Newbie question: Do you leave your black/gray tanks open when camped?

[fivekitties]

Newbie question: Do you leave your black/gray tanks open when camped?

Say we are camped at a campground. We are hooked up to sewer, electric, water, etc. Do we just leave our black and gray valves open during the whole time we are camped?

Or do we let them fill up, then go dump them normally once a week or so, while leaving all of the attachments permanently connected while camped?

I feel silly for asking, but this is our first Class A ever.... so we're learning

Thanks,
Shawn

[DBL Z]

Always keep your black tank closed until dumping!
Always charge the black tank with 3-5 gallons of water after you dump it...

we usually leave the grey open when set-up!

[TyCreek]

Closed unless dumping and I'll typically do that when the tank is 3/4 or so full.

[JamieGeek]

Its ok to leave the grey tank open but always keep black tank valve closed unless you are dumping. In addition, as mentioned above, the black tank should be at least 2/3 full before dumping (possibly one of the reasons the bathroom sink is plumbed to the blank tank: to make it easier to fill to 2/3).

[fivekitties]

Thank you. I need to do some more reading.

[fivekitties]

What if your gray tank is full but your black is only half full? Is it time to dump?

[DBL Z]

Ya know! That's what I would do! ... Get a fresh start!

1. Empty the black tank!... Flush it real good... Close valve.
2. Empty grey tank and leave valve open
3. Go fill & flush the commode 4 times
4. Go #1 flush
5. Go #2 fill the bowl and flush
6. When your ready the dump the black tank, (3/4 to spit back!)
7. Close the grey tank valve
8. Open Black tank valve and empty, tank flush till clear
9. Stop and disconnect tank flush hose
10. Close black tank valve, Go charge black tank (#3)
11. Open grey tank valve.
12. Repeat as needed!

[FW28z]

Grey tank open, Black closed until nearly full.

One thing I have found out is that since replacing my tank probes with Horst probes, my tanks are a lot less full than I was aware of. For example, my black tank has been not nearly as full as the old probes indicated they were, so I probably have been flushing it prematurely.

[Larry]

I leave both mine closed and dump when the grey tank is about 1/2 full after dumping the black tank. Personal preference I suppose but I don't like the possibility of sewer line fumes coming back into the grey tank or black tank if left continuously open.

[GMazz]

I too am new to this black tank Gray tank flush/dump process and the individual where I bought the Vegas really didn't go through the steps that well, so what has been said soo far has helped--is there a video showing this being done on a Vegas? I was told there are 2 blackwater valve openers on my Vegas 1 on the passenger side (open first) and 1 on the drivers side which is the one to open when ready to empty the tank.. does the waterpump need to be on when dumping the tank? you open the Gray water after the Black water is clear right? I wish the Vegas had its own manual with some pictures showing the pull valves and switches pertinent to the Vegas not what they give out with it now which is a generic one size fits all manual..

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by GMazz

does the waterpump need to be on when dumping the tank? you open the Gray water after the Black water is clear right? I wish the Vegas had its own manual with some pictures showing the pull valves and switches pertinent to the Vegas not what they give out with it now which is a generic one size fits all manual..

Don't know about the 25.3's valve arrangements, however:
State of water pump doesn't really matter: If you are hooked up to city water then you use that for any filling/rinsing instead of water from the fresh water tank(pump).
Yes you want to open grey after black is empty--make sure you close the black valve before opening the grey. The reason to empty the grey tank after the black is to use the grey water to flush out the sewer hose so that when you put it away there is very little residual black water, er, debris in the hose.

Identifying the grey/black valves is pretty easy: All the grey plumbing is smaller 1.5" pipe, the black pipe is 3". Thus the grey valves are on the smaller pipe; black valves are on the larger pipe.

Make sure you grab Ed's excellent, crowdsourced, Axis/Vegas user manual:
https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?...HbjprCUauDwH4g

[GMazz]

Thanks for the answer-it helps out more then the manual they gave me that's for sure...I appreciate any help I can get especially in this area... Thanks again. GMaz

[winder1]

There is no reason to leave either valve open continually, and lots of reasons NOT to.

The first is sewer gases. There is no P trap to hold water in the main drain, keeping sewer gases out of your tanks and vehicle. In addition to smelling bad, there are health and safety issues. Forming a little hump in the form of a P trap in your hose is not going to accomplish the same thing.

Also, wild animals, most notably rats, and others, are frequent guests in the plumbing of drain fields and septic tanks. With an open drain valve, don't be surprised to find one in your tank, or even your home!

What would be the advantage of leaving one open?

[rskrbina]

Originally Posted by fivekitties

What if your gray tank is full but your black is only half full? Is it time to dump?

When I don't time it just right as your question ask's, I will open the grey tank valve for about 10 seconds and then close the grey valve until the black tank gets to the 2/3 to 3/4 level.

[GMazz]

How does one obtain a copy of Ed's manual without downloading and copying over a 100 pages?

[JamieGeek]

If you click on the link I posted above to the manual there are two ways:
On the menu just to the right of center is a "Download" button that will download the Microsoft Word file.

If you would prefer a .pdf file click the ... item at far right and select "Download as PDF" from the menu that pops up.

Or click on this link (same link):
https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?...HbjprCUauDwH4g

[GMazz]

Thanks..

[Travelin' Texans]

You can create a P trap in your drain hose very easily, just leave a sag on one end, I do this every time. BTW, it's not to keep critters out, never heard that one before.

[tenbear]

I too have 2 valves in my black tank drain. I always open the valve on the drivers side first, then the passengers side. I do this so the flow from the tank doesn't start, then stop until the second valve is opened. I never read this in any instruction book, but to me it makes sense.

I keep both drains closed until I dump. If it is the last dump of a trip I will fill the black tank with water before I dump, or, I will use my Tornado flusher to give the tank a good cleaning.

After I dump, I put 3 gallons of water (3 toilet bowls full) in the black tank, and I will leave some water in the grey tank.

[GMazz]

Well I did it and I didn't have a problem or accident with that job...thanks for all the help on this forum.
I did have an accident though--climbing up the ladder on the back to check height measurement and when I grabbed the top of the ladder that goes to the roof it broke and down I went like a sack of crap 10 feet to the ground--still holding the top part of the ladder---I did bounce once, nothing broken, as far as I can tell other then the top of the ladder and my ego plus a few bruises...
I fill the 2 holes where it connected with Marine/RV silicon for now. Thor Rep. said its covered, now I just have to wait to see how long it takes to get the part(New Ladder) and an appointment to get it fixed at the RV dealer where I bought it... my luck probably take a month or more... GMaz