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Cheap DIY grey water tank
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GrindGarage
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 9:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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I am Wildcat
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

this setup is pretty slick. nice job!
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houndsbourgh
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PostPosted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:39 pm    Post subject: DIY Grey water tank Reply with quote

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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Jedi
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PostPosted: Fri May 06, 2011 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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!
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iiigoiii
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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...?
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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presslab
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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r39o
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:58 am    Post subject: Re: DIY Grey water tank Reply with quote

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!

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houndsbourgh
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.

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r39o
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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houndsbourgh
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 2:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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r39o
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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luVWagn
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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 Rolling Eyes
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.

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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.

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Overall view of the drainage system from the tank and a closeup of the bracket that holds the PVC.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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bfulton
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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" Wink

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bfulton wrote:
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" Wink

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


Keep in mind........ A sanitary trap without an atmosphere vent is no better than no trap at all!

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, there is not a Sewer line with active draining waste to suck out the water seal......... but there is air in the tank being displaced by Water.

That air needs to exit as water enters. Your waste tank needs to be vented or your drain will drain slowly, pause, burp a bubble, drain more, pause burp a bubble until the sink is empty.

Those bubbles that are burped will contain the wonderful odors of whatever is fermenting in your grey water tank!

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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.
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