Where is my waste water going??

[AlexInSweden]

Hi Everyone. Just back from a trip and noticed the waste water from the sink is draining Away nicely, then not appearing at the other end! I haven’t had or used the van long but I distinctly recall from last year there is no waste tank, it should just flow out through the little drain pipe under the kitchen.

Am I missing something obvious (probably)

Thanks!
Alex

 

[bxl_lad]

What year is your van?
Normally the waste tank is behind the kitchen and drains using a valve in the left hand cupboard...

 

[AlexInSweden]

Hi and thanks for the post! It’s a ‘96. Yes the red stopcock? I keep that open but I didn’t know there was a tank behind there. I’ve taken off the shield and there is a transparent tube which looks a bit gungy. Any tips on what to start exploring first?!

 

[AlexInSweden]

Oh and that pic should be rotated clockwise!

 

[mrcheesbrough]

If you switch the red lever to the vertical position, then pour a load of water into your sink the water should store in the tank. There is an icon on the central control screen (above the rear view mirror) that will flash to let you know the tank is full, but only when it’s full. Unlike the fresh water tank icon that has segments to let you know how much is left. It should hold around 20 litres I believe. Once the water has drained out of your sink stand out side the camper, roughly where the fridge is and get someone to switch the red lever to the horizontal - the waste water should deposit itself under the camper, near your feet. If that happens then you’ve nothing to fix.


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[AlexInSweden]

Thanks Mrcheesbrough! I’ll defo try that but Actually i had the lever permanently down/horizontal/open, assuming the waste water would just drain out the pipe. This time I saw that the bucket I usually use was totally empty... which started this thread.

I have seen some threads about squirting water up the drain from the outside end, but I am supposed to close off the ‘overflow’ and I don’t know where/what that is.

thanks for your help!!!

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Thanks Mrcheesbrough! I’ll defo try that but Actually i had the lever permanently down/horizontal/open, assuming the waste water would just drain out the pipe. This time I saw that the bucket I usually use was totally empty... which started this thread.

I have seen some threads about squirting water up the drain from the outside end, but I am supposed to close off the ‘overflow’ and I don’t know where/what that is.

thanks for your help!!!

Ah ha. I see. So you’ve seen water released under the camper before? That leads me to think you’ve just got a blockage in the drain pipe. I’ve connected a hosepipe to the drain pipe and pushed water back into the waste tank before. It easily cleared the problem.


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[AlexInSweden]

Yes last year when I got the van I tried to flush it through with disinfectant. I remember it was very slow but it Worked - probably a blockage developing. I didn’t even realize there was a holding tank but now I guess it is backing up in there.

Ill try this water hose trick. Is the overflow That plastic ribbed pipe in the background of my photo??

thanks again!!

 

[WelshGas]

Yes last year when I got the van I tried to flush it through with disinfectant. I remember it was very slow but it Worked - probably a blockage developing. I didn’t even realize there was a holding tank but now I guess it is backing up in there.

Ill try this water hose trick. Is the overflow That plastic ribbed pipe in the background of my photo??

thanks again!!

I think you are confusing the Waste tank plumbing with the SE/Ocean.
The 1996 vehicle has slightly different plumbing set up.

The Drain (8) goes straight to the tank. The overflow (9) connects to the top of the tank with a separate outlet.

 

[mrcheesbrough]

The disinfectant is a good thing. Those tanks can become quite smelly if they’re left with waste water in them for too long.

I think the ribbed pipe you refer to is in fact the fresh water tank drain off. The waste tank doesn’t really have an overflow as such it’s more a vent but it would only leak out if you ignored the warning on the central control panel.

What version is your Westy? Ours doesn’t have a removable panel like that.


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[AlexInSweden]

The diagram that Welshgas sent looks like my system. I guess if the block is in the bottom end of the tank / pipe then the overflow is irrelevant I should just blast the Water hose through the pipe And hope for the best. I’ll try this first, when I get the van back from the mechanic (brakes). Thanks everybody!!

 

[bxl_lad]

just a related question... Anyone know the capacity of the waste tank?
On the last trip we managed for the first time to get the tank full indicator flashing - good to see it works!

 

[WelshGas]

just a related question... Anyone know the capacity of the waste tank?
On the last trip we managed for the first time to get the tank full indicator flashing - good to see it works!

Don't know about yours I'm afraid but on my SE I believe it is about the same as the water tank, 30 L.

 

[AlexInSweden]

I watched a youtube clip last night which as I recall said 27L. I think it is the same as my system. Check out their channel it’s full of good stuff...

 

[mrcheesbrough]

just a related question... Anyone know the capacity of the waste tank?
On the last trip we managed for the first time to get the tank full indicator flashing - good to see it works!

25L Fresh, 27L Grey. From the manual.


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[sidepod]

just a related question... Anyone know the capacity of the waste tank?
On the last trip we managed for the first time to get the tank full indicator flashing - good to see it works!

Out of interest what are you putting in the waste tank? Do you wash up in the van?
I’ve found in the past, anything left in the waste tank just smells, especially if you’re driving with the window open.
I just leave the valve open all the time. We never wash up in the van.

 

[bxl_lad]

Out of interest what are you putting in the waste tank? Do you wash up in the van?
I’ve found in the past, anything left in the waste tank just smells, especially if you’re driving with the window open.
I just leave the valve open all the time. We never wash up in the van.

It's mainly washing of hands. We rarely wash dishes there, but admittedly this last trip I purposely let it fill up too see if the full tank indicator was working... it was

 

[AlexInSweden]

Seems like a long time ago now but finally got the van back from the mechanic and the hose pipe trick worked first time.... Thanks everybody AGAIN for great advice Who would have thought the hose fitted perfectly inside the down pipe without even the need for tape?

Now if anyone is still listening…. should i generally leave the wastewater drain open or closed? especially over the Winter...

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Good to hear it’s all sorted. In general I leave the drain valve open all the time. Unless we’re using the tank to collect the waste water, which is pretty rare. It shouldn’t make any difference if you leave it open or closed in winter as, unless you’re using it, there won’t be anything in it to freeze.


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[kurienp]

We may be tempted to have a cuppa tea in a car park, and do not want the washed water to be emptied in the car park, we keep the drain always closed and open it only when we reach home and empty the waste water tank into our waste water channel.

 

[AlexInSweden]

Right well I think I’ll leave it open a bit just to let it breathe. The water that came out was pretty nasty though I have rinsed it through a few times. Thanks everyone!