Black tank

Komfort 23TS wrote:
I guess I started something flowing!

Maybe, maybe not. Black tank discussions, like tires, towing, truck capacity, and various other topics are usually well attended, and opinions (and often emotions) tend to fly freely.

I guess I started something flowing!

Heiny57 wrote:
This is where I jump in and turn the thread a little.


I use my TT somewhat full time for work. I go home on weekends.

Here's my question, do you leave valve open, or closed and dump when needed. When I let it fill I get smells, not when I leave open.

smells really shouldn’t enter the camper if everything is working properly, and I can’t imagine why leaving the dump valve open would help with that … the smell is in the tank either way and can be really foul in hot weather…
leaving the black tank valve open, will allow the liquids to drain leaving the solids behind in the tank…

if you have smells when the valve is closed there is a good chance the vent is plugged or too far into the tank causing it not to work…

Heiny57 wrote:
When I let it fill I get smells, not when I leave open.

It should not be doing that. You want to add something to the tank to help mitigate the smells and aid the breakdown process, and also make sure lot of water is used especially after a #2. Lastly you want to ensure the 'fart fan' (as a female friend of mine likes to call the bathroom fan) is OFF whenever the toilet valve is open.

At any rate you do NOT want to leave the black tank value open. Grey tank maybe, but not black.

Heiny57, We use ours a lot. When dry camping or boondocking, we leave valves closed of course as we don't have a place to dump. sometimes grey water is salvaged and used to put out the evening fire. If the forest service you are in allows grey water to be dispersed on vegetation, take advantage of it and dump once every couple days. If we are in an RV park, with hook ups, we usually leave the grey water valve for the shower open as we are hooked up to the water supply and can take a longer shower. As far as the black water, we never leave that valve open, as said earlier you need to water volume to push all the solids out. Our normal practice is to start out with a little water in the tank, usually urine as we are conserving water. after the first day, I add about 1/2 the dosage of what is required for my 40 gallon black tank, this way the chemical is not down at the drain. After the second full day or into the third day, I add the remainder of the 40 gallon required dosage. We camp in cold, hot and comfortable climates and don't really encounter any foul odors. Make sure your vents are clear and odors should not be an issue. Trial and error for your specific situation is about all you can do. OH, when I get ready to dump black tank, I make sure I fill it up the rest of the way so the water volume is adequate to flush our solids. Good Luck & Be Safe ! ! !

Komfort 23TS wrote:
OK I guess I have left you hanging long enough. I have an in tank washer put I found out that it really does not work well, it pumps water in but not strong. I could not snake it from top or bottom. So here it comes I used a Draino that does not harm pipes. I went to camping world and got a power wand that you drop in the toilet, I will us that instead of just my in tank washer. Camping world has a sink attachment for the power wand so you will not have to bring a big hose in your trailer. I think using the cg's toilet is not a bad idea! I hope this is a de- stresser for you, thank you for all your help and comments.

Terry,

First of all - thanks for taking the time to update the thread you started with your request for help.

The issue l, and probably some of the others, had is with the fact that each of us spent much of our own good time responding to your request for help and we wanted to see that we did not waste our time. l believe that we must 'give back' in some way when helped, even if it means providing a bit more closure than just saying it was solved. :)

'De-stresser'? Not going there.

As for your solution - it makes sense and worked for you so that is all that matters.

You should never leave the drain valve open. The tank needs a build up of liquid so that it can flush out everything. There are many products out there to deodorize the tank between dumps (no pun intended). The same goes for the grey tank.

This is where I jump in and turn the thread a little.


I use my TT somewhat full time for work. I go home on weekends.

Here's my question, do you leave valve open, or closed and dump when needed. When I let it fill I get smells, not when I leave open.

Yep, clear as mud…
Your question was, How do you unplug a black tank?
My question is, how did you plug the black tank???
I doubt your built in flusher is the real cause…

It seems to me they mostly plug from not being used properly (ample water), leaving the dump valve open, putting things in there that don’t belong there (wet wipes or paper towels), or not leaving some water in there after dumping…
I suggest better practices first making the need for flushing minimal to begin with…

It's all "clear" now and I am going to keep it that way.