I'm curious on what other folks procedure is with full hookups. We are staying at a campground for 5 nights - I would normally pull in and leave the grey tank open and close a day prior to opening the black tank. I would then empty the black when full and empty the grey and close the black and leave the grey open...repeating the process. I have only questioned this process after camping where another camper didn't have a secure connection which caused a very potent order because their elbow connection wasn't seated properly (it sat in vs screwed in - no fault of the camper) After this episode, I now leave both grey & black closed and empty when required during the stay and fully empty on departure. What do you all do?
I think your proceedures are fine, with one caviate: any sewer connection during an extended stay should be frequently monitored for leaks, kinks, and odors. if there is a problem, then it should be corrected for the benifit of the camper and their neighbors. some sewer systems can have no odors, and some can off-gas quite a bit, so what works at one site, may not be the best at another site.
I suppose it depends on how big your tanks might be. I keep both closed and normally dump the grey twice before having to do the black. I do keep the hose out and secured in the sewer point but do check every few days to make sure the connection was not disturbed.
Allways leave the tank values closed. The sewer hose is connected to both the valve outlet and the sewer connection. I only dump when holding tanks are full or when we are going to depart the campground. Before opening the discharge valve, I double check the sewer hose connections and sewer hose itself to ensure no cracks or damage is present. I wear rubber/vinyl gloves during the whole procedure. Once done disinfect hands and throw gloves away.
My procedure on this subject is as follows............. Upon arriving at home after a trip our grey and black tanks are both emptied at our last overnight stop on the morning we leave for home. When we get home both tanks are still basically empty but for a quick pit stop on the way. I add a couple of gallons of fresh water to both tanks by flushing the toilet a couple of times and running the kitchen tap into the grey tank. The next trip I empty both tanks midway thru the trip and then do it all over again, same as before, on the morning we leave for home. Have never had any tank problems whatsoever and no leaks anywhere in the lines to and from them. Works for us and just makes good sense to me to do it this way. Also we do have three pretty large holding tanks in our coach which allows us to do it this way for 90% of our trips. On extended trips I do have to empty the tanks an extra time or two which is no big thing. Happy tank emptying to all. BankShot........(aka Terry)
Our tanks are big enough that we can go a full week without dumping. So for the mentioned 5 day stay, I wouldn't bother to dump until we were ready to leave. For longer stays, I do leave the grey valve open when I'm sure we have a reliable connection at the dump port. I also configure the hose on the supports so there's a trap just before the dump port to keep sewer flies and odors out of the waste tanks.
I do not bother to hook up the sewer at all until either my tanks are nearly full or it is my last day and my tanks are at least one third full. I hook up and dump the black tank first, then I use the black tank flush for a few moment with the valve open, then close the black tank valve and using the flush, let a few gallons of water fill the black tank. Then turn off the flush and open the grey tank to flush out the hose. Not keeping your sewer hose hooked up keeps it safe from getting run over or walked on and deterioration from UV light. Not keeping it open prevents solids build up in the tank and the hose. Waiting to dump until tanks are at least one third full allows good pressure and flow to flush everything out. Dumping before you leave a campsite reduces the weight you are hauling around.
