Black tank question

I agree with old biscuit we always dump when we leave a site.and get really excited when we set up again at a new location if the gauges show empty.We just guess on how full now since we feel our gauges never are right.Even our dealer told us not to rely on the gauges.and now we enjoy our weekends more

Totally agree that the sensors are notoriously inaccurate, and 70% accuracy may be too optimistic. When we picked up our brand new TT last year, before any use at all, our tank showed FULL. Not likely. Probably a small piece of debris in the installation process. When we had our HTT prior to the TT, at first we fretted over what the sensors showed, then found that our own experience was much more accurate.

Lots of methods of breaking down the waste and eliminating odors. The Geo Method is popular, and while we haven't tried it, believe we'll give it a shot next spring. We've used Odorlos for several years and had no problems and no odors.

Skimping on the water is one of the main causes of problems with the black tank. Suggest you use water going into the grey tank like you're paying for it by the gallon....be very thrifty. Be very generous on the black tank. Contrary to what many suggest, we dump after every weekend BUT...at that time we put in the required amount of Odorlos and about 5 gallons of fresh water. Never, never let the black tank sit totally empty. Any remaining waste will be like concrete.

You'll learn in short time about how long you can leave your black tank before you need to dump. In both the HTT and TT, even on longer trips, we've gone several days without dumping and no problems.

Agree on the clear fitting for the stinky slinky. You can actually see what's going on and if you have any clogs. BTW, do not leave the valve open on the black tank when you have full hookups. You need to build up an adequate amount of liquids to work with the solids so wait until last thing before you leave to dump. Your camping neighbors likely won't even notice that you have a clear fitting since nothing is coming out until you actually dump. You can dump the grey tank as often as you need to and then close the valve. The warning sign that the grey tank needs to be dumped NOW is when it starts to back up into the shower. The only time we had this happen, I thought there might be a clog in the plumbing from the kitchen sink as it drained very slowly. Went in to check the bathroom sink and the shower was about 1" from overflowing. Note to self! If you find that your trips are more than 2 - 3 days and you have very full grey tank, suggest you look into a blue tote.

SeeLeveL Liquid Level Gauges by Garnet Instruments Ltd.
You might want to check these out, they work much better. And the read out is in % not thirds.

Dusty

Bigbird65 wrote:
It is actually pretty simple. Observe the level of the black tank through the toilet. When the water backs up into the shower, the gray tank is full.:B

This! ^
Barney

I have a factory black tank flush system but I use a clear adapter (without hose attachment) so that I can SEE how well the stuff flows out and when rinse clears up during flush.

I leave it attached to end of drain line all the time.......mainly because it seals real tight and is hard to get off.

When we have a FHU site I set up everything...water/electric and sewer.
Dump as necessary and then tear down on day we leave.
Only time anything is visible is when dumping and if folks want to stand around and watch that's there business.

Thanks everyone for the input. We put a 10 lb bag of ice in it when we left the campground (it's only 20 miles from home). We will put another 10 lb bag in when we go back in Nov and then empty it.

Here's one other question I have, though:

The back wash adapter that I used, I am thinking about putting it on as part of our setup and not just when we are breaking down.

Does anybody else do this?

My wife and I discussed it and the only 'issue' would be the visible 'debris', but we'd cover the visible plastic with a towel, so as not to irritate or offend other campers.

It just seems inefficient to do it as a 'step' in the breakdown process.

Thoughts?

Sprink-Fitter wrote:

Bigbird65 wrote:
It is actually pretty simple. Observe the level of the black tank through the toilet. When the water backs up into the shower, the gray tank is full.:B

You can't look down the toilet on all rv's though, I wish the gauges worked good.

then replace the cheapo stud sensors with some Horst probes or even better replace whole system with SeeLevel

OEM far right......Horst middle/far left (middle/black---left/grey/fresh)



SeeLevel

Bigbird65 wrote:
It is actually pretty simple. Observe the level of the black tank through the toilet. When the water backs up into the shower, the gray tank is full.:B

You can't look down the toilet on all rv's though, I wish the gauges worked good.

Black tank sensors are about as useful as the speedometer on my bass boat. There's just too much "stuff" going through, over, on, into them for them to work correctly for more than a season or so. Trust me, you will know when to empty your tank. Don't fret over it too much.

The new TT has a hose connection for a rinser and I also back-flush the tank through the 3" outlet.
But the most effective method I've found for keeping the black tank sensors clean is a flush wand down the toilet throat.