Grey Water Tank Fix

[happyhiker]

Just wanted to report back that I finally got around to measuring my grey tank capacity on my CL 14 DB.  The stated capacity when I bought it was 32 gallons, but it would never hold that amount.  So I measured it, one gallon at a time through the sink and it held 17 gallons.  I tried replacing the Air Admittance valve, but that did nothing. 

So, I pulled the bracket screws out, dropped the tank and cut off 1 3/4 inches off of the vent pipe.  Problem solved.  It now holds 32 gallons and it drains faster than ever.  The pipe length was around  5 7/8 total distance and I wanted to be conservative with the cut.  As noted in the old forum posts, the pipe that fits in the tank needs at least 2 inches and I wanted to allow some extra length just to be sure.

For now, I am not going to worry about the black tank.  Hopefully that will never become an issue, although it likely has the same problem.

I would note that the hardest part of this job was getting the gaskets back on the gate valve and pulling the tank down.  I also replaced a couple of the bracket screws which were just spinning in place. 

For those interested, the old forum link is here:  http://archive.aluminiumcamperforum.com/index.php?topic=822.msg25744#msg25744

And by the way, thanks to Sean and Paul and whoever else played a part in adding the old forum archive.  Very much appreciated!!!

[Merlin]

Good work!

Since the black tank can "vent" every time the toilet is used (no trap), it's not the same kind of problem. With too long a vent stack pipe (like was on the grey tank), the worst the black tank can do is burp through the toilet when flushing. So, stand back and you'll be fine  At least you'll have full capacity.

[Paul]

I wonder if mine as a problem too I never measured but I am too lazy to check lol maybe I should check

[happyhiker]

Thanks Merlin for information about the Black.  That certainly makes sense.  I hope I don't get even close to a nasty black tank burp.

As for the measurement which Paul mentioned, I went on a long trip in 2014 and always found myself trying to off load grey water in the fire ring.  I am planning another big trip this year and knew I would like to be able to go more than 2-3 days before worring about getting full of grey water.   It is a hassle to measure it out, but it seemed like the only way to know for sure what was going on with the tank.  Proper venting of the tank made all of the difference.  I thought about banging on LL to get this fixed but I figured it would take more time getting them to respond and hauling it to a repair facility.  An experienced handyman could probably do this job in a couple of hours.  For me, it was pretty much an all day affair.   

[charliem]

I wonder if mine as a problem too I never measured but I am too lazy to check lol maybe I should check

Paul,

Not a problem for you with your seasonal site. Just means you have to drain more often or leave the gray valve open when you're there.

[Paul]

I wonder if mine as a problem too I never measured but I am too lazy to check lol maybe I should check

Paul,

Not a problem for you with your seasonal site. Just means you have to drain more often or leave the gray valve open when you're there.

Yes you are right, I never really had a problem because I can just go and empty it, the only problem I had when I had no hookup was having not enough water