Re: thinking out loud
Actually, the type of bacteria that is in Rid-Ex is the same as that which is found in a natural system. If you do a little research you will find that with temperatures kept above 40 degrees the natural bacteria will liquefy most human waste products in about 48 hours. I can't recall the percentage but it was near 80%. It doesn't need to complete the process like a septic system because all that you really want is for things to flow out of the tank and into the sewer system. That happens to more than 50% in 24 hours and much more in 48. In a septic system, everything has to degenerate to a point where there are no solids at all and to where the waste is no longer capable of carrying germs and bacteria. The liquid is then to a point where it is non-toxic. that does take about a week but it isn't needed in your RV. The vast majority of fulltimers that we know, and most of our frineds are fulltimers since we have been for eight years, do just as we do and only use generous amounts of fresh water. It was a seminar by an RV tech. that convinced me to give that a try. Most of the chemicals and RV folk lore products are mostly aimed at speeding the process to avoid using enough water or they are designed to sell a product or book or such. We are fulltimers who actually experience what others talk about. It has now been more than five years since we put anything other than generous amounts of water into our black tank for use. We do use a mix of water and laundry detergent to fill the tank 1/2 full or so just before travel about once each three months just to be sure it is as clean as a tank where one put his human waste can ever be. If you add enough water, you can probably put just about anything into the tank with little ill effect other than on your budget.