Lots of water and the black tank.

[John_Joey]

Blank tank threads always get a lot of responses and one of the most common responses is "use a lot of water." I see it over and over, but what does using a lot of water really do? Or is it just one of those RV.Net myths that everyone says, but there is no science behind it?

[John_Joey]

sidney wrote:
This:



Then this:

Thanks for the good laugh. Words never wiser.

[sidney]

This:



Then this:

[Tachdriver]

dieharder wrote:

Tachdriver wrote:
No more "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down"

:B

Someone's played Trivial Pursuit before... or lived in New York at a time of the drought... 🙂

Live in Los Angeles area during drought conditions!

[wbwood]

Let's look at it this way. If you have two 5 gallon buckets and one bucket has a pint of water in it and the other has a gallon of water in it and you defecate in both and put toilet paper in both, which would most likely cause the most issues? To me the one with the least amount of water would. The one with more water would help keep things floating and loose. If the wet TP and feces and reach a solid surface and stay there, then they are more apt to cling. Then when you dump more on top of it, you are just producing a mound. You aren't going to have the water there to provide a means for it to move around.

[John_Joey]

oilslick wrote:
Perhaps I should clarify my post. The time to use "lots of water" is NOT when you flush the toilet, it's when you flush the tank AFTER emptying it. Tank space is limited so I use it wisely.

Thanks for the update. I'm guessing you have more experience in this area then 99% of us.

I and the DW use what I think is a reasonable amount of water. Enough to lift any TP off the side of the bowl prior to the flush, and when TP is absent, enough to flush the bowl to get rid of smell. On a 30 gallon tank we can go 7-10 days.

At dump time, if possible (FHU) I always attempt to run water threw the toilet with either a hose or a tank wand with the black valve open, then I shut the valve, fill the tank, and dump a second time just like you.

Maybe those that always say to use a lot of water are out for only a few days so capacity is not an issue and why chance it. Or they have fhu and don't mind doing the deed every 3-4 days.

One silly prior post mention that I should leave the black valve open which is just plain goofy, but it did get me thinking. Maybe those that had issues really had a leaking black valve, and using a lot of water is compensating for that.

[Bucky_Badger]

John&Joey wrote:

Old-Biscuit wrote:
The idea behind..use lots of water......is simple
Go #1...flush the toliet
Go #2...fill the toilet bowl and flush the toilet (full bowl of water helps to move the poop from toilet to tank inlet area)

Wait until tank is almost full before dumping.......the weight/volume of liquids rushing out of tank helps to carry any stuff down & out of tank

Then a rinse/flush.

Afterwards, flush a full toilet bowl of water back into tank so bottom stays wet and and stuff left behind doesn't dry out.
When/if it dries out....hard as a rock...tough to get rid of and a dry tank with stuff in it will stink

Simple......

You see to me that is just normal use. Where does this "use a lot of water come in?"

Also about always leaving the tank with some water in it, what do you think happens to all the non-FT that put there rigs away for the winter. That tank is dry as a bone, the next season there is never a problem.

Use it the way you want....If you use to little, we'll hear back from you on how to get rid of the pyramid of poop:B

[1775]

"Lots of water" really is relative. It is relative to the size of your black tank. My black tank is just ten gallons in my B. I start after I dump the tank by adding a gallon of water to the tank. I have a permanent macerator so I can't use a tornado to flush the tank. I have a wand but don't find it any more effective than filling the tank with clean water and dumping that. While in use, the black tank gets the water that goes down with each flush. Were I to fill the bowl after each use and flush again, I would fill the tank in five or six uses. Before I dump the black tank, if it is not full already, I add water down the toilet until it comes up into the toilet indicating a full tank (black tank sensors have not read correctly since I got it). I tried the GEO Method for a year and a half and saw no difference from using the blue/green stuff. So for me, lots of water is a gallon to start (1/10th tank capacity), and that seems to have worked well. In the winter when I winterize, I put a gallon of antifreeze down into the black tank to take the place of the water that was in there the rest of the year.

[pa_traveler]

Will continue to use a good amount of water,never heard of a problem caused by too much water. Don't want that waste pyramid,I tend to listen to good advice,and that's what ive heard recommended the most on here and other rv sites,why take a chance of using too little.

[oilslick]

Perhaps I should clarify my post. The time to use "lots of water" is NOT when you flush the toilet, it's when you flush the tank AFTER emptying it. Tank space is limited so I use it wisely.

[tenbear]

wbwood wrote:
There isn't o absolute correct way. Whatever way you do it is correct. That is until you have an issue. Then maybe you weren't correct.

How true. 🙂

[wbwood]

There isn't o absolute correct way. Whatever way you do it is correct. That is until you have an issue. Then maybe you weren't correct.

[DutchmenSport]

I love these black tank threads! No comments today! I'm speechless!

[AO_hitech]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
But after dumping, you must rinse the black tank. Either with a flushing system, a wand or a grey/black tank equalization.

Nope, that is NOT correct. I have NEVER flushed my black tank, and neither did the previous owner. It is a 1985 MH and the black tank does not smell. I also don't use "lots" of water. I do full the bowl about 1/2 full for solid wastes, but less than a cup otherwise. And, my sensors work! That is because of the GEO method (minus the bleach), but still, they work.

The only advantage I have is that I have a tank that is taller than it is wide, and has about 6" (or less) of pipe from it to the dump valve, so it dumps well. I also never dump unless the tank is at least 3/4 full, which is rarely a problem. If it is less than 1/4, I just leave it till next time. More than that and I add water to get to 3/4.

[doxiemom11]

We have personally experienced dried on gunk from a dry tank (when prior owner sold to us) and had a neighboring coach with same problem. We used water softner, dawn and filled with water and let it sit. You wouldn't have believed the chunks that loosened up and came out. The neighboring coach called a service who flushed , filled and put something in that had to sit overnight. Came back and drained, flushed again a couple of times -- saw what came out thru the clear elbow - we both had odor problems because of it. Now 3 year later and using 1 bowl water #1 and 2 bowls water #2 and adding a couple bowl fulls after a dump we have never had the problem again and we do not have an odor problems. Some people only flush down what they deposit into the bowl and never add any extra water no matter how much solids or paper are in the bowl - and some people use a lot of tp routinely. That will cause a clog/pileup.