Slow grey water dumping?

[jcfezell]

Our 2013 Escape 19 is slow dumping the grey tank also. I've tried pulling the right wheels up on blocks but it didn't seem to help much. Not a big deal but aggravating when other folks are waiting in line at a dump station.

[Parker]

If you look under the Escape, you'll see that the gray water tank is very broad and doesn't have any vertical drop to the drain. It drains off the bottom of the side of the tank. The black water tank, on the other hand, sits higher, is smaller horizontally, and has a vertical drop into the drain. The result is higher pressure for draining. It drains in no time, which is what we'd like to see with the gray water. But the gray water is just not going to do as well the way the system is configured (which is very similar to Casitas, where people also talk about slow draining). Raising the passenger side is about the only thing that will speed things up. I like to get the tank as empty as possible, but I don't worry too much about leaving a little in there, especially if someone is waiting behind me. It's a little more forgiving than not completely dumping the black water.

[CADreamin]

Had to revisit this thread as we were becoming a little concerned about the fact that our grey water tank always reads 1/3 full no matter how much we try to drain it. We've tried raising the passenger side a bit, jumping up and down, flushing through more water but nothing budges it lower than 1/3. Feel better knowing we're not alone ...

[JimJ]

You're not alone. Our 15B also seems to stay on 1/3 for quite some time. It seems to go to zero only after a period of storage between trips. Perhaps it just needs to be REALLY dry. I'm interested in the experience of others also.

[techfan]

Originally Posted by JimJ

You're not alone. Our 15B also seems to stay on 1/3 for quite some time. It seems to go to zero only after a period of storage between trips. Perhaps it just needs to be REALLY dry. I'm interested in the experience of others also.

Ours also reads 1/3 full even when I was flushing it Saturday. That means the valve and cap were fully open. I even hosed the sensors to no avail. I am going to add measured gallons to see if the 2/3 full is accurate.

[jamman]

It really helps to tip the trailer up on the passenger side if you want to empty the gray tank. Either a sloped dump site or run the passenger side tire(s) up on some (un)leveling blocks.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by techfan

I am going to add measured gallons to see if the 2/3 full is accurate.

I haven't looked, but I wonder how close the 1/3 full sensor is to the bottom of the tank. It would be really interesting to start with a level trailer, totally dry tank, and then add water a gallon at a time. With such a small flow coming out of the drain when it's still reading 1/3, either the sensor must be really close to the bottom of the tank, or there is enough water clinging to the wall of the tank to form a conduction path. The gray tank is about as simple as anything can be, and there is just no way there is 8+ gallons of gray water in there when it's trickling out. So I essentially ignore the 1/3 reading and start paying attention at 2/3 when we're camping.

[Donna D.]

Slow gray water draining is a big thing on the CasitaForum and one of Larry Gambles biggest mods in the Little House Customs. Surely y'all don't need to drive up on blocks to drain? That's sooo Casita....

[Parker]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Surely y'all don't need to drive up on blocks to drain? That's sooo Casita....

"Y'all" will be "WE" as soon as you get your 5'er! I think it's a different issue. If I remember correctly, Larry's Casita mod was to go to a larger diameter drain pipe, not because the original is too small, but boring out the side of the gray tank and installing a larger diameter pipe had the effect of penetrating the tank at a lower point on the side and then maintaining this low level all the way to the exit. I just don't think there is that much gray water left in the Escape's tank by the time it drops to little more than a trickle, which isn't all that long.

[J Mac]

Will bilge pumps be next on the build sheets and mods lists?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Parker

"Y'all" will be "WE" as soon as you get your 5'er! I think it's a different issue. If I remember correctly, Larry's Casita mod was to go to a larger diameter drain pipe, not because the original is too small, but boring out the side of the gray tank and installing a larger diameter pipe had the effect of penetrating the tank at a lower point on the side and then maintaining this low level all the way to the exit. I just don't think there is that much gray water left in the Escape's tank by the time it drops to little more than a trickle, which isn't all that long.

Bite your tongue! Casitas are nice trailers, but yeah... I have the same issue with my Scamp (don't tell anyone!). The gray water drain is about 1" to 1-1/2 inch above the bottom level of the tank... because it's on the "side" not the bottom of the tank. THAT's why I always put a couple of gallons of fresh water into the gray water tank (after the dump) to make sure any stinky water is diluted.

My 5er is going to be prestine... no stinky water, ever

yeah... right...

[Stargeezer]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Bite your tongue! Casitas are nice trailers, but yeah... I have the same issue with my Scamp (don't tell anyone!). The gray water drain is about 1" to 1-1/2 inch above the bottom level of the tank... because it's on the "side" not the bottom of the tank. THAT's why I always put a couple of gallons of fresh water into the gray water tank (after the dump) to make sure any stinky water is diluted.

My 5er is going to be prestine... no stinky water, ever

yeah... right...

Likewise... after about two weeks, our grey tank indicator is fixed at 1/3...

In the 5.0 TA the grey tank is 30 gal. Because it hangs below the mould and is clearly visible... plus translucent, I can see the actual level of the water in the tank (same with the fresh). When I dumped the grey... no water in tank (never mind 1/3... 10 gal), but the indicator read 1/3... Go Figure...

Drain pipe level to tank connection does not come anywhere near to contributing to this issue.

No big deal really, since I can gauge the fill by looking at the tank... Then again, one can simply leave the shower drain unplugged and wait till the floor starts to fill up. Chances are, at that point, the grey tank is full... LOL...

Good luck on the "pristine" Donna... LOL...

[CADreamin]

Tim - Will be really interested in your results.

[padlin]

On the Escapes are the bottom of the tanks angled down towards the side with the exit pipe? I can see it very pronounced on my stick built, at least on the black, not so much on the gray.

[Parker]

I haven't looked under there in a while, but I'm pretty sure they are close to flat (and level) across the bottom.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by padlin

On the Escapes are the bottom of the tanks angled down towards the side with the exit pipe? I can see it very pronounced on my stick built, at least on the black, not so much on the gray.

Black waste tanks which mount to the underside of the trailer floor usually have a substantial slope moulded into them, but Escape (as is common in this size and type of trailer) uses a black tank sitting on top of the floor (under the raised-base toilet). It likely has a nearly flat bottom (otherwise how would it mount?), but the discharge is straight out the bottom of the tank (through a hole in the floor) - not out the side - so flow is less of an issue.

[Parker]

Exactly. And there is enough vertical drop beneath the black tank that things happen quickly! Not so with the gray tank draining off the side.

[Ron in BC]

The slow draining of the grey water tank compared to our previous Scamp did catch our attention.

The major difference between the two brands is that on the Scamp the grey water drain is 3", the same diameter as the black water. On the Escape the grey water piping is 1 1/2" so that has to be a factor also.

Given that the grey water tank is much more shallow, the top of which is under the trailer floor and the top of the black water tank is higher than the floor, with more head, it's not surprising that the grey water's slower to drain. But still....it seems to take forever. Maybe it's the watched kettle thing

Ron

[Parker]

I don't purport to be a gray water expert, but I've had fun with this topic. Initially, when you open the valve on the gray water drain, the water rushes right out. Then, what takes forever is the slow draining of remaining water that flows out at the bottom of the drain pipe, at a depth of maybe 1/2" at most. I don't think a larger drain diameter would speed things up very much, since this is the time consuming part of the event. The head is generated by the top of the water level relative to the drain (not the height of the top of the tank) and after that initial, satisfying rush of gray water, the head is reduced to almost nothing so the flow drops in proportion.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Parker

I don't purport to be a gray water expert, but I've had fun with this topic. Initially, when you open the valve on the gray water drain, the water rushes right out. Then, what takes forever is the slow draining of remaining water that flows out at the bottom of the drain pipe, at a depth of maybe 1/2" at most. I don't think a larger drain diameter would speed things up very much, since this is the time consuming part of the event. The head is generated by the top of the water level relative to the drain (not the height of the top of the tank) and after that initial, satisfying rush of gray water, the head is reduced to almost nothing so the flow drops in proportion.

Just bring a block or two of wood to place under your curb side wheels when you dump and it will tilt the grey tank enough to drain more quickly.