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Old 10-27-2016, 04:17 PM   #1
racquetballfreq
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Grey Tank valves open or closed?

So, I'm pretty sure that there are some opinions out there as to whether you should leave your grey tank valves open with a "P-Trap" in your line to hold back sewer gas to allow your tanks to drain/stay empty, or, close the valves and drain them as needed...what say you
 
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Old 10-27-2016, 04:32 PM   #2
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Always keep mine closed and open them after I empty the black tank and flush it. The gray water helps to flush out the hose and aids in flushing out the debris left in the galley tank. If you leave the galley open, the possibility of having food particles, etc remaining in the bottom of the tank is very likely.
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Old 10-27-2016, 04:36 PM   #3
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Always leave mine open, with the P, until a couple of days before I dump the black and then I let them fill up to flush the line after the black tank. Since I do laundry frequently sometimes the main grey doesn't get shut until the day before.
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Old 10-27-2016, 05:17 PM   #4
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Leave mine closed and when I dump the black tank I use the grey tanks to both backflush the black tank a little and also wash out the slinky going to the sewer drain. When I use the grey tank to backflush I've already used the black tank flush while dumping; using the clear connection on the end of the pull valve on the dump tube until it is running clear, then close the valve I have on the end of the dump tube. I then do the backflush with the galley tank for about 8-10 seconds and reopen the end valve. It's surprising how much more crud comes out of the black tank then. I also put a Flush King on the end and back flush the black tank for about 10 minutes or so, shut it off and watch for more crud coming out until clear. I then close the black tank valve and dump the bathroom grey tank to clear the line and the slinky. It sounds like a lot of time but it really does not take that long and I know the lines are clear then also.
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Old 10-28-2016, 01:51 AM   #5
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Ours is always left open and I form the slinky into a p-trap shape at the campground sewer inlet. I will close it for a couple of showers to build up some flush water for emptying the black tank every couple of days. We also leave the galley tank open since the washer and dishwasher drains into the galley tank on our model.
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Old 10-28-2016, 01:55 AM   #6
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[quote]Originally posted by DQDick

Always leave mine open, with the P, until a couple of days before I dump the black and then I let them fill up to flush the line after the black tank. Since I do laundry frequently sometimes the main grey doesn't get shut until the day before.

Exactly what I Do!
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Old 10-28-2016, 02:28 AM   #7
richfaa
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Open since both our gray and galley tank failed standing on our lot or driveway/I do not trust them to hold a lot of liquid.
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Old 10-28-2016, 03:53 AM   #8
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Grey stays open until black tank is near ready to drain. More than once I have had the grey tank closed when the DW did laundry and later when I took a shower I found myself standing in an inch or two of water.
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Old 10-28-2016, 05:37 AM   #9
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Open, P-trap, close 2 days before black flush.
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Old 10-28-2016, 05:47 AM   #10
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Thanks to all for the input. I've done it both ways, but definitely close the valve a couple of days before the black tank needs dumping! When I have left the grey valve open, I will fill the the kitchen sin with a few gallons of water to flush out the left behind food particles. I always leave the mail valve open as I found out the hard way that the washer drains directly into the main drain.
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Old 10-28-2016, 01:24 PM   #11
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I leave closed and drain often. I take no chance for having cockroaches finding a nifty place to live and yes...they can easily pass through water in a p trap. Just me... john
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Old 10-28-2016, 04:43 PM   #12
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Old 11-02-2016, 05:11 PM   #13
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We have bee advised by many to leave the traps closed until dumping. First the black tank gets dumped, then backflush thru sewer system then backflush thru flushking adapter on dump tube. After I see clear running out of dump, I then empty sink (grey) and then bathroom shower/sink (grey). Helps with the cleansing of the slinky and moving all those "smelly particles" out of the drain into the sewer. Has not failed me yet and my monitor always reads almost total empty after dumps. Heard that not having enough fluid in toilet, shower or sink will not flush the black tank adequately and allow solid build up and sewer smells. My take on this but everyone does have to do as they are comfortable.
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Old 11-02-2016, 05:15 PM   #14
DQDick
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If i close my gally tank three days before we dump and then I close the grey tank one to two days before depending on how much laundry I'm going to do then I have both gray tanks almost full to push everything out of the stinky slinky. Since we dump every two weeks, I can't close the grey tank sooner since our laundry water goes there and we do laundry often.
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Old 11-03-2016, 09:58 AM   #15
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Always leave mine open, with the P, until a couple of days before I dump the black and then I let them fill up to flush the line after the black tank. Since I do laundry frequently sometimes the main grey doesn't get shut until the day before.
Same here.
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Old 11-06-2016, 05:03 AM   #16
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I leave mine open, I blow one gray water tank when I over filled it, know I use my kitchen gray water tank to flush black water,made P-trap for drain hose, dont want to change another tank what a PINTA
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Old 11-06-2016, 04:10 PM   #17
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I will never leave the valves open. I think allowing the tanks to fill allows for keeping the tanks cleaner. I can only imagine that if one leaves the valves open, the more solid stuff eventually collects to the sides of the water path and with any kind of warm weather, these solids will harden too much. Then trying to allow the fill will NOT remove these hardened substances resulting in problem later. I also imagine letting the tanks to fill keeps all debris wet and soluble and therefore able to evacuate the tanks more thoroughly.

Every couple days, I empty both gray tanks (they are usually about or almost full), then on the third time I do this, I dump the black tank first, flush it out real good and close the valve (then backfill with a couple toilet bowls full of water plus the deodorizer concentrate). THEN I dump both grey tanks tight afterwards to clean out whatever might be leftover in the plumbing and now the gray tanks are empty, too. This procedure also helps not having to remember to close the gray valves to collect it for the black tank flush. Keeping the valves closed also keeps any orders way down, too.
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Old 11-07-2016, 05:58 AM   #18
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Leave grey open until a day before leaving. Black always closed for obvious reasons.
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Old 03-14-2020, 06:00 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Traveltimers2 View Post
We have bee advised by many to leave the traps closed until dumping. First the black tank gets dumped, then backflush thru sewer system then backflush thru flushking adapter on dump tube. After I see clear running out of dump, I then empty sink (grey) and then bathroom shower/sink (grey). Helps with the cleansing of the slinky and moving all those "smelly particles" out of the drain into the sewer. Has not failed me yet and my monitor always reads almost total empty after dumps. Heard that not having enough fluid in toilet, shower or sink will not flush the black tank adequately and allow solid build up and sewer smells. My take on this but everyone does have to do as they are comfortable.
Can you clarify what you mean by the following: "then backflush thru sewer system". Thanks!
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Old 03-14-2020, 06:34 PM   #20
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I guess I'm missing something... if you dump your grey tank every other day or whatever, what's the issue? You go to where your dump valves are, pull the valve... dump the contents or do a black tank dump and flush with grey or whatever, close the valves and then you are done... how long does it take, not that long (a few minutes tops??)... it is what it is.... just dump as needed and move onto other things. Just sayin'.
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