Sewage tank

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by norty1

SHMBO, she who must be odd?

I'll tell her you said that. We'll be heading down your way this March; you might want to start thinking about your hiding spot now...

[norty1]

Originally Posted by bankr63

I'll tell her you said that. We'll be heading down your way this March; you might want to start thinking about your hiding spot now...

Oh dang, we won't be where you are. LOL

[Hohenwald48]

Originally Posted by norty1

We add nothing that nature does not provide except tp.

Folks tend to forget that an RV black tank is a "holding" tank. It is not a sewage treatment tank or a septic tank or any kind of a waste treatment facility. It's simply a place to hang on to "stuff" until you have an appropriate place to get rid of it. Things to help with the odor might be good but other than that nothing additional is necessary.


Also, I've noticed that guests, untrained in the nuances of RV toiletry, think they need to hold their foot on the flush pedal for 10-20 seconds. I suppose because that's how their home toilet works. Talk about introducing a lot of odorous gasses in to the RV. Especially if the exhaust fan is on. I hold the pedal down for about 25 milliseconds.

[jloco]

I don't dump my tank until full. This can take up to a couple weeks sometimes. I add the 3n1 to help cut down on odors. If it helps in the breakdown of solids that's a plus.


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[retiredinohio]

Originally Posted by Rick Rowe

I have a Jayco Eagle. When the toilet is flushed the tp does not flush and dirty water circulates back in to the bowl.

I had same trouble but knot that bad. Found that the TP was to heavy for the system and baby wipes to. All piled up at bottom of toilet. Turned the pump off and used a stick to push around.
I had a 97 prowler and did knot have this problem, Just in the new unit.

[Hohenwald48]

If you're having stuff pile up in the bottom of your black holding tank it is probably not related to the type of TP you use but to a lack of flush water. Folks, water is the key to keeping things in a liquid state. If you don't put any in the tank then things get solid. That's not good. It's not really rocket science.

[bedrck46]

This is an interesting thread The OP came on 9/01/16 and posted his question/problem.


There have been 25 replies to his original post All with good information.


Yet since his post the OP hasn't been back to check or respond to any comments made to his problem. So far its also been his first and only post.


Guess his problem wasn't that important. Or maybe he stuck his head down the hole to see the problem and he got stuck

[RedHorse1]

Rick has 1 post and hasn't checked back in. Hopefully he's solved his problem.

[troutslayer]

Originally Posted by retiredinohio

TP was to heavy for the system and baby wipes to.

You put baby wipes down there???

[JackMroz]

I was amused to read that some people don't do all their business, both #1 & #2, in their campers toilet...

They were designed for just that use so go ahead and use them. Obviously you need to use T-paper designed for camping, we use Scott's single layer in ours, plus you need to add the chemicals that break down the solids but your system was designed for just that.

Some people are against doing #2 because they are not sure how to empty the black water tank at the end of your camping week or weekend. In case your not sure how to do this deed here's the way we empty our system.

1. Always keep the black water valve closed while camping. Never just keep it open as this causes the liquids to drain off allowing the solids to just sit and harden.
2. If you have full hookups at your camp site keep the gray water valve closed, or close it the day before you're leaving so you have lots of gray water to flush the black water nasty stuff down once you dump it.
3. When packing up to leave pull the black water valve and let it flow, lit flow, let it flow...
4. Once the black stuff is out close that valve and pull the gray water valve which releases the torrent of gray water to wash your hose clear of the black water nasty's.
5. Now that the black water and gray water tanks are emptied makes sure both valves are closed.
6. Go into your bathroom and dump in a bottle of chemical into the toilet and add about a gallon or so of water by just flushing it. This will prevent any solids that may be left behind from turning to concrete in your tank.
I have done my system flush like this for many years and never once had a problem, and yes, we do both #1 & #2 in the toilet as that's what its for...

[PNWgardener]

We had been using our bathroom for both duties until....our toilet tank backed up. We were in a campsite with full hook-up and the black tank just wasn't draining. After calling, local RV repair centers, we were told: you need to keep the black tank closed and use plenty of water. When the tank gets full, then you drain it. If you leave it open, the solid waste does not have a chance to break down. This can cause a build up over time. To solve the immediate problem, we used a typical plumbers snake and a pair of long rubber gloves and snaked it through the toilet opening. All seemed to clear, but it clogged again! We repeated the snake process and no longer used the toilet. We filled the black tank 2/3rd full and added two packs of the "bio-pak" to help break down anything that was solidified. We left it filled for a few weeks until our next trip when we emptied it on our way out. This seemed to have done the trick. I would not recommend leaving it sit as long as we did as there were quite a bit of fumes that had built up. I suppose that meant that there really was a build up of solid waste in the black tank. This last trip with full hook-up, after the black then grey tank was emptied I ran the toilet water and let it run through the black tank. As a side note, both instances of the toilet plugging up were after by husband used the toilet (he is no longer allowed to do the "big business" in the trailer....so it may not necessarily be the ladies using the tp.

[wags999]

99.9% of the issues with the black tank is due to owner neglect or owner lack of knowledge, which this thread shows. Chemicals will help mask odors but also assist in breaking down solids. Yes water is the key, and, not dumping till it is near full or upon leaving the campground. Using paper designed for RV's not septic tanks, is also a help in keeping the system in good working order. Proper maintenance will go a long way. As others have said, using your own toilet, for ALL purposes is one of the joys of having a TT. When we work kamp were at a site for 6 months or more, never had an issue but, we use proper technics. No reason to not use your RV toilet. Wipes are the bane of the sewage industry with cities asking people to NOT flush them down as they never break down. You can google pictures of sewage treatment plants inundated with wipes, costing huge bucks to take care of. Never throw Q tips, feminine products or anything else other than TP and personal waste.
Enjoy your RV, spend a few hours looking on the internet including here on the Jayco forums, as to proper maintenance of your RV.

Happy Camping

[jloco]

Originally Posted by PNWgardener

We had been using our bathroom for both duties until....our toilet tank backed up. We were in a campsite with full hook-up and the black tank just wasn't draining. After calling, local RV repair centers, we were told: you need to keep the black tank closed and use plenty of water. When the tank gets full, then you drain it. If you leave it open, the solid waste does not have a chance to break down. This can cause a build up over time. To solve the immediate problem, we used a typical plumbers snake and a pair of long rubber gloves and snaked it through the toilet opening. All seemed to clear, but it clogged again! We repeated the snake process and no longer used the toilet. We filled the black tank 2/3rd full and added two packs of the "bio-pak" to help break down anything that was solidified. We left it filled for a few weeks until our next trip when we emptied it on our way out. This seemed to have done the trick. I would not recommend leaving it sit as long as we did as there were quite a bit of fumes that had built up. I suppose that meant that there really was a build up of solid waste in the black tank. This last trip with full hook-up, after the black then grey tank was emptied I ran the toilet water and let it run through the black tank. As a side note, both instances of the toilet plugging up were after by husband used the toilet (he is no longer allowed to do the "big business" in the trailer....so it may not necessarily be the ladies using the tp.

Your husbands 'business' had nothing to do with your problems. It was 100% they way you are using the system. You must ALWAYS operate the system with the black valve closed. Never dump until it reads FULL. Then after dumping you must add a few gallons of fresh water and breakdown chemical to the empty tank. Yes, use plenty of water. Never put anything down the toilet but #1,#2 and RV toilet paper (I buy the Scott's RV paper on Amazon by the case). Follow these simple rules and you should never have an issue.


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[SmokerBill]

Pee in the bushes,
Crap in the woods,
Your tank will be clean,
And life will be good.

Or just use lots of water, the appropriate TP, and dump when your tank's full.