Jayco 256RK Black tank not draining completely

[stevebarbsmn]

I have a 2011 256RK and have nothing but a problem emptying*the* black tank. No matter what I do it will not completely empty. There never was a Flush system in the Trailer.

I have to flush it with a wand from the bathroom sink and that doesn't do the job that well. At one time I was using saniflush and went back to a normal 3" sewer hose.


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[stateboy]

You talk of emptying the black tank but you said that you wand rinse it from the bathroom sink. The sink should run into the grey tank. I not aware of a flush for the grey tank (black tanks have flush options). Black tanks are toilets only. Sinks and bathtubs go to grey tanks.

Some here have concoctions to throw in the grey tank to break up grease while traveling down the road. It would do me good to hear what those are again.

So, what tank are we trying to help you with here?

[stevebarbsmn]

The flush hose is connected to the sink faucet.

[stateboy]

Ok, I think I understand. You're saying you hook your flushing wand to the bathroom spigot (obviously with limited pressure coming out there). From there, you're attempting to use the wand to flush the black tank.

I have a power flush/rinse on mine and do not have personal experience of having to rinse a tank with an over the counter wand purchase. Several here have though and I will have to defer to them to add pointers to your situation.

[stevebarbsmn]

Correct.

[BJR]

Originally Posted by 36fire412

I have a power flush/rinse on mine and do not have personal experience of having to rinse a tank with an over the counter wand purchase. Several here have though and I will have to defer to them to add pointers to your situation.

I use a wand and generally do several passes (2 min?) with the valve closed until it's clear enough for me. I used the water connection at the site, though.

If I'm dumping at a dump station, I fill up a five gallon bucket and dump that down there a couple of times until it runs clean.

At the end I add a couple of gallons of water and a pack to help break down anything that was stuck.

[Marcm157]

The wand connected to the campground water spigot does it for me. I have a back flush valve on my clear adapter at my dump valve and use that first then the wand. It's hard to believe how much more "Debris" is removed with the wand...

[Camper_bob]

Is it a used trailer? If so, you could have some "leftovers" in there from someone not properly flushing the tank over time. If this is the case, I would put a bunch of water in and put some "Happy Camper" in the tank and let it sit for a few days. Then flush and do it again and again. Caked on "leftovers" are REALLY tough to get rid of and don't break down easily.

What leads you to believe the tank is not emptying? If it is the sensors, that could be your problem right there; don't trust the sensors. Try to measure the amount of water going in vs coming out of the tank. Also, connect your tank wand to a hose with high pressure and give that a go.

Empty the tank and then open your toilet valve and shine a flashlight into the tank. Can you see the bottom?

Take a look at the outside of the tank from underneath the unit. Does the bottom of the tank slope toward the outlet?

[RedHorse1]

How do you tell that it’s not empty? If it’s the tank level lights, they have a nasty habit of being wrong.

[stevebarbsmn]

I can tell it's not empty by how long it takes to fill up again. If empty it last about 4 days plus. Also the toilet empties onto a shelf, not straight down to the tank. It can't be fixed. That's the tank design. Also the pull runs across the trailer which is also a bad design.I guess I have to live with it.

[Murff]

Originally Posted by stevebarbsmn

I can tell it's not empty by how long it takes to fill up again. If empty it last about 4 days plus. Also the toilet empties onto a shelf, not straight down to the tank. It can't be fixed. That's the tank design. Also the pull runs across the trailer which is also a bad design.I guess I have to live with it.

I understand his dilemma. The black water tank in our White Hawk has a very shallow end under the toilet. A pooh pyramid does tend to form here. Stupidly, trusting the guage, we emptied the tank once it showed 2/3rds full.

On the return trip of our recent trip to Alabama, we were at an RV park and SWMBO noticed the tank was seriously full. I connected the dump hose and pulled the valve open and nothing came out but a very short weak stream. I went back into the trailer and the tank was still seriously full.

I talked briefly to the guy parked next to us and spoke of the problem. We got cleaned up to go to dinner and as we were leaving, he had Googled the problem and thought the valve handle may be broken. Uh, oh!

When we returned from the Cracker Barrel, I got the flashlight and opened the valve with the hose off. To my happiness, the valve did open and, thank the Lord, nothing came out. Back inside the trailer, I looked in the toidy and it's still full. I carry a flexible spray wand (that I need to use more often it appears) and I pushed it into the holding tank from the toilet end and once it got a little gravity helping, the tank emptied, for the most part.

Our White Hawk does not have a built in back flush to douche the holding tank form the hose end, although you would think it would be a standard.

The moral of the story, get a wand or something to clean out your tank and some Happy Camper, like Camper Bob suggests, is also a good idea.

Murff

[TCNashville]

When I dump my black tank I raise the front of the trailer a little as the exit on the tank is towards the back.

[vwprostock]

So a couple of things.

I had a similar issue with my old 01' Qwest. Turns out momma was putting some wipes down the toilet (like adult baby wipes we use) and many had gotten hung up on the gate valve.

How I discovered this was a slow flow out of the pipe, and went to rinse it real good with the wand doohickey and and a flashlight. Luckily the water was fairly clear, and all of a sudden I see wipes zooming past the wand as I sprayed water all in there.

I had to take the gate valve apart (super easy) and fish the remainiong wipes out that way.

Might be worth a look down the toilet as you spray wand it and see if anything is circulating.

Second, that Qwest also had minimal slope so I would hit a local campground with two sided dump station and not busy and pull the opposite side of the trailer up on a board or leveler to point the sewer line down more.

Third..I added one of these tornadoe's....one of the top 10 things I ever did on that 01' Qwest...20
min install...amazing flushing of the black tank.
https://www.campingworld.com/tornado...BoCXkUQAvD_BwE

Luckily my black tank was at the rear of the trailer, and I was able to point the "sprinkler" right at the sensors on the opposite side of the tank. Worth every dang ol' penny!

Hopefully some of this helps!

Greg