Jump to content

Black waste tank dumping and cleaning


flyboyprowler

Recommended Posts

We have ordered our new Flair with a black waste tank and as this is going to be new to me so I seek advice! Some stuff I have read says you should use the grey water to flush the black tank once it has been dumped, and some say you should never use the grey waste to flush out the tank, I believe that there are jets in the black tank that flush clean water into the tank, but what is the general consensus on this mucky subject?

 

Ainsley

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your cassette toilet will have an electric [12 volt ] flush , best way to use the toilet is to open the flap on the pan before use , flush after use and close the flap until required again., some will say , use the toilet , THEN open the flap and flush, this method can result in a messy toilet bowl, especially after a good curry. hee hee the choice is yours of course.

I have never heard of any one flushing the cassette with the grey waste water, just drive over an emptying drain and open the exit valve for the waste water tank and let it drain. if settled on a camp site , you can catch the waste water in a bucket and take this to the emptying point saves having to move the van, I prefer to leave my waste water valve OPEN at all times this prevents smells building up in the tank, if camping in a field I have a perforated bucket under my waste outlet to catch the water ,, I put grass in the bucket to catch any grease or rice ? particles etc and dispose of this in a bin when I leave the field, the water has of course drained into the earth,

 

It is better to use a bowl in the sink of your van for washing up etc ,so that this can be tipped away properly [ in the hedge on a CCC rally is the accepted method, and encouraged by some Farmers ] thus keeping water out of your tank in the first place.

It is a bad idea to let your waste water run out of your van whilst driving or parked in a car park etc on hard standing.

 

Dumping waste water is an emotive subject, we all have our own ideas on this and you will no doubt hear screams of horror from some folks on this subject, just ignore this and do as you feel what is the right way, it is only dirty water after all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure how you flush the black tank using the grey water but I know that, in an American RV, you first empty the black tank through the dump hose then you empty the grey tank through the same dump host thus using the grey water to flush out the crap in the dump hose. Is this what you mean?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

RV's usually have the grey and black tanks emptying throu one pipe but with separate valves, so all you are doing is flushing the pipe. I've been advised to use both different methods by different hire companies.

The method I took to using in end is, drop black tank and flush toilet throu, shut valve, drop grey tank and flush throu.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

just out of interest cos i have no experience of a black waste tank, on campsites or aires etc i have only seen chemical disposal points, so do you have to move the van then attach a long hose to the outlet to reach the disposal point? or do you drive over the water disposal pit and dispence it down there? then do you use the same hose to attach to the grey water outlet and wash the hose and residue down the water drain? just thinking *-)

jonathan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

silverback - 2018-03-17 2:33 PM

 

just out of interest cos i have no experience of a black waste tank, on campsites or aires etc i have only seen chemical disposal points, so do you have to move the van then attach a long hose to the outlet to reach the disposal point? or do you drive over the water disposal pit and dispence it down there? then do you use the same hose to attach to the grey water outlet and wash the hose and residue down the water drain? just thinking *-)

jonathan

 

Actually Jonathan, since we ordered the new beast, I have been looking at sites and aires to check the availability of dump areas and types. I wouldn't use a gray waste disposal, (although some do!) but there are many surface mounted drains for black waste and a connection is required both from the MoHo and onto the black waste area. Suffice to say, you ensure you are connected properly before opening the valve!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

silverback - 2018-03-17 1:33 PM

 

just out of interest cos i have no experience of a black waste tank, on campsites or aires etc i have only seen chemical disposal points, so do you have to move the van then attach a long hose to the outlet to reach the disposal point? or do you drive over the water disposal pit and dispence it down there? then do you use the same hose to attach to the grey water outlet and wash the hose and residue down the water drain? just thinking *-)

jonathan

 

In the US it's all set up for dumping tanks, you 'lift' a drain cover and dump, in Europe I'm not sure I've seen any dump points set up for black waste, but then I've not had to worry about it over here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We toured the western states in US for a year in an RV we bought from Cruise America and I recall one day sitting in the queue for the dump station behind a brand new 40ft coach which was dumping. The couple were obviously new to this and unsure of what they were doing. They had wellies on and rubber gloves and were clearly not relishing the task in hand. They were even less impressed when the hose came off and 50 gallons or so of crap thundered through the valve all over the place. Not a pretty sight!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have seen, on more than one occasion, the results of someone dumping the toilet tank over a grey water grill at Aires etc. Not a pretty sight! I note that you expressly mention that it is not your intention to do this.

 

Some camp sites in the UK don't even have a suitable grey water drain and the you are expected to use a bucket and tip it down the tap drain, a bit smelly in the summer when my tank has fermented for a few days.

 

H

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having started before waste tanks were invented I leave my grey water tank valve open and leave a bucket under the outlet. I have a lead diving weight which I put into the bucket in windy conditions to hold it in place. Since I don’t seem to have much waste water as I use the site facilities for dishwashing etc it is not exactly onerous to empty from time to time.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many French aires de services have the potential for emptying motorhome black-waste tanks.

 

Entries in the booklet "Le Guide Officiel Aires de Services Camping-car”

 

https://livre.fnac.com/a11113459/Martine-Duparc-Le-Guide-Officiel-Aires-de-Services-Camping-car-2018

 

generally carry information about the services available at an ‘aire’, including waste emptying.

 

For example “vidange eaux usées, wc fixes, wc chemiques” indicates that emptying of ‘grey water’, fixed toiilet-tanks and toilet cassettes should be possible at the ’aire'. However, what is not revealed is how easy it will be to empty a fixed toilet-tank, nor what the procedure involved is - and there’s always the possibility that the information is incorrect!

 

When some thought has been put into the design of an aire that can handle fixed toilet-tanks, there should be a ground-level ‘hole’ into which the waste can be rapidly emptied. The ‘hole’ may have a sliding cover (that usually gets broken) or a metal grating/grille that may be hinged upwards or completely removed. Grilles/gratings can be heavy and (unsurprisingly) contaminated, so (as shown in the attached photo) it pays to have a tool of some sort to manipulate them.

 

Given that the largest capacity toilet cassette holds 20 litres and Ainsley’s motorhome’s tank will hold 160 litres, emptying won’t need to be frequent and finding a facility where the emptying process is straighforward should not be too difficult.

grating.jpg.ff7f5a1311181c98477c853ee20d6980.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have seen the type of grill that Derek mentions in Aires both in France and Germany, and surely this will be the way forward for future new Aires or sites as they are built. As said, the system in the States is normal, and there is always the possibility of fitting this

http://www.campingcarlesite.com/accessoires-camping-car/toilettes/1213-clean-evolution-la-vidange-des-wc-a-distance

if the dump system becomes unworkable!

Brave man in his nice shoes, and no gloves in the photo!!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

flyboyprowler - 2018-03-17 9:53 PM

 

I have seen the type of grill that Derek mentions in Aires both in France and Germany, and surely this will be the way forward for future new Aires or sites as they are built...

 

 

The link below is to a document produced bt the French FFACCC organisation and includes advice on the construction of aires de services camping-car.

 

http://www.ffaccc.fr/files/Dossier_aires.pdf

 

Motorhomes with fixed toilet tanks are mentioned, as is the requirement to arrange for any grille/grating fitted to a ground-level emptying point to be movable so that it presents no obstacle to ‘waste' and toilet-paper entering the emptying-point.

 

As I said above, many French ‘aires’ have the potential to empty fixed toilet-tanks and many have a ground-level emptying point of some sort (photos on link below)

 

https://tinyurl.com/y7mzcjpg

 

However, a lot of those emptying-points have non-movable grilles that are fine for grey water, but (as hallii mentions above) end up in a disgusting condition if black-waste is emptied into them and the motorhome owner is not scrupulous about cleaning up the mess (and few are in my experience). And even when a grille/grating can clearly be displaced, it seems beyond the mental capability of some motorcaravanners to realise this - or perhaps they just can’t be bothered!

 

As the vast majority of motorhomes being operated in Europe do not have a fixed toilet-tank, ‘aires de services’ facilities will continue be designed primarily for emptying toilet cassettes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand that generally, on euro sites, the grey waste and the black waste ultimately end up in the same drain. Indeed I am informed that where a grid or lift up lid is available, then some cassette users even dump there waste there, even when a cassette emptying facility is available. The debate will doubtless continue, but am I right in thinking that surface water has to be drained into a separate drain to grey or black waste?

This has to be a good idea, but sadly an expensive one, but hassle free at the end of the day.

https://www.cinderellaeco.com/gb/cinderella-motion/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

flyboyprowler - 2018-03-18 9:59 AM

 

I understand that generally, on euro sites, the grey waste and the black waste ultimately end up in the same drain. Indeed I am informed that where a grid or lift up lid is available, then some cassette users even dump there waste there, even when a cassette emptying facility is available. The debate will doubtless continue, but am I right in thinking that surface water has to be drained into a separate drain to grey or black waste?

This has to be a good idea, but sadly an expensive one, but hassle free at the end of the day.

https://www.cinderellaeco.com/gb/cinderella-motion/

 

Most surface water drains empty into the local brook or river. Some domestic rain water drains into the sewer drain, more modern systems use a soak away under the lawn or garden for rain water. Grey water should not be emptied anywhere but down the sewer. Having said that, I have been known to dump grey water on a bit of waste land or whatever. Black water must always go down the sewer although it is sometimes put into deep pits dug for the purpose at casual camping sites run by one of the camping clubs.

 

H

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hallii - 2018-03-18 11:17 AM

 

Most surface water drains empty into the local brook or river. Some domestic rain water drains into the sewer drain, more modern systems use a soak away under the lawn or garden for rain water. Grey water should not be emptied anywhere but down the sewer. Having said that, I have been known to dump grey water on a bit of waste land or whatever. Black water must always go down the sewer although it is sometimes put into deep pits dug for the purpose at casual camping sites run by one of the camping clubs.

 

H

 

If we've not been able to dump on leaving a site and heading home, we dump at home, grey on our field and black down the outside toilet. We do this quite often.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
hallii - 2018-03-17 4:02 PM

 

I have seen, on more than one occasion, the results of someone dumping the toilet tank over a grey water grill at Aires etc. Not a pretty sight! I note that you expressly mention that it is not your intention to do this.

 

Some camp sites in the UK don't even have a suitable grey water drain and the you are expected to use a bucket and tip it down the tap drain, a bit smelly in the summer when my tank has fermented for a few days.

 

H

I've seen the aftermath as well

Why anyone would want a tank when hardly anywhere has a facility to empty it easily ? Surely just easier by far to empty a cassette

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Travelbob - 2020-08-17 2:08 PM

 

Ainsley

 

Please can you tell me how you got on with the waste tank? its been some time now for you to know if it was what you needed or if it created problems i.e. finding place to empty etc.

Thankyou in advance

 

If there’s no reply from Ainsley Brand (flyboyprowler) I suggest you either use the forum’s PM feature to ask him about this directly or email him on ainsleybrand@hotmail.com

 

This thread is over two years old and your enquiry has already got ‘buried’. Ainsley’s Profile shows that he logged on on last Monday, but he may not notice your question having been tagged on to such an old discussion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Travelbob - 2020-08-17 2:08 PM

 

Ainsley

 

Please can you tell me how you got on with the waste tank? its been some time now for you to know if it was what you needed or if it created problems i.e. finding place to empty etc.

Thankyou in advance

 

Ah, sorry for missing this question. Yes, two years down the line and we are quite used to using the tank. We tend to dump wherever there is a suitable drain, and there are many about. The capacity means that we can go for many days before cleaning out, and I have to say, I much prefer the fixed tank to the cassette. Our general final destination, either in Spain or here in the UK has the facility to dump and clean the tank, so I can report no problems.

Ainsley

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...