grey water in a van

[weestrom05]

In order to save space inside the aerostar, Im considering mounting a grey water tank under the van, possibly the space for the spare tire.  Does any one kknow of a tank that would fit into this space?  The tire can go into the 5 x8 trailer with the bike.  Thanks Curt

 

[coultergeist]

Your best bet is probably to look for a used marine fuel tank, preferably a metal one.  They come in lots of not too big sizes.  They would already have an inlet for fuel as well as ports for the fuel lines.  Many of them have fuel gauge senders in them as well.  They would be very rigid and easy to safely mount with bands.  The different ports would make it easy to run lines to.  You may even be able to wire up the fuel level sender and be able to tell how full it is remotely.  You wouldn't want to use one for fresh water, but it would do really well I think for grey water as long as you clean it out before you put it to its new use.

 

[gadgetMe]

Google <br><br>Poly tanks, lots of choices<br><br>Putz

 

[Coffee Tim]

With a little engineering a suitable lenght and diameter of schedule 40 PVC pipe can make a good holding tank to strap under a vehicle.&nbsp; Measure, drill, and put the caps and fittings where you want them.

 

[weestrom05]

<br>thanks for the ideas, 6 inch pipe holds 1.5 gallons of water per foot. A 2 foot by 2 foot sqquare would hold about 15 gallons of grey water and should fit in the spare tire space. &nbsp;Curt

 

[akrvbob]

To me the question is why do you want a gray water tank at all? I've never had one and never saw a reason to have one. If I did want one (which I would not) I would just use a empty 1 gallon&nbsp; milk/water bottle under the sink drain and dispose of it every day. Why would you want to carry 15 gallons of gray water around in a van? Where are you going to dispose of it. <br><br>Gray water can just be poured out on the ground discreetly in small quantities, but in 15 gallon amounts it becomes a huge headache.<br>Bob

 

[wrcsixeight]

I just have a &nbsp;sink drain that just empties on the ground. &nbsp;Occasionally I'll place a drain pan under there.<br><br>But mostly I never pour anything down the drain. &nbsp;My Sink is used as more of a depression in which to store things.<br><br>One time I was parked in a state beach parking lot and working in my electrical cabinet during the day. &nbsp;I ran out of hand sanitizer and washed my hands in the sink, letting a pint or so of fresh water drip onto the asphalt. &nbsp;10 minutes later I get a knock on my door. &nbsp;It was a cop who saw the puddle.<br><br>Nothing came of it, but he thought it was urine and was very indignant. &nbsp;I put my hands in it to prove it was not, and he mumbled something about a grey tank and left me alone.<br><br>Then I had to add to the puddle to wash my hands again.<br><br>If I put a tank under my Van, it will be a fresh water tank to open up space inside, and lower the CG of the Van<br><br>http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-pumps-water/rv-water-tanks.htm

 

[weestrom05]

<br>I guess it really isn't as important as I thought. I figured that persons of self importance would complain about &nbsp;the wet spot. If I don't use that space for grey water, I could use that system for fresh water &nbsp;Thanks for the input. Curt

 

[Rollin]

Hi&nbsp;weestrom05, I have never used a holding tank and have had no problems so far. Just be wise when and where you dump.<br><br>I used a 4" hole saw and&nbsp;drilled&nbsp;through the floor for my drain. I went to home depot and bought a 4" flange and a 4" pipe seal (not sure of the proper&nbsp;terminology). This drain hole also serves as a fresh air inlet, so it does double duty.<br><br>Edit: What I like about this set up, is when I am in&nbsp;stealth&nbsp;mode I can&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;all grey water very&nbsp;discreetly at my chosen sleeping spot. I will&nbsp;generate&nbsp;grey water through out the night (especially&nbsp;morning time) and this&nbsp;allows&nbsp;me to rid it&nbsp;immediately.&nbsp;Usually&nbsp;I come and go under the cover of darkness so detection&nbsp;hasn't&nbsp;be an issue.<br><br>One thing this picture does not reflect is where I&nbsp;siliconed&nbsp;the inside of the flange.&nbsp;Siliconing&nbsp;prevents grey water from&nbsp;soaking&nbsp;into the carpeting. When dumping ( if you are&nbsp;careful) you&nbsp;should&nbsp;have no troubles, but if you miss the hole and get grey water around the hole it will stink.<br><br>A funnel would be a good idea or a bucket with a&nbsp;flexible&nbsp;drain hose when dumping. I built a bucket sink (picture below) but I don't use it, it takes up valuable space and is a hassle. After a few&nbsp;accidents (lesson learned with smells)&nbsp;I just take my time when dumping.

 

[bk2valve]

Actually Curt I think your idea is a good one. Especially if you are living in more urban places.&nbsp; I don't see a problem. Personally I don't have or want a sink in my rig...I think it is wasted space and when I have had them I used it more like WRC68 does as a place to store things.<br><br>I have had setups where I had two containers under the sink, both the same size. One was fresh water and one was gray water. The fresh water had a hose in it from the hand pump and the gray a hose from the drain....it worked fine, I just rarely used it....<br><br>That is me in my homemade units....<br><br>I have friends who live in commercial made units who not only use their sinks and toilets but take hot showers! And some of those are van size rigs.....In their case a gray water tank is there and used, as well as a water heater, etc. I don't necessarily want something like that although I have to admit a tad of envy when they come out of their rig all clean and shiny with a big smile on their faces from the shower they just had and after about 3 days I am stopping at the nearest Flying J and paying $9 or $10 dollars for the same shower.<br><br>There is no better way just a way that works for you....<br><br>Bri

 

[MrNoodly]

The thing I like about the 2-container system is that you could recycle the gray water if you needed to. If it's just soapy water with some dirt, the dirt will settle out and you can use water from the top layer to wash with again. Take the drain line out of the gray water container, pour some gray water into another container, like a bowl or something, replace the hose and gray water container, wash up, then pour it down the drain again.

 

[MrNoodly]

I just thought of a stealthy way to dump gray water. Rather than dumping it all at once, make a small hole, or turn a drain valve, so it just drips about once every second or so. Your gray water tank would probably empty overnight. Drips tend not to draw attention. If they do, you can say, oh, you must have a leak somewhere and you'll have to have that checked out. You could even run a hose up toward the engine compartment to help the illusion. Hmmmm, maybe it's radiator leak, or possibly condensation from the air conditioning. And no one would notice drips while you're driving.

 

[highdesertranger]

well, &nbsp;although i agree that dumping gray is harmless.&nbsp; our friends at the forest service don't agree.&nbsp; some already have the regulations in place that you must be fully self contained this means all black and gray water must be disposed of at a proper dump station.&nbsp; you know once this starts it only spreads.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

If you're boondocking for a while in the desert, you could probably set out a basin of gray water and just let it evaporate.&nbsp;

 

[SirJoey]

<br><strong><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;">Rollin', that large, pluggable drain-hole setup is sweet! Me likee!&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img"><br><br></span></strong>

 

[karl]

I installed a gray water tank under Thirsty, and never use it. I have used a couple 1 gal jugs with screw on caps (mine happens to be a Walmart oil container recycled, mainly because it was square and stable)<br>-one is cut off to form a funnel, the caps are glued together with a hole drilled through them - I leave them screwed together until I plan on dumping. I have found that one gallon is sufficient for me doing dishes, brushing teeth, and even quick bathing. the builtin handle makes it easy to handle and it can be clipped into a spring loaded broom hanger to keep it in place.

 

[ccbreder]

Hi&nbsp;weestrom05, I have never used a holding tank and have had no problems so far. Just be wise when and where you dump.<br><br>Edit: What I like about this set up, is when I am in&nbsp;stealth&nbsp;mode I can&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;all grey water very&nbsp;discreetly at my chosen sleeping spot. I will&nbsp;generate&nbsp;grey water through out the night (especially&nbsp;morning time) and this&nbsp;allows&nbsp;me to rid it&nbsp;immediately.&nbsp;Usually&nbsp;I come and go under the cover of darkness so detection&nbsp;hasn't&nbsp;be an issue.<br><br>A funnel would be a good idea or a bucket with a&nbsp;flexible&nbsp;drain hose when dumping. I built a bucket sink (picture below) but I don't use it, it takes up valuable space and is a hassle. After a few&nbsp;accidents (lesson learned with smells)&nbsp;I just take my time when dumping.

<br><br>We are talking about grey water, right, not straw colored, hey? <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[Mortisha]

I would suggest using bio degradable soaps and then no worries about it going right back into the earth. lots of recipes for making your own soaps and shampoos online. that is what I do. HuggZ