Black and Grey Tanks or Black/Grey Combination

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

If you were to convert another bus from scratch and you had a flush toilet, would you go with separate Black and Grey Tanks or a combination Black/Grey tank?

I have had both.  My 1967 Eagle has two separate tanks for gray and black.  My MC-7 Combo had a 250 gallon fresh water tank and a combination 250 gallon grey/black tank.  I liked that setup and would probably go with that again, with an option of draining the grey water off before it runs into the tank if I was boondocking in a place that allows that. 

I also like having big tanks as you generally pay a fixed price to dump your tanks no matter the size, when you do have to pay.  Having larger tanks also means less frequent trips to the dump station.  You do however have to be cognizant of the weight of the liquids in oversize tanks.  How much does grey/black water weigh per gallon?

Of course, you can always go with a Compost Toilet such as the Natures Head.  Then all you have to do is dig a hole in the ground and burry your waste.  Or how do they dispose of their waste?

Or, you can go with an Electric Toilet, as we had in an outhouse in the cabin we had on the lake growing up.  But that requires some serious electricity to burn up the waste.

What are your thoughts?

[Dave5Cs]

We rarely use our fresh water tank unless boondocking. All three of our tanks are only 45 gallon. Don;t know why the original builder went so small but our guess is they stayed in campsite at races being they were a race team who bought it when it was brought back to the states in Missouri.  If I did it again it would be 100 freshwater, 80 grey and 50 black. Right now we get three showers and dish washing out of the grey and the black tank is good for 6 days. I can't leave the bay door opened to leave the hose hooked up after a cat got in there for three days , Had to pull out stuff and steam clean it. Now I dump every two days on the grey. It's to low to go out the bottom of the bus.

[luvrbus]

Our MCI 5 and the 8 had the combo tank I never did like the combo all our other buses and RV's have always had separate tanks even Sonja's camper van has gray and black tanks 

[silversport]

I would do my build the same, 140 gal fresh, 90 gal gray, 90 gal black. Plumbed with the gray tank has an overflow to the black, in 12 year it was used may ten times. For dumping the gray tank goes though the black tank to exit the system. I have pulled my tanks (for other repairs/addons) and have found the gray tank always dirtier then the black. Dumping gray water on the ground is becoming less of an option. I never have like the compost ones for the big reason the liquid & solid must be separated and when Montezuma's Revenge hits you can have problems. With our set up we have boondocked for three weeks with out running out.

[dtcerrato]

Same for our fit. 75gray. 75 black, 100 potable, two 7-1/2gal portable potables, The gray & black are plumbed with 3'' drains that can be either or both combined. It's served us well 4-1/2 decades now.

[Van]

Just recently re-did the water bay with larger tanks, fresh and combined grey/black tanks. More room less stress. Last set was Ridiculously small (42gal) for the fulltiming we do as well as the size coach that we have. Do it your way, what ever floats yer boat (turds) lol!

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

Just recently re-did the water bay with larger tanks, fresh and combined grey/black tanks. More room less stress. Last set was Ridiculously small (42gal) for the fulltiming we do as well as the size coach that we have. Do it your way, what ever floats yer boat (turds) lol!

Did you go with those see-thru Black Water tanks you were talking about?   

[Van]

Did you go with those see-thru Black Water tanks you were talking about?   

 I did! Ordered from your Advertiser with inlets and outlets spec'd out to my Specifications. These tanks that Remco made were originally designed by Gary Bennett  for all of B&B Coach Works installs years ago. They are pricey today but well worth the money.

[rusty]

Separate gray and black. I like dump the black tank then send gray water through the black tank to help flush it. Works well in both Eagles
Wayne

[Jim Blackwood]

I went with separate, never much liked the idea of a combined tank, just because the gray tank tends to be the limiting factor. I'm aware out west you can't dump gray on the ground but I'll mostly stay in the east where usually you can. I'm not fitting a sinkerator so that means probably the worst thing in the gray will be laundry detergent. I don't expect that to be much of a problem and as much as it rains in the east I doubt they will ever change the regs, or at least not while it affects me. But regardless, it means I can offload the bulk of the waste water without having to find a sanitary dump location and the black tank is large enough to go a long time. Should I ever find I have to full-time in the bus that might be a consideration, and I can remember times when it certainly would have been. Circumstances can turn on a dime sometimes. My bus is my safety net. Should catastrophe befall us it still represents acceptably comfortable living quarters. Having made do in my life with a great deal less, I feel very fortunate to have that. I have experienced the Homeless life and once you have done that you will never see things quite the same again. By comparison the bus is a tremendous luxury. But to do it right it needs certain things. An unobtrusive means of disposing of waste materials is at the top of the list and the more you can take advantage of opportunities that already exist, the better. Now of course if you do have the luxury of doing things in the best possible way as most of us do there is little reason not to. But the last thing I'd want is to find myself with a full tank, (Because, showers) and no way to get rid of any of it.

Jim

[windtrader]

Onboard tanks: 120 fresh water, 120 gray and 60 black. There is a valve between gray to black and then to drain pipe. Dumping gray directly is not possible. The tanks are sized to suit our use pretty well. Start full fresh, empty gray and black. Once fresh is gone, it is mostly in the gray,s some black. Then filling 120 fresh and opening valve between bray and black allows for some usage and a buffer to organize.a dump in a few days. good compromise.

[mqbus767]

Separate. 2x100 gallon fresh, 1x100 gallon grey that sits above the 45 gallon black. Grey can dump directly out of the bus or through the black to rinse it out.

I don't have enough hours on the bus to determine if I would change anything, but I do like being able to use the grey water to flush the black.

[luvrbus]

Gray water stinks as much as the black tank, the food from eating, cooking and washing the dishes ferments, taking showers and it stinks, I never could see how washing the black tank with the bacteria in grey water would clean a black tank. I always washed both my tanks 

[Jim Blackwood]

The key to controlling stink is to have good air circulation in the tanks.

Jim

[luvrbus]

The key to controlling stink is to have good air circulation in the tanks.

Jim

Jim you ever walked behind a seated coach when the fans come on after a flush, not a nice smell for sure,the fans do keep the smell out of the inside though