waste water

[rachel]

hi all, is there a specific waste water tank/container for the romahome. we are just gonna use a bucket for the time being, but wondered if there is something that attached to the van that can hold more litres. thanks in advance for your replies.

[viv]

Hello Rachel

I am sorry I don't know but I think there is. I am sure someone else will know and reply. We do not use the water tank but I know some people do.

I have to confess we did not even know how to empty the water tank, we spent ages looking for a tap underneath!!!

[rachel]

Hi Viv, thanks for your reply, but I am confused even more, when you finish with the water in the sink, at the mo it just comes straight out of a hole onto the ground, this i'm sure is not good for the environment and I know would be frowned upon, wouldn't it?!! So we are going to have our first trip out this week and are taking a normal bucket to catch the waste but we are gonna have to empty it quite a lot because it doesn't hold a lot of litres, we were hoping to find something made for the romahome that could attach to the little hole by the corner steady and would hold a lot more so we could save our legs emptying it less (we are just being lazy)!!

[Pauline]

Hi Rachel

I'm a bit confused too. You should have a waste water container which holds around 20 or so litres or waste water within the van - opposite side to the fresh water container, accessed for cleaning behind the seats but drained by a tap.

The tap should be situated where the water is coming out at the back of the van. Then all you need to do is drive to an emptying point and open the tap - you might need some tubing to get the water to the waste water point but sometimes you can just drive over them.

[Pauline]

Don't know if this will help, I don't have photos inside a C15 but these are of a Duo and they are pretty much similar:

This is where the access to the waste water is inside the van that I mentioned:

www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/Resources/wasteinside1a.png
www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/Resources/wasteinside2a.png

[rachel]

Whoa ! we are all confused together, lovely, its great being part of a gang! I shall have a look tonight when I get home, is it supposed to be behind the drivers seat side. I can't remember seeing anything, only the porta potti, if I don't have one is it easy to replace (Ant) ? thanks, a ditzy brunette x

[Pauline]

Perhaps we should have a new section "[e-mail]" !!! ;D

The tank is on the passenger side not exactly inside the under seating but sort of behind it (the seating is shaped to hide it and hold it in place if that makes sense)

Best bet is to take off the cushions and you should see the black inspection cap below the side window.

I can't imagine it's missing but it sounds to me as if your waste tap outside the van might be

[lunnie]

My van doesnt have a waste tank and it is a C15 1999

[lunnie]

Forgot to say, dont really use the sink, use campsite facilities, even when Wild Camping used a bowl/bucket outside in the lovely fresh air.

[ant]

No C15 Romahome was fitted with a waste tank, tanks were only fitted to the Duo range, so if you have a C15 you need a container to catch the sink water that appears from the corner of the bumper on the near side.

[Pauline]

I must be losing it!! I was convinced our C15 had a waste tank

[rachel]

ooh -err ! i got some explaining to do when i get home this evening. I've been calling my husband all the names under the sun (frank spencer being one) telling him to get back out there and have a proper look!! ;D Pauline its a bit early for G&T.
so after all the confusion is there a container that attaches to the hole underneath the van or does everyone else use a bucket. thanks

[lunnie]

A bucket

[Graham]

Hi Rachel

Pauline is not alone in thinking the C15 has a waste tank, I thought so too, we had a C15 but later had a Duo so we must be thinking of that.

You can get a waste container that holds more than a bucket they are black, cost around a tenner and hold around 22 litres. Alternatively there is a wastemaster which has wheels and can be wheeled to the waste water drain, both are readily available from caravan accessory shops.

Here is a link www.outdoormegastore.co.uk/acatalog/Outdoor_Megastore_Waste_Carriers_177.html

Hope that helps

Graham

[Pauline]

Perhaps ours was a hybird with on board waste! either that or we are going mad together

[Derek]

admin said:

Perhaps ours was a hybird with on board waste! either that or we are going mad together

Or even a hybrid ;D

It would not be beyond the wit of man to fit a waste tank later, probably easier than fitting the drinking water supply.

There again you may both be getting forgetful with the passing of time ;D

Derek

[geoff]

We have carried a collapsible plastic water container in the gas locker which we put under the open outlet tap. When it is full it can be carried to a waste water point rather than having to move the van. The rigid plastic waste tanks on wheels would take up too much storage space. Just mark it so that it never gets used for drinking water.

[geonomad]

I've been using a bucket. But I have been wondering if there is enough space to fit something between the sink and the outlet. Most of the time there is only a couple of liters of water in the bucket.

When stealth urban camping you can't just leave a bucket sitting there...

It feels like there is a lot of wasted space beside the cupboard under the sink. But getting to it would be no simple matter, I assume.

[lizziehill]

Hi,

I'm glad someone else asked about the waste water - I'm about to go on my first outing with my 1989 C15 and had only just started to wonder where the waste went...!

Lizzie

[jackie]

lizziehill said:

I'm glad someone else asked about the waste water - I'm about to go on my first outing with my 1989 C15 and had only just started to wonder where the waste went...!
Lizzie

I have a sophisticated system - a piece of pipe that you put underneath into the outlet and the other end into a plastic container ;D
I hope your 1st trip goes well, I will look forward to reading how you get on. I am making my 1st camping trip in my C15 this coming w/e
Take care,
Jackie

[Pauline]

Have fun Lizzie and Jackie, let us know how it goes

[djsooz]

I'm glad the question of waste water came up. I don't feel so silly now Took my new romahome for the first outing last weekend. It was great and easier to drive than I thought. One thing finally occured to me - I forgot to ask the guy who sold it to me where the waste water went. Ofcourse I began to feel a bit stupid searching under the van but finally found the outlet hole. I bought black tubing from the site shop and am going to buy a small waste tank this weekend.

Everything else worked fine except I discovered I had an airlock in the water feed. I sucked on the tap to clear it. Does the trick!

Now I know how everything works I can't wait for my next trip (soltice weekend).

Sooz.

[Sotontraveller]

For anyone with a HyLo, or similar model where the water doesn't want to actually run away 'cos of the stupid diameter of the waste pipe and the lack of sufficient gravity to pull the liquid out, Romahome introduced an upgrade to the system (available from last summer).

I had this done for Freda and now the water gurgles away as a naive person like me would expect. Needless to say, given the dia. of the pipe, I still can't use the sink for anything sensible like washing veggies or washing up

[Derek]

Thanks for that, ours is slow.

Derek

[lizziehill]

admin said:

Have fun Lizzie and Jackie, let us know how it goes

There's an account of my first two trips away in Priscilla in Rachel's Glastonbury thread!

[jayjay]

[/quote]
I have a sophisticated system - a piece of pipe that you put underneath into the outlet and the other end into a plastic container ;D
[/quote]

Me too! Just an ordinary piece of watering hose and a bucket.

I bought a wastehog, great idea, but why don't they make a smaller one - it's nearly as big as my van! I sent it back - even empty it was heavy to lift (semi-disabled) and nowhere to store it. My bucket is quite big tho, and strapped to a little set of trolly wheels, so I don't have to carry it anywhere. ;D

[brougham]

Evening all, my first post outside of the 'welcome' area.

I'm thinking of buying an Outlook - so, is the idea that you drive the vehicle to a waste discharge area to empty the onboard tank? Is the discharge point normally just a grid in the ground?

Regards.

[Graham]

brougham said:

Evening all, my first post outside of the 'welcome' area.

I'm thinking of buying an Outlook - so, is the idea that you drive the vehicle to a waste discharge area to empty the onboard tank? Is the discharge point normally just a grid in the ground?

Regards.

A lot of campsites have motorhome service points, so you can drive up and let your waste drain into the appropriate outlet normally a grate in the floor, its a good idea to have a length of flexible pipe in case its a bit awkward to park over the outlet. If there is no motorhome service point we normally take it home and empty it there.

If you want to fill up make sure you've got a hose long enough and just drive to the nearest tap.

Graham

[brougham]

Thanks Graham.

I note that a number of people talk about having a washing up bowl separate from the built in sink. Is this because the internal plumbing gets clogged up with vegetable peelings etc - or is there another reason?

All things will become apparent no doubt when we finally get our motorhome.

Many thanks,

Neil.

[Barbara and Graham]

brougham said:

I note that a number of people talk about having a washing up bowl separate from the built in sink. Is this because the internal plumbing gets clogged up with vegetable peelings etc - or is there another reason?

It's useful to have one to carry dishes /veg /salad to and from the sinks on site. Means you can also use the van sink for non-food purposes without worrying too much about hygiene!

Barbara