What happens when you overfill tanks.....

[swimmer_spe]

I know if you overfill your fresh water tank, generally, there is an overflow and it dumps on the ground. What about your grey and black? Does it just start to come out of those things that drain there?

[Lantley]

0-25 minutes is way too long to be at the dump station if there is a line:M
If there is a line there should be no back flushing at all!
No line no problem but if someone is waiting it is not time to get tanks squeaky clean.
I don't understand the obsession with spotless tanks. You're just going to fill it with poo all over again!

[schlep1967]

StirCrazy wrote:

nickthehunter wrote:

ken56 wrote:
The last flush I do before we leave a campground takes me 20 minutes or so...

I’ll bet you’re a real popular guy in the line at the dump station

20 min is average from what I see here. All the people that rent rv's then try to figure it out at the dump. I don't get excited if someone wants to do a respectable job of cleaning out their tanks, I usually do also if I am not just moving to another site. if your leaving and 20 to 25 min will ruin your day, don't camp in any national parks in BC or Alberta :B

Myself I will usually try get water and sewer for that last trip so I can take as much time as I like dumping my tank and cleaning it before going home.

I only do a really good flush when sitting in a site with full hookups. When dumping at a dump station I try to be considerate of others. Hook up the lines, dump the tanks, add some water back into the black tank, unhook the lines and move on. I'm going to be using it within the next two weeks anyway. No reason for the poop tank to be perfectly clean.

[StirCrazy]

nickthehunter wrote:

ken56 wrote:
The last flush I do before we leave a campground takes me 20 minutes or so...

I’ll bet you’re a real popular guy in the line at the dump station

20 min is average from what I see here. All the people that rent rv's then try to figure it out at the dump. I don't get excited if someone wants to do a respectable job of cleaning out their tanks, I usually do also if I am not just moving to another site. if your leaving and 20 to 25 min will ruin your day, don't camp in any national parks in BC or Alberta :B

Myself I will usually try get water and sewer for that last trip so I can take as much time as I like dumping my tank and cleaning it before going home.

[nickthehunter]

ken56 wrote:
The last flush I do before we leave a campground takes me 20 minutes or so...

I’ll bet you’re a real popular guy in the line at the dump station

[Cummins12V98]

swimmer_spe wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

ken56 wrote:
If your black tank has a tank flush on it, if you leave that run by mistake yes, it will overfill and will come out the vent pipe on the roof. All tanks have a vent of some type so they will drain. Be very careful you are not distracted when you use the black tank flush and forget to shut it off.

I ALWAYS SET THE TIMER on my phone!!!!!!!!!!!

Distracted dumping can end up being a real SH!TTY experience. :B

I only give ours a minute or less of flush. How much should I be doing it? How should I be doing it? This is my first RV with a flush option.

I fill the black and grey tanks 10 minutes and drain then close and fill black tank for another 10 minutes. Black tank stays closed and grey stays open normally.

[ken56]

The last flush I do before we leave a campground takes me 20 minutes or so. After the first dump I then close the valve while the tank flush is running to fill it so it refloats any solids, close it for maybe a minute or 2 max. It does the trick and I repeat that 3 to 4 times. I hate leaving "stuff" in the tank when it is sitting in the yard. If your wife is like mine and uses copious amounts of TP then consider doing this to get that paper out. The flow has stopped before with a gob of paper waiting to be pushed out. The tank bottoms are flat so it takes some patience but like I say, better out than in.

[Grit_dog]

^You’re fine. Carry on. No rules exist about how long to flush the turd tank.

[swimmer_spe]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

ken56 wrote:
If your black tank has a tank flush on it, if you leave that run by mistake yes, it will overfill and will come out the vent pipe on the roof. All tanks have a vent of some type so they will drain. Be very careful you are not distracted when you use the black tank flush and forget to shut it off.

I ALWAYS SET THE TIMER on my phone!!!!!!!!!!!

Distracted dumping can end up being a real SH!TTY experience. :B

I only give ours a minute or less of flush. How much should I be doing it? How should I be doing it? This is my first RV with a flush option.

[wnjj]

schlep1967 wrote:

wnjj wrote:

swimmer_spe wrote:

2112 wrote:
My gray tank is full when the shower no longer drains.
My black tank is full when the toilet burps when I flush.

My gray fills up long before the black. I put a valve on the main drain pipe where you connect the drain hose. With that valve closed I open the gray valve, wait a few second, then open the black valve to move some gray water to the black tank. Then close both valves. That gets me at least another shower before to the dump we go.

Do you have a picture of that setup?
Both of mine go to one main drain with drain valves for both tanks.

You can do this trick by just leaving the cap on the end but you will have to deal with the “extras” when you pull the cap to connect the hose at the dump.

DO NOT TRY THIS WITH JUST THE CAP IN PLACE!!!
People really should think before they post this stuff. If you want to use this method get yourself one of the twist on valves for the end of your drain line. That way you can attach the hose before you let the c r a p fly.

Thanks for the warning but it should be obvious I was “thinking” about it. This is why I suggested there would be extras to deal with. It’s just gray water left in there and won’t instantly kill you either. Many dump stations have a sloped pit that runs to the drain so it’s easy enough to deal with. I’ve known a couple different people who had use this method in a pinch. It’s not like you can “just install a valve” when you already are at a camp spot, late at night and your family cannot use the sink. Relax a little.

[Grit_dog]

Or short story is, if you overfull the black tank you have to be pretty dang unobservant, short of a toilet valve and flapper leak at the same time.
And if the gray gets full unexpectedly, unless you’re sardine camping, u can always water the lawn late at night….

[Cummins12V98]

ken56 wrote:
If your black tank has a tank flush on it, if you leave that run by mistake yes, it will overfill and will come out the vent pipe on the roof. All tanks have a vent of some type so they will drain. Be very careful you are not distracted when you use the black tank flush and forget to shut it off.

I ALWAYS SET THE TIMER on my phone!!!!!!!!!!!

Distracted dumping can end up being a real SH!TTY experience. :B

[Lantley]

All you need is a twist on drain valve. Permanently attached it and get rid of drain cap altogether.

With valve closed and both tanks open tanks will equalize and you can allow black tank to fill with some excess grey water

[swimmer_spe]

schlep1967 wrote:

wnjj wrote:

swimmer_spe wrote:

2112 wrote:
My gray tank is full when the shower no longer drains.
My black tank is full when the toilet burps when I flush.

My gray fills up long before the black. I put a valve on the main drain pipe where you connect the drain hose. With that valve closed I open the gray valve, wait a few second, then open the black valve to move some gray water to the black tank. Then close both valves. That gets me at least another shower before to the dump we go.

Do you have a picture of that setup?
Both of mine go to one main drain with drain valves for both tanks.

You can do this trick by just leaving the cap on the end but you will have to deal with the “extras” when you pull the cap to connect the hose at the dump.

DO NOT TRY THIS WITH JUST THE CAP IN PLACE!!!
People really should think before they post this stuff. If you want to use this method get yourself one of the twist on valves for the end of your drain line. That way you can attach the hose before you let the c r a p fly.

That valve looks better than just letting it fly...

[schlep1967]

wnjj wrote:

swimmer_spe wrote:

2112 wrote:
My gray tank is full when the shower no longer drains.
My black tank is full when the toilet burps when I flush.

My gray fills up long before the black. I put a valve on the main drain pipe where you connect the drain hose. With that valve closed I open the gray valve, wait a few second, then open the black valve to move some gray water to the black tank. Then close both valves. That gets me at least another shower before to the dump we go.

Do you have a picture of that setup?
Both of mine go to one main drain with drain valves for both tanks.

You can do this trick by just leaving the cap on the end but you will have to deal with the “extras” when you pull the cap to connect the hose at the dump.

DO NOT TRY THIS WITH JUST THE CAP IN PLACE!!!
People really should think before they post this stuff. If you want to use this method get yourself one of the twist on valves for the end of your drain line. That way you can attach the hose before you let the c r a p fly.