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Old 07-21-2020, 04:26 PM   #1
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Exclamation Tank capacities

I have a 2019 E19.
Today, while flushing my tanks, I decided just for fun to measure their capacities and correlate the volume to the readout on the panel.
I was quite surprised at what I found out. FWIW, I added just 80 Litres to the Grey tank before it began to come out of the floor drain in the bathroom. That converts to 21.13 US gallons, or 17.59 Imp. gallons, far short off the 28 gallons in the Escape literature. The black tank accepted only 50 litres, 13 US, or 10.99 Imperial, once again far short of the 19 gal. in the brochure. I'm not impressed!~
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Old 07-21-2020, 06:19 PM   #2
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Very interesting. I've found grey water capacity to be limiting for us and I'm considering getting one of those portable transporters. I'm considering what size would be best, and if the tank is only holding 21 gallons that certainly changes things.

How did you add the water? Is there any chance your hot water was getting added to the fresh water?
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Old 07-21-2020, 06:33 PM   #3
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I don't want to know since there's nothing I can do about it.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 07-21-2020, 06:41 PM   #4
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I didn't measure the fresh water, since I assumed the tank would be the same as the grey. The brochure lists both as 28 gallon.
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Old 07-21-2020, 07:43 PM   #5
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How did you check for full on the black?
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Old 07-21-2020, 08:12 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R.Best View Post
I have a 2019 E19.
Today, while flushing my tanks, I decided just for fun to measure their capacities and correlate the volume to the readout on the panel.
I was quite surprised at what I found out. FWIW, I added just 80 Litres to the Grey tank before it began to come out of the floor drain in the bathroom. That converts to 21.13 US gallons, or 17.59 Imp. gallons, far short off the 28 gallons in the Escape literature. The black tank accepted only 50 litres, 13 US, or 10.99 Imperial, once again far short of the 19 gal. in the brochure. I'm not impressed!~
What did you use to measure the water you were putting in?
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Old 07-21-2020, 09:01 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by R.Best View Post
I didn't measure the fresh water, since I assumed the tank would be the same as the grey. The brochure lists both as 28 gallon.

Sounds like a conspiracy to me.
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Old 07-21-2020, 11:28 PM   #8
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To measure the tank capacity I filled a 4 litre milk jug and dumped it into the tanks repeatedly until they were full. The black tank was full when the water was backing up into the neck just below the bottom of the bowl. I obviously have too much time on my hands, but it was an interesting exercise. Could there be some false advertising here??
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Old 07-22-2020, 12:33 AM   #9
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Very interesting, never thought of testing this, surprising to say the least
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Old 07-22-2020, 02:01 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R.Best View Post
To measure the tank capacity I filled a 4 litre milk jug and dumped it into the tanks repeatedly until they were full. The black tank was full when the water was backing up into the neck just below the bottom of the bowl. I obviously have too much time on my hands, but it was an interesting exercise. Could there be some false advertising here??
I always wondered about the tank capacity too. Pat
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Old 07-22-2020, 05:09 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R.Best View Post
To measure the tank capacity I filled a 4 litre milk jug and dumped it into the tanks repeatedly until they were full. The black tank was full when the water was backing up into the neck just below the bottom of the bowl. I obviously have too much time on my hands, but it was an interesting exercise.
Was the trailer level?

How did you ensure the tanks were completely empty before starting to fill them?

Quote:
Originally Posted by R.Best View Post
Could there be some false advertising here??
Unlikely, as I'm sure tank capacity listed is based on physical volume. There are a number of factors that can impact how much usable capacity there is compared to actual capacity.
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Old 07-22-2020, 05:29 AM   #12
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I had done mine a yew years ago for the purpose of checking the level meter accuracy, or maybe inaccuracy would be a better word. Different trailer different year, but my tanks were what they were supposed to be. I filled the tanks then emptied them into a 5 gallon pail to measure.
It'd be interesting to have someone else give it a shot on their 19.
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Old 07-22-2020, 07:51 AM   #13
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Can’t speak to the accuracy of Escapes published tank capacity but I know on our Casita the gray tank was listed as 32 US Gallons , in actuality the tank was a 40 gallon tank
Casita made allowances for how the plumbing was installed and showed the actual useable volume
I would believe that Escapes tank volumes are accurate, whether all that volume is actually useable is another question .
I doubt Escape is engaged in a some sort of conspiracy as one person suggested
I am not going to worry about it as long as the plumbing works satisfactory for our purposes , at this point tank size is just an academic discussion
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Old 07-22-2020, 09:23 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by R.Best View Post
To measure the tank capacity I filled a 4 litre milk jug and dumped it into the tanks repeatedly until they were full. The black tank was full when the water was backing up into the neck just below the bottom of the bowl. I obviously have too much time on my hands, but it was an interesting exercise. Could there be some false advertising here??
Could be that your milk jug was measuring in imperial litres rather than metric litres.
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Old 07-22-2020, 10:28 AM   #15
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Black tank

I think the black tank on a E21is pretty accurate we have a 21 gallon porta tank that fills almost to the brim when emptying just the black tank We empty the grey tank just a little to clean line . Then empty the grey tank by itself Jim W
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Old 07-22-2020, 10:34 AM   #16
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Black tank

We just emptied the black tank into our porta tank 21 gal. And it was almost to the brim then let a little 1-2gallons of grey water to flush out hose So it seems the black tank is over 20 gallons for sure Actually I think water is 28 g plus 6 g for the hot water heater so 34 g to use At our RV club we have to carry our own water in about 1/4 mile from spigot we fill a 5 1/2gallon tank and
it takes about 6 Tanks to fill
Black tank 22 g
Fresh water 28 g
Grey water 28g
As per brochure

JimW
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Old 07-22-2020, 11:09 AM   #17
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Okay. I could not leave this unchecked, so I measured the tank on my 2019 19'. It measures 49" x 20"x 7" outside. Subtracting an estimated 1/8 of an inch off each side for tank wall thickness (or a total of 1/4 " off each outside measurement} you get 48.75" x 19.75" x 6.75" which is 4,499 cubic inches. This translates to 106.5 liters, or 28.1 US Gallons, or 24.4 Imperial Gallons.

I would be willing to bet that a dairy puts milk into a jug based on the measured amount going in rather than filling the jug full. The milk is cold when it goes in but I would think the jug would be oversized enough to allow for expansion of the milk if it gets warm so it does not flow over. Note that when you open a new, cold, sealed 4 liter milk jug some air rushes in. Based on these assumptions I would say measuring the tank is more accurate than using a milk jug.

Therefore, if Escape is stating its volume for the grey tank in US gallons it is correct (I could not find clarification of US or Imperial in the brochure). I am not going to bother to check the other tanks but if anyone else wants to, fill your boots. I am going to guess the factory numbers will be correct there for US gallons as well.

We can all rest easy now.
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Old 07-22-2020, 11:16 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark B1 View Post
Okay. I could not leave this unchecked, so I measured the tank on my 2019 19'. It measures 49" x 20"x 7" outside. Subtracting an estimated 1/8 of an inch off each side for tank wall thickness (or a total of 1/4 " off each outside measurement} you get 48.75" x 19.75" x 6.75" which is 4,499 cubic inches. This translates to 106.5 liters, or 28.1 US Gallons, or 24.4 Imperial Gallons.

I would be willing to bet that a dairy puts milk into a jug based on the measured amount going in rather than filling the jug full. The milk is cold when it goes in but I would think the jug would be oversized enough to allow for expansion of the milk if it gets warm so it does not flow over. Note that when you open a new, cold, sealed 4 liter milk jug some air rushes in. Based on these assumptions I would say measuring the tank is more accurate than using a milk jug.

Therefore, if Escape is stating its volume for the grey tank in US gallons it is correct (I could not find clarification of US or Imperial in the brochure). I am not going to bother to check the other tanks but if anyone else wants to, fill your boots. I am going to guess the factory numbers will be correct there for US gallons as well.

We can all rest easy now.
Thank you, math and science are awesome.
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Old 07-22-2020, 11:38 AM   #19
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We are satisfied with the tank sizes on our 21, I have no cause to doubt the posted capacities by ETI. I don’t think there is a black tank conspiracy or a grey tank conspiracy. I think I’m gonna drown some night crawlers and not worry about it unless I find out there’s a catfish conspiracy.
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Old 07-22-2020, 12:02 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by Perryb67 View Post
I don't want to know since there's nothing I can do about it.


While all this may be academically interesting, would knowing the 'actual gallons/liters usable capacity under some ideal condition of level' ...
  • Make any difference in the decision to purchase an Escape?
  • Affect how you actually use your trailer day-to-day?
Methinks most of us quickly get a 'practical feel' for how tankage works for our use habits and adjust our behaver accordingly for the situation at hand ... the volume in some specific unit of measure has little to do with it, in that respect 'it is what it is'.
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