Residual water in black water tank

[Steve_911]

Newbe question I'm sure has been answered before. What is the rule of thumb of how much water to put in the black water tank after you finish dumping the tank?
And what is the way most people add the water? ie; hose, bucket etc.
Thanks for any response.
Steve

[mgirardo]

Our MH has a built in sprayer to clean the black tank. I leave it on while dumping. Once the water runs clear, I close the dump valve and let the sprayer run another minute to put some water back in. After driving home, I usually fill the tank up again and dump it again. It may have been clear at the campground, but it's chocolate milk after driving a couple hundred miles with that couple gallons of water sloshing around.

I've always heard it was good to leave a little water in the tank to keep the seals from drying out and any residual solid waste from getting caked on.

-Michael

[wbwood]

We normally add a couple toilet bowls full of water. We also add a little deodorizer. Just make sure you are using lots of water, especially when using toilet paper and doing #2.

[Monaco_Montclai]

A commode full works for us,now it's all happy-camping

[Tvov]

Caveman Charlie wrote:

rvsolutions wrote:
Always amazed with folks who waste water (and labor) flushing out a black tank by filling it with fresh water and rinsing. Dump it, put a bowl full of water or so and chemicals if you use them and go on your way. A little residual in there is not going to hurt a thing. I mean really, you are not going to get it clean enough to drink so why jump through the hoop?

I agree. I'm just a weekend camper. If I have time because no one is in line behind me then a few times a year I dump a couple of 3 gallon buckets of water quickly down the toilet. That is all the cleaning I ever do for the tank. Why are people so obsessed with getting it squeaky clean? As long as you don't have the pyramid of doom (poop, waste, or whatever you call it) what difference does it make how clean it is?

With my TT, if I don't carefully rinse the black tank, the camper will get smelly inside while sitting during the summer when it is not being used. Probably a combination of how it is vented and where it is stored, but rinsing the black tank takes care of it.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Caveman Charlie wrote:
I leave about a gallon of fresh water in there at the most. I only have about a 25 gallon tank and I don't want to use up all that extra space by adding more then that. I leave a little in there because it seems to keep my dump valves lubricated and then they slide open and closed easier.

Same here - I mix the tank chemical in the toilet bowl as I fill it, then dump the whole thing. I add some water to the gray tank with a squirt of dish soap, too. I was told to keep the gaskets on the gate valves "wet".

[therink]

Caveman Charlie wrote:

rvsolutions wrote:
Always amazed with folks who waste water (and labor) flushing out a black tank by filling it with fresh water and rinsing. Dump it, put a bowl full of water or so and chemicals if you use them and go on your way. A little residual in there is not going to hurt a thing. I mean really, you are not going to get it clean enough to drink so why jump through the hoop?

I agree. I'm just a weekend camper. If I have time because no one is in line behind me then a few times a year I dump a couple of 3 gallon buckets of water quickly down the toilet. That is all the cleaning I ever do for the tank. Why are people so obsessed with getting it squeaky clean? As long as you don't have the pyramid of doom (poop, waste, or whatever you call it) what difference does it make how clean it is?

To each his own. I don't like to use chemicals and it does make a difference to give it a good flush between uses. That is the purpose of the flush system.

[Caveman_Charlie]

rvsolutions wrote:
Always amazed with folks who waste water (and labor) flushing out a black tank by filling it with fresh water and rinsing. Dump it, put a bowl full of water or so and chemicals if you use them and go on your way. A little residual in there is not going to hurt a thing. I mean really, you are not going to get it clean enough to drink so why jump through the hoop?

I agree. I'm just a weekend camper. If I have time because no one is in line behind me then a few times a year I dump a couple of 3 gallon buckets of water quickly down the toilet. That is all the cleaning I ever do for the tank. Why are people so obsessed with getting it squeaky clean? As long as you don't have the pyramid of doom (poop, waste, or whatever you call it) what difference does it make how clean it is?

[rvsolutions]

Always amazed with folks who waste water (and labor) flushing out a black tank by filling it with fresh water and rinsing. Dump it, put a bowl full of water or so and chemicals if you use them and go on your way. A little residual in there is not going to hurt a thing. I mean really, you are not going to get it clean enough to drink so why jump through the hoop?

[Steve_911]

Wow...great feedback. I thank you all for that. I get the idea...??
Happy trails..

[mlts22]

After emptying, I squirt a couple ounces of Dawn hand soap down the commode, flush a toilet bowl full of water, then call it done. The hand soap breaks up waste the same way it breaks up grease and food on dishes. It isn't perfect, but when I flush in the bathroom with the fan on, no stench comes out.

Water does evaporate in the black tank, so if one isn't using the rig in the summer, one might come back to a dry tank and "stone formations". The Dawn detergent helps with that, but it is wise to put enough water in to not risk chancing it.

[Sandia_Man]

Never thought to measure the amount, best guess is 2-3 gallons which is about a minute of holding the foot pedal down on the toilet after dumping and flushing out of tank.

[DutchmenSport]

I flush my black tank very well (I have a method to my own madness). But after done flushing, I add a gallon or so through the toilet (foot pedal). If your tanks are cleaned out, all you need is a little bit of water in the tank, enough to drain down to the knife valve in our outlet, to keep it from drying out. That's all you need. In the winter, RV anti-freeze to keep it wet.

[Caveman_Charlie]

I leave about a gallon of fresh water in there at the most. I only have about a 25 gallon tank and I don't want to use up all that extra space by adding more then that. I leave a little in there because it seems to keep my dump valves lubricated and then they slide open and closed easier.

[Tvov]

Steve 911 wrote:
Newbe question I'm sure has been answered before. What is the rule of thumb of how much water to put in the black water tank after you finish dumping the tank?
And what is the way most people add the water? ie; hose, bucket etc.
Thanks for any response.
Steve

Two different situations: Are you actively using the camper after dumping? or storing it for awhile before the next trip?

If I am actively using our camper, after dumping I'll fill and flush the toilet a couple times while adding some toilet deodorizer (usually the green stuff from Walmart). So this would be 2 or 3 gallons of water.

If I am storing the camper... when we get home, I rinse out the tanks by filling and draining them (I am able to do this where I park it - this is assuming I have already "dumped" the tanks at the campground dumpsite). Then I fill the black tank while adding maybe a quart of chlorine bleach - or less, don't need all that much. I let the tank sit for about an hour, then drain it out. I'll fill the tank maybe 1/4 full and drain one last time. I have found that if I store the TT for an extended period without using it, it sometimes will smell inside if the black tank isn't "bleached".