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Old 03-26-2016, 09:04 AM   #1
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Black water tank

I have had rv's for years and never had this problem. My black water tank seems to have not emptied all the waste. I believe it has done this several times because there seems to be quite a bit in the tank. I am not sure if the whole tank is full or it is just built up directly under the toilet. Any ideas on how to break this up? I have flushed tank several times and will not get rid of this pile.
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Old 03-26-2016, 09:57 AM   #2
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Always leave water in the tank. At least several gallons. There are many things you can add to try and loosed it up but the main ingredient in all of them is plenty of water. Drive around some and keep dumping it.

Poo Mountain is hard to get rid of but it will come out and not come back with plenty of water in there at all times.
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:15 AM   #3
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I have had rv's for years and never had this problem. My black water tank seems to have not emptied all the waste. I believe it has done this several times because there seems to be quite a bit in the tank. I am not sure if the whole tank is full or it is just built up directly under the toilet. Any ideas on how to break this up? I have flushed tank several times and will not get rid of this pile.
If you open the flush valve with the water turned off can you see directly into the tank, and if so, do you see a buildup right below the toilet? If you have a "wastecano" they can be caused by having insufficient water in the tank before "use". You need to have the bottom of the tank covered with some water to help prevent the buildup, and then flush with sufficient water to wash the waste away from the area just below the toilet. Sometimes due to the specific design of the tank it can take a surprising amount of water to cover the floor of the tank due to the "sump" built into the tank where the outlet line and valve connect.

Another thing I have seen is that when a unit is built, the factory generally uses a hole-saw to cut the top of the tank for the toilet fitting. There have been cases where they did not capture the cutout and it falls down into the tank and they don't take the time to retrieve it. Can move around and cause intermittent drainage obstructions. Had this happen to a friend (not a Jayco). His unit was several years old and he had had periodic issues but one time it was nearly a complete blockage. He knew he had to do something to try to find out what was wrong, so he used a fiber optic camera to look up his drain line. There the round chunk of plastic sat just at tank outlet, along with a big wad of paper stuck to it. He was able to remove his toilet and eventually fish it out through the toilet fitting, but it was difficult. The only it reason it worked was the camera, he would use a coat hanger to push it a little at a time until it could be grabbed through the toilet hole. But he has not had any dumping issues since then.
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:24 AM   #4
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Dump 20 pounds of ice in through the toilet, along with 5 gallons of water and go for a bumpy drive

I've read on JOF that this is an effective way to break up stubborn materials.

Ice melts..... Dump tanks
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:31 AM   #5
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Dump 20 pounds of ice in through the toilet, along with 5 gallons of water and go for a bumpy drive

I've read on JOF that this is an effective way to break up stubborn materials.

Ice melts..... Dump tanks

Watch The Fit RV channel on You Tube for really good information regarding black tank cleaning. The ice in the tank actually doesn't work. It was proven here.

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Old 03-26-2016, 10:34 AM   #6
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[QUOTE=NVGun40;390895]Watch The Fit RV channel on You Tube for really good information regarding black tank cleaning. The ice in the tank actually doesn't work. It was proven here.

[/


Interesting.... Lots of folks swear bye it..... I'm not convinced by the video
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:49 AM   #7
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Interesting.... Lots of folks swear bye it..... I'm not convinced by the video[/QUOTE]
---------------------------------------

I hate to be argumentative, but unless you have previously watched the video and said nothing; your reply/quote of my post came three minutes after my post. The video is 8 minutes long. Watch the whole video, you will see how it doesn't work without really aggressive driving.

I am sure it would work after a long period of time, and a lot of aggressive driving. Personally, many years ago, I fashioned a high pressure wand which fits on the end of a hose and has a 90 degree elbow on the end which fits down through the toilet (of course now you can buy them pre-made, and even ones with spinning heads), yet mine still puts out a more powerful stream than the pre-made ones; I use this every time I dump my tank to spray clean out any debris.

It is a bit annoying and time consuming from time to time to have to drag a hose (through the window on my old rig) around and through the trailer while the tank is flushing. However, I have had many instances of people who were waiting behind me come and ask what I was doing and how well it worked, who I ended up waiting for while they did the same while borrowing my hose and sprayer (coincidentally, while many were approaching, probably to complain about the length of time I was taking, once they found out; I have never had a complaint), I usually get some sort of comment along the lines of: "you look like you have done this a lot".
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Old 03-26-2016, 10:58 AM   #8
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that little bar on the top of the video allows you to fast forward though stuff, but thanks for advice.
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Old 03-26-2016, 11:09 AM   #9
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Jmooney, again, I apologize if I came off rude. I am just a blunt person and sometimes it comes out harsh. Thank you.
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Old 03-26-2016, 12:36 PM   #10
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Is that the actual size of the tank? Never seen mine.
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Old 03-26-2016, 01:06 PM   #11
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Is that the actual size of the tank? Never seen mine.
most tanks are a little longer and wider. The one used in the video is homebuilt to do his tests and experiments on. In one of his videos though, the argument comes up regarding size and depth of a tank and drain speed. His homebuilt tank is about an inch and a half taller than most RV tanks. If you are an engineering and physics person then you know that an inch and half difference in water/material drain through a fixed size opening is not enough to argue the merits of difference on.

Same thing goes for the Ice experiment. Even if your RV tank is wider and longer, for the sake of this test his tank was plenty large enough. Then the aggressive maneuvers he put his vehicle through during the experiment would have been very unsafe and unwise (unless in an emergency situation) with an RV (trailer, fifth wheel, or motorhome).

One of the most important factors for an RV holding tank is to have plenty of water in it so that the solid matter doesn't dry and harden. Even if it's just a weekend trip, when I ready my rig, I always mix the chemicals with about a gallon and a half of water in a bucket then I pour the bucket into the toilet and I do the same for the grey tank. I am a bit OCD when it comes to keeping my tanks clean.
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Old 03-26-2016, 02:05 PM   #12
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That video has been around for many years.
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Old 03-26-2016, 07:01 PM   #13
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I read on several places to use boiling water. I am trying that now. I have a wand at home and will try that when I get back if boiling water unsuccessful.
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Old 03-26-2016, 07:06 PM   #14
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Only problem with boiling water is when it hits a tank full of black water, it is no longer boiling and may even not be warm for long. It can't hurt though as long as you are driving to let it slosh around.

One thing I do when leaving a campsite is to pump hot water from my wh into the black tank just before leaving. Just push the toilet lever or use the OS shower into the black tank flush.
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Old 03-26-2016, 08:31 PM   #15
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There is a camco swivel wand that can go down the toilet and has a rotating head with some force and may help you dislodge some of it. You can get it at camping world. Walmart has cheaper ones but they don't swivel. I also used to have a clear Y attachment on my sewer hose. You attach a water hose to one part of the Y and this water hose has a back flow regulator so you won't mess up the water source. Anyway you can backflush your tank and I was always amazed that even though I had run lots of water through, lots more toilet paper always came out when I did that backflush. Again maybe it would help break some of that loose
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Old 03-27-2016, 01:34 PM   #16
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Just before I dump the black tank I fill the toilet bowl (about 1 gallon) then do a "power flush". I do this two or three times and it seems to break up some of the stuff.
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Old 03-27-2016, 01:40 PM   #17
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Another good "power flush" method is to fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and pour it down the toilet quickly. Really stirs things up.
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Old 03-27-2016, 01:54 PM   #18
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We have been fighting this for a while now. We bought our TT used. The previous owner obviously didn't have a clue on how to properly work the black tank. Last year we power cleaned it with the wand and about 70 psi of water pressure at the campground. LOTS of stuff came out. Since then no number 2 from us in the tank, we use the bath houses for that. The DW has not put toilet paper in it since we washed it out. We thought it was clean.

This past week, I de-winterized the trailer. So, I filled the grey and black tanks with the bleach water and then rinse water. I added some liquid dish washer detergent (does not foam up) and then we drove to the campground friday afternoon. First stop, dump station. I could not believe the amount of #2 and toilet paper that came out.

So, my new procedure before we leave home, put about 2/3 tank of hot water and dishwasher detergent in the black tank and drive to the CG. Dump first and see what comes out. Once I get it clean, I'll stop filling it before we head out.
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:29 PM   #19
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For years I used camper toilet paper. For quite a while I have used angel soft. It says safe for septic tanks. What does everyone else use?
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Old 03-27-2016, 05:40 PM   #20
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For years I used camper toilet paper. For quite a while I have used angel soft. It says safe for septic tanks. What does everyone else use?
I use Scott Extra Soft. Never had any clogs, seems to break up quickly and thoroughly. Readily available at decent prices, and nicer that "typical" RV TP.
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