Emptying blank tanks….not as CRAPPY as I first thought. I was a little nervous about how much work/mess I would be exposed to while doing this dirty deed, but honestly, it is not bad at all! Once you empty your black tank once or twice, you will be a pro. Here is the process I take in preparation and maintenance, and steps you can take to properly empty your black tank.
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Preparation of Black Tank Emptying
Once backed in, but before you disconnect from your tow vehicle, size up your site to make sure you can reach ALL hookups with your connections (sewer hose, cable, electricity, and water). Prefill your black tank with a couple gallons of water so there is something to dissolve the solids. Either do this by flushing your toilet for several minutes (if you are hooked up to water) or take a few buckets of water and dump them into the toilet. Leave the black tank closed until you are ready to dump. This will help to prevent odors and will give the solids time to dissolve. I also find it helpful to use drop-in tank treatments for these same reasons.
Hint: Makes sure to monitor your tank level throughout your stay. It may be necessary to dump multiple times (depending on your length of stay) as compared to just emptying your black tank before leaving your site/campground.
Connecting & Emptying to Sewer
Connect your sewer hose to your black tank valve by rotating the hose clockwise so the teeth fall into the grooves. Please make sure all your connections are secure! You do not want STUFF spewing everywhere if they come loose. Having a sewer hose support will keep your sewer hose off the ground and allow for gravity to help. A clear adapter will help you to monitor progress and to visualize water clearing. First, empty your black tank, then gray tank. The theory is you are washing out the black tank remnants from your sewer hose with the cleaner gray tank water. Once finished, unhook your connections and move on out to your next journey!
I am lucky (and I believe it is common with newer camper models) to have a blank tank flush. I use the orange sewer hose to flush out the black tank so that in case there is any backflow, it is NOT going into your common/drinking water hose. If you have this luxury, as the black tank draining is slowing down, turn on the water from the orange hose and then run it until the black tank is clear. This is the benefit of a water splitter, one side for normal hose and one for orange hose. I usually do not connect the orange hose until I am ready to dump so that extra spigot can be used for whatever you want. I also find that the 90 Degree elbows make connections to the plastic city water/black tank flush a little quicker and more secure.
Here is a short video of this process:
Lastly, we have always stayed with sewer hookup or have had shorter trips where we monitor the tank level and/or use the bathhouse. Then, upon leaving, empty our tanks on site or at the dump station. However, for longer stays or where there are no facilities, it would not make sense to disconnect everything just to drive to the dump station. Therefore, they make portable holding tanks that allow you to empty your tanks into it and then wheel to the dump station. Not something we have needed yet but depending on how/where you travel, this may not be a bad option to keep in the truck.
Maintenance of your Black Tank
Every so often, or in between campgrounds on longer trips, I like to “deep clean” the tank. To do this, I fill the black tank via the black tank flush with the orange hose until it is about 2/3rds full and put in a Commando cleaner. Driving around helps splash around the water to clean all the tank walls and sensors. Simply dump at the next opportunity. My newest cleaning technique is the swivel stik. I have a long enough hose so have not used the included sink adapter but in theory you can connect it to the sink. I like connecting it directly to the water hook up without a pressure regulator for a more powerful clean. This combination of regularly cleaning and maintenance makes the water almost drinkable…JUST JOKING, PLEASE DO NOT!!
I hope these tips help you to be more confident in emptying your black tank. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments! Good luck and happy dumping!
