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Dumping Waste Sign

How do you empty your black tank without moving your RV? Or, both or your tanks.  This is a question that we get asked all the time.  Once you purchase your RV, you will quickly understand the importance of finding places/methods to emptying your tanks.  Of course, the easy way is to be hooked up to a campsite with sewage hookup.  However, sometimes that is not possible.  Pretty much, if you are staying anywhere besides a full hookup campsite, this is not an option.  So what do you do?  Our solution does cost some money for the initial items that you will need, but if you are planning on being in places with no hookups often, this is well worth the money you will put down.  In order to Empty Your Black Tank Without Moving Your RV, you will need the following:

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What you will need

  1.  A Portable RV Waste Pump (macerator) 
  2.  A tote tank – size depends on how big your tanks are, but we use this one. It is a 45 Gallon tank.
  3.  A 45 degree CLEAR hose adapter.
  4.  A garden hose that meets the following, commercial grade, NO LONGER THAN 75 FEET (suggested 50 feet) and 3/4 in diameter.
  5.  Some type of double female hose connector.  It might come with your tote tank, but you can get them cheap here.
  6. Of course you will need your standard sewer hose kit.  If you have an RV you probably have one, but this is the one I have.
  7. Disposable gloves and hand sanitizer.  I cannot stress this enough.  Stock up on both of these.  If you follow the guide below, you shouldn’t have any issues, but you never know.  It is always better to be overly clean than not.
  8. You will need to find somewhere to dump.  It is a key part if you want to empty your black tank without moving your RV. This is usually not hard, but a lot of RV parks don’t allow it unless you are camping there, or it costs a fee.  I highly suggest that you call any park or station to verify before you proceed.  you don’t want a 45 gallon tank full of human waste that you cannot empty.
 
 

Once you have the supplies, this is how you empty your black tank without moving your RV:

Empty Your Black Tank Without Moving Your RV

 

Empty Your Black Tank Without Moving Your RV

  •  Put on gloves.
  • Set up the macerator.  This is a pretty simple process that after you do it once, it will be easy after that.  The macerator I suggested above comes with full instructions.  Basically, you need to attach it to a 12v battery.  You can use your car or RV battery.
  • Attach the 45 degree hose adapter to your sewer hookup and then attach your macertaor to the adapter.  The clear adapter will allow you to see the waste coming out. This is important because you need to know when there is nothing left coming out as it might burn up the motor of the macerator.  The macerator should simply screw on about 1/4 of a turn on to the sewer hookup.  A sewer hookup typically looks like the picture above.  It is usually located in the back of your RV. 

DO NOT OPEN THE TANK VENTS YET

  •  Attach the hose to the macerator.  Be sure that you have a 3/4 inch hose and that it does not go any longer than 50 feet and that it is not kinked in any way.  I have found 75 feet can work, but 50 feet is the suggested length.  Failure in doing so might cause extreme heat to your macerator and it could burn out the motor.
  • Put your tote tank in the back of your truck or SUV.  I suggest putting stops under the wheels so the tank does not move.  Be sure not to skip this step.  If you fill the tank without it being in your truck, it will be extremely heavy to pick up to transport afterwards.
  • Attach the other end of the hose to the double female adapter, and then to the holding tanks hose attachment.  Open the other top hose connector for ventilation.  Be sure the one you open for ventilation is on top not on the bottom or side of the tank.
  • Double check all of your connections.  Everything should be tightly screwed in.

Once everything is attached and you double check the connections:

  • Open your grey tank vent and then turn the macerator on for about 10 seconds and then turn it off.  Take a look at all connections to make sure nothing is leaking.  If it is, be sure to fix it now.  If you cannot fix it, do not continue.
  • Once you are sure all the connections are good, open the black tank vent and turn the macerator back on.  Now both vents are open.  Let this run for about 10 seconds and then close the grey tank vent.  Allow the black tank to empty, when you see nothing else coming from the black tank, close it, and re-open the grey tank.  This way, you will clean out the black tank waste out of the macerator and the hose with the grey water.  Be sure you are keeping an eye on the tank.  It is helpful to have someone else watch the tank to make sure it doesn’t over fill.
  •  

Next Steps

  • Once the grey tank is empty, turn off the macerator, close the grey tank vent, and make sure grey and black are both closed now.
  • Detach the hose and completely close the holding tank.
  • Close the tank up and don’t forget the top that you opened for ventilation.
  • Drive your tank to a dump station, and use your standard sewer hose kit to empty the tank just like you would normally do.
  • Clean and sanitize your hands and the equipment.

 

This is how you empty your black tank without moving your RV.  Good luck!!  I typically do this about once a week, so I have plenty of experience in doing it.  So, let me know if you have any questions!  You can contact me here.

 

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