Bates Rv Blog

RV Mantanince 101 The Black Tank

posted by tommyc @ 9:11am, Tuesday 30 August 2011.

Black water Tank

This is the most hated part of an RV’s holding tank system.

This is where the “solids” reside. This is your toilet waste.

DO NOT leave your Black tank valve tank open, even if you are connected to the campground’s sewer system.

Your black tank should be over ½ full before dumping. By doing this it allows the suction of the sewer dump to force the solids out. That’s a good thing, no one wants solids left behind to solidify on the bottom of your tank. Once that happens it is almost impossible to loosen it up and flush it out completely. If solids are left in a tank and the water is gone the Solids will get hard like concrete.

It’s a good idea to run a few tanks of fresh water through the system when flushing the tank with a wand or other nifty tool meant for the job. Especially when you are done with your camping trip.

Black tanks need a chemical “holding tank treatment” and a few gallons of water added after dumping. This gets rid of any odors and helps to break down the solids when they are in the tank.

Look for an environmentally safe, formaldehyde-free solution. These treatments come in liquid form (which I like the best but can stain if spilt on carpet), tablets (never sure if they dissolve) or granules. These treatments may also contain a tank conditioner to lubricate the valves and seals, read the label if it doesn’t you may want to purchase a lubricant to put in every now and then this will help protect the valve seals and make operating the valves smoother.

Lets talk Toilet Paper, You don’t have to purchase expensive camping store Toilet Paper, all you have to do is look for a one-ply product like Scott’s and your black tank will be fine.  Lastly, nothing exotic should go down the toilet just waste and Toilet Paper.

A few more thoughts on holding tanks that you may find useful:

Don’t trust the tank monitor inside your RV they rarely work right a piece of toilet paper stuck to a sensor can give a false reading, Use another system to determine when to dump your tanks, tips to tell if your gray tank is full is if water is not going down in the shower your tank is full, on the black tank you can look down the toilet when you flush if you see water or anything it is time to dump.

Now with that said if you properly maintain your tanks and keep them flushed out and use a digester and probe cleaner in them you should have a good reading on the tank gauges but remember they are not exact.

Another tip for you is spend the money and buy a heavy duty sturdy sewer hose with several end connectors on board and carry a rubber donut it is becoming required at more campgrounds all the time. Remember there is nothing worse than having a cheep sewer hose and pulling the dump valve and find out you have a new sprinkler (YUK). Also there are sewer hose holders for rv's like on an Airstream one is usually installed under the coach and looks like a 4" piece of PVC pipe with a cap this is a nice way to store your sewer hose so it will not contact anything non sewer related items. Remember when you go to store your sewer hose, you should rinse it out first (don’t use your drinking water hose), there is also a product called a slunkey this product helps to 1) keep the sewer hose off the ground 2) it keeps a good angle going from your RV to the sewer because we all know sewage won't run up hill.

So now that we explained your Holding tanks check back soon for the next installment on Maintance and proper use of your RV. And remember HAPPY CAMPING.