Hey Y'all! Have a noob question!

Or you can do the @Turtle experiment at home.

Poop in your toilet bowl. Leave it for 3 months without flushing. And see what happens.

And if you can please let us know.:E

Let me tell you a story.

The year before last I went on vacation with my wife. At the end of the vacation she got very, very sick and I had to B-line it home with about a 1/2 a black tank.

I had to deal with my wife's illness and didn't have time to deal with the black tank. It sat for 3 months with a "blue bottle" of treatment. I went on a small trip at the end of 3 months. I hooked up the black line and dumped it the first time I got to the campground.

I had no problems and no smell.

BTW fecal matter is water soluble. It will settle but it will also break down and break up.

happy2rv wrote:
I'd agree with adding water and dumping before leaving. Not only do you run the risk of odors, liquids will evaporate especially in the summer leaving a concentrating sludge. I would also always add several gallons of water to the tank before use at the beginning of a stay.

Yep,that sounds like the best advice.
If it were just me I'd poop in a bucket with a bag in it in the shower stall and pee outside.
Unfortunately the Wife seems to be adverse to that arrangement.

starlord wrote:
If it were me, I would fill the tank with water and dump it before leaving it for any length of time. The odor pods (or liquid) will not last for longer than a week or so and you also run the risk of the solids in the tank starting to adhere to each other and forming something you'll play heck trying to get out.

Appreciate the info.
That was kinda my thoughts,I'm worried about fouling the tank level sensors as well.
Guess I'll be pumping it out every trip and just add some lake water to the tank to get it up to a good level for draining.
We bought a macerator pump and a blue boy black water tank that can sit in the back of the truck and I can easily empty it into the sewer clean out in the garage when we get home.
It'll be a pain in the butt until we get our redneck septic system installed which I would have already done if it wasnt for the **** hip surgery.
We were looking for an easy out until that day comes.

I'd agree with adding water and dumping before leaving. Not only do you run the risk of odors, liquids will evaporate especially in the summer leaving a concentrating sludge. I would also always add several gallons of water to the tank before use at the beginning of a stay.

Most RVers IMO don’t “fill” their black tank but filing it with fresh water prior to dumping is a best practice. How long do I go without dumping the black tank...never more than a week. More often if possible

If it were me, I would fill the tank with water and dump it before leaving it for any length of time. The odor pods (or liquid) will not last for longer than a week or so and you also run the risk of the solids in the tank starting to adhere to each other and forming something you'll play heck trying to get out.