Details on the black water flush functionality?

[Timmer]

We used our new camper for the first time this weekend. Everthing went well - no surprises, mysteries, or issues. At the dump station there was no water source so we flushed out our black tank using our fresh water tank and pump. This worked ok but it seemed like the volume and pressure were pretty low. This leads me to a couple of curiosity questions:

• I assume when hooked to city water the volume and pressure will be higher? Will it be significant?
• I have seen different aftermarket flush devices. What is the actual flushhead design inside the tank? Does it spray in different directions, spin, just flow in?

Thanks!

[WhittleBurner]

The volume and pressure are lower using the pump, the reasoning behind that is if it were high you would go through water much faster when dry camping.
You can remove the water restrictors from the faucets and showers if you want but be mindful of water use when dry camping.

As far as the flush, I haven't been in there to look , but do hear the hard spray so it's not just being flowed in. I'm suprised there was no water at the dump, even state parks provide rinse water.

Glad the first time out went smoothly

[D2Reid]

I am curious how you flushed the blank tank with internal water supply.

Water pressure varies greatly. There are many old gravity fed water systems at older state and national forest campgrounds. You will be lucky to get 25psi. While we have been in other locations that have little signs saying something like; pressure regulator recommended, very high water pressure. I have seen 100psi. at 100 psi any loose connections make themselves know quite quickly.

We have found the water pump installed to be adequate, and sometimes when the campground pressure is really low turn to it for our water needs. The shower just dribbles and does not spray. So we go to internal water, it's enough.

We got an adjustable water regulator and keep it set at 40 psi. That makes for a decent shower and dish rinse.

There are different spray heads used in the tanks and I don't know which one GD uses. The ones I have seen are kind of like a static sprinkler head, it shoots water out in 3-4 different directions. Mind is only moderately effective, I have to fill, dump, fill, dump several times to get a semi-clear waste water, then I always leave a little water in the tank so it can slosh clean while driving.

[JCR GD]

As a side note... I have found that filling the toilet bowl and then flushing (about 4 times) near the end of the draining process does wonders!

[WhittleBurner]

The way the black tank flush works is by hooking uo a hose in the panel that says black tank flush. How did you flush if there was no external water source at the dump station. When you do use the flush with a hose you will hear a hard spray going in the tank it doesn't just run in.

[Houndbb]

We used our new camper for the first time this weekend. Everthing went well - no surprises, mysteries, or issues. At the dump station there was no water source so we flushed out our black tank using our fresh water tank and pump. This worked ok but it seemed like the volume and pressure were pretty low. This leads me to a couple of curiosity questions:

• I assume when hooked to city water the volume and pressure will be higher? Will it be significant?
• I have seen different aftermarket flush devices. What is the actual flushhead design inside the tank? Does it spray in different directions, spin, just flow in?

Thanks!

Timmer,
If you search you-tube, for experiments flushing RV CLEAR tank, you’ll find a guy who has demonstrated how several of those gadgets work using a small, clear tank, toilet paper, and various and sundry food items as substitutes for real waste. They’re funny to watch, as the guy wadded up the TP at one point saying his wife criticized his experiment, “...no one uses toilet paper like that.”

Anyway, watching those saved me money. I was already using the “GeoMethod”, so I just stuck with that-and plenty of water. You can search here for that as well, or on the internet for a precise “recipe”.
N

[SKI367BHS]

We used our new camper for the first time this weekend. Everthing went well - no surprises, mysteries, or issues. At the dump station there was no water source so we flushed out our black tank using our fresh water tank and pump. This worked ok but it seemed like the volume and pressure were pretty low. This leads me to a couple of curiosity questions:

• I assume when hooked to city water the volume and pressure will be higher? Will it be significant?
• I have seen different aftermarket flush devices. What is the actual flushhead design inside the tank? Does it spray in different directions, spin, just flow in?

Thanks!

Timmer,
I've found that several parks we've visited don't have water or some who have water will have a funky ball nozzle with no way to hook up a hose. So, I too, have done the flush with our onboard water using the coiled hose and our Natulius panel faucet. No, the pressure is not very high and I also doubt that the spray will clean it effectively. However, I think any time you can flush the nasty out and replace with some water. In circumstances like this I simply put in a decent amount of water (5-8 gals) and our enzymes to slosh around on the drive home. Once home I rinse and dump it using our home hose and hookup. You could do the same thing at home but if you don't have a dump close, add some more water by using the flush and then let it slosh until you reach the next location or a dumpstation reasonably close to home.
Our toilet drain goes off at an angle so the hand held hose connected flushing devices don't really work in our case due to the angle and the length of the pipe between the toilet and the tank. I installed an aftermarket tank flush in our 1991 Fleetwood 5th wheel we had. When I tested it, it put out a small stream straight out, but had several streams coming off at something close to 45 degree angles as the whole head of the nozzle rotates.I can't speak to the new versions, my install was about 10 yrs ago.

[Timmer]

How did I flush it? Just like SKI367BHS above. Using the external hose hooked back into the Flush connection on the Nautilus system.

We were at a city campground. They had a water source over the dump area. It was a brass faucet and the end wasn't threaded.

[Bruce1sp]

Have thought about rigging up a drain hose on the water heater. Drain it into a bucket and dump it in the toilet after dumping the black tank. Six gallons of hot water in the black tank is better than draining it on the ground.

[Goober]

Have thought about rigging up a drain hose on the water heater. Drain it into a bucket and dump it in the toilet after dumping the black tank. Six gallons of hot water in the black tank is better than draining it on the ground.

Hi, Bruce1sp I think that is a good idea. Will see about hook up some type of drain on yours.