# Where To Empty A Black Water Tank



## Laneyfto

I have searched the Internet looking for a place to legally dump my American RV grey and black water tanks. Can anyone please share experiences that I'm sure all newbies will appreciate.
Thank you.


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## grizzlyj

Campsites?


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## steco1958

Marinas


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## erneboy

Facilities for coaches, maybe on the motorway. A sewer manhole at your home. Campsites, but not all will cater for your system, a good many only have disposal points for cassettes, Alan.


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## Laneyfto

I appreciate the responses; I use the rv primarily for motorsport and therefore campsites/marinas are a bit impractical. The campsites I have checked only cater to cassette toilets as Alan pointed out. I called a coach company this morning and their mechanic told me that they only use cassettes too which I'm not 100% sure is accurate.
Regards
Dave


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## Burneyinn

You really need to have access to a sewer manhole at home, so that if all else fails you can empty it there.

Our new motorhome will have a black tank and we have just adapted one of our manholes covers so it's easy to get off.

We will need a extension hose though as it's in our back garden.

Sorry not to be more positive but in the UK there are not so many drive over/to points.


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## Crindle

erneboy said:


> Facilities for coaches, maybe on the motorway. A sewer manhole at your home. Campsites, but not all will cater for your system, a good many only have disposal points for cassettes, Alan.


Hi all.......Warwick services, North Bound drive over coach valeting point good easy access, similar at Lancaster services Northbound until it was vandalised now no longer available. A macerator may give you more emptying options.......Crindle.


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## Patrick_Phillips

Our previous had US type black tank.
We still carry the three manhole cover lifters we used with it.
Most farmers and often industrial estates know where their sewers run and where the manholes can be lifted (if you have the key, sir).
When it comes to campsites and private property, people seem to be scared of giving permission to lift the covers - don't know why!
The trick is to avoid putting black waste down a storm drain. Some surface water drains go to black sewers (water companies hate that!) and some got to (often inadequate) soak-aways.
Our rule was that if we couldn't see a little bit of loo paper in the drain, best to assume its grey not black. Find another drain!
So farmers and industrial maintenance were our best friends. Can cost in beers, though...
Patrick


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## raynipper

Or you can use a macerator and pump it up to 100ft. through a half inch hose to any disposal point or toilet.
But beware of people putting wet wipes and other non degradable items down the loo......  

Or then there are almost every French village has a disposal point now.

Ray.


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## loddy

I just search for manholes, campsite disposal is normally higher than the tank so you need a macerator ( I bought one and never used it in 3 years so sold it). You'll get good at spotting them I use one by a village hall, it's a light weight cover and it's only 3 feet from the road so 2 minutes and the job is done

Loddy :wink: :wink:


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## grizzlyj

Hi

Just to expand a bit, some cassette emptying points are OK for us with a 6' long suitable hose which we always carry. I thought USA RVs often had a macerator, so you can pump the contents through a normal hose pipe as far as you have hose, then sluice with the grey water. A good plan for a few hundred £££ perhaps?

Every campsite, public toilet, house, pub etc will have a manhole you could use if you can get at it. A few times we've been stuck since we only have a short hose, but never properly. Mostly, even if a campsite points you in the direction of the cassette point, when we've pointed out our needs the person who knows what the site plumbing does has found us a manhole cover we can use. Worst case I can use the 6' long 4"dia pipe to decant the tank a bit at a time which doesn't take long 

Some manholes will only be storm water (or even not water of any sort) so you can't assume you can use every one. If no one is about at a public loo for instance you could lift the lid you think it is and pull the WCs flush to see if that runs past you. If so then OK, but still probably not if you use chemicals which we don't. No paper in our tank either.

Builders merchants sell a variety of manhole "keys" which will be safer, but a club hammer to loosen, a small crowbar and big screw driver will mostly do. Beware that some are fantasticly heavy, even with two people. If it or you slips and it goes down the hole then what? If it feels heavy find another! You may need the hammer to reseat them too. Latex gloves are an idea.

Having lifted a fair number of covers for work, I've had several that needed a JCB assisting to get one to budge, and a friend dropped one down a sewer that also contained fibre optic BT lines which it sliced on the way down, cutting off two towns communications on the way.

From what I've seen coaches don't always empty their loo where they should anyway


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## Invicta

Have been know when desperate to empty the black water tank contents into a suitable enclosed recepticle and then empty that in the facility provided for emptying cassettes. Not ideal but when there has been no suitable dumping facility such as C&CC holiday sites and we didn't move off for a few days, (ie Great Dorset Steam Fair C&CC holiday site nearby), this method was the only answer!


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## loddy

http://www.fiammastore.com/sm_images/Fiamma_Roll_Tank_40L_Fresh_Water_Carrier.jpg

we use one of these as well


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## craigrogers

One thing about a manhole at home to be careful of.

If you dump a large amount of waste in one go into your manhole, it can clog up your house sewer.

If it's enough down the manhole cover in one dump (excuse the pun) then the pressure back through your pipework and cause problems.

If you have ultra modern sewerage then may not a problem but I live out in the sticks in an old property and we had a few blockages in the past.


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## Laneyfto

Thank you all. Really appreciate your advice and am so glad I joined/subscribed.


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## Christine600

I have black and gey water tanks too - and one time I asked around I could empty at a Volvo Truck garage. They had facilities for tour buses.

So perhaps give the local tour bus company a call?


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## BwB

I carry one of those wheeled water carriers that Loddy wrote about. I've a short flexible tube with appropriate connectors on each end so that if I can't find a proper sewer to use I decant some off into the roller and take that to the cassette dump. Then grey into it aftwards to give the tube and carrier an initial swill. 

It takes two trips to completely empty the black tank. It's not perfect but has got me out of difficulties.


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## 4maddogs

Sorry, but my mind is boggling....how much does the tank hold....??!
 8O


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## Patrick_Phillips

loddy said:


> http://www.fiammastore.com/sm_images/Fiamma_Roll_Tank_40L_Fresh_Water_Carrier.jpg
> we use one of these as well


One thing Fiamma haven't understood...
If the roller tank is full and you try to discharge from the bottom hole, air can't get in to replace the "liquid".
Net result is extreme glugging leading to splattered s*** all over you and any close friends...

Solution is:
1. buy a spare wine bottle stopper - you know, the ones with a lever;
2. drill a 16mm hole at the top end of your carrier and fit the stopper;
3. Try very, very hard to remember to release the stopper before trying to empty the roller tank!

Patrick


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## teemyob

*Tanks*

Hello,

We don't have a black tank. I have looked at some small class B/C american motrohomes and if we bought one, I might consider a cassette toilet.

We do have One of these that I use for grey waste if we are camped up for a while with no pitch drain. Bit heavy when full. But you can hitch them up to a tow ball to manouvre on-site.

We stayed in Annecy a couple of years ago and met a Newbie to RV'ing (Hello Tim if you reas this).

He had a huge 10ton RV that was permanently pitched. He had no way of dumping his black or grey tanks without moving the RV. Problem was that as others had pitched around him, he could not get the 36+ foot RV out.

So he borrowed the Tote-N-Stor and I talked him through the process of dumping black then grey.

As mentioned, there is alos the option of a Macerator. But you still need to be near a sewer and pray the hose does not burst. Possibly best wait until the area is clear first!.

Hope this helps?

TM


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## loddy

4maddogs said:


> Sorry, but my mind is boggling....how much does the tank hold....??!
> 8O


Mine holds 35 gallons, the one in the US holds 55 US gallons

Loddy :wink:

roughing it smoothly


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## Laneyfto

Thanks to you all. Some of your answers brought a welcome laugh. Regards Dave


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