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TURNKEY's avatar
TURNKEY
Explorer
Jul 12, 2021

Thoughts on a weird/unique way to empty holding tanks.

Would it work to use just the hose to dump the tanks into a pit toilet?

Once in a very blue moon we camp in an area that has no near dump stations but has pit toilets. I have researched macerator pumps like Flo-jet but $300 plus is a lot to pay for something I wouldn't use every year.

The solution would be a two person job with a long hose. You run the hose to the pit toilet and have one person hold it there to ensure it will not fall away. The second person pulls the valve open, this will fill the hose, but probably nothing will come through the hose as the far end may be higher than the tank level.

Then if you raise the hose off the ground starting near the rv and walk the raised portion towards the toilet whatever is in the hose should go downhill into the toilet. The process will take several of these "milking" moves and some time but should work...right????
  • Pit toilets are not built for RV dumping. Please don't use them for this purpose.
  • I highly suggest a macerator pump - we've found them very useful and have them on both rigs (Sani-Con on fifth wheel, and FloJet for TC).

    It's not something I do often, but I have dumped the tanks into pit toilets a couple times. It's probably frowned upon, and as such, I generally avoid it. If I have no plans to leave a site, it's a long round-trip to an actual dump station, and the vault is very lightly used has lots of visible capacity, are about the only set of circumstances I'll do this.

    I guess your method might work, but I've never had much luck with garden hoses and those bayonet caps that have garden hose outlets on them. With a larger hose - or enough actual sewer hose - it would probably work fine.

    Now that we don't have black tanks (we have composting toilets), I might dump a five gallon bucket or two of grey water in every couple days. Keeps us from having to move, won't overwhelm the system, and I don't feel as bad about it.
  • That might work, but might not. (Bear in mind, of course, that many vault toilets prohibit the draining of cassettes, let alone black tanks!)

    The problem will be at the end of the process. Let's assume you have "milked" as much as you can. There will always be a residue at the upstream end of the hose, since the vault is above the level of the black tank valve.

    So when you go to remove the hose from the black tank valve, the chances are really good that there will be a little surprise waiting for you.

    Let us know what happens -- good luck!

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