| Author | Message | ||
| nvnenzel in Reno (207.213.160.180) Rating: N/A |
I looked back through the archives to find an answer to this but my search methods aren't the best. I have a septic system and the bus pad (for the future bus) will be laid over the house septic system outlet pipe, buried about 4' deep. The system is great, good drainage, large tank, etc. My question is, before I lay the pad, can I tap into the house septic system to dump the coach waste? I understand I need to vent, cap, etc., but would dumping coach waste into a house septic damage the septic. By the way, at the present time I use non-flormaldahyde natural(?) waste tank treatment in my motor home. (Please don't hate me because my ownig a bus is a few years away, I don't want to be booted off this board.) Can it be done???? | ||
| Peter E (Sdibaja) (200.38.3.152)
Rating: N/A |
I have been doing that for years, it should be no problem at all. I do not use a separate vent stack, none is required by the Mexican plumbing code. ;-} Septic tanks normally breath thru the house stack. Yes they do need air for the bacteria to ferment and breakdown. Many RV parks do set a stack, at least 3 ft. taller than the tallest RV to keep the vapors up out of your face. There may be a local code, and it would be a BIG pain to set a stack later. I would take the opportunity to install 2 sweep fittings, one pointing upstream (towards the house), the other pointing downstream (towards the tank, that one is the one to dump into). They make good access points for a snake if you ever get a clog (also known as cleanouts). Do make sure that you leave the access covers to the tank accessible for that day when it needs to be pumped (there should be 2, maybe 3). If the pipe is 4 ft. deep there should be no problem crushing the pipe. | ||
| Chuck Harris - PD4104 (207.172.11.147) Rating: N/A |
The only cautions I would add, are the following: 1) Make sure that any additives to your RV system are labeled as septic system safe, and 2) avoid fast dumps of large quantities of sewage. Fast dumps tend to stir up the tank, and can cause sewage to be dumped into your leach field, something you definitely don't want to ever have happen. Basically, if you dump 140 gallons of sewage into your tank, 140 gallons of effluent must go into your leach field. You want that effluent to be clear water. -Chuck | ||
| FAST FRED (67.75.106.89) Rating: N/A |
Simplest is to purchase a 120V macerator & dump thru large Diameter garden hose. No problem if you dont use poisons in the RV tank. TRy Rid Ex , usually keeps smells at bay (assuming coach has correct vent in waste tank), and is septic friendly. The 120V is far better than the 12V models , glue it on to a hose waste fitting & DO NOT run the macerator dry!! Although DA Macerator Book will claim it can lift waste , DONT , just let gravity feed it & it push to any septic conection. Great way to visit friends , but with folks that don't know where there clean out is , you may have to drag it thru bathroom window. A Sure test of friendship!! FAST FRED | ||
| Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (63.224.197.10)
Rating: N/A |
What seems to really kill septic tanks and leach fields is having 4 teenager daughters who demand on showering 3 times a day. Way too much water down the drain. Fast Fred has it right (like always!!!  ) As long as the black stuff is chopped up and flows SLOWLY into your septic tank, everything should work fine. | ||
| Peter E (Sdibaja) (200.56.105.91)
Rating: N/A |
FF: simple? one more machine? If you drive down the road a few it will all be soup, otherwise see your doctor. If you are long term just leave the valve open and keep a slope to the cleanout. every few days close the gray water valve until you gave 10 gallons or so, then open it blast the lumps out. The best thing for a septic tank is what goes thru the toilet. The additives are hype, unless you are using them for odors. Yes Chuck, a slow discharge is best but the baffel inside the sepiic tank takes care of surges if you only have 20 or 30 gallons to dump. doing it my way...! Peter E | ||
| FAST FRED (67.75.113.13) Rating: N/A |
"simple? one more machine? " Yes but, this machine lets you pump UP to the dump , or thru the bathroom window. FAST FRED | ||
| Peter E (Sdibaja) (200.76.245.49)
Rating: N/A |
Excelent Point FF! I never had the need, guess I am good at finding cleanouts and Manholes. Peter | ||
| nvnenzel in reno (207.213.160.167) Rating: N/A |
Great Answers, Great Board, Thanks for the info. The pad goes in this summer. Waste dump, 50 amp service, water and an awning to cover the whole thing, all attached to the house inside the fence away from the Mormon Crickets. (a whole 'nother really sad long story) | ||
| Peter E (Sdibaja) (200.38.6.31)
Rating: N/A |
sounds great! If you can, consider a pit in your slab, about 5.5' deep. you can leave a ledge on the edge so you can place planks over it when not in use. Peter | ||
| jmaxwell (66.42.92.10) Rating: N/A |
Can't imagine using a macerator when gravity will do the same job in a fraction of the time. And if you should not lift sewage with them, how could you pump the sewage up and over the window sill in the bathroom. Have a friend with one in his 4104, always uses it; ironically, he has a capped 3" outlet on the tank right below the macerator, yet he insists on spending 25-30 minutes pumping it down into the ground. Good thing FF wasn't the Public Works Chief in Pompeii! | ||
| FAST FRED (67.75.113.12) Rating: N/A |
"And if you should not lift sewage with them, how could you pump the sewage up and over the window sill in the bathroom." The macerator pumps stink at "lifting" sewage by sucking it up.The mfg claim a 3 ft lift but... They should be only mounted for gravity FEED so they can do what there designed to do best , chop&PUMP. They can PUSH sewage about 10 to 15ft UP and over 100 ft of distance with large diameter hose. Again the AC have less problems than the DC and adding water to the slurry helps it go . FAST FRED | ||
| Ernie Bost (12.150.139.203)
Rating: N/A |
Fellow busnuts: I have a 1979 MCI 5C BUS CONVERSION.It has a 24 volt electrical system with seperate tail-brake -signal lamps. I would like to convert it to pull a trailer with 2 single combination 12 volt lamps. Can anyone tell me how it can be done. Thanks for any help you can pass along my way. Ernie Bost | ||
| Peter E (Sdibaja) (200.38.3.27)
Rating: N/A |
Kind of strange to find this under septic systems but I will go for it… My GM 4905 has a similar setup with 24v. I simply used 24v double filament bulbs in a regular tail lamp housing on a light bar. I use the same light bar on all of the several things that I tow. Mine was a little more complicated than yours may be, my brake lights and turn lights do not share bulbs and wires as a car does. I used 4 separate tail lamp housings, two on each side. One is brake lamp, the other is turn signal. I wired all of the small filaments in all four lamps for taillights. Clear as mud? If it does not make sense I can try to explain better. Peter | ||
| Tom Caffrey (Pvcces) (64.114.233.105)
Rating: N/A |
If you mount a battery and 24 volt coil relays on your trailer, it won't matter that the lights on your coach are separate. If the relay coil for the stop/turn filament one side is connected across the the stop and turn bulbs for the same side, that relay will pull in if either one is powered, but not if neither or both are powered. That should give you the chance to make the one filament burn steady if that side's stop light is on or flash if the turn signal bulb on that side is flashing. This depends on the current for the relay coil being pretty small compared to the filaments in the bulbs. The contacts in the relays only need to be SPST and normally off. To keep the trailer battery charged, maybe a charge controller from a solar panel setup could be used, with 24 volts as the source. Good luck setting this up! Tom Caffrey PD4106-2576 Suncatcher | ||
| Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (209.210.116.49)
Rating: N/A |
Duh....what are Mormon Crickets? | ||
| Reply (205.118.9.15) Rating: N/A |
They are crickets that were white shirts, ties and name tags and they allways come in pairs. | ||
| owazat (65.73.176.223) Rating: N/A |
They also carry large wooden bats and try to hit your big red balls as far as they can!!!!! |