RV Dump issues

[Joaowens]

When we have full hookups, my husband often starts dumping, then goes off to do other tasks while the gray tank dumps. Sometimes he'll leave it open as long as 30 minutes while he finishes other things. Will this cause any damage to the tanks? Is this okay?

[sandsys]

23 minutes ago, Joaowens said:

When we have full hookups, my husband often starts dumping, then goes off to do other tasks while the gray tank dumps. Sometimes he'll leave it open as long as 30 minutes while he finishes other things. Will this cause any damage to the tanks? Is this okay?

As long as it is the gray tank he leaves it should be fine. i wouldn't recommend walking away while the black tank dumps because you want to rinse out the dump hose promptly.

Linda

[Pat & Pete]

22 minutes ago, Joaowens said:

When we have full hookups, my husband often starts dumping, then goes off to do other tasks while the gray tank dumps. Sometimes he'll leave it open as long as 30 minutes while he finishes other things. Will this cause any damage to the tanks? Is this okay?

30 minutes is fine . 

Nothing bad will happen to the tank . 

Although , I generally close the valves soon after the tanks have emptied , as that deters any possible intrusion of unwanted 'critters' . I can really only think of one place , in 10 years , were that was a real concern . 

[Lou Schneider]

People who stay for a while in one spot normally leave the grey valve open so the grey water can flow freely down the drain.  Then they close it a day before they're going to dump the black tank to build up some grey water to rinse the hose clean after dumping the black tank.

So leaving the grey valve open for 30 minutes won't hurt anything.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Lou Schneider

[D&J]

I always leave the grey trank open when staying for any length of time I also don't dump the black tank unless it's full to stop any unwanted buildup plus we use a lot of water when flushing the toilet. I also form a trap in the sewer hose to stop any unwanted wildlife.

Denny 

[Kirk W]

14 hours ago, Joaowens said:

Will this cause any damage to the tanks? Is this okay?

First, welcome to the Escapee forums!

As others have said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with his process at all. There is a very small chance that sewer flies could enter the gray tank while it is left open, but probably not to any significant degree in only 30 minutes. If you should choose to leave the gray tank valve open in the manner Denny mentions (which I also do if staying for more than a few days), then I recommend that you create a small U shape in the hose to act as a P-trap like all sink and shower drains have built into them. Doing so prevents any sort of bug from entering into your tanks to breed there. 

[Pat & Pete]

I never leave either valve open . 

There's plenty of crap that goes into the grey tank that needs to be washed out as often as possible . 

It takes about 3 days for us to fill the grey and we've stretched that to 10 days , on occasion . 

I'm not so busy that I can't go pull a valve a couple times a week . 

[davida]

Having had the luxury/necessity of washer/dryer on board - leave the grey open!

 

[Twotoes]

I always left the grey open in the past, but now that my level indicators are not accurate I close the grey too. When my shower begins to drain slow I know it is time to dump. Usually can go 5/6 days.

[kb0zke]

We're in the other camp. When it is time to fill and dump I connect the proper hose, take care of that job, then put it away and do the other hose. When I'm dumping, I pull the grey handle and immediately close it again to check for leaks. When there are no leaks I dump the black tank, then use the grey to rinse the black. When the black is clean enough I close the black handle and open the grey. Once both tanks are empty I make sure the sewer hose is empty, then put it away.

We normally fill/dump once a week, although lately I've taken to filling twice a week, just to make sure that I have plenty of water. If we went on a stricter water plan we could easily go 10 days between fill/dump days.

We've had sewer flies a couple of times, and the sewer hose is connected only as long as necessary.

[Barbaraok]

Yes, we do the little bit of grey first, to make sure there are no leaks and everything is connected tightly.  This is one of those "learned first hand" practices.

[Kirk W]

I wonder if Jaowens is going to come back to see what answers they got?

[Twotoes]

Good question Kirk. I often wonder if an OP returns to read the answer and suggestions given.