Re: [VAC] Re: grey water use

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Darrell,
 I'll give you my $.02 worth:

I think it's a waste of time. The reason is that you don't really use
that much water for flushing the toilet.

Although we're far from the most-experienced campers on this List, we
were out a number of times this past Summer, and only had full hookups
twice, had to carry water most of the time even. We found that our 30
gallon freshwater tank would last an average of 2 days for the 2 of us.
If we capped the outlet of the black tank and opened the drain valve so
as to use the black tank for both grey and black water, it was FULL in 2
days. (makes sense, huh?) However, if we used the black tank for only
black water, we could easily go 4 days and it wasn't full yet.

What I'm saying is that in our experience, at least 2/3 of the water
usage is grey water. Black tank capacity isn't a problem, and by
extrapolation, toilet flushing is not a major water usage. Dish washing,
showers, and hand washing use most of the water.

Obviously, YMMV:

As an aside, we bought a 7 gallon tote for hauling fresh water to the
supply tank. It's a real PITA, because it's nearly too heavy for one
person to handle, and you need 2 of 'em every day for an extended stay.
Bill Kirkendall, a Toledo Unit Member (and member of this List) showed
me a tiny 12VDC submersible pump that he uses to pump water from a
portable tank when he's boondocked for a long period. I found one in a
modeler's supply catalog, and bought a 25-gallon sprayer tank from
Northern to haul the water with. If I have to drive the truck to the
hydrant anyway, I might as well haul 25 gallons as 7. Although I've not
yet used it, it promises to be the Cat's Meow next Summer.

                              <<Jim>>