Putting "blue" in the Black Tank

Or open a window a crack so air can come from somewhere other than the black tank.

Frankly, though, our tank doesn't smell strong at all and the fan is no problem if it happens to be on. Our gray tank is a lot stinkier than the black.

Gary RV Roamer said:

Our gray tank is a lot stinkier than the black.

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Same here, I had to replace the vacuum vents for that reason.

I had to LOL at "ramber28"....because it made me think of something my septic tank guy told me whe they were putting in my septic tank at the house.  I had told him I'd heard that putting raw hamburger in the toilet once in a while was good for the septic system....without hesitation he said..."I'd reccommend you save money, eat the hamburger and crap in the toilet....it'll do just as much good"...LOLOLOLOLOL!

Marc your tank does not stink  because its probably frozen, Gary you know what they say "some people think their s#%t don't stink", Ned in a effort to keep my rig full of happy teen age girls and a wife with a good sniffer I think I will opt to be blue, window is always open and the fan is missing one blade and is small, but so is my bathroom.

Speaking of BLUE, I stopped by my yacht club to check on my boat a couple of weeks ago, I found the boat had been broken into, the intruder used the forward head, it was still winterized,  the low life ripped the large container of BLUE sanitizer off the bulkhead and dumped some in the head (thx). He was thinking like Gary, so he opened the deck hatch above the forward shower to let in some fresh air, he then dumped the balance of the BLUE stuff into my shower base located under the  hatch, this happened some time ago, so snow and rain filled this large shower base almost to the top, I must say it looks like a giant BLUE ICEBERG. The BLUE BURG is very pretty but I suspect the tan acrylic shower base will be blue for ever, the good thing is "NO ODOR". Police suspect a homeless man, we are located 50 feet from the freight train tracks along the Hudson River. :-\ 

Mark R. said:

Marc your tank does not stink is because its probably frozen, ...

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I would think so, it was -5F when I stoked the fire at 4:30AM.

rambler28 said:

Makes sense to me, no more blue. I asked a septic tank pump guy what to use in the tank at home. He said all that stuff on the market is snake oil, human waste has all the enzymes you need to make it work, but watch the cleaners go easy on them and thick tp.

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Folks, its a holding tank  NOT a digester nor a septic tank.  It holds sewage.  It does not preform any function other than that. It doesn't brake down waste.

If you don't have any odor  - don't put anything in it - If you have ordor but in something to kill the bacteria that's causing the order.


BTW formaldehyde is biodegradable    see http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080404162122AAVSChv


PHE

phespe said:

Folks, its a holding tank  NOT a digester nor a septic tank.  It holds sewage.  It does not preform any function other than that. It doesn't brake down waste.

PHE

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Well, the breakdown starts as soon as you eat the food and follows your digestive system.  Once in the tank, this only continues.  So yes there is breakdown.  How much breakdown depends on how long it stays in the tank.

BTW formaldehyde is biodegradable    see http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080404162122AAVSChv

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Biogradable does not mean it's safe.

When we got our first MH, we hadn't a clue about anything.  This forum is where I have learned probably about 98% of the do's don'ts and everything in between about RVing.  Lots of water and nothing else was stressed about the black water tank.  And I have followed that advice except now I do toss in a package of baker's yeast now and then.  Listen to the advice here, it's sound and is the 'voice of experience'.

Folks, its a holding tank  NOT a digester nor a septic tank.  It holds sewage.  It does not preform any function other than that. It doesn't brake down waste.

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The truth is somewhere in between. It is a holding tank, but the "stuff" does indeed break down, and fairly quickly at that. The big lumps become a slurry and the paper dissolves into shreds or strings, unless you use some of the heavy duty brands of TP (and that's a whole other subject!). And mostly the tank will get along just fine without chemicals of any kind, so routine use of "holding tank chemicals" or homebrew recipes is generally not needed.

Indeed.  Even with municipal sewage treatment, LA engineers found that significant bacterial action in breaking down sewage occurs in the collection pipes as the sewage flows downwards toward the treatment plant.  If a similar effect did not occur in RV holding tanks, the dumping process would be a helluva lot more grief.  A bit of observation of a transparent elbow fitting shows most of the solids including paper are well on their way to liquifaction.

Carl L said:

A bit of observation of a transparent elbow fitting shows most of the solids including paper are well on their way to liquifaction.

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The installation of such a device on our RV was pretty eye-opening, I must say.  The "visual effect" makes for an easier tutorial also, for showing first-time dumpers how it's done... a situation that happened to me at a dump station this past season.

scottydl said:

The installation of such a device on our RV was pretty eye-opening, I must say.  The "visual effect" makes for an easier tutorial also, for showing first-time dumpers how it's done... a situation that happened to me at a dump station this past season.

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And, if there is nothing good on TV,....

I've been reading this thread but been a little puzzled if I fully understand or not. 

So after I dump the black tank I really do not need to add chems to the black tank?  I only need to add plain water? 

As far as adding those chems - are they harmless to the black tank?

Another question - if the black tank is less than 2/3 full should I add more water before dumping if I am breaking camp?

Ok, here is a silly question but I'm going to ask: Is dumping at the CG dumpstation different than at the hook up at the campsite?

Terier said:

I've been reading this thread but been a little puzzled if I fully understand or not. 

So after I dump the black tank I really do not need to add chems to the black tank?  I only need to add plain water? 

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Yes.

As far as adding those chems - are they harmless to the black tank?

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Worthless in most cases is more like it.

  Another question - if the black tank is less than 2/3 full should I add more water before dumping if I am breaking camp?

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Yes, definitely.

Ok, here is a silly question but I'm going to ask: Is dumping at the CG dumpstation different than at the hook up at the campsite?

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Not really -- it is usually less leisurely tho, people may be waiting.

A bit of observation of a transparent elbow fitting shows most of the solids including paper are well on their way to liquifaction.

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Edit: Fixed quote.

This would be a good enough reason for adding the blue all by its self!

I will stop using the BLUE when our RVs have traps under the toilet.

Terier, If you are a full timer you dump pretty regularly , if you are regular that is. As a occasional camper with my rig sitting for 8 months a year, I prefer the smell of a sanitized bathroom, as you can never get a tank completely cleaned out, even more important to me as I keep my MH in my heated garage sewage venting inside a closed up building is never a good thing, and the stuff is cheap for a part timer like myself.

Mark R. said:

I will stop using the BLUE when our RVs have traps under the toilet.

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If your the seal in your toilet flap is good, there is always an inch of water in your toilet, this does the same thing as the trap under a house toilet, it block the gases from going through.

Marc, I have a new toilet and no leaks, what you say is true, until you flush. I believe the BLUE also has a sanitizer to control bacteria growth, this would be important to me because of  the amount of time my rig sits. I probably use a qt. of blue every two years so for me its a no brain er  and more important a NO STINKER!

If you have a sewage smell in your rig at any time......you have a problem with your plumbing.  Mine was odor free 8 years and then developed a horrific odor that was painful when I flushed.  I searched for over a month till I found the problem and that was one L O N G month.  I changed the toilet gasket three times out of desperation.  I even pulled the floor fitting and redid the tank fitting and it is outside the coach.

The interior of the Winnie is a strong vacuum when you are driving down the highway and mine had never been odorous prior to my problem.  Then arugh!  I never had a problem when I flushed and I could hold the pedal and peer in the tank to see how full it was while holding a flashlight.  Open for 20 seconds with me directly over it and NO ODOR.  None!  Turned on the exhaust fan prior to the dilemma and it stayed on all day with no offensive....

The problem was a hair line crack in the "rear" side of the vent pipe that goes up the wall behind the toilet.  Hairline!  This allowed enough tank gas in to drive you out.  That is some powerful gas.  A piece of duct tape was the temp fix and I cut the cracked piece out and put in two but connectors for the final fix.  The tiniest air leak in that system is not tolerable.  Run glue around all of your PVC fittings and make sure all clearances for the toilet seal are correct.  If your coach has insufficient vents going up through the roof that is a design problem that will get you the same problem.

Lots of water and yeast.....unless you are boon docking.  Actually the yeast is only needed if you get any of that blue stuff in there by accident.  If you REALLY NEED the blue stuff you have a problem with your system.  Blue is ultimately bad for us all and will really screw up a septic.  If your tank goes anaerobic you will get foul odors out side and downwind from you roof vents.  If that happens you need more water and yeast till you dump.

I have used household TP for 18 years and have had only one problem.  Had I driven the RV down the road in the week prior to dumping I would not have had that problem.  If I hadn't installed that "at the tank" electric valve I wouldn't have had it either.

John

My last rig developed a stinky problem on our first trip.  I suspect the problem existed before but was too dry to be a real problem.  I told my pops about it and he said to dissolve 2 loads worth of tide and 2 loads worth of calgon water softener in a Home Depot bucket of water and poor it down there, put a hose through the window and filler up about 2/3rds full.  Slosh that around for half and hour or so on a nice curvy drive and dump.  Do that until the stinky goes away.  I took 4 1/2 hour trips that weekend but when I was done the sensors all of a sudden worked and the odor never came back!  There was some serious funky skunky coming outta that hose on the first dumping, I thought I would fall over!  The 4th one was pretty normal and like you guys I just use water now.  If I do get the skunky's again I'll do that same trick, hopefully with the same result!

My dad spent about 10 years as the landscaping supervisor for a waste water treatment plant, he got that tip from the plant foreman when the tank on his TT had an issue a few years back from not dumping on a return.

Hope that helps.
Jeff