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Old 07-24-2017, 11:18 AM   #1
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Black Water Plugging Grey Water?

When I left a campground a few days ago I stopped at the dump station as usual. I had a full black tank and proceeded to empty it without issue. When I tried to empty the half full grey tank nothing happened--I thought there was something wrong with my valve. So I had to disconnect the hose without any grey rinse: MAJOR DISGUSTING! To put it politely, there were lots of solids waiting for me.

After cleaning things up around the dump station, I went home with a half full grey tank (about 150 miles).

When I got home, I pulled into my driveway where I have a dump of my own that's connected to the sewer. I opened the grey valve and everything worked fine.

I'm all cleaned out and parked but has anyone else had this happen? Did some poop get stuck across the grey pipe at the "Y" where they come together? Any ideas for the future? I'd rather this didn't happen again. Perhaps if the grey tank had been full there would have been enough pressure to blow through the obstruction?
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Old 07-24-2017, 11:28 AM   #2
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I can see how this might happen. Do you have a black tank flush system? I do, and I do take the time to use it on those rare occasions when we have to use a dump station. Yeah, it takes longer, but doggone if I'm gonna let "stuff" pile up in my black tank!

If you don't have a flusher, consider an inexpensive wand. Used one in my old trailer. More of a pain in the neck than a flusher system, but it works. Hooking it up at a dump station would be a pain, too. But consider that your normal dump process may be leaving some "stuff" in the tank.

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Old 07-24-2017, 11:55 AM   #3
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If it came out when you took the hose off it sounds more like a plugged hose.
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Old 07-24-2017, 12:04 PM   #4
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If it came out when you took the hose off it sounds more like a plugged hose.
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Old 07-27-2017, 02:15 PM   #5
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I use one of the clear elbows when I dump (attached to the trailer). That way I know when everything is empty and how well things are flowing. I can also see when the grey water flushes the black out.
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Old 07-27-2017, 03:32 PM   #6
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I've never had solids stuck or "waiting" in my drain hose. Something sounds really wrong. I cannot think of any way that a black tank issue would have any effect on the gray tank either.
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Old 07-27-2017, 08:28 PM   #7
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The more I think about this, the more it sounds like the hose was blocked. Makes a good argument for one of those clear plastic adapters, so you can see the "stuff". The blocked hose would be pretty obvious, I would think. But a black tank flush is also incredibly helpful.

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Old 07-28-2017, 05:32 AM   #8
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Were do you store your drain hose? My old camper it was in the bumper and the birds called it home and filled it with nests and plugged the drain hose. Lucky for me I saw them entering the bumper through the center hole in the caps and cleaned the nests out of the hose before I tried draining the black tank and ended up bigger mess. I tapped the holes off to keep the bird out after that. It was a pain to get the nest out of the hose..
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Old 07-29-2017, 12:17 AM   #9
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The more I think about this, the more it sounds like the hose was blocked. Makes a good argument for one of those clear plastic adapters, so you can see the "stuff". The blocked hose would be pretty obvious, I would think. But a black tank flush is also incredibly helpful.

Roger
I doubt the hose was plugged. There was little liquid waiting for me--just a few solids staring me in the face. If the hose were plugged, it would have come shooting out when I disconnected it. When I rinsed the hose, I saw no evidence of a plug. Even without the hose, the grey water would not come out 'till I got home.

I'll probably install a black flush one of these days; sounds like a good idea. I just can't wait to crawl under there and drill a hole in the tank!
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:19 PM   #10
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The clear elbow I bought has a hose connection that shoots water back up into the tank. Doesn't work great but might do what you need. Black tank flushes can get clogged too. That's next on my list for ugly things to do is clean mine.
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Old 08-01-2017, 02:05 PM   #11
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The clear elbow I bought has a hose connection that shoots water back up into the tank. Doesn't work great but might do what you need. Black tank flushes can get clogged too. That's next on my list for ugly things to do is clean mine.
Part of the problem with any of these flush arrangements is that most of the state parks (at least here in New York) have no hoses for rinsing. Just this goofy spring loaded tower with a squirt fitting on the end. The squirt fitting can be removed allowing a hose to be connected oif you use vice grips but carrying an extra hose just for the sewage dump in my little trailer is a bit of a burden.
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Old 08-14-2017, 09:41 AM   #12
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I doubt the hose was plugged. There was little liquid waiting for me--just a few solids staring me in the face. If the hose were plugged, it would have come shooting out when I disconnected it. When I rinsed the hose, I saw no evidence of a plug. Even without the hose, the grey water would not come out 'till I got home.

I'll probably install a black flush one of these days; sounds like a good idea. I just can't wait to crawl under there and drill a hole in the tank!
The Grey tank getting plugged at the dump station... is it possible the "plug" that the manufacture cut out of the tank during installation somehow positioned itself across the tank outlet? It would be one of those one-in-a-million events, but its technically possible. Id say highly unllikely, but if there is a perfect circle of HDPE floating around in the tank, you cant say zero possibility.
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Old 08-14-2017, 11:08 AM   #13
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The Grey tank getting plugged at the dump station... is it possible the "plug" that the manufacture cut out of the tank during installation somehow positioned itself across the tank outlet? It would be one of those one-in-a-million events, but its technically possible. Id say highly unllikely, but if there is a perfect circle of HDPE floating around in the tank, you cant say zero possibility.
I suppose it could be, never happened before. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Old 08-17-2017, 08:32 AM   #14
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All good suggestions above. After emptying the black tank, I dump about 5 gallons of water from a bucket right down the toilet before prepping the tank for a new cycle, making sure water is draining freely. I also carry a wand (just in case) backflow flusher (Flush King, installed every time and provides a clear elbow view, and have had to use very infrequently), and have a tank sprayer that came w/ the TT that I use at the end of a trip typically before putting back into storage.
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:39 PM   #15
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Once I've emptied the black tank, I close the valve and turn on the black tank rinse. Once the black tank is about 1/2 full I open it again and once it's drained open up the gray tank.
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Old 08-19-2017, 06:32 AM   #16
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Once I've emptied the black tank, I close the valve and turn on the black tank rinse. Once the black tank is about 1/2 full I open it again and once it's drained open up the gray tank.
That's what I would like to do but at most of the parks I wind up at there is no hose connection available to do much rinsing--just a stupid right angle squirt nozzle hanging from a tower with a spring on it.
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Old 08-19-2017, 11:30 AM   #17
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you should be able to unscrew the nozzle and attach a hose. You'll probably need a double male connector. Just a thought.
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Old 08-19-2017, 11:37 AM   #18
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you should be able to unscrew the nozzle and attach a hose. You'll probably need a double male connector. Just a thought.
A 'water bandit' should do the trick for you. Google it. They are available at many places and online.
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Old 08-19-2017, 12:51 PM   #19
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you should be able to unscrew the nozzle and attach a hose. You'll probably need a double male connector. Just a thought.
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A 'water bandit' should do the trick for you. Google it. They are available at many places and online.
Thanks for the great ideas. My goal is to spend as little time as possible at the campground dump--"grey water rinsed" is good enough for me; all I want to do is not take all the extra weight home. I have a dump in my driveway where I get things cleaned up.

That clog I had really grossed me out! Hasn't happened since...
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