Length of Dump Hose

[SteelHeadR]

If I remember correctly the effluent began coming up thru the shower drain... It was a greenish color (probably the chemical he used in it). I dunno how its possible unless his shower is drained into the black tank (2006 Pace Arrow 38L). Needless to say it was a mess and he was still cleaning up as we left.

I don't quite see how that is possible.  Isn't the toilet the only thing that empties into the black tank?  Shower and sink water should go into the gray water tank.  Are the black and gray water tanks connected somehow?  I didn't think that they were.  If they are, is it possible for the black tank to back-flow into the gray tank and for that combined water to back up into the shower?  Maybe that RV had some creative / non-standard plumbing?    :-\

Ed

 

[codgerbill]

Ed,

I dunno if it is possible or not, all I know is that my buddies DW was a hollerin and she said green liquid was a commen out of the shower drain.......but as I get older my feeble memoy gets lesser so it might have been the terlet. 

 

[cybertron]

Not sure about that particular model, but my shower dumps into the black tank.  In fact, the only thing that doesn't is the kitchen sink.  It's not ideal for long trips as it means almost all of the water I use goes into one tank, but it does mean I don't have to worry about pouring water in the black tank in order to dump it.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Yuck.  That's particularly nasty if your shower ever backs up (black water vs. grey water backing up into the shower).

 

[cybertron]

Yeah, have to be careful not to let it fill up.  Fortunately the fresh tank is only 37 gallons, so I would have to use almost no water in the kitchen (which is never the case) in order to do that.  Unless I have city water of course, but I only had that once last year.

 

[SteelHeadR]

Bill... know what you mean about those old brain cells.  They seem to come and go as they please.  :-\

As to the shower dumping into the black tank, yuck!  I don't see how shower water would be any dirtier than soapy greasy dish water from the kitchen sink, so am thinking that one should pay attention to how the plumbing is set up on any RV purchased.  Unless there is a good reason for dumping the shower to the black tank, I would not think this a particularly good design.  If it can back up into the shower like that, it would create an awful mess.  Of course, over-flowing one's tanks is often pretty messy but at least gray water is easier to deal with.

 

[NY_Dutch]

The RVIA code allows one other fixture to drain into the black tank along with the toilet. The bathroom sink is the most common one used by the manufacturers for plumbing ease and to help balance the tank capacities. I've never seen a shower that drained into the black tank except in some rare single waste tank installations.

 

[cybertron]

I suspect they did it on mine because it's so small and they didn't have room to run plumbing from the shower to the kitchen.  Although the "one other fixture" rule makes me wonder what they did with the bathroom sink. 

 

[Alfa38User]

It's not too difficult to find out! Once everything is empty, close the valves and then add a gallon or two of water via the bathroom sink. Then open the valves one at a time. You will be able  hear which tank dumps the water when you open the appropriate valve. The bathroom sink or shower dumping into the black tank makes most sense because of their  proximity to the black tank.