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Old 01-28-2017, 10:50 PM   #1
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Gray water tank capacity concern

So, our new 2017 21' Escape TT is supposed to have a 28 gallon capacity. However, today, I conducted an experiment and discovered that at 21 gallons, our shower stall started to back up.

The trailer was perfectly level both ways and was drained completely before I began my experiment.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this issue?

Signed...befuddled.
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Old 01-28-2017, 10:54 PM   #2
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Is it possible that there was still water in the tank after draining?
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Old 01-28-2017, 10:58 PM   #3
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I let it drain until there was barely a trickle.
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Old 01-28-2017, 11:01 PM   #4
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My gray tank never drains completely unless the trailer is tipped / slanted in just the right direction. I've got up to 5 additional gallons out of the gray tank by pitching the trailer after completely dumping at a dump station.
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Old 01-29-2017, 12:04 AM   #5
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My gray tank never drains completely unless the trailer is tipped / slanted in just the right direction. I've got up to 5 additional gallons out of the gray tank by pitching the trailer after completely dumping at a dump station.
Just note, Steve's trailer is a Casita, so who knows if this is relevant.
Perhaps Escape mounts the grey tank so that it slopes toward the drain. Not sure if that's the case or not.
Patio decks and sidewalks are routinely sloped to shed water. Doesn't take much slope.
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Old 01-29-2017, 12:39 AM   #6
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Escape gray tanks are known to often take a very long time draining and even then one may expect that it is not nearly drained.
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Old 01-29-2017, 12:45 AM   #7
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Just note, Steve's trailer is a Casita, so who knows if this is relevant.
Perhaps Escape mounts the grey tank so that it slopes toward the drain. Not sure if that's the case or not.


Hmmmm...interesting. Now that you mention it, we had to do a vent mod in our Casita which allowed more gray water to drain.
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Old 01-29-2017, 01:08 AM   #8
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Escape gray tanks are known to often take a very long time draining and even then one may expect that it is not nearly drained.

It took about 7 minutes to drain 21 gallons that I poured into the kitchen sink all the way down to a small trickle.
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Old 01-29-2017, 06:05 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
Just note, Steve's trailer is a Casita, so who knows if this is relevant.
Perhaps Escape mounts the grey tank so that it slopes toward the drain. Not sure if that's the case or not.
Patio decks and sidewalks are routinely sloped to shed water. Doesn't take much slope.
While in storage (on my property), my 5.0TA is level. Also, the gray tank valve is open because I run a dehumidifier in it year round to combat humidity. So that I do not have to dump the bucket every couple of days when humidity is very high, I use the hose option and let it drain into the sink, through the grey tank, through a "sewer" cap with a hose cap, and through a hose which waters the root zone of a citrus tree outside of the carport. While in storage I occasionally jack up each side to manually rotate the tires. I can confirm that when the passenger side is jacked up, although I have not attempted to measure it, a lot of water will come out of the grey tank.
If grey tank capacity is an issue for someone camping in a given location for an extended time period, I would recommend a large blue tote tank (I believe mine is 32 gallons and is made by Barker). Although somewhat expensive, the larger ones have pneumatic tires and can be dragged with the tow vehicle to the dump station by hooking the handle over the trailer ball. I chose the 32 gallon size because it can hold the full capacity of either holding tank. I use mine sometimes at home if I fail to dump on the road; I simply drag it to the septic clean out and dump it into the septic tank. IMO, Barker Totes are of much more durable than those made by Thetford.
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Old 01-29-2017, 06:18 AM   #10
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Same on a 19'. Ours is in a garage and when I just up the passenger side to rotate the tires I can catch more water in a bucket. Sometimes several gallons.
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Old 01-29-2017, 08:37 AM   #11
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Dear Befuddled,

Just curious if your tank indicators are showing the gray to be empty? If so, and if, when the trailer has been tilted to completely drain, you still can only put 21 gallons in, then it would appear a lot of air is being trapped in the tank. (Wow! I got to use 4 commas in one sentence, proper or not, it was certainly fun).

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Old 01-29-2017, 09:13 AM   #12
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I know on my 19 it was impossible to fully drain the grey tank unless I put blocks under the passenger tires to tip it. Otherwise it just slowed to a trickle, and never fully emptied. It does not look to be a lot better under the 5.0TA, though I have yet to try it.

The reason for this is, is to keep the exposed valve as high as possible. With the black tank high and inside, there is no issue draining it, but with the drain coming off the side of the grey tank, and with a very shallow slope (if any) to the valve, this leaves some inside the tank with the valve open.
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:24 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C&G in FL View Post
I run a dehumidifier in it year round to combat humidity. So that I do not have to dump the bucket every couple of days when humidity is very high, I use the hose option and let it drain into the sink, through the grey tank, through a "sewer" cap with a hose cap, and through a hose which waters the root zone of a citrus tree outside of the carport.
Not to hijack the thread, but this sounds like a good idea for folks in high-humidity locations. Do you mind telling me which dehumidifier you use?

I've noticed that my gray water tank fills up noticeably quicker if my trailer is even slightly off-level side-to-side.
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:39 AM   #14
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Draining

Hi Fred
Here's a picture of our 19 on winterizing day late last fall. It had drained overnight on the dead flat garage approach, with the cap open over a shallow pan and was "dry". I pulled it ahead off the driveway a bit and probably got three or more gallons of grey to drain out. Just my experience. The second picture shows the dried residue(scale) that was in the hot water tank after it was flushed the day before. I experienced a tiny bit of water in the shower floor pan once because I forgot to pull the valve when hooked up for a couple days. Now I pull it each morning and flush the system and then close it just in case there would be a sewer gas backup.
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Old 01-29-2017, 12:29 PM   #15
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It took about 7 minutes to drain 21 gallons that I poured into the kitchen sink all the way down to a small trickle.
When we have sewer hook-ups, I now drain my tanks in the afternoon or evening. While the black tank drains very quickly, the gray tank trickles for 30-45 minutes. Just enough time to wash my hands and enjoy a cool beverage. Oh, and a little elevation to the curb side helps.
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Old 01-29-2017, 01:34 PM   #16
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Makes sense the Grey isn't completely draining. I thought mine was emptied and didn't secure the shower drain. When I got home I had the slosh back mess in the shower pan, so must not be emptying all the way.
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Old 01-29-2017, 03:29 PM   #17
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Makes sense the Grey isn't completely draining. I thought mine was emptied and didn't secure the shower drain. When I got home I had the slosh back mess in the shower pan, so must not be emptying all the way.
I would think any water on the shower pan would have to have come from the p-trap. That water is there to keep odors from the tank from entering the bath. The solution is to close the shower drain, like it says in the manual.
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Old 01-29-2017, 07:24 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Mike Lewis View Post
Not to hijack the thread, but this sounds like a good idea for folks in high-humidity locations. Do you mind telling me which dehumidifier you use?

I've noticed that my gray water tank fills up noticeably quicker if my trailer is even slightly off-level side-to-side.
Mike, I use a Hisense 30 pint/day dehumidifier I bought at Lowe's. It is a compressor type dehumidifier. When we travel we have an Ecoseb 15 pint/day desiccant type dehumidifier. When I use it, even in cold weather (20s and 30s) I get very little condensation on the windows and/or the walls. I don't like the clammy feeling when humidity exceeds 50%.
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Old 01-29-2017, 08:42 PM   #19
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Thanks. I have the insulation package and dual-pane windows, so I don't really notice the humidity on the walls and windows, but then I tend not to notice things like that. I was concerned about humidity due to it possibly damaging the trailer's interior over time.
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:05 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by H46Driver View Post
Dear Befuddled,

Just curious if your tank indicators are showing the gray to be empty? If so, and if, when the trailer has been tilted to completely drain, you still can only put 21 gallons in, then it would appear a lot of air is being trapped in the tank. (Wow! I got to use 4 commas in one sentence, proper or not, it was certainly fun).

Signed,
Dear Abby
You are allowed to put a comma anywhere you want for a pause, after any, and every, word, if you like. Totally proper.
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