Help! Black Water tank is cloged

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Thersmith

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2019
Posts
10
So purchased a 2yr old RV, knew from the first week Black water tank was sluggish to drain. Been using all the treatments...so last sunday I decided to use the the wand thru the toliet as I was draining it. It was working well.... Well guess what my sluggish tank now is stopped up. Cant put more water down the hole as it is nearly full. I have added everything I can think of to it. It does seem to be draining ever so slowly but I think that's just the liquid. Any ideas??? It is now Tuesday and still no progress.... :'(

I have done hot water when it wasn't totally full
rid x
the orange stuff
dish liquid
liquid plumr....i know...
plunger ....that doesn't work smdh
filled the gray tank full capped the outside, opened to maybe push the blockage out of the way
10ft snake down the toilet..not sure that went all the way to the problem
valve is open i checked that.
ran the back flush clear view adapter for hours, however I don't know if that would work since it is not a straight shot from the tank to the drain.


Help!


 
Welcome to the forum.
If you still have a little bit of space in the tank, I'd put a cap on the end of your sewer discharge then pressurize the line and hopefully clear the blockage.This is the cap:
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Durable-Connection-Connection-39463/dp/B000BQKBP2/ref=sr_1_7?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwsaC05i95gIVysDACh3ppw94EAAYASAAEgIigfD_BwE&hvadid=177604961419&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9012168&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14116258714296062403&hvtargid=aud-837686656069%3Akwd-4359823007&hydadcr=7465_9586256&keywords=rv+sewer+cap&qid=1576603219&sr=8-7

The only other option you have is to run a snake up into the tank from the discharge side to clear the blockage. I'm glad I don'y have to do that.

When camping, have you been leaving the drain valve open all the time?  If you have been, that's wrong because the liquids will drain out leaving just solids.

 
Welcome to the RV Forum Thersmith

You will likely have to go up though the drain with a snake. The clog may turn out to be the blanks from when the access holes were cut during assembly of the RV. It happens more than you think.

Looks like Rene beat me with the answer....But we agree with the solution and the outcome...It's not going to be fun.



 
Thanks All for the welcome! Yes gloves protective eye gear hazmat suit.....

No I do not leave it open, I wait till it is full however I thing the prior owner did and the lot that it sat on before I purchased Im sure left it to dry and harden I knew it wasn't right within a few weeks so I have been letting is soak with enzymes up till now when I had the grand idea to help speed things up a bit.
I did do the cap think kinda.... I caped it left the black tank open, filled my gray tank completely then opened the gray tank in hopes that when the water couldn't escape thru the exit it would have to run up the exit pipe of  the black water side.....hoping that the air and water would push it out of the way. I may not have waited long enough but was concerned that the water would be all over the floor inside. I only tried it once though. Is that what you were talking about????
 
You could not overfill the tank by transfering water from the gray to the black. I assume both tanks are the same size. The water level would just equalize but there wouldn't have been much pressure. I think if you used a garden hose and that special cap, you'd see more pressure trying to break up the clog.

I have another idea. Install one of these on the end of your pipe. Then put a twist on valve on the end of this elbow. Then, you can shut that twist on valve, then go up through the hose flushing fitting with a snake  and hopefully you can break up the clog. Put a 5 gallon bucket under the fitting because you will get crap out of the fitting. Once the snake it out, plug the hose fitting with your thumb with gloves on. .
https://parts.unitedrv.com/products/rv-sewer-tank-hydroflush-90-degree?variant=33657602305&currency=USD&_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjc_Rmry95gIVCNbACh0pagWpEAQYBiABEgKyHvD_BwE

This is the twist on valve:

https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T58-Twist-On-Waste-Valve/dp/B000BGHYJS/ref=asc_df_B000BGHYJS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312128189269&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7984008810170478208&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012168&hvtargid=aud-829758849484:pla-448831038926&psc=1

 
I broke the one I had, I will pick up another..........dont ask lol
I'll let ya'll know what happens
 
Well the snake worked, however it wasn't the big gush I thought it would be.  :eek: but I did hear it glub glub a little bit ago so I think it may have pushed thru. I guess lots of water now is in order
 
Thersmith said:
Well the snake worked, however it wasn't the big gush I thought it would be.  :eek: but I did hear it glub glub a little bit ago so I think it may have pushed thru. I guess lots of water now is in order

Did you run the snake down the toilet or in through the end of the discharge pipe?
 
Porta-potty copany can suck it up and out via the path it entered.

True story from long ago here in these forums as I recall
The RV owner had a problem like yours
he found that when they cut the hole in the floor for the toilet to tank pipe they just dropped the wood inside the tank instead of tossing it in the big round file.  He got it out (Do not ask how he did not say) Rinsed it off. double bagged it and sent it to the CEO of the company that made the beast.

IF you have a problem like this.. There is a product that you might find useful. It is used by the folks who do artificial insemination on Cows.

Basically it is surgurical or exam gloves.. But instead of being standard "length" (just over your wrist) they are long enough to go up the arm past the elbow... DO NOT ask why they use them.. That one I do know the answer to, .
 
Being concerned about black tank issues have my wifely I motivation to research this issue and decide on a routine that would work for us.  Before every trip we add 3 to 5 gallons of water to the black tank along with a nominal amount of Dawn and Calgon. The water then sloshes around during the trip cleaning the tank. Our other practice is using the Rhino Blaster Pro Tank Rinser after dumping the black tank. We make sure the grey valve is closed and let it run a couple of minutes and I was shocked to see what came out of what I thought was an empty tank.
 
rffowler said:
Being concerned about black tank issues have my wifely I motivation to research this issue and decide on a routine that would work for us.  Before every trip we add 3 to 5 gallons of water to the black tank along with a nominal amount of Dawn and Calgon. The water then sloshes around during the trip cleaning the tank. Our other practice is using the Rhino Blaster Pro Tank Rinser after dumping the black tank. We make sure the grey valve is closed and let it run a couple of minutes and I was shocked to see what came out of what I thought was an empty tank.
Welcome to the forum.  You've got a good system. Keep doing it that way. We do the same thing when going back to NH in the spring except we don't use any Calgon. It always cleans my sensors so the indicators read correct but it doesn't last.
 
Yes, I know about the stories of the hole disk being dropped into the tank.... :eek: I also know about that "glove" ...grew up on a farm yikes!

I also agree there should have been more of a gush than there was and from what I can tell it does not look empty from looking down into the commode.
I snaked it from the exit side as when I tried from entrance I didn't get any results. I don't think my problem is fixed i just know it is not brimming full any more and it gives me a bit more time with the holidays and such.
I don't think my arm is long enough to reach to the bottom of the tank is it????

I didn't create this problem it was already there. I know how to my tank happy its just not letting me. ;)
 
You should purchase a scope and find out what is down there blocking the flow. You may not be as lucky the next time.  Something like this or similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Seesi-Endoscope-Waterproof-Inspection-Semi-Rigid/dp/B07PBF6DX5/ref=sr_1_4?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9If82qjA5gIVQ_7jBx0uDQNdEAAYASAAEgIbDfD_BwE&hvadid=241630861890&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9012168&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15840972346763280523&hvtargid=aud-837686656069%3Akwd-107236253&hydadcr=26614_9892224&keywords=endoscope&qid=1576710608&sr=8-4
 
There are companies that will come to you and power wash your tanks. Search for  "RV holding tank cleaning service". They will clean the tanks for real.
A few years ago I saw an RV tech pull a 3" x 2' turd out of a 5th wheel that had been sitting on a permanent site for a number of years with the black tank dump valve open.
 
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