Possibly an odd question

SeilerBird said:

The most important thing to know about hooking up is that once you are connected to the sewer you open the grey tank valve so it always drains allowing you to take long showers. However, the black tank valve must remain closed until the holding tank is at least 3/4 full and then you go outside and pull the handle and drain it all out and then close the handle. Failure to do this will result in the famous poop pyramid. What happens is the poop lands in the tank and stays there. Not enough liquid to flush the solid stuff down to the sewer. After a few years an RV will develop a poop pyramid and it will be as hard as a rock and a real bitch to eliminate. Every few months someone shows up here wondering why they are having so much of a problem draining their black tank. If you wish do a forum search on poop pyramid and read some of the stories.

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This is going straight into my notebook, maybe with a little highlighter, even.  Thank you for the heads ups.  (See what I did there?

Chameleonxanth said:

This is going straight into my notebook, maybe with a little highlighter, even.  Thank you for the heads ups.  (See what I did there?

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That was crappy.

A heady remark...  : ;D

This discussion is going down the drain.

I don't think I can bear anymore of this.

SeilerBird said:

The most important thing to know about hooking up is that once you are connected to the sewer you open the grey tank valve so it always drains allowing you to take long showers. However, the black tank valve must remain closed until the holding tank is at least 3/4 full and then you go outside and pull the handle and drain it all out and then close the handle. Failure to do this will result in the famous poop pyramid. What happens is the poop lands in the tank and stays there. Not enough liquid to flush the solid stuff down to the sewer. After a few years an RV will develop a poop pyramid and it will be as hard as a rock and a real bitch to eliminate. Every few months someone shows up here wondering why they are having so much of a problem draining their black tank. If you wish do a forum search on poop pyramid and read some of the stories.

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Also, don't forget, let the gray tank(s) start filling a day or two before you are ready to dump the black so you can flush the plumbing my draining the grays afterward.

FenderP said:

Also, don't forget, let the gray tank(s) start filling a day or two before you are ready to dump the black so you can flush the plumbing my draining the grays afterward.

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Does the gray drain through the black then, rinsing it out?

Chameleonxanth said:

Does the gray drain through the black then, rinsing it out?

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It doesn't drain through the black tank it drains along with the black tank. Usually the pipe from the grey tank and the pipe from the black tank meet up with a Y joint and then both flow to the sewer. I have never worried about using grey water to rinse out the black water because in the RVs I have owned that would only have been about one foot of pipe. Here is a photo of one arrangement. The grey pipe is on the left and is usually 1 1/2" pipe. The black one is on the right, it is a 3 inch pipe.

SeilerBird said:

It doesn't drain through the black tank it drains along with the black tank. Usually the pipe from the grey tank and the pipe from the black tank meet up with a Y joint and then both flow to the sewer. I have never worried about using grey water to rinse out the black water because in the RVs I have owned that would only have been about one foot of pipe. Here is a photo of one arrangement. The grey pipe is on the left and is usually 1 1/2" pipe. The black one is on the right, it is a 3 inch pipe.

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I see.  In the photo, it looks as though the two pipes are only joined for a few inches.  So maybe then it is a matter of the system the RV has, as you mentioned.  Thank you for the clear up on the way these pipes and tanks drain. 

I feel like I've come unto a treasure trove of information, which is wonderful because I (and husband) have so much to take in and thankfully, time to learn before we begin. 

Thanks again; more notes for the book. 

To clarify, while on the RV it's a short piece, the real benefit for the black-then-grey is to clean the hose that runs from the RV to the sewer connection which, in some cases might be as much as 30 feet, depending on the particular site.

SeilerBird said:

It doesn't drain through the black tank it drains along with the black tank. Usually the pipe from the grey tank and the pipe from the black tank meet up with a Y joint and then both flow to the sewer. I have never worried about using grey water to rinse out the black water because in the RVs I have owned that would only have been about one foot of pipe. Here is a photo of one arrangement. The grey pipe is on the left and is usually 1 1/2" pipe. The black one is on the right, it is a 3 inch pipe.

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But it?s more than just the pipes, it?s your hose as well. I just don?t think the trickle of gray from normal use (no standing water in the gray) will do the job. Your hose can cause odors as well well using fhu.

Larry N. said:

To clarify, while on the RV it's a short piece, the real benefit for the black-then-grey is to clean the hose that runs from the RV to the sewer connection which, in some cases might be as much as 30 feet, depending on the particular site.

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Sorry, Larry. Didn?t read your post first!

FenderP said:

Sorry, Larry. Didn?t read your post first!

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S'all right...

SeilerBird said:

The most important thing to know about hooking up is that once you are connected to the sewer you open the grey tank valve so it always drains allowing you to take long showers. However, the black tank valve must remain closed until the holding tank is at least 3/4 full and then you go outside and pull the handle and drain it all out and then close the handle. Failure to do this will result in the famous poop pyramid. What happens is the poop lands in the tank and stays there. Not enough liquid to flush the solid stuff down to the sewer. After a few years an RV will develop a poop pyramid and it will be as hard as a rock and a real bitch to eliminate. Every few months someone shows up here wondering why they are having so much of a problem draining their black tank. If you wish do a forum search on poop pyramid and read some of the stories.

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So after draining the black tank, is it a good idea to put a little water back in the tank? (I'm now picturing poop splattering on an empty tank floor : ) The models I'm looking at have a black tank flush system so I'm assuming you could use this to add some water and help avoid the pyramid.

We also will be buying our first RV but have 6-8 months to learn about it first so I'm trying to understand as much as possible without any hands on experience.

brclark82 said:

So after draining the black tank, is it a good idea to put a little water back in the tank? (I'm now picturing poop splattering on an empty tank floor : ) The models I'm looking at have a black tank flush system so I'm assuming you could use this to add some water and help avoid the pyramid.

We also will be buying our first RV but have 6-8 months to learn about it first so I'm trying to understand as much as possible without any hands on experience.

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Yes.  Water and treatment just like you would when you first set up.  Whatever treatment you choose works for you.  We have been using the geo method but have recently discovered that "Happy Campers" is cheaper and easier and works just as well if not better.  Of course that is subjective.

We add water via holding the toilet flush handle down.

brclark82 said:

So after draining the black tank, is it a good idea to put a little water back in the tank? (I'm now picturing poop splattering on an empty tank floor : ) The models I'm looking at have a black tank flush system so I'm assuming you could use this to add some water and help avoid the pyramid.

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Yes you should add a few gallons to avoid the pyramid. I never used chemicals in the black tank, totally unnecessary. Those chemicals are great in septic tanks but you don't have a septic tank in your RV you have a holding tank. All you need to know is to use a lot of water when you flush. I would always hold the handle down and count slowly to five.

We also will be buying our first RV but have 6-8 months to learn about it first so I'm trying to understand as much as possible without any hands on experience.

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Then I suggest you rent an RV for a weekend and take a short trip to someplace local that will impress you. You will learn more about RVs in that weekend than you could ever imagine.

Larry N. said:

To clarify, while on the RV it's a short piece, the real benefit for the black-then-grey is to clean the hose that runs from the RV to the sewer connection which, in some cases might be as much as 30 feet, depending on the particular site.

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So in the above-noted picture, that piece of hose, the expandable tubing after the read fitting/cap (sorry about terminology) is not part of the site's equipment, but more of the RV's, which is why it is a good idea to flush it out, and an easy way to do that would be to let the grey tank fill a little so it can be used to flush out the pipes and hose after emptying the black tank.  I see. Thank you. 

Disclaimer:  Not that I don't care at all about the equipment of others, here the representative site's, but that I assume they likely have their own ways of dealing with and cleaning their equipment and I needn't take on that responsibility, unnecessarily. 

FenderP said:

Yes.  Water and treatment just like you would when you first set up.  Whatever treatment you choose works for you.  We have been using the geo method but have recently discovered that "Happy Campers" is cheaper and easier and works just as well if not better.  Of course that is subjective.

We add water via holding the toilet flush handle down.

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If you don't mind the question and have the time, what is the Geo System and Happy Campers?  Further, we should make a habit of holding the handle down when flushing to help to sluice the black tank, when the time comes? 

Chameleonxanth said:

If you don't mind the question and have the time, what is the Geo System and Happy Campers?  Further, we should make a habit of holding the handle down when flushing to help to sluice the black tank, when the time comes?

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The GEO system is really unnecessary. All you really need to do is to hold the handle down when you flush for about five seconds. The GEO method is explained here by the guy who invented it:

https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/

I have never found the need to flush out the sewer hose with grey water because as soon as you are done flushing then the grey water will still be coming down the pipe every time you use the sink or shower. It does get flushed out, but it happens a bit later. Of course if you dump and then go home that won't happen, but in all my years of RVing I have never worried about it.

I have never heard of Happy Campers so I Googled it and it another worthless product:

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers-Organic-Holding-Treatment/dp/B005XEFADU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1533830720&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=happy+campers+rv+tank+treatment&psc=1

All you really need it water, and that is free.

Chameleonxanth said:

So in the above-noted picture, that piece of hose, the expandable tubing after the read fitting/cap (sorry about terminology) is not part of the site's equipment, but more of the RV's, which is why it is a good idea to flush it out, and an easy way to do that would be to let the grey tank fill a little so it can be used to flush out the pipes and hose after emptying the black tank.  I see. Thank you. 

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That's correct. Generally the campground provides a capped "hole in the ground," actually it's a pipe in the ground that leads to their sewage system, and it has a screw in cap. Everything else the RVer must provide. So while a 10 foot hose might be fine sometimes, there are occasions when you can't get the RV that close to the sewage hole, thus you might need as much as 30 feet of hose (usually 3 sections that twist-lock together). BTW, those hoses are also what you need when visiting an RV dump after being in a camp site without FHU.

And, as some folks above have mentioned, after draining the tanks it's a good idea to put some clear water in the black tank, either with the flush system (i.e. Sani-Flush) that some units have or by a few flushes of a toilet -- this gives that clear water a chance to work on anything you might have inadvertently left in there, and it means that the tank won't be dry when the first "new" waste products arrive.

And with adequate water, there's no need for chemicals to be added to either tank, in spite of the advertising efforts that push such additives. An exception would be if you have a recycling type of toilet that lets the waste come in to a preloaded mix of water and chemical, but few rigs have that type (the Trailmanor I had years ago had that type). Most have holding tanks instead, which require more space for all the capacity, but no chemicals.