Waste Tanks Orientation Question

[boyscout]

I have successfully combined all three tanks when needed with a Valterra exterior gate valve (kept closed) and opening all 3-tank valves.

Bruce, thanks for the information and pictures. Would you mind a couple more questions about this project?

- Do you ever close the tank valves for your three tanks, let them fill, and then drain them? Based on things I've read and seen on YouTube I'd be concerned that kitchen waste that gets down the drain will build up and possibly clog at least that tank because it doesn't retain as much water (to prevent clumping and sticking) or get the whooosh dumping force that a full tank would give it. Would I be worrying needlessly?

- How do you dispose of the waste from your composing toilet? How often and where?

Thanks.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Thanks for this thread.
We’ve been thinking of installing a composting toilet and using the black as a 3rd grey tank as well.



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[BB&LAB]

Bruce, thanks for the information and pictures. Would you mind a couple more questions about this project?

- Do you ever close the tank valves for your three tanks, let them fill, and then drain them? Based on things I've read and seen on YouTube I'd be concerned that kitchen waste that gets down the drain will build up and possibly clog at least that tank because it doesn't retain as much water (to prevent clumping and sticking) or get the whooosh dumping force that a full tank would give it. Would I be worrying needlessly?

- How do you dispose of the waste from your composing toilet? How often and where?

Thanks.

When boondocking I leave all three valves open to combine the three tanks via the external gate valve. When staying at a park with sewer, I usually leave the two grey open and periodically close them to treat and let the tanks fill. Your concern is likely centered around the kitchen grey tank where grease/oils may accumulate in the tank and/or the plumbing. I see that as a potential concern, but we use very little oil in our cooking, when we do I drain excess oils in the trash and wipe down any dishes and pans with a paper towel before washing. So far no issues as full-timers for two years.

With regards to disposing waste from the composting toilet, when boondocking I find an isolated inconspicuous spot at least 200' from a water source to dump the liquids tank and the same with the solids which is essentially dirt when it is time to dump. When in a CG with toilets, I dump the liquid tank in the toilet and the solids in a trash bag which I dispose in a trash bin. The liquid tank with two of us using, I typically dump daily but have gone as long as 1.5 days, but to avoid an overflow I have gotten in the habit of dumping every morning. As for solids, typically dump every 2-3 weeks. With the solids it is easy to determine when to dump as the crank handle used to agitate the medium becomes harder to turn.

[BB&LAB]

Thanks for this thread.
We’ve been thinking of installing a composting toilet and using the black as a 3rd grey tank as well.



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It was one of the best installs we have done. Had I known more about compost toilets years ago I not only would have installed one in my earlier RV's but would have done it in our house long before we sold it. I was under the assumption composting toilets would be a headache to deal with which I have found not to be the case and in fact very easy. On a side note recently two of our sewer hoses split when dumping, thankfully since we have no black tank waste while not pleasant, was not so bad.