The Great Debate

 

People who are full time or who stay extended periods of time in RV’s, such as snowbirds will often find themselves in a conversation about weather to leave the drain gates open or closed on the waste tanks. For the black tank there is no debate. You leave it shut! Dump, rinse and flush it once a week or so and you should have no worries, unless a grandkid drops a hot wheel or cat toy in there. (No, I am not speaking from experience.) The galley and shower tanks are up for debate and everyone has their opinion. We have argued on the side that it is fine to leave them open and let the water flow freely down the hose into the sewer outlet. Close them every now and then, like when you are on the road and all should be good. Until yesterday.

When we bought this unit, it was 11 years old. It had been used exclusively as a snowbird unit. Four months out of they year it resided somewhere in Florida and spent the rest of its life in a machine shed of a farmer, we know as Lars from the service records, in eastern Iowa. I know now that he never ever shut the gate on the gray tanks. Flash forward to this summer.

The few times we have been in a campground with no sewer we have always wondered what the deal was with the galley tank. The kitchen sink and washer/ dryer is on a dedicated tank. We knew it was only 18 gallons but have never been able to make it through a weekend without it filling. We chalked it up to after several years of being on full hookups almost all the time we just don’t conserve like we used to and aren’t as aware of our usage as we were in the days when we could go 7 days on our storage tanks. This spring on the way home from Texas, we began to suspect we had some buildup in the tank. No big deal we thought. Nothing a little Liquid Plumm’r and some sloshing down the highway couldn’t handle, right?  It would be nice if it had worked that way.

When we left for Duluth in August, we ran a sink of water and dumped about a cup of drain cleaner in the tank. When we arrived, the tank wouldn’t drain. After leaving the gate open overnight some seeped out. We closed the gate, ran more hot water and Liquid Plumm’r the next day before we left for the day and let it do its thing. That afternoon we pulled the gate lever and all kinds of chunky, nasty stuff could be seen in the clear fitting connecting the hose to the sewer intake. Voila’, problem solved! 

Not so fast. For, good measure we tried the same thing on our five-hour drive back from Duluth. This time, no action at all. Two things worked in our favor. First, we were back on our home pad. Second, Champ can fix virtually anything. He zipped the screws out of the panel underneath found the connection from the tank, took the fitting off and extracted a long core of nasty stuff that looked like a mixture of frozen Crisco and sand. After putting the fitting back on things ran freely.  We decided it would be good practice to close the gate once a week or so and let it fill so the solids that collected, including laundry lint from the washer, had a chance to flush out.

We pulled out this past weekend to join our family and friends at my brother in law’s acreage for a weekend of too much food, and drink, lots of fun. Again, for good measure we dumped that last of the jug of Liquid Plumm’r in the tank before driving the 40 miles home. That’s when the shit show started.

The tank wouldn’t drain. No problem, Champ has this down now. Panel off, fitting off and… let’s just say it went downhill from there. In 50 degrees and rain we realized the tank outlet was clogged terribly. In the process of trying to flush with the connection off and clear the clog he lost is poker, in this case a 14” long Philips screwdriver, in the tank. Not good. As he was cussing himself for losing his grip on the slippery poker, I heard dripping coming from the other side. I opened the main compartment door to the horrifying sight of a literal river of gray, chunky, nastiness one has to experience to appreciate flowing like a waterfall off the ledge of the upper part of the compartment where he stores all his tools and man stuff. Water always finds a path. What came out of my mouth isn’t suitable for all ages and even made me blush, not an easy task as those who know me well.

After collecting myself and making a conscious decision not to cry, I put on a pair of rubber garden gloves and started taking everything out of the compartment. I hollered at Champ that we had a huge problem, he didn’t want to hear it he had his own mess on the other side. I started taking apart all his custom storage spaces, racks, compartment etc. Everything covered in rancid gray sludge that can only develop over years of cultivation in a waste tank. After I had the compartment empty and the rain continued, I fetched our pressure washer out of the Village shed and started pressure washing the carpeted compartment. What’s more water now anyway? In the meantime, Champ had cut a whole in the side of the tank and we got the full view of why we are having trouble. It looked like a cavern in there. Stalactite and Stalagmites of hardened gray sludge live in there. Our 18-gallon galley tank is now a cavern with a small shallow river of dish and laundry water running though it day to day. I would guess there is less than 5 gallons of actual storage left in that tank. At least of gallon of that is in the discharge pipe running from the outlet to the gate valve. It looked like something from a science fiction movie in there. The Liquid Plumm’r has been working on the formations and as it loosens the hardened sludge it clogs the 2’ discharge fitting. No Bueno at all. For all I know the solution to cancer may live in there. I can’t see anything surviving that rancid, freak show of bacteria in there.

Nasty beyond words. Oh, the smell! 

Like another planet in there. 

A pressure washing, wet dry vac, and fan and it is slowly drying out in there. Odor absorbers are the compartment as it dries. Scentsy burners and Essential Oil diffusers discharge fall like aromas inside.  Our long streak of warm dry weather that would have helped it dry and air out has been replaced by cool, damp fall weather. Nice timing Mother Nature.

Champ has a plan to take the underbelly apart and remove the tank this winter when we get settled in Texas and we’ll flush it out and get the chunks out of it once and for all and start over with a relatively clean galley tank.

Next time we find ourselves inserted in one of these debates about whether to leave the gates open or closed for long stays, we will have a good argument for leaving them closed and drain them every few days. I even have pictures of something no one really wants to see. At least you don’t have to experience the smell looking at a picture! As for last evening, sometimes you can't get the shower hot enough or use enough soap to truly feel clean after some jobs. That too shall pass. 

Until next time…