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Old 01-16-2020, 11:08 AM   #1
Barbie
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Is it ok to dump black tank when below freezing?

I'm worried about the plastic fitting where our dumping hose connects to the ground. I know the temperature of what I'm dumping isn't going to be that warm however if the temperature outside is still below freezing do I need to worry about the plastic fitting cracking?
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Old 01-16-2020, 11:32 AM   #2
flybouy
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I would just be cautious not to step on it or pull on it at a drastic angle. Other than that you should be good to go.
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Old 01-16-2020, 11:33 AM   #3
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Thank you!
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Old 01-16-2020, 12:00 PM   #4
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Sooo.... I didn't realize it but there must have been liquid in the hose and it's now frozen. Realized this when I pulled the lever for the black tank and of course nothing happened. Should I try to close the lever so that the cold doesn't seep into and freeze the blank tank?
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Old 01-16-2020, 12:13 PM   #5
flybouy
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What's the outside temps?
Is the hose in the sun?
Can you tell how mush of the hose is frozen
/
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Old 01-16-2020, 12:41 PM   #6
Barbie
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Supposed to warm up to freezing (0/32) this afternoon then back down again tonight. Currently no sun as it's overcast and snowing again. I didn't want to mess with the hose too much and crack it however it appears to be completely frozen all the way. Will get hubby into gear and see about putting some sort of insulation around it while it's 'warmer' outside.
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Old 01-16-2020, 01:46 PM   #7
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I would guess that the frozen sewer hose is a result of leaving a faucet dripping and that slow trickle of water through the hose has frozen and the continuing trickle has frozen on top of the frozen water....

How to fix it? I'd start with a couple of drop lights with 60 watt bulbs, build a Styrofoam "box" from three lengths of Styrofoam. Place the three lengths over the sewer hose starting at the end closest to the park connection. Plug in the drop lights place them inside the "Styrofoam box" so they can warm the sewer hose. As it thaws, the water/gray/black waste will flow down, into the sewer. Once that part of the hose is thawed, move the "Styrofoam box" closer to the trailer and repeat as long as necessary. You might be able to use some spun fiberglass insulation or even cardboard boxes to cover the hose and contain the heat from the drop lights until the hose is thawed.

Another option, if you have a replacement sewer hose is to thaw both ends and then just attach the new hose in place of the frozen one.

Keep in mind that if you "drip the faucets" you're probably going to have the same problem in a couple of days.
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Old 01-16-2020, 01:58 PM   #8
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I think what happened is that our grey tank valve wasn't closed all the way so yes we had a constant leak of water in the sewer hose that slowly built up as the whole sewer hose is full and frozen. Since we have a couple of hours of 'nice' weather we are pouring hot tap water over the sewer hose which is thawing it and yes starting from the ground up. Will be sure to make sure both valves are snuggly closed for tonight's freeze.
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Old 01-16-2020, 03:14 PM   #9
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If the gray tank valves are closed, DON'T RUN A FAUCET !!!! As soon as the tank is full, the drain under the faucet will fill, then the sink will fill and next, the trailer will fill !!!!!

Even a small flow of water from a faucet will fill a 30 gallon gray tank if left "dripping" all night long.
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Old 01-16-2020, 03:46 PM   #10
Barbie
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Thank you... I won't be.
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Old 02-02-2020, 12:32 PM   #11
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Freezing Black Tank Valves

From personal experience, I won't mess with the black tank valve if the valve is out in the open and below freezing. We spent the night in Flagstaff, AZ at 6 degrees F once. I waited until the morning had warmed up (to about 25), got everything hooked up, pulled on the T-handle for the exposed black tank valve; pulled the handle right out of the frozen black tank valve. Now I had a full black tank with a broken valve that couldn't be opened. The only way to deal with it was to remove the dump hose, loosen the bolts on the black valve so as to be able to reach the plastic "gate" of the valve with needle-nosed pliers, and then slowly work the badly leaking valve and gate to drain the system into a 3 gallon tub which could be hand dumped. And of course, this only drained the liquid, not the solid waste. Changing that valve was NOT a lot of fun!

Our newer trailers have main tank dump valves that are protected underneath (somewhat) from freezing; I have a "last chance" valve on the very end of the dump system and these are out in the open, so they need to be left open in freezing conditions. And you can bet that I treat the main tank valves with a lot more respect in the cold weather.

My advice: if there is any way you can wait until it is NOT freezing, then put off dumping the black tank as long as possible.
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Old 02-03-2020, 07:03 AM   #12
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We are currently experiencing a couple more days of below freezing temps at night. This time we made sure to dump before hand so that we don't have to mess with it again until it warms up again. Totally agree with having respect for the tank valves in cold weather... and the sewer hose. Hubby was lucky that it was frozen solid at one point as he tore the sewer hose trying to thaw it! Luckily he was able to reattach before it let go! lol
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Old 02-03-2020, 08:18 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barbie View Post
Sooo.... I didn't realize it but there must have been liquid in the hose and it's now frozen. Realized this when I pulled the lever for the black tank and of course nothing happened. Should I try to close the lever so that the cold doesn't seep into and freeze the blank tank?
Are your tank heaters on? Run hot water into the tanks and pull all the handles. The problem will be the grey tanks since the black is not open until dumping, in really cold weather it might make sense to do that for the grey as well.
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