B190 Enthusiasts

Anyone have any advice about what chemicals to use in my black water tank? (I don’t have a gray water tank; everything goes to the black.) Is the stuff from Walmart pretty good? How often would you put it in? I’m a newbie to RV toilets; ANY advice is appreciated.

I use the Walex porta pack drop in pouch. I’ve tried other stuff like “tank tech” but, for me, the pouch works fine. I put in a fresh pouch every time I dump the tank. I drop it in the toilet, along with a gallon of water.

Thetford makes a good product called: Thetford RV Toilet Seal Lube and Conditioner. You can get it on Amazon for about $7.80. It’s great for helping extend the life of your toilet rubber seal. I use it about twice a year.

So everything in your rig empties into the black tank? If so you will want to make sure your p-traps never dry out.

Thanks Chris! I think I saw the Welex stuff at Walmart the other day. Seems like it was about $10 for 10-15 packets. I’ll check into that stuff from Amazon as well.

Yeah, I only have a black water holding tank on my ‘88 Okanagan. Not sure if it was designed that way, or if one of the previous owners modified it for some reason. Thanks for the advice about P-traps. Is the best way to deal with that by just pouring some antifreeze down the sink and toilet? (The shower was removed by a P.O. long ago.)

I don’t think you need antifreeze unless you are winterizing. Maybe someone else can chime in on the evaporating properties of antifreeze. I’d just use water. Actually, since I have the black and grey water tank, I use TST RV Grey Water Odor Control. It supposedly removes grease buildup in your grey water tank, sink and shower drains, and has a lemon scent.

usachris wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 02, 2022 7:16 am

I don’t think you need antifreeze unless you are winterizing. Maybe someone else can chime in on the evaporating properties of antifreeze. I’d just use water. Actually, since I have the black and grey water tank, I use TST RV Grey Water Odor Control. It supposedly removes grease buildup in your grey water tank, sink and shower drains, and has a lemon scent.

Antifreeze definitely does evaporate - I regularly find pink spots in my shower and the toilet each spring. I suspect it doesn't as much in the tanks, though.

I don't have experience with a single-tank setup, but it probably is that way from the factory - that was a thing RV manufacturers were trying around that time. In fact the owners manual of my '91 indicates it has a single tank, and it goes on and on about the value of the single tank setup...but there are separate tanks. My guess is that the issue is that you can't drain just the graywater with a single tank setup, and that's what usually fills first.

I've been using these in my black tank. They seem fine. I like them because I don't have to worry about them freezing, unlike liquid solutions!

Amsoil makes a propylene glycol based antifreeze. That would take forfreakingever to dry out in a p-trap.