RV Black Tanks

Hi all,
We just purchased a 23 foot Coachmen and have a question regarding dumping our black water tank...... We are going to use the RV mostly for short weekend trips and wondered how often we should dump our black water tank. An RV tech told us we should not dump it after every trip because that won't allow the chemicals to breakdown the waste and we will end up with clogs in the system. This would mean we would take it to storage with "black water" and just dump maybe once a month.



Any advice regarding the frequency of dumping would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks

Phil

Hi Phil,

The RV technician was correct in saying that the chemicals won't have time to properly break down the waste during a short camping trip. But I don't necessarily agree with letting it sit in storage with waste in the holding tank for long periods of time. One thing that helps to avoid a holding tank from getting clogged is to empty it when it is close to being full. The weight and the pressure of the full tank will force the contents of the tank to drain much better. What you can do, if you prefer to empty your tanks, after a short trip is to finish filling the black tank with water and then dump them. Just take a garden hose, not your drinking hose of course, and fill the black tank through the toilet. When it is full you can dump the tank and follow by dumping the gray tank.
Another problem, in my opinion, that leads to a clogged black tank is that it doesn't get flushed out properly after it is emptied. You need some way to flush the tank, whether it's using a wand or something like flushking, to help clean the tank out after you empty it.

Try to use environmentally friendly holding tank chemicals (non formaldehyde) and if at all possible give the chemicals time to work, but if the unit will be stored for long periods of time and you want to empty the black tank follow the procedures I mentioned above.



Mark Polk



RV Education 101 is a North Carolina based Company that produces educational videos on how to use and maintain your RV. Mark Polk, the owner, started in the RV industry as an apprentice technician in the early 1970's. After retiring as a CW3 from the military (where Polk was an automotive maintenance technician, and was in charge of some very large maintenance operations throughout his career) in 1996, he got back into the industry he had a passion for. Polk has an extensive background in RV sales, service and management. He felt so strongly about educating the consumer that he left his position as an RV Sales Manager in 2000 to devote himself full time to his company. Mark’s program includes instructional videos and other materials to make your RVing lifestyle even easier. Mark also provides the RV Savvy segments for the RVTV program and can be seen on the Outdoor Channel. You can order Mark's complete line of RV Education 101 material from www.rveducation101.com

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