Black Warer Tank Q

[paulsang]

We are rather new to the RV experience, and are on our first trip/shakedown. So far, so good.
However, suddenly, our black water tank has really become a foul-smelling experience every time we flush.

When we dump, we flush rather well, and when we are done, we drop in a Camco Poo-Poo packet and about 2 gallons of water. After a day or 2, we drop another in.

This is GHASTLY. Stinks the whole coach...just to flush the potty.

Any suggestions as to possible issues, and possibly fixes or better product recommendations?

[paulcardoza]

Why is camping in the deep south any different than July in New England, with temps at 90 degrees every day for a couple of weeks.

Forgive me for trying to inject some common sense into this thread...... 😕

rockhillmanor wrote:

paulcardoza wrote:
We are rather new to the RV experience.....
LOL! So...... Your s$%& don't stink and it'll take a few days of hot weather for it to? 😉

Apparently by your smartarse response you have never RV'd for any length of time in the deep south. Forgive me for even thinking of trying to help answer your question.:R:R

[Bucky_Badger]

Wishbone51 wrote:

opnspaces wrote:
After dumping the tank I run the sprayer but with the dump valve closed. I know that's not what's recommended but it's what I do.

I do the same.. Any reason why it's not recommended? Mine has a warning label.. Seems to be the easiest way to fill the tank when flushing.

So someone doesn't flood their camper?

[paulsang]

azjeffh wrote:

paulsang wrote:
As for the flushing with the tank closed....never crosses my mind. I have Sh*t coming at me from all directions daily. Don't need it coming OUT of my can...LOL

If your system works properly, it won't come out of the can but will come out of the roof vent. I have overflowed mine a few times (near final rinse) so I know :S

I certainly don't need sh*t raining down on me, either....:E

[azjeffh]

paulsang wrote:
As for the flushing with the tank closed....never crosses my mind. I have Sh*t coming at me from all directions daily. Don't need it coming OUT of my can...LOL

If your system works properly, it won't come out of the can but will come out of the roof vent. I have overflowed mine a few times (near final rinse) so I know :S

[Wishbone51]

opnspaces wrote:
The next thing he knew there was a loud boom and a bunch of foul smelling water came pouring out of his sealed underbelly. The black tank was split along the bottom from stem to stern. Despite that I still close the valve and let the sprayer fill the tank.

I see.. with the toilet flapper closed, it would create extreme pressure inside the tank?

[paulsang]

As for the flushing with the tank closed....never crosses my mind. I have Sh*t coming at me from all directions daily. Don't need it coming OUT of my can...LOL

When going over the RV at PDI, that was the first thing they said to never do alongside never leave the BW tank open at full hookup.

[rockhillmanor]

EsoxLucius wrote:
I see a lot of proponents of the GEO Method. From my limited experience with this subject the GEO Method seems to be a lot of work, is counterproductive to maintaining a black tank system, uses excessive nutrients and poison, and is more expensive than using the product I previously described.

How much mixing and pouring does one have to do with the GEO Method? A lot.

Why does the GEO Method attempt to disinfect the black tank only for it to be "infected" all over again? I don't know, seems superfluous.

Why does the GEO Method essentially kill the beneficial aerobic bacteria that help with odor control and waste decomposition? That is counterproductive.

I'm sure the GEO Method has a lot of satisfied users. But I look at black tank maintenance as wanting something simple, easy, effective and relatively benign. With Happy Camper you only use an ounce of the material (53 cents) dissolved into the black tank with a gallon or two of water to treat 40 gallons of black tank. Then you just use your system until its time to dump. No odor, a free-flowing waste material to dump, and a well maintained black tank.

Thank you. The GEO method is a myth, posted on a someones website years ago and they gave it a name so it looked important. All it is is Calgon Water Softener, and sends the new RV'er running for the store for a box of it thinking all their problems will be solved. :R

Holding tank chemicals for Marine and RV have been around for EONS. I think they know what they are doing producing these holding tanks chems for those of us smart enough to use them.

[opnspaces]

Wishbone51 wrote:

opnspaces wrote:
After dumping the tank I run the sprayer but with the dump valve closed. I know that's not what's recommended but it's what I do.

I do the same.. Any reason why it's not recommended? Mine has a warning label.. Seems to be the easiest way to fill the tank when flushing.

Sad to say I know of at least one poster on this forum that left his black tank sprayer running and got distracted talking to his neighbor. The next thing he knew there was a loud boom and a bunch of foul smelling water came pouring out of his sealed underbelly. The black tank was split along the bottom from stem to stern. Despite that I still close the valve and let the sprayer fill the tank.

[Horsedoc]

So tell me how pressure could build up in the black tank when there is a vent on top of the coach directly from this tank. :S

[Just_Jeff]

The reason you're not supposed to rinse the black tank with the valve closed is because with enough time, the tank could fill up, pressurize, and "explode" the toilet into the bathroom. Most likely you'd have to forget about it to get that much pressure, but during my walk-thru the dealer said a guy had just picked up his RV from that kind of repair. This guy pulled in late and thought he hooked the hose to the freshwater inlet but accidentally hooked it to the black tank rinse inlet b/c they were right beside each other.

On his recommendation, I have a different kind of fitting for the black tank rinse inlet for this reason...mine are also side-by-side.

[EsoxLucius]

I see a lot of proponents of the GEO Method. From my limited experience with this subject the GEO Method seems to be a lot of work, is counterproductive to maintaining a black tank system, uses excessive nutrients and poison, and is more expensive than using the product I previously described.

How much mixing and pouring does one have to do with the GEO Method? A lot.

Why does the GEO Method attempt to disinfect the black tank only for it to be "infected" all over again? I don't know, seems superfluous.

Why does the GEO Method essentially kill the beneficial aerobic bacteria that help with odor control and waste decomposition? That is counterproductive.

I'm sure the GEO Method has a lot of satisfied users. But I look at black tank maintenance as wanting something simple, easy, effective and relatively benign. With Happy Camper you only use an ounce of the material (53 cents) dissolved into the black tank with a gallon or two of water to treat 40 gallons of black tank. Then you just use your system until its time to dump. No odor, a free-flowing waste material to dump, and a well maintained black tank.

[Wishbone51]

opnspaces wrote:
After dumping the tank I run the sprayer but with the dump valve closed. I know that's not what's recommended but it's what I do.

I do the same.. Any reason why it's not recommended? Mine has a warning label.. Seems to be the easiest way to fill the tank when flushing.

[opnspaces]

I use no chemicals and I have fewer smell issues in the trailer than I have at home. If you don't have a good bathroom fan you might look into one. Here's the fan in my trailer. Clicky Notice how the fan blades fill the entire vent opening.

Here's what I do.

If necessary run the bathroom fan while using toilet.

Turn off bathroom fan for a few seconds while I flush. This prevents pulling any stink up from the tank while the flush valve is open.


Turn fan back on to remove any odors that might have come up out of the tank. I have a powerful fan so it will clear that small bathroom in about 15 - 30 seconds.


After dumping the tank I run the sprayer but with the dump valve closed. I know that's not what's recommended but it's what I do. When I hear the sprayer stop I know it's under water. I leave the sprayer running and I pull the dump lever. After it's drained and I feel that all I hear is water from the sprayer running in the pipe I close the dump valve again. Let the sprayer run for a minute maybe two and then shut it off and drain the gray tank.

In seven years of this trailer I have only once ever had a stinky situation like you mentioned. To fix it I rented a full hookup site and filled and drained the tank about three times. After that the issue was resolved.

Maybe the fix for what you are experiencing is to just fill and drain the tank a few times to get any accumulated stuff all flushed out.

[Wishbone51]

2012Coleman wrote:
I have not tried this yet, but you may want to look into the GEO Method

I use the GEO method, but without the bleach.. I use liquid Tide and Calgon, and have had no issues. The only smell I ever smell in the bathroom is a faint Tide smell. Quite fresh! I always add one cup of tide and a capful of Calgon to a five gallon pail, which I dump down the toilet after I dump the tanks. Same for the grey tank.