Just returned from camping..grey water tank question.

[ZeeLet50]

Had a wonderful but cool weekend in southern tier of NY. Had water and electric to keep cozy. Problem was after only 2 days grey water tank was showing full. Only second time we have used this and it was bought new. One quick shower and used kitchen sink 3 times for dishes and a of course quick wash of face and tooth brush in am. Its supposed to be 30 gal. Should I take back to dealer and have them check. I did not keep filling to see if it came up in shower. We had honey truck come to empty as weekend was far from over. Might my gauge be mis adjusted? Is there a better checker out there? Camper is Keystone Passport 23rb. Camper was level.

[PAThwacker]

We blow through 30 gallons a morning.

[jamnw]

My sensor worked right for about 3 trips I think. My black tank for maybe 2 trips. I installed a tornado tank cleaner, and it does help clean the sensor in the black tank. I have considered installing one in the gray.

Mostly I have learned about how long it takes for us to fill the gray.

Navy showers.... My wife and kids have a completely different understanding of what a TRUE NAVY SHOWER IS. LOL....
Last camping trip I showed my boys. I gave them a Navy shower. They were not impressed.
I washed them with probably less than two gallons combined.

My wife kept complaining that something was wrong with the hot water heater on that trip too. Again, her version of a Navy shower was the cause, not to mention the 35F water feeding the HW tank.

Same complaint about washing dishes. Look in the sink and its 3/4 full of water.


My point is everyone's version of water conservation is different.

Dumping the grey often is not a big deal to me now. Its part of it, and I'm having fun camping.

One bit of advise: don't wait till you have a full tank to dump into one of those totes. A full tote is VERY heavy. Water weighs approx 8 pounds/gallon.
I made that mistake once, and there was a nice incline I had to pull it up to get to my truck.

Happy camping.

[ZeeLet50]

I have a water pressure gauge/limiter.Last camping outing the pressure was 32psi. That is less than our pump puts out. My regulator is set to 55 psi max so I do not have stress any of the TT internal plumbing. I can adjust lower if needed.

[aarond76]

Something I noticed over the weekend. We camped with water hook-ups. Normally out campsite does not have water so we run off the fresh water tank. I noticed that the water flow was MUCH GREATER with the water hook-up that it was thru the pump. Even on the pump we have plenty of pressue for a shower with the Oxygenics shower head. I would consider turning the flow down at the water hook-up spigot until you get just enough pressure in the camper to be adequate and see how that helps your grey water situation.

[ZeeLet50]

So nobody has investigated adding another grey water tank to their TT? Tank and fitting would be around $250. With the covered bottom I have not looked to see if there is room to put one but I believe it could be possible. I have a cap with hose fitting on order help aid intermittent draining.

[bartlettj]

I have a Passport 238ML with the same size tanks. I can really only get one or two short showers and a few loads of dishes out of the gray tank. I think most of the reason is that the aerator in the kitchen and bathroom sinks allow a lot of water to flow. Just letting the water trickle while washing the dishes uses a whole lot of water. If I'm trying to conserve I either wash dishes in a tub and dump it somewhere else or take along my 35 gallon grey tote.

Sometimes I solve the problem by using the freshwater tank and pump instead of the city water system- that way the pressure is lower and the freshwater tank runs out at the same time the grey gets full.

My sensors work fine- they show full before it actually is, though.

[mtofell1]

oldokie wrote:
Drain into a bucket and pour down the toilet to gain extra capacity with the black tank since it fills slowly. You can get a cap for the drain outlet that has a water hose nipple on it so you can control the drain process.

gray fills fast for sure. I have the cap and carry a "black" garden hose and drain into a 5 gallon bucket and just run it to the dump station or sink waste water dump (in my state parks) when full. My gray tank is supposed to be 68 gallons but I have a hard time believing it. A couple navy showers and a day or two of dishes and water backs up into the tub.

[thib2722]

My sensors rarely are accurate. The sensors are literally just screw posts with wires connected. Any little piece of trash on them can cause a faulty reading. When you flush the toilet, you'll be able to tell about how full it is.

[Huntindog]

Everyone complains about sensors....But I have had good service from mine. (on several TTs over 20+ years) I use a bacteria type treatment that digests waste and TP.

It helps if one understands how they work.
They are just metal probes that allow for a continuity of a circuit when water touchs them.

Ocassionally a piece of TP etc. may get caught on one and allow for the water to wick up to the sensor, and complete the circuit, though the actual level is beneath it. I notice this mostly after having just dumped the tanks. A short drive from where I dump the tanks to my house always fixes it. The "item" must fall off during the drive.

[fla-gypsy]

The sensors are junk but it is entirely possible you filled it in two days. 30 gals of gray water is not much. My 38 gal fills easily in 2-3 days when in conservation mode.

[Mark_and_Linda]

Some good advice on your sensors. My black water was registering 3/4 this morning when I dumped it after 4 nights of camping. I got back home and it was still registering, then it went down to empty. I am going to give the black tank a good flush between camp outings.

[dadmomh]

The sensors are notoriously inaccurate. You'll learn over time just how far you can push it before you really are full. In our ROO, I found with about 2 drips of water to go, that it fills up into the shower when the grey tank is full. Don't know about the new unit....will find that out in a couple of weeks. Use water like you're paying for it by the ounce. DH and I can get, or should say COULD get in the ROO, a Thursday - Sunday mid day by being really, really conservative. Anything more required the blue tote. That usually allowed for a Friday or Saturday shower for each of us.

[oldokie]

Drain into a bucket and pour down the toilet to gain extra capacity with the black tank since it fills slowly. You can get a cap for the drain outlet that has a water hose nipple on it so you can control the drain process.

[rockhillmanor]

Boy ditto on that!

Once you find out which side your sensors are on you will notice when you are not level why they show more full. On the flip side of that it can get real dicey for the black tank when you are not level and it's showing you got a few more to go and you don't!

Watch those honey trucks too. If they are CG type and not powerful you are ok but if they bring in residential sewer trucks they should be dumping into a bucket and then sucking it out. The power on the res trucks can collapse your tanks. Just know about that.

Also if you ARE level, the less powerful CG honey trucks or tracker sewer type tankers NEVER get all of it out. It's been my experience they only get 3/4 of it. SO after you dump with the truck you really DO have a 1/4 left in the tanks!

I would pull my leveler blocks out on the sewer side so the MH tipped towards them on honey wagon day....so I got my money's worth.