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GrindGarage Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2008 Posts: 710 Location: Ocean City, NJ
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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roadshower? $150 for hardware store items? I have been seeing black PVC showers on top of surf mobiles for years. Can't imagine not building my own. love the air pressure idea that rocks. _________________ -cliff
91 Vanagon AUTO
97 Single Port EJ22 all smallcar.com |
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I am Wildcat Samba Member
Joined: February 03, 2011 Posts: 318 Location: SF Bay Area
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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this setup is pretty slick. nice job! |
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houndsbourgh Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2010 Posts: 18 Location: Sewanee, TN
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:39 pm Post subject: DIY Grey water tank |
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New twist on presslabs original post. Capacity is almost six gallons. Fill is on the side and the drain and vent are at the rear. Full size clean out on the front for added heft with road debris. Everything is held in place with stainless straps mounted to bolts set in the unused seat rail mounts. Thanks presslab.
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. _________________ 1984 1.9L Westfalia added a peloquin diff + a little lift and a lot of TLC
Retrotec Classic 29er
Salsa Elmar 29er single speed
Surly 1x8 internal hub (Bad weather transportation)
My lovely wife is not crazy and drives in the winter. |
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Jedi Samba Member
Joined: October 23, 2007 Posts: 734 Location: Cool California
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Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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If anybody is looking for a real nice greywater tank that sits tight against the body I have this one for sale that was on my Adventurewagen!
_________________ 1961 Westfalia SO23 Mango Green/Seagull grey
1961 Westfalia SO34 T/BW
1961 Westfalia SO34 SWR
1964 Westfalia SO33 pearl white
1965 Westfalia SO42 Velvet green
1986 Syncro Wolfram grey with black int GL
1986 Syncro Doka
1987 Syncro Sevana beige Adventurewagen
1987 syncro Sevana beige GL
1973 Pumpkin orange Thing
2 1963 Rag top bug's
1965 Manx
1970 Single cab
1971 combi
1990 Vanagon GL
2007 Audi A4 3.2L quattro |
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iiigoiii Samba Member
Joined: January 05, 2008 Posts: 307 Location: Bay Area, CA
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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can anyone who has made one of these clever little PVC greywater tanks comment on how you keep it from being a source of odors once the trap dries out?
i'm imagining that the constant wetness inside would make for some pretty heinous sludge which couldn't be easily cleaned. once that trap dried out it seems like it would send stench back up the drain...? _________________ 1984 Westfalia Wolfsburg Ed. w/ Subaru EJ22 power |
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chojinchef Samba Member
Joined: February 17, 2011 Posts: 1539 Location: Central Massachusetts
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:47 am Post subject: |
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iiigoiii wrote: |
can anyone who has made one of these clever little PVC greywater tanks comment on how you keep it from being a source of odors once the trap dries out?
i'm imagining that the constant wetness inside would make for some pretty heinous sludge which couldn't be easily cleaned. once that trap dried out it seems like it would send stench back up the drain...? |
Houndsbourough added a clean out at one end. Addition of a capful of bleach any time water is kept in there should keep bacteria down, and the clean out at the end would allow for the spraying of a garden hose to ward off any nasties. Should think this would be a nice setup. Better than my bucket. _________________ Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory. |
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presslab Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2008 Posts: 1730 Location: Sonoma County
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:10 am Post subject: |
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I've never had smells in mine so I can only assume the trap hasn't ever dried out. Maybe in a harsher climate where people store their van over the winter it might be a problem. A simple solution is to just put a sink stopper in the drain. _________________ 1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti |
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r39o Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005 Posts: 9800 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:58 am Post subject: Re: DIY Grey water tank |
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houndsbourgh wrote: |
.....Full size clean out on the front for added...
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Where you get the clean out?
Is that sewer or irrigation pipe?
It looks 6 inch sewer just like I have, but want to be sure.
My tank is in pieces and I am not totally sure how to configure it, but I REALLY like the clean out.
TIA! _________________ "Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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houndsbourgh Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2010 Posts: 18 Location: Sewanee, TN
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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r39o I made my tank from 6" sewer PVC. The cap and clean out I purchased from Home Depot. As far as keeping the smells down I added a vent on the side much like the plumbing in a early air cooled Vanagon Westy. The vent helps with the sink draining properly and smells. The drainline I made easy to disconnect so I could hook it to a garden hose and flush the tank after a trip. You can see the vent just behined the front door.
_________________ 1984 1.9L Westfalia added a peloquin diff + a little lift and a lot of TLC
Retrotec Classic 29er
Salsa Elmar 29er single speed
Surly 1x8 internal hub (Bad weather transportation)
My lovely wife is not crazy and drives in the winter. |
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r39o Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005 Posts: 9800 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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Our Home Depots do not list anything for 6 in sewer pvc.......
I got some items surplus and before I just glue an end cap on, I rather a clean out. Makes me feel better......
I live in a big city, I think I should be able to find that clean out, somewhere, I will guess. _________________ "Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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houndsbourgh Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2010 Posts: 18 Location: Sewanee, TN
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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I just check with my home town Lowes. They stock 6" sewer PVC and fittings. I was in the middle of a home remodel at the time I made the tank so I may have been mistaken. _________________ 1984 1.9L Westfalia added a peloquin diff + a little lift and a lot of TLC
Retrotec Classic 29er
Salsa Elmar 29er single speed
Surly 1x8 internal hub (Bad weather transportation)
My lovely wife is not crazy and drives in the winter. |
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r39o Samba Polizei
Joined: May 18, 2005 Posts: 9800 Location: San Diego
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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houndsbourgh wrote: |
I just check with my home town Lowes. They stock 6" sewer PVC and fittings. I was in the middle of a home remodel at the time I made the tank so I may have been mistaken. |
Lowes in our area also shows little in the way of 6 in pvc sewer stuff......
I will go look anyways; never know. _________________ "Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!
1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....
Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently) |
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luVWagn Samba Member
Joined: February 21, 2008 Posts: 1340 Location: Snoqualmie (WA)
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:08 am Post subject: |
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r39o wrote: |
houndsbourgh wrote: |
I just check with my home town Lowes. They stock 6" sewer PVC and fittings. I was in the middle of a home remodel at the time I made the tank so I may have been mistaken. |
Lowes in our area also shows little in the way of 6 in pvc sewer stuff......
I will go look anyways; never know. |
For those following along and not sure what the first post in this thread is alluding to, thanks to AdrianC for the tip over on the 16" syncro high top thread: http://www.vwbusshop.de/epages/GuenzlClassicParts....255070814C
But no, it ain't cheap _________________ '91 Syncro 16 Reimo Hightop Conversion, eTDI |
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Nuthin2It Samba Member
Joined: December 31, 2011 Posts: 306 Location: Marietta, GA
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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I think that dumping graywater on the ground has very little impact on the environment; in fact, one could argue that there are benefits to it. However, here in the Southeast we are seeing more and more campgrounds with rules requiring greywater holding tanks (one we went to in Tennessee even specified that RV's must have “factory installed” greywater tanks). No one has ever bothered us when we did it anyway, but I decided that it was time to fabricate something. This topic really helped me, but it doesn't have much information on how to mount the tank. I am not an engineer, so I suspect what I did was grossly OVER-engineered (at least I hope so) but it may give you some ideas. The basic device to hang the tank is two brackets bolted to the van through holes drilled in floor beams. 6” U-bolts connected to the brackets hold the tank. The materials came from Home Depot, McMaster-Carr, and my collection of materials and hardware saved over the years.
Here's a photo of the brackets. They are made from aluminum strap 3/16” thick and 2 1/2” wide. This is just happened to be the size I had in my scrap aluminum box. I moved the brackets further apart after the photo.
This is the drain to the tank. I'm not really happy with the vinyl braided tubing I used. It tends to crimp when it's curved under the frame. It works, but there are probably better choices.
Overall view of the drainage system from the tank and a closeup of the bracket that holds the PVC.
I drilled four holes in the LPG tank guard. The drain valve was spaced down with polyethylene blocks so the drain would be below the level of the tank.
I had to modify the drain pipe under the sink because the water flow was so slow. I did it in 1” PVC. I cut the original connection to the bottom of the sink with a tablesaw so I could use the threaded part to connect to the pipe. There's probably a fitting at Home Depot for this but I got tired of going there. I had to drill a hole to move the shelf opening about 3/4” forward to make room for the pipe. It drains great now.
We just got back from a 5 day trip to the Okefenokee Swamp area and nothing fell off, so I'm optimistic that this installation will last a while. _________________ 1985 Westfalia 15 degree EA288 Boxeer |
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bfulton Samba Member
Joined: November 30, 2012 Posts: 104 Location: Arizona
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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Just wanted to chime in regarding sink traps, I haven't seen a trap on any of the photos posted so far. Sounds like the OP has one in his braided soft line, but I would highly recommend ensuring a real, preferably hard trap is in place for these tanks.
Here's a good image of how the trap works (tail piece comes from sink drain, we really don't need the cleanout due to the short distances). Love the ideas though, want to add one to my van "eventually"
_________________ 1980 Vanagon Westfalia (As-You-Want Brown)
Rebuilt 2.0 AC Motor
SLOWLY rebuilding the rest of it |
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Nuthin2It Samba Member
Joined: December 31, 2011 Posts: 306 Location: Marietta, GA
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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Because the plastic tubing under the floor has to loop under part of the frame then up to the top of the PVC cap, it forms a trap. Very effective, judging from the odor from the water when I drained it after coming home and forgetting about it for about a week. _________________ 1985 Westfalia 15 degree EA288 Boxeer |
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djkeev Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007 Posts: 32574 Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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PDXWesty Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2006 Posts: 6243 Location: Portland OR
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:21 am Post subject: |
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Traps are only used to prevent sewer gasses from backing up through the fuixture. It's refered to as a water seal. And correct, without a vent, it is not functional and will syphon itself clear. Since the westy sink is not connected to a sewer, a trap is not really necessary. It can be considered an indirect drain, and doesn't need a trap.
If you take apart the original drain assembly, you will see that it is constructed to maintain a water seal however.
_________________ 89 Westy 2.1 Auto |
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djkeev Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007 Posts: 32574 Location: Reading Pennsylvania
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Windig89 Samba Member
Joined: September 22, 2011 Posts: 184 Location: Montreal
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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Nuthin2It wrote: |
Overall view of the drainage system from the tank and a closeup of the bracket that holds the PVC.
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Looks great, but just a warning about ground clearance, (I dont know what kind of terrain you venture out onto) but the propane tank is already the low spot on the van, be careful when pulling into a bumpy campsite or any sharp incline/ big speedbump etc. The ferry boat we went on this summer had some very sharp angled ramps and bumps to board. There is no way you would have been able to clear with that drain hanging so low! I also drove into a field this summer and a few spots required "touching" the bottom of the van, for sure this would have gotten knocked off.
Im sure you already thought this through based on where you drive, something to keep in mind if not. _________________ 1989 Vanagon GL Westfalia - 2.1L waterboxer |
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