Jim2007
Greeley, Colorado
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HI; I agree with most which is keep the black closed until it is 3/4 full and then dump the black and follow with a dump of the grey (grey should be at least 1/2 full. Jim2007
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Fizz
Ottawa, Canada
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Joined: 07/28/2003
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Some people keep the grey tank open.
DON'T DO IT.
Grey water contains sediments like food scraps. That plus soap and hair from the shower can build up.
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Chock Full o' Nuts
GA
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Joined: 02/02/2007
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AC09 wrote:Thanks for all the replies. this is exactly what I thought but just wanted to confirm with others. the new RV also has the water jets inside the black tank so that is nice. On our trip last weekend (4days) I left both closed the first 2 days then drained the Gray water and left the valve open. On the last day I closed the Gray valve before we all took showers to let some water build up. When I dumped I opened Black first til the flow slowed, then opened the Gray. When it had pretty much drained I flowed the jet system for about 10 minutes to make sure it was clean. The only thing I will do different in the future is leave both valves closed until about 3/4 full.
Very nice. I will tell you about the Great Stone Mountain. We inherited one when we bought our last big TT and didn't know it. Ugh. I thought we'd never get that thing fixed. I finally poured some Rid-X in the tank and filled it with water. We left it sitting for about 2 weeks, then drained the tank. Had to do it two more times, but eventually we got the tank cleaned out. Once we did that, the odor improved about 1000%, too.
"Those who dwell...among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."--Rachel Carson, environmentalist, 1956
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reubenray
Pearl River, LA.
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How do you know how full the tank is? This question is from a Newbie that will not pick his FW up for two more weeks.
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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Fizz wrote:Some people keep the grey tank open.
DON'T DO IT.
Grey water contains sediments like food scraps. That plus soap and hair from the shower can build up.
I guess I'm just lucky.
We spent three years full timing. the gray valve was opened at every hookup, and left that way for the full 13 weeks we were in one spot. It was only closed about every week and a half, when the black tank needed dumped. Then, the gray tank was allowed to fill for a day, to have sufficient water to flush the hose after dumping the black tank. I don't think that was really necessary, because running the washing machine every day kept things flushed quite well, but "they" say it is a good idea, so I did it.
Anyway, after three years of that, no problems at all.
Just lucky, I guess...
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Ole Man Dan
Gadsden, Alabama
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downtheroad wrote:Absolutely keep the black closed until at least 3/4 full.
I keep the gray closed also until it needs dumping...
The full flow of water helps clean out the system, otherwise you risk clogs and waste build up.
If I'm at a full hook up site...I fill the black tank nearly full before I open the Black valve. (Good flush) Chase it with a full Gray tank. I put about 5 gal. water back in the Black tank after it's empty,
and 2 gal. water in the Gray tank. No smell, and the sloshing in the Black tank will break loose any solids that didn't flush out.
A bag full of ice dumped down the Black tank will also slosh and scrape the inside of the Black tank.
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Chock Full o' Nuts
GA
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reubenray wrote:How do you know how full the tank is? This question is from a Newbie that will not pick his FW up for two more weeks.
Look down the hole when you flush. You'll see if it's getting deep in there
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Joined: 06/20/2009
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AC09 wrote:Thanks for all the replies. this is exactly what I thought but just wanted to confirm with others. the new RV also has the water jets inside the black tank so that is nice. On our trip last weekend (4days) I left both closed the first 2 days then drained the Gray water and left the valve open. On the last day I closed the Gray valve before we all took showers to let some water build up. When I dumped I opened Black first til the flow slowed, then opened the Gray. When it had pretty much drained I flowed the jet system for about 10 minutes to make sure it was clean. The only thing I will do different in the future is leave both valves closed until about 3/4 full.
When you open your black tank drain valve....turn on the water to 'jets' and let it run. That way the jets are flushing the sides down as the tank drains....it will drain faster than the water coming in from jets. Just don't run jets, leave drain valve closed and walk away  
When done draining/flushing black tank..close drain valve and count to 10 then shut off water to jets. This will put enough water back into black tank so bottom of tank stays wet and ready for use.
Then drain grey tank to flush lines/hose. And no Robin Williams episodes unless it's videoed & you post 
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Joined: 06/20/2009
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reubenray wrote:How do you know how full the tank is? This question is from a Newbie that will not pick his FW up for two more weeks.
You can check levels via monitor panel.....indicators will work pretty good when brand new. Then they will start fowling up (stuff sticking to the probes) and give false indications.
When new......you can help keep the probes clean by using a tank flush/rinser system when draining tank and using the GEO method after draining.
GEO method: couple gallons of hot water, cup of liquid water softener (Calgon etc. if you can find liquid......powdered works also just dissolve it. You can use Borax too) and a couple squirts of dish soap.
Mix it up and dump down toilet.....as you travel the mixture will slosh around. With the water softener & dish soap it will clean and leave sides of tank slick so stuff is less likely to stick.
I quit looking at tank level monitors years ago.
Toilet will 'burp' when flushing....time to dump black tank.
Also sink(s)/shower will start to drain slower....time to dump grey tank.
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wbwood
Troutman, NC
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reubenray wrote:How do you know how full the tank is? This question is from a Newbie that will not pick his FW up for two more weeks.
As another mentioned, you will more than likely have a panel that tells you. After camping a few times, the black won't work right probably. But you will kind of know how long you can go on the black tank. Circumstances will also dictate (amount of people using it, are you using campground facilities). Once you can get an idea, then just dump around that time frame. I would make it a safe answer and then just add water to fill it up to give a good flsuh as others mentioned. When we are done camping, I like to fill it up at least halfway after the initial dump and dump it again. Then I add water back to the tank. I don't have a specific amount. I usually just use the hose pipe and let it fill for about 30 seconds to a minute, depending on water pressure. It's really not calculated. We also use deodorizer in ours and we haven't had any issues yet.
The mention from those about inheriting mounds in a used TT is one of the things that steers us away from used units.
Brian
RVing Illustrated
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