Black Water Tank

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TGibbs

TGibbs

Member
Joined
May 29, 2017
Posts
16
Location
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Hi,

Still pretty new to the RV world and we are having an issue with dumping our Black Water tank. Our trailer is just a small 2017 Real Lite 14.5' so nothing fancy and small tanks.
First time the tank didn't drain completely according to the gauge and even dumping more water in then trunk to dump again with no luck.  Thinking the gauge was not working right, we went out on another weekend trip, and sure enough after a few uses the tank read full again.  After this trip i tried to dump the tank again and some but not all did drain.  I looked up this issue and using a few pots of boiling water was a solution so I tried it out.  I also used a long flexible pipe through the toilet opening to help stir/break up any solids.  I went and attempted to drain again and this time a lot of material drained and the tank gauge read empty.  I was happy about this but it was short lived as we went away again and after 1 night the Gauge read 2/3 full.  At the end of the trip i again had issues draining the tank even with adding boiling water and some extra water before leaving to hopefully help break things down.
I have read some if the threads about similar issues with gauges but was hoping someone might have some helpful solutions.

Thanks
 
Three things.
First, never leave the black tank drain valve open while hooked up to campground sewage. If you do, what will happen is all the liquids will drain leaving the solids behind for what we call a poo pyramid. You can leave the gray tank valve open. What we do is 2 days before we plan on dumping, I shut the gray tank valve and let that tank fill. Then I use that gray water to rinse out the sewer hose after dumping the black tank.

Second, never dump the black tank unless it's 2/3 full. Add water if need be before attempting to dump. A tank this full will surely give you a good dump.  I also have a clear 45 degree elbow at the sewer outlet so I can see if the water is clear or if I need to flush more. Do you have a flusher unit built into the RV?

Third, tank sensors are notorious for not reading accurately. Mine very rarely give a accurate reading. Don't worry about it.

 
Rene T said:
Three things.
First, never leave the black tank drain valve open while hooked up to campground sewage. If you do, what will happen is all the liquids will drain leaving the solids behind for what we call a poo pyramid. You can leave the gray tank valve open. What we do is 2 days before we plan on dumping, I shut the gray tank valve and let that tank fill. Then I use that gray water to rinse out the sewer hose after dumping the black tank.

Second, never dump the black tank unless it's 2/3 full. Add water if need be before attempting to dump. A tank this full will surely give you a good dump.  I also have a clear 45 degree elbow at the sewer outlet so I can see if the water is clear or if I need to flush more. Do you have a flusher unit built into the RV?

Third, tank sensors are notorious for not reading accurately. Mine very rarely give a accurate reading. Don't worry about it.
Click to expand...

I have never been to a full hookups campgroumd yet so luckily both tanks stay closed until ready to dump.  I might have to add water to the black tank prior to dumping in hopes that will help completely empty the tank.
The tanks are both 30 gal so I would expect a few days away would not be enough to fill the black tank as the gauge says.
The tank does not have a built in flusher but I have been reading about the wands you can insert through the toilet to help flush out any debris left in the tank.
What are the thoughts on these?
I am going to attempt to fill the tank with water and some boiling water again and try and dump to see what happens this time.
Fingers crossed that it works along with a good flush and then I will be sure to use more water in the tank before any use and more water whenever the toilet is used to avoid the potential "Poo Pyramid"
 
It doesn't sound like you have the dreaded poop pirimid; it seems like you have the common and notorious inaccurate black tank gauge. In the absence of a tank flush inlet, the wands work well. I would not focus on the gauge, but try to get a feel for how long you can go between dumps.
 
I use a clear adapter when dumping (see attached) and flush until the discharge is free of debris.  Also, if you turn your water pump off and peer down the poop-chute of your toilet with a flashlight, what do you see?  I see the bottom of our black tank.  Something else to consider is the actual direction of discharge from the black tank.  Ours empties (leaves the tank) in a direction towards the front of the TT.  I find I get the best results if I lower (slope the tank) towards the front of the TT when dumping.

I've also heard that dumping large amounts of ice cubes into the toilet and then immediately driving like a bat out of Hell will help dislodge solids. 

Good luck.


TGibbs said:
Hi,

Still pretty new to the RV world and we are having an issue with dumping our Black Water tank. Our trailer is just a small 2017 Real Lite 14.5' so nothing fancy and small tanks.
First time the tank didn't drain completely according to the gauge and even dumping more water in then trunk to dump again with no luck.  Thinking the gauge was not working right, we went out on another weekend trip, and sure enough after a few uses the tank read full again.  After this trip i tried to dump the tank again and some but not all did drain.  I looked up this issue and using a few pots of boiling water was a solution so I tried it out.  I also used a long flexible pipe through the toilet opening to help stir/break up any solids.  I went and attempted to drain again and this time a lot of material drained and the tank gauge read empty.  I was happy about this but it was short lived as we went away again and after 1 night the Gauge read 2/3 full.  At the end of the trip i again had issues draining the tank even with adding boiling water and some extra water before leaving to hopefully help break things down.
I have read some if the threads about similar issues with gauges but was hoping someone might have some helpful solutions.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 

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Make sure to add a couple of gallons of water to the black tank after dumping .  It will help "wash" the tank while traveling and help eliminate build up issues when first used.  I normally suggest more, but you have small tanks.
 
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