Human waste is a taboo subject, and many people are afraid
of offending others or being offended by it. The idea of hauling around all
that "stuff" is not a pleasant thought, so they do whatever it takes
to neutralize the offensive matter.
I haven't used any chemicals in the 10 years I've been living in my rig, and
have never had any trouble with blockage or any odor problems except for a
couple of times when I've been parked for a week in hot weather with no place
to dump. I doubt that a tankful of chemicals would have made any difference in
that situation.
Once you start using the "Blue Stuff" or other chemicals that inhibit
the normal biological processes, you're hooked. Nothing else works afterwards,
including the bacterial products, until all the residual chemical is gone from
your tank. This can take several dump and flush cycles and in the meantime your
tank stinks. Many people don't have enough patience to see the process through
and go back to the "quick fix".
The real problem is the bacteria-inhibiting action of the Blue Stuff doesn't
end at your tank. A couple of years ago Good Sam held a major rally near
Portland, OR. After the event many rigs used a dump station at a highway rest
area that connected to a small town's municipal sewage system. They deposited
enough bacteria-inhibiting chemicals into the system that the town's treatment
plant shut down. Needless to say the local townspeople were not amused.
If you are getting odor or splash-back from your toilet when the tank is less
than full, you have a problem with the tank vent. It's either plugged or more
likely, is extending too far into the tank.
Normally when you flush, the air in the tank that is displaced by the toilet
contents is released through the vent pipe to the outdoors. If the vent is
plugged or submerged the only way the displaced air can come out of the tank is
to return through the toilet.
On mine, this happens when the contents get within a half inch from the top. I
can see the tank level by looking down through the toilet, and dump before it
gets this high. There isn't much capacity left at that point anyway.
The other trick is to pre-charge the tank with a few gallons of water after you
dump. This fills the outlet pipe and wets the bottom of the tank, so stuff
spreads out and starts to break down instead of staying exposed to the air. If
you are using chemicals, pre-charging will let you use less because the
chemicals will spread throughout the tank instead of congregating in the outlet
pipe.
Blue Stuff is addictive to your tank - once you use it nothing else works until
all of it's residue is gone. Your tank -will- stink for a while after using
Blue Stuff (several dump cycles) until the residue is gone and the bacteria can
establish themselves.
Start with a large amount of water in your tank - 10 - 15 gallons isn't too
much. Once the bacteria have established themselves you can cut back on the
water, but do pre-charge with some after you dump. I usually put about 5
gallons in my tank by filling the toilet bowl and flushing several times. This
does several things - it fills the outlet pipe with (mostly) fresh water, so
stuff doesn't accumulate around the dump valve, it provides a moist environment
to keep the bacteria alive, and it lets the solids spread out and decompose
instead of drying out in the air.
*
Lou's comments originally appeared on an Escapees Group discussion forum.