Coffee grounds in Shower tray?

PaulC70

PaulC70

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Now, I've just been away a week in the Motorhome and after coming home yesterday and unpacking the bulk of stuff to tidy up it's apparant that theres some water and coffee grounds in the shower tray!
I'm sure I'm right in saying this but am assuming this is a symptom of overfilling the grey waste tank! There's a week worth of washing up in there and we have a cafetiere of coffee at least once a day so it's the only thing that makes sense?

I also assume there's no way to avoid this other than empty more often?
 
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I always put ours in the bin, I wouldn't put them in the loo that fills up quick enough as it is. I don't think I've ever had a full waste tank I empty at every opertunity like filling with fresh water.
 
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We don't have that problem as we use the instant type coffees in individual packs ... do you like my coffee drawer? 😄

coffee drawer.jpg
 
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We use a Bialetti, which leaves us with dry grounds that go straight in the bin. Plan b. are Moreish coffee bags fromAmazon
 
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The main issue isn't the coffee grounds but why grey waste found its way to the shower tray. We experienced this when I removed the non-return valve in the shower drain pipe in an effort to improve the speed the shower water draine away. It worked well at improving the flow but if we drove with waste water in the tank then it tended to flood the shower tray when we went uphill. :) The shower plug hole has a cap which you press down to close it off but it was easy to stand on this when you went into the bathroom to use the loo and open it.

The answer was to replace the rubber valve in the non-return valve. It had hardened over time and a new valve returned flow rates to what they should be.

You need to check if your system has a non-return valve and if it has consider replacing it, they are not expensive. If it doesn't have one check if any sprung-loaded cap over the plug hole is working correctly. If none of these apply assume the flood was a one off and may never happen again. :)

Your tank will almost certainly have an air vent at the top otherwise where does the displaced air go as waste water enters it? You can confirm this by trying to over-fill the waste tank by running water from a tap into a sink until the tank is full. Look underneath to see if any water is dripping down at this point from the vent.
 
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If you have a 100 L fresh water tank and a 100 L waste tank then when the fresh tank reaches zero the waste tank needs emptying!
 
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From experience of having to unblock drains in our bar, I can tell you that old rotten coffee grounds are probably the most foul smelling thing you can extract from a blocked pipe, even worse than the most obvious contender. Best not to risk them gathering.
 
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SpeedyDux said:
If you have a 100 L fresh water tank and a 100 L waste tank then when the fresh tank reaches zero the waste tank needs emptying!
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Trouble is that the waste tank usually has at least 20% less capacity than the fresh water tank.

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Taylors coffee ground bags. They're like teabags but ground coffee. The Taylors/Betty's factory is behind us, smells are amazing when they're roasting coffee.
 
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I put a non return valve on all waste pipes prior to their entry to the tank. Easy to access for fitting.
No more grey water in shower, reduces any unsavoury doors into van.
Tank overflow is minute hole in side of plastic tank and level gauge packed up.
Problem solved
 
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You might like to look at an Aeropress. Makes fantastic coffee from your choice of ground, an so very easy to dispose of grounds. Great when not connected to EHU.

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The coffee grounds are only a symptom of the problem, the shower tray should not be flooding with or without coffee. The easy answer is empty the grey water before travelling but non return valves sound like a good idea because if there are no traps smells are inevitable.
 
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We also use a coffee filter paper to make coffee and so it is easy to get rid of the grounds in the bin. Throwing remains of a cafetiere in the toilet is better than in the sink. We avoid putting any solids down the sink - wiping off bowls and plates with kitchen roll before washing up etc. And also we have a portable waste carrier under the (open) tap from the grey waste which makes it easier to dispose of regularly without having to drive over the drain - just carry the carrier to the nearest disposal site. This was something we started to do after the waste tap froze in -14 degrees in the Alps which was very inconvenient!!
 
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SpeedyDux said:
If you have a 100 L fresh water tank and a 100 L waste tank then when the fresh tank reaches zero the waste tank needs emptying!
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And the cassette too!!

Cheers James
 
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Jamesh said:
And the cassette too!!

Cheers James
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I see your point. In our case we don't drink the water from the fresh tank so the arithmetic is not so simple.

Minxy Girl said:
Trouble is that the waste tank usually has at least 20% less capacity than the fresh water tank.
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Ours are both 100 L tanks. If we are going to be pedantic the Truma boiler adds about 20L more on the fresh side.
 
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Sandyt said:
You might like to look at an Aeropress. Makes fantastic coffee from your choice of ground, an so very easy to dispose of grounds. Great when not connected to EHU.
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Nah, cafetiere is perfectly fine for us and don't have any problem with being off grid either as obviously just boil the kettle on gas.
 
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Marian Lightfoot said:
We also use a coffee filter paper to make coffee and so it is easy to get rid of the grounds in the bin. Throwing remains of a cafetiere in the toilet is better than in the sink. We avoid putting any solids down the sink - wiping off bowls and plates with kitchen roll before washing up etc. And also we have a portable waste carrier under the (open) tap from the grey waste which makes it easier to dispose of regularly without having to drive over the drain - just carry the carrier to the nearest disposal site. This was something we started to do after the waste tap froze in -14 degrees in the Alps which was very inconvenient!!
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This will be fine when on site etc but not when most of my stays are wilding. Though I have ordered a collapsible bucket for those occasions when I am on site.
 
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Kiss solution, Empty waste more often by spending one night a week on club site to fully charge batteries etc. and, I have reverted to the old type funnel thingy with (eco friendly) paper filters, heat the kettle, pour on coffee, wait 'til it drains and place dryish filter paper in bin. Simples!
 
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We have a simple rule to avoid any draining any waste that might be food or at all with bits. Coffee grounds go in the bin or hedges; Even washing up water is thrown in the bushes or if available down the grey waste. Haven't had any bad smells or issues since we started doing this.
 
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Bucket said:
Thanks for showing us your drawers Minxy....;)
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If you REALLY want to see my drawers do a search for 'watermelon knickers' with my ID ... 😄
 
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denisejoe said:
We always empty coffee grounds out and wipe round with tissue to avoid them going down into the waste tank. I suspect the grounds have come up from the waste tank. Best way to stop that is to keep the plugs in whilst travelling. We keep a bucket under the waste if we're staying anywhere for more than a couple of days, or at least empty some waste out into buckets to dispose of waste. Might be worth you keeping a bucket handy to empty your grounds into as well rather than chucking them down the sink!
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Don’t you have sensors telling you how much is in there or are they faulty? I know that. one under-reads but tat least in mine there is a hatch in the floor just in front of the boiler which reveals the waste tank and the inspection cap so I can always check it manually after a couple of days. This is how I know the sensor under-reads, it usually goes no higher than 40% despite it being virtually full. My system uses CBE kit which looks quite a challenge to change unless someone can tell me how it is done. There is, what appears by feeling it, a large hex nut holding the sensor inn place. Ideas how to unscrew it The nut. One piece of advice I was given is to regularly wipe clean the probes which has helped
 
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Ian Bosman said:
Don’t you have sensors telling you how much is in there or are they faulty? I know that. one under-reads but tat least in mine there is a hatch in the floor just in front of the boiler which reveals the waste tank and the inspection cap so I can always check it manually after a couple of days. This is how I know the sensor under-reads, it usually goes no higher than 40% despite it being virtually full. My system uses CBE kit which looks quite a challenge to change unless someone can tell me how it is done. There is, what appears by feeling it, a large hex nut holding the sensor inn place. Ideas how to unscrew it The nut. One piece of advice I was given is to regularly wipe clean the probes which has helped
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No idea why you've quoted my post when your response has nothing to do with what I wrote. We just prefer to empty the waste by bucket as not everywhere has drive over waste disposal. Nothing to do with having a full waste tank!

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The shower drain is the lowest in your system, so the place that waste water will appear if the water tank gets too full (or sloshes about whilst travelling).
We put grounds into a used yoghurt pot (with lid) and take it home for composting.
More important is to try and avoid any solids from going down the drain because some of them will remain in the tank and fester. Use kitchen towel to wipe dirty things clean before washing. Otherwise you are likely to build up stinky grey water and foul smells coming from the shower tray.
 
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