The Hope of The Slush

Okay, so as I reported yesterday my black water tank has a large block of ice in it. You know, ice made of “water.”

I check on how it is doing, how the block of ice is melting, by looking down my toilet. Once again, yet another aspect of this lifestyle that is not glamorous. 

Anyways, so what I saw was not a solid block of ice looking at me, but rather a slush. This means that things are working, and that that ice block is melting.

I also have not seen any puddles or other signs of damage from a draining and dripping cracked black water tank.

In fact the rush of water coming out is a good sign that such a crack does not exist. Again, we shall see, and only time will tell how right this assumption is.

Again, my real problem stemmed from not dumping my tanks quick enough when the weather froze.

Sure I had long since winterized my fresh water lines (early October). But I continued to use my toilet and sinks until the weather gets cold enough that I can’t dump anymore. 

Once that happens I have a problem getting the “water” out of the black water tank. I have solved this little dilemma by buying a hand activated water pump.

Again, this is for use when the drain pipe at the bottom of the trailer, the part that sticks out under the trailer, gets frozen up.

This way, with this pump I can pump the water out of the toilet. So, next year, next time I will be okay in getting the water out, this time I was not so lucky.

I was lucky in the fact that the tank was about half full at the time that it froze. Again, it could be damaged, but who knows.

I will have to wait until enough of the ice block melts (due to warm weather) so that I can erode it through water. 

When I do de-winterize, I will do so at a full hook-up campsite. I can then simply flush the daylights out of the back water tank until it is all clear of ice.

Again, that is the theory, for now all I can do is wait for that block do melt and drain it a few gallons at a time. 

You know, until I can get a steady rush of “water” coming out to drain the whole darn thing.

So, remember kids, when the weather starts to turn cold, air on the side of caution and dump your blessed tanks sooner rather than later.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!