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Old 06-26-2019, 08:33 AM   #1
TheGriz
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NOT Dumping Black and Gray Tanks

This weekend (Friday-Sunday), I boondocked during our 2019 Amateur Radio Field Day (Ham Radio). I was the only one in my TT, and have only four "loads" or so in the black tank, several "pees", and associated flush waters. So I can't imagine black tank exceeds a third full. Guessing 5 gallons in the galley gray tank and 10 gallons in the bathroom/shower gray tank. I was in water conservation mode for weekend.

Is there any harm in NOT dumping the tanks for several weeks??? I could go to a campground a couple miles from my house and dump if needed. They do charge $20 to dump, and I am not complaining about the charge. However, it would be nice to wait until the next time I go camping and connected to full-hooks up to dump. Probably in next one to two months.

BTW...gates valves on tanks are all in good shape/don't leak.

As long as it's not a LONG time, say 6 months or more, I can't foresee a problem. Thoughts???

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Old 06-26-2019, 09:02 AM   #2
GMcKenzie
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Issue would be if the liquid portion evaporates and leave a hard pile remaining. Will be hard to get rid of. Add more water to keep everything wet.
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Old 06-26-2019, 09:34 AM   #3
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If sitting for a couple months you could add a bit of RidX with more water to the tanks to help with the solids, but typically this wouldn't work short term.
Be sure to add some sort additive designed for deodorizing.
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Old 06-26-2019, 09:39 AM   #4
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I wouldn't do this. I had my trailer in my driveway and my daughter and friends "camped" in the trailer. Only urine with a drop-in in the tank. I was going to use the trailer in a couple of weeks so I just left it. It started to stink pretty bad. I will never leave my black water tank un-drained again.

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Old 06-26-2019, 10:04 AM   #5
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IMO opinion I wouldn't do it although I'm sure you can. If I did I would add plenty of water and some sort of deodorizing/decomposition chemical. 6-8 weeks is a long time for "stinky stuff" to sit and decompose while depositing that wonderful "perfume" into the trailer. I let mine sit one time at a deer camp for about 2 weeks thinking it would be fine and I would just dump when I left later on. It was mid Sept. and it was pretty warm - highs in the mid 80s if I recall. Opened the door upon my return and took my breath away. I haven't let one sit for any length of time since.
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Old 06-26-2019, 10:27 AM   #6
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Here's a link to an app I use to find free camping. It also will show dump stations. There may be a convenient option on your way home. BTW I've never paid more than $10 to dump and usually $5
https://freecampsites.net/ Hope this helps
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Old 06-26-2019, 10:52 AM   #7
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OK, let's look at this from a perspective of "will it damage the trailer?" (NO) and "Will it absolutely stink and be unpleasant?" (again, NO, not absolutely).

If the holding tanks don't leak, there's no reason to be concerned with the contents "drying out"....

If the holding tanks start to stink, then it's pretty easy to do what you'd do this afternoon if you were to "go dump the tanks immediately"... in other words, if it becomes a problem, you can deal with it then as easily as you can deal with it now....

What I'd do is add some "TST Orange Tank Treatment". That's what I use because it's what is cheap and seems to work to "keep the stink level" down to a manageable level. I'm sure any other "reasonable tank treatment" would do the same thing, so I'm not advocating for TST, rather for "some type tank treatment"....

About the "worst thing" that could happen by leaving the black tank with a "partial load" (pun intended) is that it would "soften and not be lumpy" when you do flush....

For me, I don't see any problem (from a trailer damage or harm) perspective. And, if it does start to stink, deal with it, if it doesn't, then dump when you next go camping.
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Old 06-26-2019, 11:50 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GMcKenzie View Post
Issue would be if the liquid portion evaporates and leave a hard pile remaining. Will be hard to get rid of. Add more water to keep everything wet.
^^^This. We have been in a similar situation and just added water. We also ensured that there was water in the toilet to keep the seal from leaking and venting odors.
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Old 06-26-2019, 11:53 AM   #9
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I agree with John, JRJTH. I park my trailer in the backyard and we use it as a guest house/emergency bathroom. I have gone at least three weeks, and maybe longer, without dumping the tanks with no ill effect and no bad smell.

I use happy camper RV tank treatment and I highly recommend it. I also use plenty of water.

The dump fees at all of the places near my house are expensive, $25. What I did is buy a portable waste tank, “blue boy”. I am able to empty the entire black tank into the blue boy, wheel it to the front of my house where the sewer clean out is, and dump the blue boy. It works great!
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Old 06-26-2019, 12:28 PM   #10
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[QUOTE=Logan X;346718]I agree with John, JRJTH. I park my trailer in the backyard and we use it as a guest house/emergency bathroom. I have gone at least three weeks, and maybe longer, without dumping the tanks with no ill effect and no bad smell.

I use happy camper RV tank treatment and I highly recommend it. I also use plenty of water.

The dump fees at all of the places near my house are expensive, $25. What I did is buy a portable waste tank, “blue boy”. I am able to empty the entire black tank into the blue boy, wheel it to the front of my house where the sewer clean out is, and dump the blue boy. It works great![/QUO]

When we were still in our S&B we were fortunate that our house sewer clean out was close enough that we could hook up to it & drain/clean/rinse our tanks all we wanted.
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Old 06-26-2019, 12:45 PM   #11
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Thanks for all the input folks. I will certainly keep an eye out, or should I say a nose out for the stink! The tanks and gate valves are all in excellent shape. But evaporation of water in the traps and toilets have to be countered. So importantly, keeping the P-Traps on sinks and shower full, and a few inches of water in toilet is a must.
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Old 06-26-2019, 04:35 PM   #12
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I have mentioned this before. We had 28ft TT purchased for and left at beach house on next door lot I got, to later put a home on. The TT was for guests. The TT had it's own septic, water and electric. Some forgot to dump the black tank before leaving, 2-3 weeks later, when we went to the park model we used, we could tell by the stink. The black tank had not been dumped. The odor was given a name by my wife that I will not use on here.
Around here there are free dump stations and some charge 5 bucks. If the black and or gray is not near full when returning from an outing and the RV is not going to be used in a week. I just add water to the tanks and go dump them.
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Old 06-27-2019, 02:30 AM   #13
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Asking those of you who find the septic smell in the RV after a week or two; where is the smell coming in?
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Old 06-27-2019, 04:57 AM   #14
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Asking those of you who find the septic smell in the RV after a week or two; where is the smell coming in?
Not leaving water in the toilet and the seal drying up a bit.

I need to take some vaseline to mine before holidays.
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Old 06-27-2019, 08:01 AM   #15
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Asking those of you who find the septic smell in the RV after a week or two; where is the smell coming in?

It happened to us once as I described. How did it get in? I don't really know unless it was like GMcKenzie surmised. Since then we stay in the RV for months at a time and although we dump every several days I would still think the tank has odors but we never smell them so, for us, I guess we still don't really know.
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Old 06-27-2019, 08:30 AM   #16
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The only times I've had "sewer smell" in the trailer is when the bathroom exhaust fan is on and we flush the toilet. When the flush valve on the toilet is open, the fan "pulls" air down the vent stack, through the tank and up the open toilet valve.

Above is the primary cause. The other, at least for us, is when I reverse the exhaust fan and use it to pull air from above the RV, down the vent and into the bathroom. The black tank vent cap is "right behind the vent fan" so when I reverse it, anything that's "floating up the sewer stack and out" is subject to be pulled back into the coach. This is especially problematic "IF" there is sewer gas flowing from the campground sewer system, up the sewer hose, into the black tank and out the tank vent stack. (This is the reason to not leave your dump valve open on any tank, but always closed on the black tank).

Other than these two conditions, we've never (at least that I can remember) had sewer smell in the bathroom (other than when the toilet is "in use".....
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Old 06-27-2019, 08:45 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by GMcKenzie View Post
Not leaving water in the toilet and the seal drying up a bit.

I need to take some vaseline to mine before holidays.
Better to use plumbers grease on that seal. Over time the Vaseline will soften the seal too much.
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Old 06-27-2019, 09:17 AM   #18
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My reply would be exactly as was just mentioned. If there was an odor then there is a problem that needs to be resolved.
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Old 06-27-2019, 12:41 PM   #19
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In my case, I never investigated the sewage smell. The back tank had not been dumped, I opened the valve and smell went away with contains. I do know that the septic systems in both lots never put out odors. The park trailer of course did not have holding tanks. The TT did, both had full time connections to the septic system. The TT was to have black tank valve closed unless emptying, the gray left open. The times the guests would dump the black and close it upon leaving never left the stink for us to smell.
I am guessing here because I do and have used outhouses and the smell was about the same. As you get close the smell gets worse.
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Old 07-04-2019, 07:43 AM   #20
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A little trick we use in our TH is to put a piece of saran wrap over the water in the toilets and shower drain. It keeps the water from evaporating and drying out the seal or trap. Close or plug the sink drains with the stopper to keep the p trap water in.
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