Basic water/waste water systems

[luvrbus]

I had a macerator pump for years never used the thing but one time takes too long to empty a tank and to much cleanup I gave it to another bus nut he used it 1 time and has since passed it to another bus nut wait it may come your way lol a 3 inch hose and be done with it 



good luck

[bevans6]

I think a macerator pump is a solution to a unique problem.  Like 50 feet, and slightly up hill from my driveway to my septic tank...  Ain't no 3" hose in the world going to make that work!

I like the ability to dump my tank at home, easily.  There are no public dumping stations anywhere close to me, like within 20 miles or  more, and the 10 gallon wheelie tank I tried once is only going to get that one try, that sucked big time.  Five trips, rolling it 100 yards from where the bus was parked, and it's heavy when it's full!

Brian

[luvrbus]

Don't buy into the hype that the pump will pump 12 gpm or the 20 ft head


good luck

[Van]

Here's our basic system, sure beats nothing and as money permits it will grow. have to admit a macerator would be nice, but till we get in a regular (coach lav still in place)toilet this will have to suffice
.

[happycamperbrat]

This is my favorite way to dump  

Funny clips from RV

well, at least to watch!!!

[Bill B /bus]

Two buses two systems.
The GM 4108, I installed three tanks. 125 gal fresh. 85 gal  gray and 35gal black. On dumping drain the black, then open a flush valve to drain the gray tank. when the gray quits flowing shut the flush valve, shut the black drain valve. Then open the gray drain to finish the drain of the gray. Worked well for a clean drain hose.
Second bus an MCI 102A3 I went with two tanks of 125gals each. Works well. We were on a macerator for about six months without a problem. Pumped out every 5-7 days. This included the washing machine at 2-3 loads per week.
So either one works well. Your choice.

Bill

[skip102dl]

Our '94 102dl had a single 150 gal. combined tank. We sometimes camp where we could bleed off gray or pump gray 150ft. to a sewer drop. Removed unused built in vac system & installed a 37 gal. gray tank with an internal sump pump that can either pump to combined tank to rinse or out to sewer drop. Has worked great for 7 yrs. Skip

[dougyes]

In one bus were bay space was at a premium, we put a low 35 gal black tank on top of the bathroom floor- not in the bay, and mounted the toilet on top of the tank. Only the 3" drain line went into the bay for emptying it out. It worked well.

[PP]

Like opinions, every bus seems to be set up different for fresh water and waste handling. We have four tanks in the rearmost bay just before the fuel tank. The two lower fresh water tanks are 45Gal each and set side by side and plumbed together but can be filled separately and drained separately (consumed). On top of the fresh tanks and separated by a wood shelf is the gray on the left (55gal) and the black on the right (45gal). Each waste tank has its own drain valve that is then plumbed together into a single pipe which also has a valve to prevent drippage when traveling, since everything is contained up inside the bay when you're on the road. The nice thing about this is that we can leave the gray valve open when parked for a long time, which happens with us a lot, and pull the black valve once or twice a week as needed. After dumping the black, we run enough water through the kitchen sink to flush out the drain hose and all is good. This system works great for us and if I were to do a system from scratch, I would definitely duplicate it. I'll be glad to post pictures if anyone is interested, Will

[Lin]

Simple is best, of course.  We have 100 gal fresh and 100gal gray/black.  There is a gray water bypass in the system so we can let it water the ground it needed or go to the drain by hose.  Generally, if we are hooked up, I prefer the let the gray go into the tank.  Every two days or so, I dump it and don't worry about what's left in the tank.  We do have a monitor system that, although not precise, gives a good idea of what's going on.  We also have a macerator for backup.  I find it to be useful if needed but certainly not preferable.  We lived in an earlier bus that required we use the macerator for the black since the drain was over 50 feet away.  We let the gray drain through the same hose by the bypass.  This stretched our dump intervals quite a bit, but dumping was a project.  You do have you have to.  I have not had a problem due to the lack of a separate gray tank, but if I were building from scratch, I would consider doing it that way, but don't know for sure which way I would go.

[babell2]

Arguments for not having a combined Grey/Black tank stand at if you ever come close to filling the tank.  With a separate Grey tank if the tank gets full and backs up in the shower you get stinky soapy water.  If it is a combined tank you get a little more than that. The latter you have a disinfecting job ahead of you. A little more intense than a rinse down.

[Sean]

It occurs to me I should mention here that I will be covering all these systems in my seminar in Arcadia this year.  The topic is "plumbing" but we will cover DWV systems in addition to fresh water, tankage, pumps, valves, dump options, and all manner of related items.

Hope to see you there.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com

[Chopper Scott]

I bought one of those little portable dump wagons after having my gray water tank get full after a long weekend with the grandkids! I used a cooler to drain it down that time and will never do that again. If you think gray water won't about gag ya guess again!!! Luckily I have the room for carrying the portable dump wagon but they take up a lot of storage room for something you may never need. I think I still like the idea of 2 seperate waste tanks but having the option of dumping some gray water into the black tanks seems like a pretty good idea.

[Lin]

Hey Van,

I saw your picture.  Is the 5 gallon bucket the system you were referring to?

[Van]

UH, HUH