Heads up if you use Aqua-Kem "toss-ins"

[Our_Place]

I changed to these early this year and thought they was the cat's *** but it turns out they are trouble! I have discovered that the "plastic bag" that is suppose to dissolve in water is not doing so and they are just dumping out with the solids. I had one snag on the inside of the dump hose and that is how I found out they don't work, it still had the blue powder inside it as a clump of blue paste. So today at work I took one and tossed it into a 5 gallon bucket half full of water and at the end of the day it was still floating on top, not dissolving at all! Watch out for these...........

[mowin]

EsoxLucius wrote:

mowin wrote:
I've tried everything out there even the geo method. Nothing stops poop from stinking.

Even Happy Camper? It actually tackles odor and costs as little as 53 cents per 40 gallons of black tank capacity. http://www.5starhappycamper.com/index.html

Yep, tried it. Friend of mine works for a sewer treatment plant. He gave me this concentrate that smells like cherries. He said it "may" mask some oder, but dont count on it. It didn't work either.

[kmbelt]

I USE chemicals, but i use this product.

http://www.opproducts.com/PurePowerBlue.html

It is safe for sewer AND septic systems as it is bacterial. I used to use the normal blue aquakem and other junk. I will never use them again. This stuff is fantastic. I actually put it in my tanks and filled them with water, let them sit for 2 weeks then fully flushed. All odors and buildup is gone now.

I add every trip and have not had anymore issues since.

You like using, then use it. Don't like using, then don't. To each their own.

[willald]

Hehe, threads like this, where folks suggest that no chemicals should ever be used 'cause black or grey tank should never have an odor, really make me laugh.

To those that say the tanks should never have an odor, so no need for chemicals: Enjoy living in your dream world, where everything always works perfect and ideal. However, do know that one day something WILL go wrong for you, too - a seal will wear out, a check valve will get clogged (that you can't easily fix on the fly), a sewer hose will spring a leak....And your dream world will come crashing (stinking!) down around you. 🙂

Its another example of idealism vs reality here. Yes, in an ideal, perfect world where nothing wears out or breaks and everything always works perfectly, yes, RV holding tanks should not ever have an odor.

HOWEVER, reality is that none of us really live in that world. In the REAL world, where things wear out and/or break, people make mistakes, and the perfect, permanent solution to a problem often cannot be implemented right away.....Yes, odors can and DO on occasion escape from the tanks, and it can stinketh badly. When (not if) that happens to you, you will wish very much that you were using chemicals, if you were not. So will those camping around you (or those in line behind you at a dump station, haha!)

THAT is why chemicals of some form are a good idea. That way, if odors do escape from the tank on occasion, it will not be as bad to deal with. Sometimes, things just happen - a seal wears out and you aren't in a good position, place to repair it immediately, a black tank vent line gets clogged, or a sewer hose leaks just a few drops of nasty stuff when dumping (and it only takes a very few drops to have quite the nasty smell if no chemicals are being used, haha).

I agree, though, that it is very questionable how much chemicals help with breakdown of solid 'waste'. And, one does have to be careful which chemicals they use, so as not to damage a campground's septic system or cause other environmental issues. However, there are several good products out there that provide good odor control, without harming septic systems or the environment.

That is why I use a chemical called Odorlos - To prevent/minimize the odor, so that if odors do escape from the tank on occasion, it will not be as bad. And, I can tell you from personal experience of having a mishap when dumping the tanks once (don't ask for any more details, haha), that this Odorlos stuff DOES drastically reduce the odor. In some cases, it eliminates the odor entirely. I won't camp without it, no matter what the 'GEO method' folks say. 🙂

Poop stinks, bottom line. If it didn't, there'd be something very seriously wrong with the person that 'produced' it, haha. 🙂 When you store stuff that stinks that badly just under your floor in a plastic holding tank for long periods, then manually dump it via a vinyl sewer hose...There are going to be lots of opportunities for that odor to escape. THAT is why chemicals are a good idea, as 'insurance' for when (not if) things don't work perfectly.

[2012Coleman]

Our Place wrote:
Wow this thread has gotten way out of hand, now I'm sorry I posted it. We don't get to use our camper very often and when it's not in use it is in an inside storage building. I use the chemicals in our tank to help prevent ANY CHANCH of nasty smells occurring and getting me kicked outside.

lanerd wrote:
In this case, the poster obviously uses Aqua-Kem every day; which is totally not required.

Well, you know, it's been said that without threads like this, this site would cease to exist!

Not to mention the ones who can tell what you obviously are doing by reading a few sentences on an internet forum - simply amazing! I'll bet you didn't even know you were doing that so stop it! 😛

Any stock market tips?

[EsoxLucius]

mowin wrote:
I've tried everything out there even the geo method. Nothing stops poop from stinking.

Even Happy Camper? It actually tackles odor and costs as little as 53 cents per 40 gallons of black tank capacity. http://www.5starhappycamper.com/index.html

[mowin]

Our Place wrote:
Wow this thread has gotten way out of hand, now I'm sorry I posted it. We don't get to use our camper very often and when it's not in use it is in an inside storage building. I use the chemicals in our tank to help prevent ANY CHANCH of nasty smells occurring and getting me kicked outside.

Don't be sorry. I get smells every time I flush. Plain and simple "s**t stinks"... I've tried everything out there even the geo method. Nothing stops poop from stinking. Were seasonal, and use or rv every weekend. I dump and flush my tank every Sunday.

[Our_Place]

Wow this thread has gotten way out of hand, now I'm sorry I posted it. We don't get to use our camper very often and when it's not in use it is in an inside storage building. I use the chemicals in our tank to help prevent ANY CHANCH of nasty smells occurring and getting me kicked outside.

[Scooter86]

Personally op, I would go fill your tanks with water and then give them a good flush. Preferably when there is nobody in line to use the dump station. I use the geo method, no smell issues and it is certainly no more difficult than dumping the other chemicals in your tank. Whatever method you decide to use, water and a lot of it is the key. I always keep 5 gallons in the black tank, and use a clear elbow when dumping. I try to time it so at least every 3rd trip I can keep flushing the black tank till the water is mostly clear with no "chunks" without holding anyone up at the dumpstation. For the record, we dry camp a lot, sometimes at sites with no dump capabilities. I have had a weeks worth of stuff in the black tank that sat for a month and didn't stink up the rv and no chemicals used.

[myredracer]

owenssailor wrote:

Thanks for this informative post.
Sewage is not in the RV tank long enough to be digested. It is a holding tank.
Water and lots of rinsing works well.

Excellent post by lanerd.

Has anyone ever come across a test of RV chemicals in a holding tank to determine if the chemicals actually cause the tank contents to break down? I have done some searching on the internet and found nothing. I highly doubt that the RV chemicals actually do a darn thing for the limited time the holding tank is used before dumping.

If there people are using the chemicals in part to mask odors, then something is wrong. Basically, without some scientific testing that shows that RV chemical treatments actually break down the sewage in an RV holding tank, then it's a total waste to use the.

RV owners get sucked into using a number of useless products, like "RV safe toilet paper" that costs way more than household TP that will break down. Some "RV safe" TPs don't even break down at all and are a total rip.

[hotbyte]

lanerd wrote:
...
In this case, the poster obviously uses Aqua-Kem every day; which is totally not required. ...

Ron

Where is obvious the OP is using Aqua-Kem daily?

[EsoxLucius]

If black tank contents are not in it long enough to be digested (whatever that means) then why does it's contents have an odor? The fact is that human waste begins to decompose immediately just from the bacteria it contains, and any residual bacteria in the tank. Using products that accelerate decomposition, especially aerobic activity, can reduce odor in the tank (regardless if it escapes or not), and liquefy waste to facilitate ease of dumping. Bleach is the worst thing one can put in their black tank.

[lanerd]

IndyCamp wrote:
Typical RV.net.

The OP says:

Heads up if you use Aqua-Kem

The thread is then filled by posters talking about why chemicals are not needed, as if the OP was torn about whether or not to use chemicals. :R

This forum is a gathering place to provide and receive information pertinent to the rv subject matter of individuals. If a person is not aware of information that could be helpful in their daily rv lives, it is considerate of others to inform them of such.

In this case, the poster obviously uses Aqua-Kem every day; which is totally not required. You'd be surprised at number of people who are totally unaware that they don't really need chemicals in their black tanks. They think that having an odor is normal and therefore chemicals are required to cover up that odor, when in fact, they actually need to find out how/why the odor is getting from the black tank into the living area of the rv as something is not working as designed.

Finding/repairing the source of the problem/procedure is only to the benefit of the rv owner. Masking the odor can be utilized in the interim until the problem can be repaired. Using chemicals constantly is just plain not necessary and is a total waste of good money that should be spent on finding and repairing the problem.

So, before you condemn those who offer good advice, you should step back and think about this.

Ron

[creeper]

Old-Biscuit wrote:


My point is you should NOT smell anything....poop/chemicals etc. unless something has failed.
Mechanical vapor barriers are designed into grey/black tanks and drain lines.

Understand what those vapor barriers are/how they work........fix them if not functioning correctly.

Just like a HOUSE.......vapor barriers stop odors. DO you use chemicals at home to mask drain line odors.
NO.....why not
House has water in toilet, toilet floor flange seal, 'P' traps, roof vents and some even use Air Admittance Valves and the drain lines are connected directly to sewer/septic systems w/o any valves in between so your neighbors poop could stink up your house but it doesn't.

Same as the RV. Gotta a smell...something is broken. Find it/Fix it.

Folks make RVng complicated when they aren't

It's not like a house. A house is not bounding down the road at 60mph with changing pressures. A negative pressure can move gases past p traps and why you often have smells when moving down the road. Kinda like when you open your window and that important paper gets sucked out the window.


If not for negative pressures and expanding gasses you'd never smell anything. An open vent, an open window, an A/c return coming on can change the pressures and pull odor through a p trap that is sloshing around or in from the sewer vents on the roof.

That's why those sewer vent contraptions work so well, they make sure the venting system is working properly and help alleviate negative pressure issues.

[Old-Biscuit]

TechWriter wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:

TechWriter wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
IF you smell either FIX what is broken.

. . . or ??

Before you start rooting around looking for something to fix, just dump some bleach down the black and/or gray tank.

No need for expensive deodorizers.

WHY so you can smell bleach....yuck!

If it's a choice between bleach smell or sewage smell, I pick the former.

Choice should be no smell

Gotta a smell...something is broken. Find it/Fix it.

Maybe. But before you get out the hammer and duct tape, shrink the stink with some bleach.

Fix the source of stink vs masking it

Folks make RVng complicated when they aren't

And some folks don't read very well.

Seems to be lack of comprehension vs reading ability

[TechWriter]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

TechWriter wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
IF you smell either FIX what is broken.

. . . or ??

Before you start rooting around looking for something to fix, just dump some bleach down the black and/or gray tank.

No need for expensive deodorizers.

WHY so you can smell bleach....yuck!

If it's a choice between bleach smell or sewage smell, I pick the former.

Gotta a smell...something is broken. Find it/Fix it.

Maybe. But before you get out the hammer and duct tape, shrink the stink with some bleach.

Folks make RVng complicated when they aren't

And some folks don't read very well.