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Old 02-15-2016, 09:28 PM   #1
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Black water level

It's been sitting since Christmas. This weekend we took it out. Saturday evening I checked the levels and the black tank had 4 lights. Funny there's 2 of us and didn't this we went that much. It holds 36 gallons
I drained and flushed it out this morning before breaking camp. I even had my Campco dual flush adapter in place so I could see everything drain. Now it reads 2 lights when drained.
What's the solution here?
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Old 02-15-2016, 09:45 PM   #2
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The solution is (1) the sensors are poor quality.
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Old 02-15-2016, 09:51 PM   #3
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One can only guess but it's not something I would get to worried about. My guess is the sensor isn't clean enough to read empty. Probably was from the time you had it out before this weekend. Before leaving home for your next trip, fill the black tank with 5-8 gallons of water so it can slosh back and forth the entire time you are driving. Then when you get setup drain and flush again and see if you have the same result.
I have heard in addition to water you could use a bag of ice cubes to knock stuff loose too. But I would try without first.
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Old 02-15-2016, 10:07 PM   #4
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I've used just about every method of cleaning the black tank sensors and sometimes they read correctly and sometimes they don't. It appears that most others have similar problems (no matter the RV brand).
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Old 02-15-2016, 10:14 PM   #5
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The 'solution' is some solids in the 'solution' that was in your black tank are stuck on your (cheap) sensor(s). It is a common problem and there are a number of solutions (water and added chemicals) that work for some, some of the time; try black tank additives, Calgon, automatic dish washer pods, ice cubes, Rid-x, etc. You'll find the different mixes searching this site or the internet in general. Instead, some folks replace the factory sensors with expensive after-market sensors.

I used my black tank flush and a clear elbow every time I drained the black tank. Even so, my first sensor shows the tank as being 1/4 full virtually all the time. I don't worry about it. After I drain, I know the tank is empty. I just keep an eye on it over the next few days as the other sensors show the tank is filling up.
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Old 02-17-2016, 01:52 PM   #6
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Black tank fill before a 3 day w/e

Is it safe to say put about 8-10 gallons of water in the tank and chemicals before a outing of 3 days by two people ? I think I have a 40 gallon black tank. Thanks
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Old 02-17-2016, 02:21 PM   #7
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I would only use about five. You should be ok.
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Old 02-17-2016, 02:28 PM   #8
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My experience with DW and I with 40gal black and gray tanks: After dumping, I add (guess/estimate) about 5 gal into black tank without any chemicals. After about 4 days exclusively using the on-board FW, gray, and black tank, the gray was usually very close to full and the black tank was just above 3/4 full (guessing by the factory gauges).

The two of you should not have a problem. You could drop back to ~5 gal in the black tank before leaving to hedge your bet.
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Old 02-17-2016, 08:24 PM   #9
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My solution is a strong flashlight! When I'm in doubt about the black tank level in our trailer I just cut the water off and hold the flush valve open and take a look at the amount of waste water in the tank. We have to be diligent with this since our unit only has a puny little 9 gallon black water tank!
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Old 02-17-2016, 08:42 PM   #10
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I must be one of the lucky ones. My sensors seem to work just fine, We always dump kitchen sink water after washing dishes into the commode. It's full of soapy water and dilutes the bad stuff. Also help with odors. When full, we dump the black tank and use the tank flush until it runs clear. When getting ready to hook up and leave, after dumping and flushing, we put about 5 gals. into the tank to slosh around when driving. Works well for us.

Happy RVing,
Jeff
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Old 02-17-2016, 09:29 PM   #11
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Smile

After totally emptying/flushing the tank we add 3 gal of water with a cup of pine sol or 1/2 cup of Dawn dish soap before moving on. The pine sol gives the black tank a good smell and the Dawn is very soapy when the tank is drained which makes us think/hope it is working? Neither seems to make the display read empty but at least we know the interior of the tank is glistening!
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