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Old 05-13-2016, 11:27 AM   #1
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Too Much Water in Gray Tank

We always seem to drain much more water than we think we used when hooked up to the campsite faucet. Does water come in to the tank even when when we are not using it?
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Old 05-13-2016, 12:48 PM   #2
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Unless you have a faucet that is leaking, no, water should not enter the tank unless you're using it.

Do all the family members take "navy" showers: get wet, shut water off while washing up, then turn water back on to rinse? Our big trip last year I couldn't figure out why I needed to drain the grey tank every day.... Come to find out one of our boys was taking darn near a 20 minute shower!!!! So I would check the length of showers first, and if the water is being shut off. Then keep an eye on when dishes are washed...

Good luck!!!
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Old 05-13-2016, 01:04 PM   #3
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We have a barker water tote, so I don't worry too much about how much water the family is using when there is a CG dumpstation, or when on full hookups.

We are a family of 5, we fill our 38 gal grey tank nearly every day. Showers are huge, but even without showers it's amazing how much water we use for dishes and hand washing.

When camping without sewer hookups there are numerous strategies to reduce usage on the grey, but I opted for the tote so I didn't have to manage it. Filling the tote and dragging it to the dump station takes about 15 min, fighting my kids while on vacation is a lot more painful and time consuming.
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Old 05-13-2016, 01:37 PM   #4
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I read something recently talking about how much water the average household uses. It's a lot. Way more than you might think. Now we as campers/RVers generally know we have to use less, but it never surprises me how much we do use. My wife and I have it down pretty good. The only time we need the blue tote is on week long trips. We can go 4 nights and just fill the gray water by the end of the trip.
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Old 05-13-2016, 01:40 PM   #5
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SWMBO is very guilty of 15-20 minute showers with the water running the whole time!


Then complaining, "The drain stopped working!"


We've been boondocking for 7 years and she still doesn't get the concept of a Navy Shower. Grrrr.
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Old 05-13-2016, 02:31 PM   #6
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SWMBO is very guilty of 15-20 minute showers with the water running the whole time!


Then complaining, "The drain stopped working!"


We've been boondocking for 7 years and she still doesn't get the concept of a Navy Shower. Grrrr.
Which is why its SWMBO and not SWMBC(orrected). Never, EVER, SWMBC!!!
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Old 05-13-2016, 02:50 PM   #7
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We are the opposite, I am always surprised how little water we use.

When packing up I add a lot of water (stand at the toilet depressing the lever for 10 minutes) to top off the black tank before we dump. So I know it is always full. But the grey water, I would be surprised after 2-3 days we have 10 gallons of water in the tank.
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Old 05-13-2016, 04:22 PM   #8
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One thing that is a huge help is that we use a Rubbermaid tub that fits inside the main sink for dishwashing. It is a trick my mother used to conserve water in the old RVs with small tanks that we had growing up. It reduces water use and then you can dump the dish water without it going into the grey tank. Its the same tub we use when washing dishes outside.

We use a biodegradable dish soap as well so the first few pans of dishwater often go into the black tank to add water volume for draining later. Helps conserve water and battery not having to stand there and run fresh water down the toilet.

We are a family of 5 and dry camped 9 nights last fall without having to dump.
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Old 05-13-2016, 06:37 PM   #9
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In our previous TT, a Sunline, the Bathroom sink drained into the Black Tank. That helped provide more liquid to the Black Tank for more efficient dumping and made a lot of sense to me.
Anybody know if Jaycos are plumbed this way.


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Old 05-13-2016, 06:44 PM   #10
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Jayco does not plumb that way. I would be concerned with black water backing up into the sink.
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Old 05-13-2016, 08:51 PM   #11
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Jayco does not plumb that way. I would be concerned with black water backing up into the sink.


The outside kitchen sink on my 2014 32BHDS is plumbed to the black tank. I am glad it does because I no that my two teenage daughters don't flush with enough water. So this ensures there is plenty of water in the black tank.
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Old 05-14-2016, 05:49 AM   #12
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When dry camping, we put plastic basins in the sink when washing dishes. When done with the dishes, the water is poured into the toilet. This accomplishes two things:
1) limits volume of water entering gray tanks, which always seem to fill first.
2) puts extra water into black tank, which is always a benefit.

We can dry-camp for up to a week without filling black tank, but gray is an every day or two dump...
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Old 05-14-2016, 06:48 AM   #13
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Thanks for the info. Every time I think I know it all....
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Old 05-14-2016, 07:18 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Fire_Instructor View Post
When dry camping, we put plastic basins in the sink when washing dishes. When done with the dishes, the water is poured into the toilet. This accomplishes two things:
1) limits volume of water entering gray tanks, which always seem to fill first.
2) puts extra water into black tank, which is always a benefit.

We can dry-camp for up to a week without filling black tank, but gray is an every day or two dump...
Same here. The soapy dishwater certainly helps the black tank.
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Old 05-14-2016, 12:40 PM   #15
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We use the campgrounds showers majority of time. DW prefers washing dishes outside most of the time also, heating water on two burner on picnic table and then washing in a tub she brings along. These are probably really old habits from 40 years of camping w/o hot water, though we've had such for 6 years now.... Also with good weather we're rarely inside camper unless bedtime...
Thus we don't normally have much gray water, and generally use toilet only at night, again going to campground bathroom, yup an old habit that still works much of the time.. But we do try to get a fair amount in each tank prior to dumping...

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Old 05-15-2016, 05:23 AM   #16
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Besides Navy Showers, you might want to remind everyone to turn the water OFF while brushing their teeth. Also (if you don't already) switch to liquid hand soap. Put a couple of squirts on your hands, spread it around, add a small amount of water (then turn the water off), suds it up real well, then turn the water back on to rinse. You might also consider using paper plates/bowls and tossing them in the trash rather than washing conventional dishes. I've found using paper plates and only washing silverware every 2-3 days (just can't bring myself to use plastic knives/forks/spoons) has saved me a LOT of water!

Works for me!
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Old 05-15-2016, 06:30 AM   #17
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Besides Navy Showers, you might want to remind everyone to turn the water OFF while brushing their teeth. Also (if you don't already) switch to liquid hand soap. Put a couple of squirts on your hands, spread it around, add a small amount of water (then turn the water off), suds it up real well, then turn the water back on to rinse. You might also consider using paper plates/bowls and tossing them in the trash rather than washing conventional dishes. I've found using paper plates and only washing silverware every 2-3 days (just can't bring myself to use plastic knives/forks/spoons) has saved me a LOT of water!

Works for me!
X2 Same here. Works really well for us. I use the campground restroom and showers and leave the rigs restroom and shower for the wife. She refuses to use campground facilities. Old habit also! LOL
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Old 05-15-2016, 06:56 AM   #18
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We are the opposite, I am always surprised how little water we use.

When packing up I add a lot of water (stand at the toilet depressing the lever for 10 minutes) to top off the black tank before we dump. So I know it is always full. But the grey water, I would be surprised after 2-3 days we have 10 gallons of water in the tank.
X2
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Old 05-15-2016, 10:45 PM   #19
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Jayco does not plumb that way. I would be concerned with black water backing up into the sink.
With the sink being higher than the toilet it would back up to the toilet first.
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Old 05-16-2016, 09:25 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by mike837go View Post
SWMBO is very guilty of 15-20 minute showers with the water running the whole time!


Then complaining, "The drain stopped working!"


We've been boondocking for 7 years and she still doesn't get the concept of a Navy Shower. Grrrr.
HONEY The showers backing up!!! equals quick trip the valves
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