By Doug Swarts
Drainmaster.com
Do you have a question regarding RV waste management? Email it to Doug at doug (at) drainmaster.com or call him at 877-787-8833.
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Dear Doug,
We see a lot of people dumping their holding tanks at RV parks and it seems there are a number of ways to do it. We all seem to know we dump the Black first and the Gray second. My question is: What is the proper procedure for connecting and disconnecting the hose? —Mel S.
Dear Mel,
Interestingly, this procedure is done a number of ways — some not so sanitary or environmentally friendly, as may have been evident when arriving at a new RV site. Lots of people dump their tanks then disconnect the hose from their RV and the sewer inlet and wash out the hose before storing it. The result is ground contamination around the sewer, electric and fresh water pedestal!
The proper way to connect your sewer hose is to first purchase a system that has protective caps on each end to ensure water left in the hose will be contained for storage. (The campground owner will thank you for being so considerate.)
First, remove your hose assembly and walk it to the ground sewer inlet. Remove the cap and insert the fitting, making sure it is secure and will not fall out. Then take the coach connection end to the RV, remove the sewer hose cap and place the opening under the cap on the RV sewer connection. Slowly remove the RV connection cap while holding the hose fitting under the outlet, which ensures any residual liquid in the piping will be captured by the hose and not drip on the ground. Connect the fitting and make sure it is tight and secure.
When you have checked to make sure the connections are sound and the hose is secure on the ground or in its support system, I recommend you open the gray valve for about 25 seconds, then close it! This is a safety precaution to make sure if you have a leak of any kind it will only be gray water that escapes. All is well. Now open the black valve and let the contents drain into the sewer. When empty, close the black valve and open the Gray valve until the contents are completely drained.
I will not go into the tank flushing process at this time.
Now it’s time to remove the hose waste transfer system. First, remove the hose connection from the RV, replace the cap hose then the cap on the RV. Retract the hose as you walk it back to the sewer inlet. This will drain the residual water, or most of it, from the inside of the hose. Lift the fitting from the sewer inlet and replace the cap. Return the sewer inlet cap, return and store your hose in the RV in an enclosed box or designated storage area.
By using this “first in, last out” method of attaching and detaching your transfer system, you will enjoy a more sanitary process of dumping as well as being environmentally friendly.
If you are looking for a system that eliminates a lot of the steps above, send us an email or call us for more information — We can make dumping holding tanks as simple as putting gas in your rig or car. You can also ask Chuck Woodbury, as he has our system on his coach.
Doug Swarts is the owner of Drain Master of Hollister, California, which specializes in RV, marine and industrial waste management. He is the co-inventor of the Waste Master hose and the inventor of the Drain Master electric valve dumping system. He can be reached at doug (at) drainmaster.com or at 877-787-8833.
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When disconnecting, I leave the hose inserted into the sewer opening, then hold the other end up in the air a bit and run fresh water into the sewer hose, two or three ‘hose fills’ rinses the hose and don’t let the fresh water hose touch the sewer hose when rinsing. After disconnecting from the sewer inlet, any excess water coming out is clean, no problems and the hose never has an odor when I reconnect at a later date.
Doug: I believe you’re selling an (inside control) electric valve system? That does nothing at all to help with sanitation issues, since moving the valve handles isn’t where contamination comes from anyway. There is no system that doesn’t require handling the “stinky slinky” at some point. Even permanent electric pump macerators require a garden hose output to be connected.
Robbie: 1) NO… as Doug pointed out, end-to-end only helps spread contamination. You can (should?) do e2e with your water hoses to keep them clean/prevent dribbles in your storage, but not your sewer hose. 2) TOTALLY agree with how gross people are at sites that have potable next to the rinse-out faucet (and many people don’t know the difference). I’ve learned to NEVER use such a fill-spigot, insisting on either bringing my own fresh tank full ala boondocking (yeah, wasted weight and gas) or finding a fillup spigot FAR from the dump station. 3) People’s poor hygeine / insanely long dumpsite lines have driven me to getting a macerator pump and dumping at home. Originally for post-boondock dumpings, I’ve found it’s SO much cleaner and easier that I increasingly skip the campground dumpsites as well. No Hepatitis in my own driveway.
Wolfe,
You are correct our — electronic dump valves do nothing for sanitation issues, however, coupled with our permanently connected via our industrial grade Cam Loc fittings and hose system with a shut off valve in the nozzle, sure does! You do have to take hold of the nozzle (just like a gas pump nozzle) pull the nozzle out and secure it in the ground inlet, THEN open the nozzle, go back and dump your tanks. When finished go to the sewer inlet, CLOSE the nozzle before removing it from the sewer inlet, then simply retract the hose/nozzle back to its storage space. If equipped, the hose can be extended and retracted automatically using air pressure. The electronic valves allow you to dump from the comfort of your RV on bad weather days and the valves are set up so you can dump with your phone. I know it sounds crazy, but that is exactly what is coming. Chuck will be posting a video on how his system works so watch for it in an upcoming newsletter. You can also contact me for more information if you are interested. You could be going to a formal dinner and stop to dump your tanks, NO rubber gloves required! Drain Master dot com or 877 787 8833 Toll Free
Robbie,
I probably would NOT connect the sewer end of my hose to the coach end of my hose, mainly because the sewer end comes in contact with lots more contamination than does the coach end.I guess if you are using lots of Clorox it would help. Also lots of folks store their hose in a tube. The rubber glove issue is another one not thought out well by most folks. With our waste transfer system installed properly on an RV the need for gloves is eliminated, check us out at Drain Master .com or call me 877 787 8833.
Instead of carrying those extra caps, why not just attach the ends of the sewer hose together? My complaint is with people who put the sewer hose over the drinking water faucet and wash it out. I always carry clorox water and spray the water faucet first before connecting my drinking water hose. And what’s with those who use the same gloves over and over, including leather gloves when connecting or disconnecting the sewer hoses….then, they handle their water hoses, touch other equipment before taking them off…..and then, there are those who wear no protection at all and could care less about the threat of hepatitis.