GRAY and WASTE HOLDING TANKS??

[mike73]

My RV is equipped with a 30gal waste holding tank and a 40 gallon Gray holding tank. Silly question but when filling the holding tanks does it separate the water? Will it hold 70 gallons combined? I'm new to RV'ing and just wondering how filling from one source is filling both tanks.

[campigloo]

You might want to invest in a water hose for drinking water and a filter. The hoses are usually white. Your water will taste much better and the filter will catch most debris coming out of the park water system.

[msmith1199]

Hoppypoppy wrote:

K3WE wrote:
Time out...

Another scary post from someone who appears to be extremely poorly informed.

I again send thanks to my original RV dealer who gave me a walk thorugh and explained A TON of important stuff.

If you don't know about your three tanks, I'm scared of the other stuff you may not know about of it...some of it has significant safety ramifications.

None of it's rocket science, but some of it might not be obvious either, and again, there's a good bit of stuff to learn.

I think you need to pause for a while, do a bunch of reading, maybe go see an RV dealer. There's also some books that do a nice job covering everything.

Agree, but didn't want to comment on it. Serious research time needed here. I almost think it is someone playing around.

What do you guys think he's doing on this forum asking this question? It's called research and getting the answers he's needed. Your advice to him is to do exactly what he is doing. So he got some terms a little mixed up. Sounds like he's figured it out and knows what he's doing now. That's why this is the "Beginning RVing" forum.

[Hoppypoppy]

K3WE wrote:
Time out...

Another scary post from someone who appears to be extremely poorly informed.

I again send thanks to my original RV dealer who gave me a walk thorugh and explained A TON of important stuff.

If you don't know about your three tanks, I'm scared of the other stuff you may not know about of it...some of it has significant safety ramifications.

None of it's rocket science, but some of it might not be obvious either, and again, there's a good bit of stuff to learn.

I think you need to pause for a while, do a bunch of reading, maybe go see an RV dealer. There's also some books that do a nice job covering everything.

Agree, but didn't want to comment on it. Serious research time needed here. I almost think it is someone playing around.

[bsinmich]

It is nice to know the capacity of your fresh water tank but it means next to nothing when filling it. I fill until the tank starts to overflow and then I know it is full. (mine is 95 gal. fresh) I can also see the fresh tank through one of the lower compartments so that gives me a good idea. If full on ours we can go a week using the water for showers daily and bathroom. You learn to econmize after a few years.

[K3WE]

Time out...

Another scary post from someone who appears to be extremely poorly informed.

I again send thanks to my original RV dealer who gave me a walk thorugh and explained A TON of important stuff.

If you don't know about your three tanks, I'm scared of the other stuff you may not know about of it...some of it has significant safety ramifications.

None of it's rocket science, but some of it might not be obvious either, and again, there's a good bit of stuff to learn.

I think you need to pause for a while, do a bunch of reading, maybe go see an RV dealer. There's also some books that do a nice job covering everything.

[Wishbone51]

Maybe he meant the black tank flush fill. That's how I fill my black tank if I want to flush it. He could have been wondering if when you put water in it, if it will go to both tanks.

[nwtraveler]

Another way to figure out how many gallons is in a tank is to measure the tank (if you can get to it, that is) using foot measurements. Multiply all three sides (H X W X L). That will give you the cubic feet of the tank. Then multiply by 7.48 and that will give you a close approximation of the number of gallons that a particular tank will hold.

ei. you have a tank that measures 4'L by 1.5'H by 1.5'W. 4 X 1.5 X 1.5 = 9 cubic feet. 9 X 7.48 (gallons per cubic foot) = 67.32. So that tank holds about 67 or so gallons.

I know, not all tanks are perfectly straight on the edges, but then, one isn't looking for an exact figure. The measurements will give you a close approximation of the number of gallons a tank will hold.

[Goostoff]

Since you didnt tell everyone where you found your fresh water capacity for future people wondering, it can be found on a sticker inside one of the kitchen cupboards. Usually the one closest to the sink. Mine holds 66 gallons.

[Old-Biscuit]

Simple diagram of basic RV water/waste system

[ddschuman]

Black and gray tanks are "waste" only tanks. They hold the dirty water/waste from your shower drain, sink drains and toilet. Toilet water/waste goes into black tank and sink/shower water drains into gray tank. You don't fill these tanks from outside your trailer, they fill on their own as you use your plumbing. Your fresh water tank can be filled through your fresh water inlet outside your trailer and is used to carry fresh water on board to use your plumbing system when city water is not available. The fresh water tank uses the water pump to transport water from the fresh water tank through the trailers plumbing.

I'm a slow typist too! Glad you got your answer. Happy camping!!!

[Hoppypoppy]

You don't fill the waste and gray tanks. As you use the fresh water, the water will go to the appropriate tank, waste or gray. You start with a full fresh tank, and empty waste (black) and gray tanks.

You got your answer while I was still typing. Slow fingers....

[mike73]

never mind. Just found the answer. thanks everyone

[mike73]

thanks. Gotchya. I can't find how many gallons my fresh water tank can hold (the capacity). Do you just fill until it starts coming out the top?

[Bobbo]

OK, there are 3 tanks on most RV's. Some have 4 since they have 2 separate gray tanks, but I will stick with the norm here.

1. Fresh water tank - this is the tank you fill to carry water with you for showers, drinking, flushing the toilet, etc.

2. Gray tank - this is the tank that the shower and one or both sinks empty into. It is considered less dirty than the black tank, and is dumped after the black tank is dumped to rinse out the stinky slinky (aka sewer hose).

3. Black tank - this is the tank that the toilet and maybe the bathroom sink empty into. It is dumped first so the gray tank water can flush it out of the line.

Sooooo, you only have 1 tank to manually fill, the fresh water tank. The other tanks are filled by your using water in the MH, and must be dumped when full.

One note, always be sure the waste tanks are 2/3 full or more before dumping to facilitate good flushing action to get all of the solids out.