Keep dump valves open when connected in parked spot to dump station?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
captaindomon

captaindomon

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 16, 2016
Posts
99
Location
Salt Lake City
If you are parked for a week or so in an RV park, with city water and a dedicated dump station at the parking spot, do you just keep the black and grey dump valves open? So it's like you are in a house on-grid? Or do you close the black for example to let it fill up, and then just open the valves once a day? I'm new to this whole thing but my thoughts are to keep the grey water valve open but let the black fill up before dumping it so you don't get things stuck in the tank.

Any help appreciated :)
 
Keep the grey open and the black closed. If you keep the black open there is not enough liquid to push the solids out so you end up with the dreaded poop pyramid which is a bitch to get rid of and it smells.
 
SeilerBird said:
Keep the grey open and the black closed. If you keep the black open there is not enough liquid to push the solids out so you end up with the dreaded poop pyramid which is a bitch to get rid of and it smells.
Click to expand...

I would add this - we do keep the grey open if hooked up, except about 1-2 days before leaving. I then close the grey to start filling the grey tank in preparation for dumping the black. I like to have a nearly full grey tank to get a nice flush of hoses after dumping black.
 
Sun2Retire said:
I would add this - we do keep the grey open if hooked up, except about 1-2 days before leaving. I then close the grey to start filling the grey tank in preparation for dumping the black. I like to have a nearly full grey tank to get a nice flush of hoses after dumping black.
Click to expand...
Good point S2R. I am permanently parked so I never considered doing that.
 
I do the same as Sun2Retire, and on two different trailers over twenty years I have never had the black tank clog up!

jack L
 
Just to add, you should let the black tank fill to at least 2/3 to 3/4 full.  If the tank doesn't have that much, add water to it so you get a good flush/dump.
 
Most definitely keep the black tank valve closed and we always keep ours closed.  Although many folks do keep the grey valves open during at least part of their stay, we also keep them closed, for a couple reasons. First it helps to provide plenty of water to wash out the sewer hose when dumping the black tank and helps to prevent odors from the sewer, although admittedly traps with water in them should in theory and practical purposes prevent odor.  I found this out on one camping trip just after I had thoroughly cleaned and deodorized my grey tanks.  We decided to leave the grey tank valves open,  and after a couple hours or so after hooking up, we noticed an odor coming from the kitchen sink.  Within a short time after closing the grey tank valves, the odor disappeared.
 
Gizmo said:
Most definitely keep the black tank valve closed and we always keep ours closed.  Although many folks do keep the grey valves open during at least part of their stay, we also keep them closed, for a couple reasons. First it helps to provide plenty of water to wash out the sewer hose when dumping the black tank and helps to prevent odors from the sewer, although admittedly traps with water in them should in theory and practical purposes prevent odor.  I found this out on one camping trip just after I had thoroughly cleaned and deodorized my grey tanks.  We decided to leave the grey tank valves open,  and after a couple hours or so after hooking up, we noticed an odor coming from the kitchen sink.  Within a short time after closing the grey tank valves, the odor disappeared.
Click to expand...
X2
 
Black closed, gray open.

I put a U loop in my sewer hose to prevent odors from coming back up the gray. No smells in 7 years.

Warning... close the gray before opening the black. Sometimes backwash pressure or whatever you cal lit,  can slap black into the gray tank, then it stinks too. I learned that the hard way.

If I know I am going to dump the black, I like to close the gray and run a load of laundry. Then I can dump black and wash it down with the laundry water.

Ain't camping fun...
 
We always keep BOTH valves closed. It's easy enough to check the tank levels once a day and dump as needed.  There are several reasons I keep both closed, 1) is to stop unwanted odors. If you have a tight seal at the dump pipe, (as you are required to do) someone dumping upstream can cause enough of a vacuum to suck the water out of a trap in your unit  and 2) to stop ANY chance of sewer flies from entering the grey tank.  Just my 2 cents worth.
 
Cant Wait said:
We always keep BOTH valves closed. It's easy enough to check the tank levels once a day and dump as needed.  There are several reasons I keep both closed, 1) is to stop unwanted odors. If you have a tight seal at the dump pipe, (as you are required to do) someone dumping upstream can cause enough of a vacuum to suck the water out of a trap in your unit  and 2) to stop ANY chance of sewer flies from entering the grey tank.  Just my 2 cents worth.
Click to expand...

If someone dumping upstream creates enough suction to empty your traps, there's something seriously wrong with your waste tank vent system.
 
If you have a splindide combo washer/dryer the instructions clearly state to only use the unit with the gray valve open.  But other than that we also close the gray a day or two before we drain the black tank so there's a bunch of gray water to flush the hose.
 
8Muddypaws said:
If you have a splindide combo washer/dryer the instructions clearly state to only use the unit with the gray valve open.
Click to expand...


I've noticed that, anyone know why? I can't think of any reason other than accidental overfill of the grey tank.
 
Sun2Retire said:
I've noticed that, anyone know why? I can't think of any reason other than accidental overfill of the grey tank.
Click to expand...

Isn't that enough reason? Cleaning up from an over flowing shower pan can't be much fun...  :D
 
Gizmo said:
Most definitely keep the black tank valve closed and we always keep ours closed.  Although many folks do keep the grey valves open during at least part of their stay, we also keep them closed, for a couple reasons. First it helps to provide plenty of water to wash out the sewer hose when dumping the black tank and helps to prevent odors from the sewer, although admittedly traps with water in them should in theory and practical purposes prevent odor.  I found this out on one camping trip just after I had thoroughly cleaned and deodorized my grey tanks.  We decided to leave the grey tank valves open,  and after a couple hours or so after hooking up, we noticed an odor coming from the kitchen sink.  Within a short time after closing the grey tank valves, the odor disappeared.
Click to expand...



This is what I do.
I just prefer to keep both closed until dumping is needed. Been doing it this way since 1996, never had ANY problems with the sewer/tanks, so it must work.
 
I keep the black closed, and the gray open. I make sure my sewer hose has a trap. WE get a week easy on the black without trying too hard to conserve. I close the grays a couple of days before I have to dump the black to give the sewer hose a rinse. I've never had any problems doing it this way while parked from a week to up to 4 months at a time.
 
We keep both valves closed. The more grey water the better to help clean the lines after you dump the black tank.  Of course, we do a tank dump every so often so as to not overfill and sometimes the grey tank will need to be drained more often just to have room for showers and dish washing, etc.

Bill
 
Bill N said:
We keep both valves closed. The more grey water the better to help clean the lines after you dump the black tank.  Of course, we do a tank dump every so often so as to not overfill and sometimes the grey tank will need to be drained more often just to have room for showers and dish washing, etc.

Bill
Click to expand...

The reason I wait and close the gray a day or two earlier, is that my wife can almost fill the galley tank when she does dishes, and we will take a hollywood shower or two to help fill the bathroom tank. We don't have any problems getting enough gray to flush the hose. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 953 (members: 25, guests: 928)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,929
Posts
1,387,660
Members
137,677
Latest member
automedicmobile
Back
Top Bottom