Possible water leak and failure of black tank flusher

Diesel Donnie · 04-25-2013, 11:55 AM

We have an existing part time water leak in the area behind the water control panel- Also, the black tank flush does not allow water through to do it's job- I have not found the leak yet but do want to repair the flush mechanism today- Where is the back flush preventer located? Can it be bypassed temporarily? I am going to crawl into the bay and take pictures of the various connections, etc. Your experiences in this area will be much appreciated- THANX in advance for your replies- DD

Murphie · 04-27-2013, 02:12 AM

I was just installing one on my trailer today. Our trailer had the black coroplast I had to remove first. That was a job in itself due to all the gas line I had to deal with. Once your able to see the workings underneath you will readily notice the black tank due to the large drain pipe attached. Normally the flush kit is attach opposite the drain connection. Some have installed their back flow preventer next to the tank fitting. Some of those who have had leaks from water in the hose coming out the back flow preventer. If this is the case remove the preventer and attach it net to your water source. Others have had the clear hose connection fail. If the clear hose is in use I would advise replacing it with a better hose. Get yourself a creeper from Harbour Freight and safety glasses. I'm sure if you take your time you can figure it out. Good luck.

dalenoel · 04-27-2013, 03:49 AM

Before you get too far you should check one thing. On the black tank flush supply line there will be a backflow preventor and if it fails it will let water leak right at that location. It is doing it's job. This one failure could be both problems.

I had this happen on my new, then, 322FKS and needed to replace the valve. Solved both problems.

Diesel Donnie · 04-27-2013, 07:42 PM

Where is the backflow preventer located? Would it be possible to give the flush outlet a shot of air pressure to open up the flusher if it's plugged? Opening the underbelly is not my idea of fun- THANX for the replies- DD

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalenoel

Before you get too far you should check one thing. On the black tank flush supply line there will be a backflow preventor and if it fails it will let water leak right at that location. It is doing it's job. This one failure could be both problems.

I had this happen on my new, then, 322FKS and needed to replace the valve. Solved both problems.

Murphie · 04-27-2013, 10:57 PM

Opening the underbelly is not fun but I've done much worse jobs in my life. You could try giving it a shot of air but not too much. You could blow the sprinkler head off the line. For some reason some people attached their back flow preventer on the end of the hose next to the tank. It is a black and grey collar about an inch around with multiple holes in the top part of the collar. These have leaked water from the inlet line when shutting off the water. You may not even have one attached. Others have had leaks from the inlet hose that came with the kit. I did a search on this prior to installing mine and this is what I have read on multiple posts. The instructions on my kit say to install the preventer next to your source pipe. Hope this helps.

dalenoel · 04-28-2013, 04:38 AM

My BF preventor was in the cabinet right behind the toilet and just inside the trailer from the hose connection. They don't usually go too far with this piping. My leak actually came out into the living area.

Diesel Donnie · 05-02-2013, 04:58 PM

THANX for all replies- We had to take the Eagle to a dealership [ NOT a Jayco dealership ] to have some Dish related problems solved- Had the tech repair the flush problem- The backflow preventer is located behind the shower and is accessable through a cutout in the pantry- Due to the location of the failed part [ approx. 3 foot above the black tank ], I opted to have the part replaced with a straight through elbow resulting in better water flow to the flusher- I do not do business with the local Jayco dealer- The Dish problems arose because of the methods used by a Dish contractor resulted in our inability to watch ota tv in the bedroom and the inability to watch tv on cable period- JMHO- DD

Dwilcox353 · 05-02-2013, 08:36 PM

So in you description of the repair, it sounds to me that you had the backflow assembly removed and replaced it with a strait thru fitting. If this is correct, as a plumber this is not a good idea. you now have a direct connection between the potable water supply and a sewage tank when the flush hose is hooked up. I recommend in the strongest terms that you attach a backflow device to the hose connection on the trailer before flushing and to not use your water hose, use one that is just for tank flushing to protect yourselves and others from cross contamination.
Plumbers protect the health of the nation, but we need your help too.
Best of luck.

Diesel Donnie · 05-03-2013, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dwilcox353

So in you description of the repair, it sounds to me that you had the backflow assembly removed and replaced it with a strait thru fitting. If this is correct, as a plumber this is not a good idea. you now have a direct connection between the potable water supply and a sewage tank when the flush hose is hooked up. I recommend in the strongest terms that you attach a backflow device to the hose connection on the trailer before flushing and to not use your water hose, use one that is just for tank flushing to protect yourselves and others from cross contamination.
Plumbers protect the health of the nation, but we need your help too.
Best of luck.

I use a dedicated hose to operate the back flusher- The tech who did the work said it is a common repair- I appreciate your reply and am reconsidering my actions- THANX- DD

clubhouse · 05-03-2013, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel Donnie

I use a dedicated hose to operate the back flusher- The tech who did the work said it is a common repair- I appreciate your reply and am reconsidering my actions- THANX- DD

As a fellow camper I am less concerned about your individual hose, but the water supply it's self. With out a backflow preventer you put the water supply at risk for the next camper in that spot.

Diesel Donnie · 05-07-2013, 10:58 AM

It appears our problem is not in the back flow preventer- There is an obstuction elsewhere so again we plea for y'alls knowledge as to where and what is our real problem- We plan a short burst of air pressure if there is a consenses that this will not create even bigger problems- Bear in mind, we are full-timers in our Eagle and can not tow to a dealer without considerable labor on our part- We will try to contact a mobile tech for assistance but we have found that the mobile techs we have tried in the past are not always very proficient- JMHO- THANX in advance for all forthcoming replies- DD

lx22f/c · 05-07-2013, 12:32 PM

More than likely your back flusher is stopped up in the tank. Mine did the same thing i hooked up the hose and left it hooked up for a day( valve open by the way) and it never started working. This last winter i developed a black tank leak and turns out it was the black tank flush that had a crack. Dont know if the pressure from leaving the hose hooked up caused it or not, so be careful using air. I know when i took it out there was no way it would have ever come unstopped by water. Just my .02
Hope this helps
Robert

clubhouse · 05-07-2013, 12:43 PM

If the sprinkler inside the tank is where the blockage is, I'd want to empty the tank as best as possible without the flusher then fill it up with clean water high enough to cover the sprinkle in hopes a good soak would loose the blockage before I tried shooting compressed air. Some laundry or dish detergent may help the soak.

May be able to use one of those telescopic mirrors to look in the tank through the head and see if you can varify the blockage first.

Best of luck.

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