefore we cannot recommend using it in RVs."

I've left my rig with about 15 gallons in the black tank for several months on end. I would recommend using RV antifreeze in the toilet and in the traps.

With the black tank, having it empty is far worse than storing it full, mainly because of the "stone" forming. I add about five gallons of water + hand soap into the black tank before storing. So far, so good.

You know when you are doing it right when you have the vent fan open in the bathroom, open the toilet, and smell nothing objectionable.

powderman426 wrote:
Yep. And if the trailer stinks you have other problems. Full or empty you shouldn't smell anything.

That is what I was thinking. As long as there is water to cover the toilet seal and the vent pipe is working he shouldn't smell anything. You might want to leave more water in the bowl than normal due to evaporation.

paulcardoza wrote:
It won't hurt anything to leave it, but it won't help either. It's a HOLDING tank, not a septic system. There's no benefit of leaving it over dumping before you leave the CG.

Yep. And if the trailer stinks you have other problems. Full or empty you shouldn't smell anything.

It won't hurt anything to leave it, but it won't help either. It's a HOLDING tank, not a septic system. There's no benefit of leaving it over dumping before you leave the CG.

I sure wouldn't leave it for two weeks. I bet you'll come back to a real stinky trailer.

Drain and flush (fill) it out a couple of times and then leave a few gallons of fresh water in it.

Those chemicals are just basically deodorants...waste of money in my opinion.

Now if you put rid-x or something like that in there and leave it for two weeks, you will definitely have nothing but liquid when you get back......but the smell will still be there.

Ron

You're fine, but whether chemicals do much more than water itself is another issue.