Pre-fill water in blackwater tank?

BarneyS wrote:

2112 wrote:
Snip...I thought I was getting black tank odor but it turned out to be the P trap under the shower dried out and allowed gray tank odor in.

Solution: Take more frequent showers! :W :B
Barney

Yea, that's what she said! :W :E

Not a bad idea!

Wishbone51 wrote:

myredracer wrote:
It can be a bit of a nuisance to stand there a min. or two standing on the foot pedal tho.

I keep a bucket in the shower, put the shower head in the bucket, turn on the hot water, do a few things, come back and dump the bucket in the toilet.

myredracer wrote:
It can be a bit of a nuisance to stand there a min. or two standing on the foot pedal tho.

I keep a bucket in the shower, put the shower head in the bucket, turn on the hot water, do a few things, come back and dump the bucket in the toilet.

Adding water before use is recommended, at least a couple of gallons and up to 4-5 gallons. The dimensions/configuration of the tank will make a difference. Some tanks are wide and long, but quite shallow and if you don't add sufficient water first, the pyramid of p** can build up quicker to the point you can't get any more solids in the tank despite the tank having capacity left.

Our black tank is shallow and we try to get at least a few gallons in first. It can be a bit of a nuisance to stand there a min. or two standing on the foot pedal tho. We also use the tank flusher long enough to get the tank spotless with each dump. We never travel with water in any tanks - read too many stories of tank supports coming off pus travelling with partial tanks full can be a problem with the weight sloshing around.

With our first TT, we never ever had an issue with the black tank, even if we didn't add water first, but it had a tall tank in comparison to the one we have now.

The downside to adding lots of water first is that in drought areas using the least amount of water is important.

2112 wrote:
Snip...I thought I was getting black tank odor but it turned out to be the P trap under the shower dried out and allowed gray tank odor in.

Solution: Take more frequent showers! :W :B
Barney

We fill the toilet bowl a few times after dumping. We also use chemicals like the TST by Camco. It's not a strong smell. Does it work? I don't know, but we have not had any problems and have been using for the last 5 years. We also make sure that we use lots of water when doing #2.

Wishbone51 wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
The gray tank smells as bad as the black tank. If either AAV fails, you will have odors.

That's what I thought. He specifically said black tank odors though.

I thought I was getting black tank odor but it turned out to be the P trap under the shower dried out and allowed gray tank odor in.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Wishbone51 wrote:
Also depends how long your sewer pipe is. How long does a 3" pipe have to be to hold a gallon? For those who say they put a gallon or two in, how much is in the pipe and not in the tank?

1 gallon equals 231 cubic inches

pipe X Pi X length

3 X 3.14 X 24.5=230.79

If drain valve is 24.5" from tank outlet it would take 1 gallon to fill line
But remember-------tank drain is typically in the side of tank so a lip exists which holds some water back from going into drain pipe AND pipe is not going to be FULL until level in tank is above top of drain line.

So couple of gallons into tank will slosh around during travel AND will keep tank bottom wet so that any poop (remember that lip) doesn't dry out and stick/build up etc.

Length X diameter X PI is the radius of the circle. The area is half of the diameter, squared, X length X PI. So, the formula would be

1.5 * 1.5 * 32.7 * 3.14 = 231ish cubic inches.

That means the 3 inch pipe would have to be a little under 32.7 inches long to hold a gallon.

Wishbone51 wrote:
Also depends how long your sewer pipe is. How long does a 3" pipe have to be to hold a gallon? For those who say they put a gallon or two in, how much is in the pipe and not in the tank?

1 gallon equals 231 cubic inches

pipe X Pi X length

3 X 3.14 X 24.5=230.79

If drain valve is 24.5" from tank outlet it would take 1 gallon to fill line
But remember-------tank drain is typically in the side of tank so a lip exists which holds some water back from going into drain pipe AND pipe is not going to be FULL until level in tank is above top of drain line.

So couple of gallons into tank will slosh around during travel AND will keep tank bottom wet so that any poop (remember that lip) doesn't dry out and stick/build up etc.

Also depends how long your sewer pipe is. How long does a 3" pipe have to be to hold a gallon? For those who say they put a gallon or two in, how much is in the pipe and not in the tank?