holding tank

smithfamily4 · 06-21-2013, 06:26 AM

I need some info on holding tanks.

1. what size should I get? We are a family of 4 and will likely be using the tank periodically for a week at a time. I don't mind disconnecting it and taking to the dump station, but don't want to do it every day if I can help it.

2. When we connected to sewer, it all comes out 1 place. Grey & Black water. So, isn't having the grey water empty into the same tank going to make this fill way too quickly? Or am I missing something. My pop-up had 2 different exits for grey & black, but then again, my pup didn't use a sewer line for the toilet. Please advise.

Thank you!

dtstanton · 06-21-2013, 07:52 AM

I'll take a shot here. Never used either of my tanks, though.

#2:
Your tanks each have a separate drain valve. When hooked to the sewer, I'm thinking that only one valve will be open at a time. Whichever one is open to the sewer will not accumulate any water. (IMO, it's not a good idea to have both drain valves opened at the same time.) Whichever valve is open to the sewer will not accumulate any water. They can be switched at will to allow the other tank to empty.

(How'd I do, guys?)

smithfamily4 · 06-21-2013, 07:59 AM

thanks for the reply. I didn't think I had a tank on my tt for either. I think they both drain out as long as the valve is open. maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like whatever goes down the drain comes immediately out. I'll investigate.

MACK C-85 · 06-21-2013, 08:26 AM

First there are should be two seperate tanks, one for grey and one for black. Yes, there should be two valves, one for the grey (the handle is grey on mine) and one for the black (handle is black on mine). My grey valve is up higher than the black and is easy to miss, yours might be open already.

If you are hooked up to sewer, you can leave the grey valve open, the grey tank holds everything, but the toilet waste. You should never leave the black tank open, it needs the water in the tank to keep the solids from building up.

I'm assuming from your question, (unless you are replacing the tank, the size is set) you are referring to a portable tank to carry the waste water to a dump station if you don't have a sewer connection on site. The size is going to be determined by a couple of things, first and foremost, how much water are you going to use? Showers, washing dishes, flushing, etc. If you are using an available bathhouse for showers and routine toilet trips, you can get away with a smaller tank, if your using the trailer systems exclusively, I would get the biggest tank I was comfortable handling.

That would be the other consideration, how big a tank could I handle. Does it have to be pulled by hand and over what kind of terrain or can it be hooked to the back of a vehicle and pulled to the dump?

If my assumptions are wrong let me know...but that's the basics.

Mack

P.S. I see from your pictures, your first trip was to Point Lookout, our signature picture was taken at Point Lookout. After June, the bugs get unbearable down there!!! I beleive they're organized into squadrons!!!

smithfamily4 · 06-21-2013, 08:33 AM

ok, I'm learning. Our pup had a toilet that was self contained so the one in our tt is new to me. We used it for the 1st time father's day weekend and I kept both grey & black valve open. I thought I had to. I thought it just all flushed away. There was never any odor issue. So, how do I know when to open the valve on the black water? I see no indicator that anything is full.

MACK C-85 · 06-21-2013, 09:06 AM

Do you have an tank indicator panel, probably in the kitchen area?? If you do, it should have buttons to push that will show the levels of the fresh water, grey and black tanks. They are notorious for being inaccurate. But, because the toliet usually sits directly above the black tank you can look through the opened toilet valve and see the level.

We had a another trailer on a permanant site with sewer for many years, it was a a bit bigger than yours (28') so the black tank was probably bigger, but with a family of 4 using it exclusively, ie no bathhouse use, we routinely dumped the black tank every evening, never had an issue with overflow. The gray tank stayed open. Our current trailer I can go 3-4 days before I need to dump (also a family of 4). You do want to make sure that you put a gallon or so a water into the tank before use, you don't want solids going into a dry tank.

If you don't understand something, ask away.....this group doesn't mind helping you out!!

Mack

Al in PA · 06-23-2013, 07:19 PM

While you can leave the grey tank open, I prefer to let it get quite full. I always drain the black tank first; then use the soapy water from the grey tank to flush the sewer hose. I'd much rather handle a sewer hose containing a little grey water than one dripping with black water.

awellis3 · 06-24-2013, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smithfamily4

I need some info on holding tanks.

Try here: How to PROPERLY EMPTY Your RV HOLDING TANKS - YouTube

Teach

MACK C-85 · 06-24-2013, 09:07 AM

Quote:

While you can leave the grey tank open, I prefer to let it get quite full. I always drain the black tank first; then use the soapy water from the grey tank to flush the sewer hose. I'd much rather handle a sewer hose containing a little grey water than one dripping with black water.

I agree whole heartedly about the using the grey tank to flush the hose. I forget about that because we have a permanently installed black tank flusher so I'm dealing with clean water before I disconnect. When we had the permanent site, it was actually hooked up with pipe and wasn't ever disconnected, so no need to flush!!

Mack