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Old 04-16-2016, 09:00 AM   #1
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Weekend users and black tank

I am considering putting my Palomino 32DBKS in a campground for the season. Will be using the trailer on weekends, best case scenario is wife and the kids use it Wednesday evening through Sunday afternoons with me coming down Friday evening till Sunday. Worst case being we only use it on the weekends. Those who do the weekend thing, do you flush your black tank? Do you simply empty it and put some water back in? When Taking my trailer home every weekend I would flush out the black tank multiple times until clean as possible. Should I still do this if the trailer is vacant for only 3-4 days?
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Old 04-16-2016, 09:08 AM   #2
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You will get answers from I never flush to I flush every time I dump. I am in the latter category.


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Old 04-16-2016, 09:13 AM   #3
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I'm with lbrjet on the flush every time I dump. It really doesn't take all that long to do when you get right down to it. Unless I was only going to be gone a day or two I would also flush the tanks after each visit just to keep the risk of odor down.
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Old 04-16-2016, 09:24 AM   #4
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I'm with lbrjet on the flush every time I dump. It really doesn't take all that long to do when you get right down to it. Unless I was only going to be gone a day or two I would also flush the tanks after each visit just to keep the risk of odor down.

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Old 04-16-2016, 09:30 AM   #5
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black tank

IMHO Here's what I would do.

Before leaving on Sunday I would dump and flush the tank. When done I would add about 3 to 5 gallons of water and add appropriate amount (for size of tank) of liquid (not packet) toilet treatment while flushing toilet.





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Old 04-16-2016, 10:33 AM   #6
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Thanks for the replies. When I say flush the black tank, I am referring to filling and emptying the tank 4-5 times till almost clear, then adding a few gallons of water with chemicals. Is this what you mean by flushing? Or do you simply empty tank once and then add the chemicals and a few gallons of water? Thanks.
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Old 04-16-2016, 10:38 AM   #7
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I turn on my black tank flush hose until my clear elbow has clean looking water running through it. Usually 5-10 minutes.


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Old 04-16-2016, 11:53 AM   #8
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Flushing the tank to me means dumping and refilling the tank a few times until the water runs clean. I then add a couple of gallons of water and some tank treatment.
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Old 04-16-2016, 12:24 PM   #9
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To Flush or not???

One must remember that a tank flusher is not all that complete. It is a spray nozzle that hits only part of your tank not every square inch. That can leave residual nasty things in your tank to dry and get hard like cement. If for only a few days let it set to break down the solids with an enzyme product of your choice. After everything breaks down then it can be flushed nice and clean.
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Old 04-16-2016, 12:27 PM   #10
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Flushing the tank to me means dumping and refilling the tank a few times until the water runs clean. I then add a couple of gallons of water and some tank treatment.
OK, thanks, that is what I meant also. Thanks for all the replies.
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Old 04-16-2016, 01:15 PM   #11
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If you really want to get a total flush, get yourself a Valterra F02-4350 reverse flush valve. I got mine at amazon for $41.00. You won't believe what you think you flushed clean but you didn't. It closes the valve at the flex hose and fills the tank up with water again up to the sensors and beyond. Two times and a few extra minutes and your tank is clean, believe one of the best investments I have made.
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Old 04-16-2016, 01:36 PM   #12
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If you really want to get a total flush, get yourself a Valterra F02-4350 reverse flush valve. I got mine at amazon for $41.00. You won't believe what you think you flushed clean but you didn't. It closes the valve at the flex hose and fills the tank up with water again up to the sensors and beyond. Two times and a few extra minutes and your tank is clean, believe one of the best investments I have made.
Thanks! I will look into that valve!
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Old 04-16-2016, 09:27 PM   #13
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If you really want to get a total flush, get yourself a Valterra F02-4350 reverse flush valve. I got mine at amazon for $41.00. You won't believe what you think you flushed clean but you didn't. It closes the valve at the flex hose and fills the tank up with water again up to the sensors and beyond. Two times and a few extra minutes and your tank is clean, believe one of the best investments I have made.
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Old 04-17-2016, 09:40 AM   #14
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I have that, takes me abouts 30 -45 minutes to flush my tank 4-5 times. That is why I was wondering if it was prudent to to be able to skip this process every week and let the 1/2 to 3/4 full tank sit 3-5 days between emptying it. Looks like I will be emptying AND flushing it every time I leave it. Thanks again to all who replied.
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Old 04-17-2016, 10:14 AM   #15
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Since a black tank flusher was standard on my fifth wheel I use it every time we have full hookups.

If we don't have full hookups and have to use a dump station and there is a line at the dump station then no, I don't flush the black tank. I do however add three gallons of water and chemicals all the time, every time to the black tank.
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Old 04-22-2016, 08:06 AM   #16
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Leave it

We have a 3 week houseboat timeshare at Lake Powell. We empty the houseboat only when it starts to stink. Once we discovered TST treatment (sold at Walmart), we found we could go two weeks without any smell. It is a large tank, so it doesn't fill up in that time. As for flushing, I run clean water into it through the toilet, and rock the boat back and forth for a few minutes. Coming from the Southwest, where water is scarce, filling and dumping 3 or 4 times just seems wasteful. I look down the toilet with a flashlight, and see the shiny aluminum bottom of the tank, and clear water coming out of the tank, and I know I'm good. Our houseboat tank doesn't have sensors, but I've always thought that was just a gimmick. I can look to see when it is full, and it would probably stink before it was full anyway.
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Old 04-22-2016, 08:25 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bilcin View Post
I have that, takes me abouts 30 -45 minutes to flush my tank 4-5 times. That is why I was wondering if it was prudent to to be able to skip this process every week and let the 1/2 to 3/4 full tank sit 3-5 days between emptying it. Looks like I will be emptying AND flushing it every time I leave it. Thanks again to all who replied.
I have a park model with no tank flush. I use a wand about once every two months to clean the tank. Trailer is 7 years old and we have never had the dreaded mountain in the tank.

I use some chemicals after dumping the tank.

With water being such a precious resource flushing and filling a tank 4 or 5 times is very wasteful.

On my Fiver I might run the tank flusher for two minutes on a empty tank. I find the geo method driving down the road cleans the tank with maybe a gallon of water.
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Old 04-22-2016, 08:43 AM   #18
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I guess what ever seems to work for you, I have never in 30 years emptied and filled the black tank several times to flush. I did add a black tank flush to our current trailer so I open the black tank dump valve and hook up the hose & turn it on and go work on other things...........

It is easy to add a black tank flush and not very expensive, if you do not have one......... have added one to the last two campers.


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