Plumbing for portable grey tank only

[Xtremespeed]

For several different reasons I have decided to use a portable tote for my grey water and not mount a tank under the trailer. I assume I will still need a trap under the shower and sink, but my main concern is getting the water to the tote. The tote has a 3" connection on it so I guess I need a 3" outlet of some sort that I can connect PVC from my drains to. Where do I find such an animal? I don't think I need a valve because there won't be any grey water held on board. Also, what size pvc to run from the drains? I used 1/2" pex from my water pump to the faucets Any info or ideas are gladly welcomed of course.

[roadinspector]

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-39111-Water ... 491&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Camco-39144-Easy- ... B000BQWHDQ

Thsi is one option. Theses parts can be bought at an RV store too. Grey water is typically drained from the CT plumbing with a garden hose that is any color other than white which is used for fresh water. It would be nasty to get the two mixed up. Since your draining just a shower and sink, you can get away with using 1.5" or 2" drain lines with p-traps in the CT. I tend to lean towards the 2" IMHO. Put a cap that has a garden hose adapter on the CT outlet and your in business.

FYI: I haven't heard anyone here mention winterizing water systems. Its easy to do and RV antifreeze can be bought at wally world. Put it in your fresh water tank, water lines, drains & holding tanks if you have any.
Good luck!

Roadinspector

[Xtremespeed]

I was actually just looking at one of those caps. Where can I find the piece that fits on the end of my 2" drains that the cap attaches to? Also, will the 3/4" garden hose be large enough considering the drain pipe size would be 2"? I know grey water tanks are usually emptied this way, but we're actually looking at the filling side of the equation.

[roadinspector]

Check your local hardware store and see what you can engineer together. I have been able to work something out. If you can't find a direct adapter, get a 2" cap and a hose fitting from 3/4" pipe to garden hose. Drill your hole close to one edge which will be at the bottom when installed. back it up with a nut and seal it how ever you want.

I have drained my old 5th wheel & cabover grey water that way for years. It will flow fine since there are no solids in your grey water.

[Xtremespeed]

I'm thinking if a garden hose is big enough to connect the drains to the tank, I dont need 2" drain pipe. A standard garden hose is only 3/4". Remember, I'm not concerned with emptying the tank but filling it from the sink and shower drains since I won't have an on board tank.

[roadinspector]

Sorry you had to flip my switch twice before I woke up. I would be tempted to do a drain flow test with the 3/4" hose before I installed it as the main drain line. The 4 into 1 easy slip elbow will at least fit your tote tank. Good luck!

Roadinspector

[Xtremespeed]

Lol! I didn't think we were quite on the same page.

I think I'll give that a test and see. It would be nice to use 3/4". Lighter, cheaper, and easier to work with.

[roadinspector]

I am interested in what you come up with. I suspect it won't be able to keep up with the water being pumped in. But hey, its always fun to play with an idea.

[Xtremespeed]

I ended up using 2" for the shower p trap reduced to 1 1/2" and 1 1/2" for the sink. I connected both sides with a y and and then reduced a standard 3" outlet to 1 1/2" to fit the y. I bought one of the caps you suggested with the garden hose fitting. It will serve as my cap when traveling and when the ct is not in use and if the garden hose connection works, great, and if not, I can remove the cap and use a standard sewer hose. It all turned out pretty good. I just wish there was a way for the shower p trap not to hang quite so low, but I installed my shower directly to the floor, so the entire p trap is below the floor. It's not real low, but I wish it was above the bottom of the frame. I did manage to keep the 3" outlet tucked up in there. You you have to reach up under there to get to it, but I don't have to worry about knocking it off, and whenever I need to access it, there will be no water flowing out since I don't have an onboard tank.

[roadinspector]

Great! Sounds like you got something that will work for you. You might look into some type of rock guard to put around your p-trap. Just about any type of plate steel or aluminum would work. Sure would be a pain to get to the campsite and find a rock went thru it. I am thinking of doing the same except I might make a storage tank out of 6" or 8" pvc. Only grey water I will have is from the sink. An 8' joint of 6" pvc calculates to hold 46.97 gals. Sling it under the trailer between floor joist covered with diamond plate. I'm still in the stage.

[Xtremespeed]

I like that idea on the 6" PVC pipe. I'd probably be more likely to use 2 8'x3" joints though to keep the profile down. Not sure how the math works out though. You could use 2 90 degree elbows to connect them together.

[Xtremespeed]

Scratch that. I think there is a problem with the math somewhere. Volume of a cylinder is pi x r2 x length so for an 8' piece of 6" 3.14 x 9 x 96=2712.96 cu in. 1 gallon = 231 cu in. So 2712.97/231=11.74 gallons

2.94 gallons for an 8' piece of 3" or just less than 6 gallons for 2-8' sections.

[JJ92]

Try this site for volume calculations. http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/volume_calculator

[Xtremespeed]

According to that site my calculations are correct. Thanks for sharing though. Makes it real easy.

[roadinspector]

Oops. I found my math bust. I will use a "U" and do a switchback style for as much room as I can squeeze between joist. To increase protection, I am planning on placing it close to the axles. This forum is the best for bouncing ideas around. Good luck on your CT.