Mounting blackwater tank inside

Roasting8 · 10-09-2008, 10:26 PM

Smitty,

The only draw back to having the waste tank inside is if you ever develop a leak. A leak would surely make a mess out of the interior. If you're worried about the tank freezing, you can always insulate the tank and vent some heat to it.

the_experience03 · 10-09-2008, 10:30 PM

I would just worry about...er....flow. You will often see that the black water tank is mounted directly below the toilet to maximize the effects of gravity. The flushing mechanism on many RV toilets is pretty lack luster. If you don't mind mounting the throne on a bit of an alter then why not put the blackwater tank inside, but directly below the toilet? A 3x3x1 foot tank under the toilet would hold 67 gallons!

wtd · 10-10-2008, 08:16 PM

Toilet over tank inside seems reasonable - pretty much just a homemade Porta-Pottie that's not so 'Porta' ...

Roasting8 · 10-10-2008, 08:36 PM

Hey Smitty,

I wouldn't worry about the tank leaking, I would worry more about the hose connections and valves. If the tank is outside the only thing that a leak would do is stink up the road (you can always wash it off or drive away). If it leaks inside of the bus then you stink up the bus.

Thats the only drawback that I can think of.

the_experience03 · 10-10-2008, 09:06 PM

Jeez...I read it wrong as you wanting the tank under the bed with a pipe going from the throne across and into it and I was thinking either the toilet was going to need a ladder to get to it or the angle was going to cause problems. Aside from the obvious leakage risk I see no problem with this configuration. A secondary "containment bunker" in the form of a sealed box around it could really help. Seal the box surrounding the tank aside from the top, make sure it has the volume to hold the entire quantity of yuck that might leak out, and I think you're good. A little silicone or rubber stripping on the top plate and you might never know if you sprung a leak.

staggerlee917 · 10-11-2008, 12:14 PM

Or you could just save water entirely and install a compost toilet

I'm looking into this idea myself... just picked up a book called "Humanure" all about the subject... intriguing read.

staggerlee917 · 10-11-2008, 12:44 PM

Actually just found a copy of Humanure published online by a non-profit...

http://weblife.org/humanure/default.html

SeanF · 10-14-2008, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bender477

i personally wouldn't be fond of the smell of decomposing human feces in my coach .

Nor would anyone else. That's why venting is used.

GoneCamping · 10-18-2008, 08:04 PM

Venting isn't the only concern when it comes down to oders. Given enough time the tank itself begins to smell funny. Also, input connections like the slip fittings for tanks work well, seal 'fairly well' too, but if you fill that tank and not empty it before realizing it's full, you'll have sewage spewing out the connectors underneath your bed.

Having full times in an RV for 3.5 years, and in my bus now for 6 months I can clue you in one other reason you don't want to do this. On a windy day you are going to notice that wind pressure on the outside will actually force air into the tanks via the vent pipes, and air under pressure will find a place to escape. I've noticed on some windy days a whiff or two of something not so pleasant in the bathroom, especially when flushing as you get a blast of stinky air blow up right in your face.

Personally I wouldn't consider this in any manner, even more so underneath the bed.

If you look at the way professionally built RV's made, they all have the gray and black tanks underneath the unit. There must be a reason they do it this way!!

oldog12 · 10-18-2008, 09:34 PM

Murphy's Law: If something CAN go wrong.... IT WILL!!

oldog12 · 10-18-2008, 11:16 PM

Smitty,
I dunno.... There are so many things that can go wrong... I mean, there doesn't seem to be any redundancy in your proposed set-up... But hell, it's your bus, do it your way and the hell with all the nay sayers....

GoneCamping · 10-20-2008, 10:05 PM

Hey, if you wanna store your poop underneath your bed that is your business, I'm willing to bet cash money that you won't have it there very long!

SeanF · 10-21-2008, 01:14 PM

You can have my composting toilet when you pry it from my cold, dead....uh....nevermind.

Zero complaints about having a composter. My original homemade one had some less-than-elegant design features, but worked fine. The newer store-bought one is great so far. My reason for a composting toilet? It's waterless. Water is heavy and takes up space, and it has to be stored, pressurized, delivered, then stored again after being peed/pooped into, then dumped somewhere. Once the alternatives are considered, using water as a medium for transporting and storing human waste is not really necessary. With a waterless model, there is a lot less plumbing and mass of stuff to deal with. A powered vent to the roofline will take care of smells. And the resulting smell is no where near as funky as a blackwater tank where #1 and #2 stew together to make a "latrine" odor.

If a person is always going to be on full-hookups, it's a moot point. Flush away! If you're going to be boondocking, or staying where there is only a dump station some distance from your rig, I think a waterless toilet is well worth consideration.

IMO, YMMV, etc
Sean

the_experience03 · 10-21-2008, 08:45 PM

I'm still with you, Smitty...I think it can be done to an acceptable degree of risk and comfort. It would not be difficult in the least to make the box around the tank airtight while still maintaining enough heat in it to keep it from freezing. All my freshwater plumbing is inside and didn't give me trouble until someone actually broke my manifold and that was partially my fault.

Les Lampman · 10-26-2008, 06:28 PM

Smitty,

I think your idea is fine; it's really just a glorified Porta-Potti. Coming from the boat side of things I don't see how this is any worse than pumping waste through hoses all over the boat to get it into a tank that always lives inside the boat.

There is an intersting alternative; it's called the Air Head toilet (http://www.airheadtoilet.com). It is a composting toilet (specifically sized for a boat (or RV); I've been around many installed in boats (we install them too) and haven't had any complaints about odor at all. It's sized right and works well for vessels and vehicles in motion. I thought they were expensive until I added up all the things I didn't install compared to a traditional installation (no hoses, no tank, no toilet, etc). I'm not saying it's the only way to go; only that it works and it's dead simple. Always good to know about alternatives even if they don't become "the choice".

All the best,

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