Dumping Tanks

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jlazar

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2010
Posts
235
Location
San Antonio, Tx
My coach has a macerator which I am not in love with (have had to manually unstick with a screwdriver twice).  I am thinking of disconnecting and replacing with a Rhino hose setup.  Is the Rhino Extreme worth the extra money versus a regular Rhino hose?  Is the Rhino sidewinder needed or just lift the hose as your are emptying?  My coach has a black water flush.  Do I need to consider something like the Hydro Flush to help clean the grey water tank.  Seems like it would also be a good device to clean the hose after dumping. 
 
The better the sewer hose the less chance of finding little or not so little leaks when you dump. I would recommend getting one of the see through elbows so you can see when your tank is flushed clean when you are using your black water flush. I would get/use the sidewinder if I am leaving the gray water open.
I don?t think you need any thing special to flush the gray water tank just turn on a couple of faucets for a while till it runs clean. When you are done and the water coming out is clear you probley don?t need to flush the sewer hose but you could always use the hose connected to your black water flush.
Bill


 
I think most people make sure they have a pretty full gray tank before flushing and then open the black valves first.  That way they rinse the hose with the gray water which seems to be satisfactory.  I have seen all the recent posts about Rhino hoses and it's confusing as some have had major problems and some just love them.  I have used the EZ coupler for twenty years and been very pleased.  They screw together and have done well for me at a lower price than the Rhino hoses.  I use the EZ Coupler connections and also their red hoses.  No clamps to worry about.
 
I also use EZ Couplers when traveling for years. Last year I purchased a Rhino to use at my AZ lot (and leave here), but after fighting leaks in the Rhino for most of the time I owned it, I threw it out and am using my oldest "travel" EZ Coupler 10" instead.

ken
 
I have the regular Rhino and see little need for the Extreme. However, if your campsites tend to be gravel, then maybe the Extreme is worth the extra bucks. Dragging a hose over gravel is problematic! There are other excellent quality hoses if you don't want to risk the Rhino. Some other excellent, heavy duty, brands are Polychute and EZ Flush. I have a Rhino for my primary, but my extension is a plain old Camco gray Heavy Duty that is over 6 years old. I think they dropped that one in favor of the Rhno, though.
 
jlazar said:
Is the Rhino Extreme worth the extra money versus a regular Rhino hose? 
This is a question you would not need to ask if you had ever experienced a thinner hose leaking brown stuff all over the ground. I got the thickest hose made. It cost me like $60 and I have stepped on it many times without damaging it.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
I have a Rhino for my primary, but my extension is a plain old Camco gray Heavy Duty that is over 6 years old.

I still carry one of those for when the two 10' EZ Couplers aren't long enough. Mine is at least 6 years old also. I actually had to use it several times last summer.

ken
 
Thanks.  Based on your feedback and reviewing some videos on YouTube, I think I am going to go with the Valterra Dominator hoses with EZ Coupler connections.
 
Good info on hose choices and idea of using a clear elbow. The best hose is defeated if the method is not correct. This dumping process eliminates the step of flushing with fresh water and has worked for me for the last 20 years.

Connect the hose to the clear elbow on your discharge port. Open the black water valve. When flow stops, leave the black valve open and open the gray valve. After about 5 seconds, close the gray valve and watch the flow from the black tank. If free of solids and now gray color, close the black tank. If not - repeat this step. Open the gray valve and drain until empty. Store hose, if storred in a bin put endcaps on the hose to avoid any odor. Tanks are now empty and flushed as is the hose.  The only time I ever used the built in tank flusher was after a sensor failed to shut oiff the indicator - this is usually caused by tissue buildup on the sensor, keeping it wet after dumping.

Remember there is clean and "too clean". It is not like you are going to put something different in those tanks next time!
 
Just finished our first weeklong trip after dumping our macerator system and switching to 3" hoses.  Based on comments above, I went with Valterra Dominator hoses with EZ Coupler connections.  I had a 5" clear section installed right off the black valve to monitor output.  I love this new system.  Dumping is quick and I know that it clean.  The monitors now always show empty where with the macerator they sometimes read 1/3 making me doubt I had a good dump.  Didn't spill a drop any where connecting/unconnecting the hoses.  The end caps for the hoses make it a truly clean operation; although I will continue to wear gloves.  If anyone has only had a macerator system and is thinking of changing, I would highly recommend it.  Note: I don't dump at home so the above might be a different experience for those who do and need to go long distances.
 
I know that several folks have gone to the macerator system, and there are some good points to it.  Especially when dumping up hill, or dumping a long distance.  However, I have not switched to that system for just the reasons that you have mentioned.  I prefer a quick, fast dump and a good rinse. 

I am different on the hose issue as well. I prefer the medium duty dump hoses that I replace periodically. I reuse the connectors (the blue push on ones) and just put them on the new hoses. And I use a sewer hose support to facilitate a good quick dump. 
 
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