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  1. #1
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    Black Tank - Travel Day, to partial fill or not to partial fill?

    Fellow GD owners, greetings,

    I'm a new RV owner would appreciate hearing from my more seasoned brothers/sisters on this situation/thought. Due to HOA issues, I have to store my RV when not in use. I dump the tanks when we leave our final day glamping spot and put it into storage, so presumably my black tank is "relatively" empty when I pull it out of storage to prepare for the next trip. I'm wondering if it is okay to partially fill the black tank with fresh water on the day before a new trip so that the water can "slush" around in the tank while traveling and then mostly fill and dump upon setting up on day 1 at the new glamping site so as to avoid any build up of "remaining stuff" in the black tank. Any thoughts you might have to share would be appreciated.
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  2. #2
    Rolling Along Tigger1's Avatar
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    Welcome to the forum!

    What works for us before leaving the campground is to flush the black tank then put 2 cups of liquid Calgon and 1 cup Dawn dish detergent into the toilet followed by 3-4 gallons of water. Driving home will slush it around.

    This is called the Geo Method
    https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/

    We forgot to do this last time out, black tank dried up in our driveway for a couple weeks in 90+ degree weather. You can imagine the smell when we took the TT out next time.
    Last edited by Tigger1; 07-24-2020 at 12:32 PM.
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  3. #3
    Rolling Along LV Naturist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by r&jbennett View Post
    Fellow GD owners, greetings,

    I'm a new RV owner would appreciate hearing from my more seasoned brothers/sisters on this situation/thought. Due to HOA issues, I have to store my RV when not in use. I dump the tanks when we leave our final day glamping spot and put it into storage, so presumably my black tank is "relatively" empty when I pull it out of storage to prepare for the next trip. I'm wondering if it is okay to partially fill the black tank with fresh water on the day before a new trip so that the water can "slush" around in the tank while traveling and then mostly fill and dump upon setting up on day 1 at the new glamping site so as to avoid any build up of "remaining stuff" in the black tank. Any thoughts you might have to share would be appreciated.
    when we're getting ready to leave the campground, I do thorough dump and flush. There should be no residual stuff in the tank if done properly. After that, I add about 5 gallons of water and drop an enzymatic treatment tab in the tank. This should keep the tank relatively fresh while in storage. When we arrive at our campsite for the next adventure, I again add about 5 gallons of water and another tab. We've never had an issue and we've been RV'ing for about 20 years now. I think "mostly filling and dumping at the new glamping site' is unnecessary. You're over thinking it IMHO.

    This is the stuff we use and have had great results... https://www.amazon.com/Unique-Digest...5622750&sr=8-3

    John
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  4. #4
    Big Traveler boyscout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by r&jbennett View Post
    I dump the tanks when we leave our final day glamping spot and put it into storage, so presumably my black tank is "relatively" empty when I pull it out of storage to prepare for the next trip. I'm wondering if it is okay to partially fill the black tank with fresh water on the day before a new trip so that the water can "slush" around in the tank while traveling and then mostly fill and dump upon setting up on day 1 at the new glamping site so as to avoid any build up of "remaining stuff" in the black tank.
    Good advice already rec'd from @Tigger1 and @LV Naturist; have more water (and some kind of cleaning agent) in your tank when you park it.

    However to answer the question you asked, yes, it's OK at any time to have water in the tank to "slush" around while traveling from one place to the next. In fact it's a good thing to have water slushing around in there all the time. Five to ten gallons is good; any more is just extra weight to be hauled.
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  5. #5
    Site Sponsor JCR GD's Avatar
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    IMHO the black tank should never be left empty. It should always be left "charged" as described above.
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  6. #6
    Big Traveler Keebler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCR GD View Post
    IMHO the black tank should never be left empty. It should always be left "charged" as described above.
    Totally agree with all that is said. No need to overcomplicate it. Last step of what ever flush routine you like; add more clean water (~5-10 gallons) and the cleaning/enzyme agent of your choice. I first used one of the inexpensive flow meters to measure 5 gallons, but you get a feel for the time it takes to put in five gallons and just ball park it.

    Other thing that is somewhat related, I added the extra waste valve to prevent any surprises: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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