Single sewer tank

[batpilot7300]

coming from a bb that had two 150gal tanks i'm a little concerened about how to manage one tank, my thought was to let he tank get about half full then open the grey water by pass untill the main tank is full, suggestions please, also the manual discourageas the use of addatives, is this correct

Lee Brown
98DS45L
Granbury TX

[tuga]

Hi Lee, welcome to the forum.

The nice thing about one tank is that there is nothing to manage. When it fills up to about 3/4 full dump it. I never understood why some coach builders had separate tanks. If you are interested in flushing/cleaning the sewer hose just rinse it out with water from the fresh water hose in the campground after you have dumped. As a rule, Newell usually builds the sewer tank with 5 gallons more capacity than the fresh water tank. That way you can't overflow the sewer tank - even if you use all of the fresh water in the pure tank.

I use "Always Fresh" in my sewer tank. 2 scoops of Always Fresh in the toilet bowl and flush it down. I add the powder immediately after I dump the sewer tank. It doesn't have an odor and it does a great job of killing the bacteria in the tank. Everything stays fresh and clean - Great Product!

I think that Newell suggests NOT using clorox because it can damage the toilet flap seal. I may be wrong on this - just guessing.

[Richard and Rhonda]

Lee,

Look carefully at how that bypass is plumbed. In one config the bypass valve is actually closed and the main valve open. That config on mine lets the grey water run out the slinky and the black water goes into the tank. If you want the grey water to go into the tank and not back up in the shower, the bypass valve (on mine) is actually open. It was counterintuitive to me at first.

I can assure you that the shower will not drain if it's configured the wrong way :-)

Like Tuga, I find the one tank arrangement is easy to manage. Yes, having a sep gray water did make washing the hose easy. These days I use a macerator, and the hose is super simple to rinse.

[Wally Arntzen]

The best way to manage the one tank system is as follows. 1. When parked in an RV park and hooked up you should keep the valve closest to the end open and the one from the tank closed. This allows the water from the kitchen sink, bath sink and shower to go directly out of the coach and down the drain. You keep the valve next to the holding tank closed and when it gets 3/4 or more full you dump it and close it again. My wife and I are full timers and it takes about a week or more to get the tank 3/4 full which from the toilet use only.
2. When traveling on the road you keep the outside valve closed and the tank valve open, this allows all of the used water to merge into the tank and when you get the tank 3/4 or more full you have find a dump station or an isolated country road where you can pull your cheater dump and let er go. Richard is right if you are traveling and do not open the tank valve you will have back up in the shower or overflow on the top of the tank in the bay.
I think the one tank system is superior to the dual tank system any day.

Thats the fat mans 2 cents worth and i'm sticking with it.

[batpilot7300]

thanks all, I apprreciate the imput, what about tank addatives, the manual dosn't recomend it, says use odor controll only
Lee Brown
98DS45L #476
Granbury TX

[Richard and Rhonda]

The odor control is a fairly simple system that applies voltage to two electrodes in the tank. If you add some salt to the system, the voltage breaks the NaCL down into hypochlorite (bleach). The chlorine kills the stink.

You can see how that works for you.

Or you can use additives of your choice.

What I would not do is use additives and the odor control feature. You could set up a chemical reaction of unknown byproducts by applying electrolysis to the chemicals in the additives.

[batpilot7300]

Richaed, how do you know if the odor control is working?

Lee Brown
98DS45L
Granbury TX

[Richard and Rhonda]

I use a neuro olafactory transmitter that is mounted in the space between my pie hole and my peepers. LOL, you asked for that one :-)

I would find the two probes in the tank and put a voltmeter across them. I don't have the odor control (cause mine don't stink, of course), so maybe someone who does can post a pic of the probes and their location on the tank. They should be located at the bottom of the tank, unlike the level probes that will run up the side of the tank.

[tuga]

I have owned 3 Newells over the last 18 years, and I never understood how the odor control system worked. Thank you Richard for explaining it. I have seen the control knob but I didn't know that you had to add salt to the sewer tank to make it work. That is why I have been buying Always Fresh and adding it to my sewer tank. You have just saved me $$$$ Richard, thanks again.

Salt is much cheaper than Always Fresh!

[Wally Arntzen]

I have a manual for my 88 that explains the salt thing as well. My system works well with no odors even if I don't add the salt.

[chockwald]

Same here, Wally......no smells, whether, or not I add anything, salt, deodorizer.

[batpilot7300]

Tuga, were is the controll knob you mentioned, I can't find anything that looks like a controll for the odor controll system
Lee Brown
98DS45L

[tuga]

Sorry, it is a toggle switch.