# Emptying waste water - advice please



## ChrisandJohn

We've had our AutoSleeper Medallion 2000 for over a year now and are generally very happy with it. Solving the problems of emptying the waste water tank would make us even happier.

Basically the tank is low-slung and the outlet pipe is positioned so that:

1. You have to lie on the ground and almost crawl underneath the vehicle in order to unhook the pipe and turn the tap on/off

2. The tap is very stiff and extremely hard to turn, in spite of using a lubricant for plastics

3. When trying to empty into a receptacle (which is what we usually do) we have to raise the pipe in order to get the tap / nozzle into whatever receptacle we are using. This restricts the water flow. It needs a receptacle as shallow as a paint roller tray for the water to flow without restriction. Obviously a paint roller tray (or the small washing up bowl we have actually been using) needs to be emptied several times into the larger water carrier we use to take to the waste water disposal point. In this process there is inevitably a lot of spillage, both in pouring from one container to another, and whilst attempting to turn the tap off and on. The spillage makes the lying down position adoped even less pleasant / more hazardous.

I suppose the first thing we wonder is if we ought to get one of the waste water hogs that caravanners use, but they don't look like they hold a lot. Even if a hog was a reasonable answer as a receptacle it wouldn't solve the crawling underneath, or the difficulty with the tap.

Does anyone else have these problems and, more importantly, does anyone else have any solutions or :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :idea: :?: 




Chris


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## Rapide561

*Waste*

Hi

I am not familiar with your van, but is it practical to open the waste valve and leave it open for ever - like I do?

Forget the waste water hog - they hold about 35 litres but cost about £35.00. The humble bucket costs £1 and is also usable as a wine carrier, a stool, a coffee table, a waste water carrier etc etc.

It depends where you are I guess. I had a trolley hog thing and soon sold it and use my humble bucket. Yes it only holds 4 gallons so half the hog amount - but it does have many uses.

Russell


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## Steamdrivenandy

Chris,

Like Russell I don't know the waste layout of your van but I do have a waste water hog in the garage which I no longer use as our van has loads of room for a relative of Russell's Humble Bucket. 

I bought the Hog for a previous van and it does fit under a much lower space. It also runs under the outlet on its wheels so can save you from grovelling under the van in certain circumstances. I can let the Hog go to a good home for much less than the 'new' price and as you're in Yorkshire it should be possible for you to try it out first.

You could also try speaking to the Willersey factory for any suggestions as I've heard they have a wealth of knowledge on their older models and may be able to help you. 

SDA


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## solentviews

I have an aging Kontiki which is quite low slung. I extended the waste water outlet up to the skirt and fitted a clip to hold it. This has been quite successful. I also made a filter system out of an old household down pipe. It is fitted with removable rubber blanking ends also a pipe joint(from B&Q). On the underside I drilled numerous holes to allow drainage. On grass sites I fill the pipe with grass and connect to the waste water outlet. This allows the water to filter and drain to earth with no mess, grass is then disposed of. I cannot claim to have invented this but saw one on a site I was at and spoke to the owner and got the details.
Hope this helps.
Ian


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## peej

> You have to lie on the ground and almost crawl underneath the vehicle in order to unhook the pipe and turn the tap on/off


We have an AS Symbol with what sounds like the same arrangement. The ground clearance on the Symbol means there is plenty of room to empty into a washing up bowl or similar.

However we had a problem recently at a CS where the grey waste emptying point was inside a little hut so clearly I couldnt manoeuvre the van in there.

I was wondering about putting a small extension hose onto the pipe to deal with situations like this should they arise again - perhaps with a 12v pump. Has anyone done this?

If you are wondering how we got round the problem, the site owner told us to discharge the grey waste onto the pitch (grass).

Peter


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## 101825

We installed one of those electric taps sold by Kak and have the switch close to the driver (usually me). It means I can open the tap when nobody is in sight - all about perception so people don't think we're dumping black waste.

We bought the biggest tap so that the flow would be fast. Quite often we slow right down when we're alone and open it - the system drains in a few minutes. It's so easy that handling our grey waste is a non-issue now.

Rog


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## Steamdrivenandy

ivys said:


> We installed one of those electric taps sold by Kak and have the switch close to the driver (usually me). It means I can open the tap when nobody is in sight - all about perception so people don't think we're dumping black waste.
> 
> We bought the biggest tap so that the flow would be fast. Quite often we slow right down when we're alone and open it - the system drains in a few minutes. It's so easy that handling our grey waste is a non-issue now.
> 
> Rog


Strangely our Adria Compact has a large bore waste pipe (about 2") which comes out of the bottom of the tank. It runs horizontal for 6" or so and through the butterfly valve and then a 2" bore stub performs a right angle to point the flow groundward.

When I say 'flow' I really mean 'trickle'.

I can't understand why such a large bore pipe doesn't really gush and the tank empty in seconds rather than hours.

Any thoughts?

SDA


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## Spacerunner

Steamdrivenandy said:


> Strangely our Adria Compact has a large bore waste pipe (about 2") which comes out of the bottom of the tank. It runs horizontal for 6" or so and through the butterfly valve and then a 2" bore stub performs a right angle to point the flow groundward.
> When I say 'flow' I really mean 'trickle'.
> I can't understand why such a large bore pipe doesn't really gush and the tank empty in seconds rather than hours.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> SDA


On my previous 'van an Autosleeper Legend I was having problems with waste water dumping.
In short I had to remove the tank and clean out the inside. There was an amazing amount of evil-smelling gunk inside. This could come away from the sides in large putty-like flakes, and easily block or partially block the outlet.
Also I extended the outlet pipe with 3/4" copper pipe to just outside the skirt which made emptying much easier.


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## pneumatician

*Waste Water*

On our last Auto Sleeper the drains from shower,sink etc into the tank then from the tank left a lot to be desired so I replaced them all with solid small bore plastic wate pipes, Elbows, Bends, Tees and straight runs etc. Replace the plastic valve with a 3/4 Bsp ball valve positioned wherever you want it to be on a bracket. Van drainage was dramatically improved.

We would usually use a bucket. Having camped all of our lives I find it strange all of this fuss about grey water and having asked the question many times and recieved the repost "Chuck it in the hedge bottom" I generally use common sense depending on the site conditions.

On a French site last year we were asked to water the hedges and not waste it down the drain !!

Steve

Steve


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## Steamdrivenandy

Spacerunner said:


> Steamdrivenandy said:
> 
> 
> 
> Strangely our Adria Compact has a large bore waste pipe (about 2") which comes out of the bottom of the tank. It runs horizontal for 6" or so and through the butterfly valve and then a 2" bore stub performs a right angle to point the flow groundward.
> When I say 'flow' I really mean 'trickle'.
> I can't understand why such a large bore pipe doesn't really gush and the tank empty in seconds rather than hours.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> SDA
> 
> 
> 
> On my previous 'van an Autosleeper Legend I was having problems with waste water dumping.
> In short I had to remove the tank and clean out the inside. There was an amazing amount of evil-smelling gunk inside. This could come away from the sides in large putty-like flakes, and easily block or partially block the outlet.
> Also I extended the outlet pipe with 3/4" copper pipe to just outside the skirt which made emptying much easier.
Click to expand...

I don't think it can be 'clag' Spacey as the vans only 7 months old and drained like that from new.

SDA


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## pneumatician

*Waste Drain*

That can't be right. I have seen this arrangement with a 2" slide valve empty over a drain and it possibly gushes out. Indeed when I open our 1" valve I can get a spout about 6" long.

Either the drain is bunged up some where or there could be perhaps some sort of air lock. Try filling the waste tank from the drain outlet to back flush the system then have a look inside the tank. You may find something like a pair of protective gloves or a ruddy great wedge of silicone sealer.
Might even be a stash of illegal substances 

Steve


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## Steamdrivenandy

*Re: Waste Drain*



pneumatician said:


> That can't be right. I have seen this arrangement with a 2" slide valve empty over a drain and it possibly gushes out. Indeed when I open our 1" valve I can get a spout about 6" long.
> 
> Either the drain is bunged up some where or there could be perhaps some sort of air lock. Try filling the waste tank from the drain outlet to back flush the system then have a look inside the tank. You may find something like a pair of protective gloves or a ruddy great wedge of silicone sealer.
> Might even be a stash of illegal substances
> 
> Steve


Ooh I like the sound of illegal substances but would prefer a polythene wrapped large parcel of untraceable wonga :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

SDA


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## Patchworkqueen

Hi 
We had a similar problem with our AS Clubman and we solved it by having the waste outlet tap moved to it was at the back of the MH in a much more accessible position and also buying a short length of black hose which meant that we had more leeway when positioning over a drain.

I don't know where you live but we had the job done at RVtex at very reasonable cost.
Chris


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## ChrisandJohn

Thanks everyone, you've given us lots to think about and we'll go through your replies carefully to see which of your suggestions we could implement.
It looks like there is no one easy answer though. 

Incidentally, we do have a bucket and have used it for carrying waste water to a dumping point. It is far too tall though to fit under our waste pipe, hence the low washing up bowl. Some months back I went to our local caravan dealer to investigate hogs but decided they were too big to store and too expensive to risk buying if it didn't help. What I found instead was a much cheaper receptacle that I thought might work. It has two holes, one in the side to let water in and another in the top to let it out (both holes have screw tops). When placed on its side to be filled it is about 6 inches high. We can just about fill this directly from the waste pipe if we are pitched on sloping ground with the rear wheels raised. This is what we now use to take to the waste point instead of the bucket. It means fewer trips and less chance of getting wet feet.

We have always found solutions in each situation but they do seem a bit crude and primitive in the context of the sort of high tech that exists on the inside of motorhomes.


Thanks again


Chris and John


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## gaspode

We had a slow drain on the last new van we bought. It turned out to be plastic swarf from where they'd drilled the holes in the waste tank, it was stuck at a bend in the drain tubing and collecting gunge.


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## Pusser

ivys said:


> We installed one of those electric taps sold by Kak and have the switch close to the driver (usually me). It means I can open the tap when nobody is in sight - all about perception so people don't think we're dumping black waste.
> 
> We bought the biggest tap so that the flow would be fast. Quite often we slow right down when we're alone and open it - the system drains in a few minutes. It's so easy that handling our grey waste is a non-issue now.
> 
> Rog


I need one of these. I really mean I need one. Phoned up John Cross but they have to see the van before they can comment which is fair enough. How long would it take someone who knows what they are doing to fit an electric whoosh and go.

Wish I heard of this earlier I would have had it done donks ago. But any tips, advice or charitable donations gratefully accepted.


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