can we use auto antifreeze in the toilet? - R-pod Owners Forum

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riotkayak284 View Drop Down

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Joined: 29 Apr 2016
Location: Nashville, TN
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Topic: can we use auto antifreeze in the toilet?
Posted: 03 Jan 2019 at 11:15am

I guess the question is why would you want to?

Shane

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Location: Northern IL.
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Posted: 02 Jan 2019 at 11:26am

RV AF I believe is non-toxic, it is much safer to use than auto AF.

ENGINE 55,TRUCK 44,BATALLION 12

lostagain

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 11:40am

Ethylene glycol is poisonous. It kills wild life in relatively low concentrations. California is the most populous state in the nation with almost 40 million people concentrated mostly in the coastal regions and the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. With that population stricter limitations in regard to the disposal of toxic chemicals are absolutely necessary.

Someone draining his/her radiator on the ground in Bluegrass, North Dakota will not have nearly the same effect as 100,000 people doing it in Los Angeles, California. Though California has many areas that are every bit as rural as Bluegrass, ND, the laws to control toxic releases into the environment have to be made an applied on a statewide basis or you will end up with a labyrinth of convoluted and unenforceable standards that no one will be happy with and that will not protect our environment.

Though many people have strong feeling about California and whether they do things the right way or not, the fact is that California, if it were a nation, would be among the top five countries in the world. Whether California is a wonderful place to live or s'hole, as many of its detractors contend, is really a political question, perhaps better left to another forum.

Happy, you may not drink the contents of your black water tank, but when you drain it, the municipal treatment center that receives the effluent may not be set up to remove the ethylene glycol. When they release the "treated sewage" into the local river, the fish and wild life do, indeed, drink your black water tank contents.

Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

StephenH

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 11:35am

You can make your choices, but it is still not the best one to use auto antifreeze because of the anti-corrosion chemicals. Why would you intentionally use something that is toxic? You may not be "drinking the contents of the black tank," but those contents are drained into a sewage system. If those chemicals are not broken down by the treatment plant, they then flow out into the general water supply. Also, I did some reading and the auto antifreeze could contribute to the seals deteriorating which is another reason to not use auto antifreeze in place of the RV antifreeze which should be used.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Happy Tripping View Drop Down

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 10:27am

With all due contempt to California, I think that there is an unreasonable 'eek' factor at work here seen too often in the way that state reacts to minimal or even imaginary hazards.

Car antifreeze is definitely poisonous to mammals because of the way we metabolize it. I don't intend to drink the contents of our black tank. I have already shown that in low concentrations, it's actually beneficial for bacteria. At low concentrations, it also has no significant harm to plants. So what's the problem?

The key of course is 'at low concentrations'. When the car antifreeze is used up I'll go back to routine use of the pink stuff, anyway.

jato

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 9:57am

+1 Good idea to recycle the antifreeze, even the rv pink stuff. Even though we have easy access for recycling antifreeze, I still use just 16 oz. each year to winterize our 177.

God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

mcarter

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 8:56am

I think you'd have to see some extended, really cold temps to freeze a black tank. I would never use toxic anti-freeze unless I had a way to recover it. Not a habit you want to get into.

Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

StephenH

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 8:48am

RV antifreeze also does not contain the additional anti-corrosion chemicals needed to prevent corrosion in the 200+ degree F environment of the engine and car radiator. I agree that a one-time use in a pinch might be acceptable, but not on a regular basis. Then it turns into a case of Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail. Every Walmart that I have been in carries RV antifreeze so unless you are dry camping in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to find and purchase RV antifreeze to use.

StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Tars Tarkas View Drop Down

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 7:58am

Using it once in an "emergency" is one thing, but continuing to use it after you've had the opportunity to get some regular non-toxic RV antifreeze seems a bit much. The RV stuff is a fraction of the cost of cooling system antifreeze too.

2010 176
FJ Cruiser

Happy Tripping View Drop Down

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Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 7:26am

Thank for your responses.

From what I can tell -

regular antifreeze will have no effect on the black tank, far from inhibiting bacteria and their degradation of 'stuff', at low concentrations bacteria love antifreeze.

https://dowac.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5207

Dumping the black tank with the car antifreeze in it is not a problem because of the low concentration of the car antifreeze in the black tank.

I'm still worried about damage to the the toilet valves if the car antifreeze sits there for a prolonged time, so I will continue to use the car antifreeze to flush the toilet, but after each trip, will use the pink stuff to keep the toilet seals wet.

If any of this is wrong, I am confident that someone here will let me know Smile

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riotkayak284 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 29 Apr 2016 Location: Nashville, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 162	Topic: can we use auto antifreeze in the toilet? Posted: 03 Jan 2019 at 11:15am
	I guess the question is why would you want to?

Shane Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 09 Sep 2018 Location: Northern IL. Online Status: Offline Posts: 98	Posted: 02 Jan 2019 at 11:26am
	RV AF I believe is non-toxic, it is much safer to use than auto AF.
	ENGINE 55,TRUCK 44,BATALLION 12

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 11:40am
	Ethylene glycol is poisonous. It kills wild life in relatively low concentrations. California is the most populous state in the nation with almost 40 million people concentrated mostly in the coastal regions and the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. With that population stricter limitations in regard to the disposal of toxic chemicals are absolutely necessary. Someone draining his/her radiator on the ground in Bluegrass, North Dakota will not have nearly the same effect as 100,000 people doing it in Los Angeles, California. Though California has many areas that are every bit as rural as Bluegrass, ND, the laws to control toxic releases into the environment have to be made an applied on a statewide basis or you will end up with a labyrinth of convoluted and unenforceable standards that no one will be happy with and that will not protect our environment. Though many people have strong feeling about California and whether they do things the right way or not, the fact is that California, if it were a nation, would be among the top five countries in the world. Whether California is a wonderful place to live or s'hole, as many of its detractors contend, is really a political question, perhaps better left to another forum. Happy, you may not drink the contents of your black water tank, but when you drain it, the municipal treatment center that receives the effluent may not be set up to remove the ethylene glycol. When they release the "treated sewage" into the local river, the fish and wild life do, indeed, drink your black water tank contents.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 11:35am
	You can make your choices, but it is still not the best one to use auto antifreeze because of the anti-corrosion chemicals. Why would you intentionally use something that is toxic? You may not be "drinking the contents of the black tank," but those contents are drained into a sewage system. If those chemicals are not broken down by the treatment plant, they then flow out into the general water supply. Also, I did some reading and the auto antifreeze could contribute to the seals deteriorating which is another reason to not use auto antifreeze in place of the RV antifreeze which should be used.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Happy Tripping Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 May 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 473	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 10:27am
	With all due contempt to California, I think that there is an unreasonable 'eek' factor at work here seen too often in the way that state reacts to minimal or even imaginary hazards. Car antifreeze is definitely poisonous to mammals because of the way we metabolize it. I don't intend to drink the contents of our black tank. I have already shown that in low concentrations, it's actually beneficial for bacteria. At low concentrations, it also has no significant harm to plants. So what's the problem? The key of course is 'at low concentrations'. When the car antifreeze is used up I'll go back to routine use of the pink stuff, anyway.

jato Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3255	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 9:57am
	+1 Good idea to recycle the antifreeze, even the rv pink stuff. Even though we have easy access for recycling antifreeze, I still use just 16 oz. each year to winterize our 177.
	God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 8:56am
	I think you'd have to see some extended, really cold temps to freeze a black tank. I would never use toxic anti-freeze unless I had a way to recover it. Not a habit you want to get into.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6326	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 8:48am
	RV antifreeze also does not contain the additional anti-corrosion chemicals needed to prevent corrosion in the 200+ degree F environment of the engine and car radiator. I agree that a one-time use in a pinch might be acceptable, but not on a regular basis. Then it turns into a case of Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail. Every Walmart that I have been in carries RV antifreeze so unless you are dry camping in the middle of nowhere, you should be able to find and purchase RV antifreeze to use.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Tars Tarkas Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 7:58am
	Using it once in an "emergency" is one thing, but continuing to use it after you've had the opportunity to get some regular non-toxic RV antifreeze seems a bit much. The RV stuff is a fraction of the cost of cooling system antifreeze too. TT
	2010 176 FJ Cruiser

Happy Tripping Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 May 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 473	Posted: 01 Jan 2019 at 7:26am
	Thank for your responses. From what I can tell - regular antifreeze will have no effect on the black tank, far from inhibiting bacteria and their degradation of 'stuff', at low concentrations bacteria love antifreeze. https://dowac.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5207 Dumping the black tank with the car antifreeze in it is not a problem because of the low concentration of the car antifreeze in the black tank. I'm still worried about damage to the the toilet valves if the car antifreeze sits there for a prolonged time, so I will continue to use the car antifreeze to flush the toilet, but after each trip, will use the pink stuff to keep the toilet seals wet. If any of this is wrong, I am confident that someone here will let me know .