Greywater Tank Fills Fast: Issues With Tanks in RVs You Should Know About

The problem of fast filling greywater tank in your RV is annoying. This usually happens because the tank may be clogged with some sludge or buildup. Or you just use the water supply system in your RV too intensively and the waste containers are being filled very fast. This poses several problems and sometimes doesn't allow you to use the vehicle the way you want to. So, in this article, I will explain you why this happens and what exactly you can do to solve the problem of the fast filling greywater tank.

What kinds and sizes of greywater tanks are there on the market?

Many modern RVs, motorhomes, fifth wheels, campers, and other types of equipment come equipped with greywater tanks. It means that you don’t need to buy one and pay some more money to have this facility on board. The main reason why you need it is that you can save up some clean water and use it afterward for your technical needs in the RV.

So, the first reason why your greywater tank is full so often is the size. Some water tanks are as little as 4 gallons only. They are cheap, but using them for gathering water from a sink and from a shower is virtually impossible. One person can take a shower with more than 4 gallons of water.

Of course, the majority of grey water tanks will be much bigger. Some of them even offer 150 gallons of capacity, but these tanks will only be found in huge and expensive RVs. Most of them will have a capacity between 32 and 36 gallons. This is a mid-sized tank that is quite enough for a family of three or four people to have a rest in nature for a weekend.

Please pay attention to what producers say. They say that 32 gallons of grey water a family can gather for a weekend. So if you need to take care of your greywater tank once every two days, it’s considered normal. You shouldn’t worry that something goes wrong with your equipment. Of course, we mean that during these two days every member of the family has some Navy shower, washed the dishes and hands quite often.

What water goes to the greywater tank in your RV?

Some people think that all kinds of water go to this tank and they call it a wastewater tank. But you also have a black water tank that gathers wastewater from your toilet. This water doesn’t go to the grey tank because it shouldn’t be reused or recycled – it should be just sent down the drain to save your health.

Greywater tanks gather all other kinds of water:

• water from your sink – you will wash the dishes and the water will be sent to a grey tank to be reused after that;
• water from any other facilities for washing your hands – this water is also safe to reuse in some spheres;
• water from your shower – this is another piece of equipment that is connected to the greywater tank.

Of course, this is a good idea to know what’s going on with your drain system in the RV, so please investigate this and maybe this will answer your initial question: Why does this tank fill up so quickly?

Maybe, you thought that only sink water goes to this tank, and you thought that you didn’t use 32 gallons of water to wash the dishes and hands. But you forgot about the shower which may be the major contributor to your greywater tank.

How is this water used after it gets to the tank?

In most cases, you will just dump the water from both tanks in special stations and it will be recycled afterward. But some modern RVs and motorhomes use special cleaning methods to prepare water from a grey water tank to be used for flushing your toilet or even for washing your hands again. So this water can be recycled. It should be cleaned from chemicals and grease in order to be used again. Also, you should maintain your tanks and recycling systems using proper chemicals and filters for them. This will let you make your rest eco-friendlier.

People who never take care of their tanks usually come to Google to ask what’s wrong with their grey water tanks. In most cases, these tanks will start being a pain in their necks after a month or two without proper care. Just search for some chemicals that are made for maintaining those tanks and forget about the most popular problems.

How to tell if your grey tank is full?

Sometimes people come to the service stations with their problems of quick filling of the grey water tank. But when mechanics investigate the issue, they come to the conclusion that the tank is actually never full. The problem may be connected with sensors and other instruments that just deceive the owner.

Here are some problems that may occur:

1. Condensation is formed overnight in a water tank which causes small drops of water to rest on all surfaces within the tank. It means that some water may also rest on a level sensor making it think the water tank is full.
2. The gauge may be faulty. Sometimes the problem is with the gauge and you should just calibrate it or replace it. Pay attention to what the gauge says when the tank is empty.
3. The tank may be clogged or dirty. For example, a thick layer of grease deposits may take some part of the tank’s capacity. It means that the tank will fill up faster because it doesn’t have its initial capacity anymore.
4. Something may be clogged in the system. Different grey water tanks have different connection systems, and something may be clogged because of grease or just because you haven’t been using the system for a long time.

What you actually need to do is to check physically how much water there is in your grey tank. But opening this tank is not the best idea. So, here are some factors that show the tank is full:

• the water from the sink and shower starts draining much slower;
• some dirty water may come out of your sink once you use the shower;
• some foam shows up from the shower drain hole.

The best option to check the amount of water in your grey tank is to dump it with measuring. Just look at how much water has been dumped from the tank and make your conclusions.

How to make a grey tank fill slowly?

You may want to know how you can save up your time with a small grey tank and make it fill up not so fast. We have some ideas for you, but many of them will require some changes in your RV routine.

Make sure you follow at least some of these tips:

• take Navy showers – quick and economical;
• use RV parking lots or camps where you can get access to facilities like shower, sink, etc.;
• wash your hands outside – for small tanks every single liter counts;
• consider buying a larger or a second grey water tank;
• build a system that allows you to use the greywater for flushing your toilet.

These are the simple things you can make to shorten the amount of greywater gathering in your tank. But bear in mind that most RVs should be well-balanced, so installing a 150-gallon tank instead of a stock 32-gallon one is not a very wise idea.

Final words

When you are about to use your RV, you need to be sure that your wastewater tanks are ready for the trip. Otherwise, you may have trouble with your weekend or holiday. But sometimes even after thorough preparation your grey water tank fills up immediately and makes you travel miles to find a place to dump the water.

In this case, read our advice in this article thoroughly and find answers to all of your questions. We investigated the problem and asked the mechanics of what they would do in this situation. And the answers are completely clear.