Sizes of our gray tanks

[Quadna71]

Our 2020 22RBHL is listed as having a 64 gallon total gray tank capacity. There are two tanks - a front for the kitchen sink and a rear for the bathroom sink and shower. Would anyone happen to know the sized of each tank? Are they equal in size? Larger for the bathroom and smaller for the kitchen? I ask because we have only taken the camper out once and it felt like the rear bathroom/shower tank filled up quicker than expected. Our last camper had a single 26 gallon gray tank and we rarely filled it up but with this camper we barely pulled off the weekend and it was already 100% full. Surprising for only 2 people who are generally conservative with our water use. I reached out to Forest River directly and they couldn’t help me at all (right???) so not sure where to go for this information.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Quadna71

. Our last camper had a single 26 gallon gray tank and we rarely filled it up but with this camper we barely pulled off the weekend and it was already 100% full. .

How do you know the tank was 100% full? Are you relying on the panel lights or did you hear water sloshing in the shower?
If Forest River and the dealer doesn't know the capacity, you might have to measure it yourself.

[2whlzstan]

Given that you have a 32 gal. black tank and 64 gal. combined gray capacity, I'm thinking that you likely have two 32 gal. gray tanks.
We have a Rockwood 2606WS with the same floorplan as your 22RBH regarding the mid kitchen and rear bath, and we have three 37 gal. tanks.

[Quadna71]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

How do you know the tank was 100% full? Are you relying on the panel lights or did you hear water sloshing in the shower?

If Forest River and the dealer doesn't know the capacity, you might have to measure it yourself.

Both - lights said it was full and you could see the water level up to the drain.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by Quadna71

Both - lights said it was full and you could see the water level up to the drain.

Hmmmmm... you seem to have a puzzle on your hands. You could take it back to the dealer, but you'll probably be met with puzzled expressions. That would be worth a try. Maybe their techs will have an explanation. Or.....

You could do some investigation on your own. If you use a water meter, you could see how much water it would take to fill each tank.
https://smile.amazon.com/Save-a-Drop..._t1_B0187BOFD6

It's possible you don't have as much capacity as advertised or there might be a connection between the two tanks that's causing one to fill faster than normal, or the shower head is not as efficient as your previous trailer or something is blocking the draining inside the tank....or something else....

[lbrjet]

Maybe it wasn't empty when you brought it home.

[Trawlerphil]

Most hardware stores have a little meter that goes on to your water hose and tells you how many gallons pass through. The best way to find out the size is to empty the tanks and measure how much water they take.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by Quadna71

Both - lights said it was full and you could see the water level up to the drain.

Drain everything, then use a hose end water meter and fill them. I find the meters to be fairly accurate.
https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-56854-H...49413728&psc=1

[C170]

If you don’t have a sealed bottom, and your tanks are exposed, you can crawl under the coach and look at the tanks. They are usually molded with the manufacturers name and either capacity or dimensions. You can then go to the tank manufacturers site and get the capacity. I have a 2021 Wildwood X-Lite 273QBXL, and based on the manufacturers brochure, we thought we had a 60 gallon gray tank. Since this unit can potentially sleep 11 people, that seemed adequate. Well after our first trip with 2 adults we filled the tank in a couple days! Come to find out, Forest River decided to change the gray tank capacity to 30 gallons. Don’t trust the marketing brochures for any specifics.

[Quadna71]

Thanks but our RV is sealed across the base. I think we’ve come to terms that we don’t know the amounts and I guess that’s okay. So long as we get used to the rate in which we fill the tanks up. We’ve had a few more long weekends under our belt since then and are starting to get a feel for how much or little water we can get away with using.

[Sunflower0527]

Originally Posted by lbrjet

Maybe it wasn't empty when you brought it home.

Very possible. They had filled our fresh water tank for the walk through. What goes in, must come out.

[matemike]

My WW 273QBXL has a gray tank capacity listed at 30 gal.
I crawled under Camper and found stamp on the blow molded tank . It is 22”x54”x8” ... (1.833’x4.5’x.667’) = ~ 5.5 lb3. 7.48 gal / cubic foot = ~ 41 gallons.
I guess that’s outside dimensions on the stamp. ?

Nonetheless, all math aside. We were on our first trip in a camper ever. I assured the gw tank was empty via drain. All empty. I ran kitchen and bathroom sinks for a minute to check that water was working properly. Wife washed a bowl and some silverware for about two minutes after dinner. Then my son took about an eight minute shower then wife took an eight minute shower and the level lights were showing full and the water was up to the drain in shower. I dumped the gw tank and it drained solidly for about a full minute out of our big drain hose. I cannot for the life of me believe that was 35 or even 30 gallons. Does this make sense to everyone else on here?

[Trawlerphil]

The best way to measure the tanks is to get a little meter that goes on the end of the water hose. Empty the tank, close the valve and fill the tank to get the total gallons passed out the fill hose.

[dieselguy]

16 minutes worth of showering can use more water than you'd think depending on what shower head you have. Some of us seasoned RV'ers take what is called a "navy shower" which greatly extends how long you can rely on your grey water capacity. Turn the water on, spin around a couple of times, turn water off. Soap up. Turn water back on, spin around 2-3 times and call it good unless you're washing your hair. The 15 plus minute showers we have all become accustomed to in our homes only works out sucessfully when you are at a full hookup site in an RV.

[KyDan]

Was it actually full or are you going by the lights on the wall?
It's not full until it backs up in the shower.
Easy test, get a 5 gallon bucket. Pour 4 gallons in there as measured with a milk jug. Mark it at 4 gallons.
Pour this down the drain.
Repeat until it shows up in the shower.
Now you know for sure what you have to work with.
Why 4 gallons? I know there's no way I'm gonna carry a full 5 gallon bucket and not spill it everywhere!
Happy Camping!

[matemike]

Experiment:

Used a large measuring cup to measure 5 gallons in a large clear tote and marked it on the side of the tote.

Drained gw tank to completely empty.

Yup. Took exactly 6 totes at 5 gals each til the shower would no longer drain.

What was a bigger eye opener for us was that the shower took exactly 2m:30s to reach the 5 gals mark.
2 gallons per minute flow rate. Turns out 15 minutes of showering will fill a 30 gal tank.

Learning as we go. ..ain’t this stuff fun!

[Tradclimber]

Matemike, that works for me. We have experienced a similar conundrum with our 233RBXL. It is listed at 32 gal gray water. After 2 "semi-navy showers", 3 dish washings, and misc glasses of water/teeth brush, etc. and the lights showed full tank. I did not see water in the shower drain, though.
I was working on a plan to measure the capacity and checking when the lights change. Your method will work! I am going to try it next time out. I will post my findings when I get them. - sorry, not gonna do the same with the "other" tank......
Thank you!

[Tradclimber]

I used Matemike's method of testing our gray tank sensors and here are the results. Our tank is rated at 32 gallons. The sensor lights are labelled E, 1/3, 2/3, Full. I used a 3 gallon bucket and filled the bucket from the shower, using cold water tap only on full force and both hot and cold on full force. The trailer was hooked up to city water during this with a pressure regulator.

it took 2 1/2 minutes to fill 3 gallon bucket using just the cold water and 2 minutes 20 seconds with both cold and hot taps on. That works out to 1.2 gallons per minute. I think the timing is pretty much the same regardless of which faucet is open......

I also timed our shower times (don't tell the boss) - both our times were right around 6 1/2 minutes. This equates to about 7.4 gallons of water per shower - these were comfortable-length showers, NOT "hurry up and don't waste water" showers.

9 gallons water = 1/3 light came on
15 gallons water = 2/3 light came on
24 gallons water = Full light came on
30 gallons water = the shower was draining VERY SLOW so I stopped.

Conclusion: When my full light comes on, I can still take a short shower. The reality is I now have an "idea" of how full my tank is based on the sensor light "status", and that is good enough for me.
This method works for me, your mileage (or water useage) may vary....