Our black tank is finally empty

[garyb1st]

If you go by the indicator light, the black tank on our Pace was half full when we bought it. The DW who has responsibility for holding tanks, has tried a number of cleaning agents with no avail.

The last time she put so much Dawn dish washing soap in the tanks, I figured suds would be coming out of the toilet. That didn't happen and after maybe 750 miles of driving with the soap sloshing around, it still read full after we finally dumped it. That was 4 months ago when we returned from our last trip.

A month ago when I was getting the RV ready for our next trip, I checked the black tank. Finally it read empty. Not sure what happened but think maybe whatever was sticking to the sensors slid off or maybe just sitting in the unusually dry warm summer heat for several months finally dried things up. In any event, I am happy to finally see the tank is empty.

 

[Derby6]

Lol
Yea I wouldn’t be surprised when it gets wet it’ll read 1/2 again. I try everything too. Seems when dries out I can get an empty signal.

 

[UTTransplant]

Internal sensors never read correctly after a bit of use. Before we had external sensors installed (See-Level in our case), we could tell by the sound when the toilet flushed or even just looked down the hole to judge. The external sensors are much better.

 

[NY_Dutch]

I've been very satisfied with accuracy of our SeeLevel tank sensors mentioned above. They use external sensors that are not subject to crud buildup unless it's extreme. Installation is fairly easy if you have access to one side of each tank. The factory wiring can be reused to connect the SeeLevel display.

(Just one source, there may be better pricing elsewhere.)

RV Tank Sensors | Seelevel Tank Monitoring System | RV Upgrade Store

Don't guess the liquid levels of your RV holding tanks. Seelevel tank monitoring systems from RV Upgrades make it quick & easy! Low prices every day!

www.rvupgradestore.com

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A month ago when I was getting the RV ready for our next trip, I checked the black tank. Finally it read empty. Not sure what happened but think maybe whatever was sticking to the sensors slid off or maybe just sitting in the unusually dry warm summer heat for several months finally dried things up. In any event, I am happy to finally see the tank is empty.

What happened is the gooey scale on the sensors dried out so there is no longer an electrical path between them, thus telling the display gauge "it's empty". When the tank gets wet again, the gauge will return to its erroneous ways.

The only way I've used or heard that had any hope of longer-term success is to fill the tank with fresh water with a heavy dose of RidX or Roebic K57 and let it sit for several days before flushing out. These are biologic products that grow yeasts that will actually eat the gunk away. But it sometimes takes multiple treatments even with those.

Or do the simple thing: ignore the sensor and mentally estimate when it's time to dump again. Most RVers soon develop a feel for how many days of use they can get between dumps and its consistent enough to be quite accurate. And the toilet-flush sound will change enough to remind you when it is all but full.

 

[garyb1st]

Agree on the simple method. Our black tank is 42 gallons. I've estimated the amount of water used per flush and I'm pretty sure we can go 14 days with no issues. I'm not planning on testing my calculations and in the event my calculations prove wrong, there won't be any follow up reports.