black tank agitator?

[JohnW]

any of you folk stay parked up for long periods of time in your van/trailer/5th wheeler?

we've been parked now for 2 1/2 months. I am hooked to a working septic tank where we are. grey water is always open to the septic, but I leave the black tank closed until it needs draining. we are having problems with waste and toilet paper building up enough to block the tank drain and well basically not drain. I've made a pressure pipe set-up to wash out the tank and flush it all out. but...

I feel if I can have some sort of agitator in the tank to 'mush' up all the waste it'll just flow on out and empty with-out any dramas.

so has anyone heard or done something like this?

whilst we are on the move with the blue solution in the tank we find the movement of travelling is enough to 'mush' it all up for good tank emptying.

thinking I will have to make something myself. which I like to do anyways.

cheers.

[Todouble]

Some people use ice cubes and take it for a drive. Bangs arounds and agitates it some. Not sure if it will work for ya. Are you in a cold climate? Any chance it's frozen at the valve?

[JohnW]

yeah I've read about the ice cubes. I'm not going to pack up the set-up every time I want to drain the black tank to go for a drive. like I said when we are on the road there is no issue as it all gets sloshed around.

not that cold down here (south east of western Australia) though the missus does complain she's 'cooold' now and then when it gets to 11 degrees. hahaaha.

I am leaning more towards a submersible 12volt agitator. I'm a 'handy' type of bloke, so I think I will just have to research and build something.

thanks for your reply.

[BigJohnD]

First, we use the Geo Method in the tank. A google search will turn up what it is. Basically the use of water softener and detergent. Water softener keeps anything from sticking to tank walls, detergent cleans.

https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/

I also read on here the other day about a product called Unique Digest-It tank treatment. From the posts I read on here, this stuff works quite well.

RV Digest-It Holding Tank Treatment

It's mentioned in this post: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ors-53248.html

Scroll down to the one by herk. I just so happened to find some at our dealer so figured I'd have it on hand to try it out. Sounds like it eats everything.

[fonzie]

Probably you know, but first rule of thumb is water,water,water after each use.....then the other stuff mentioned here..........

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by fonzie

Probably you know, but first rule of thumb is water,water,water after each use.....then the other stuff mentioned here..........

Agreed, one of the more common problems is some people do not use enough water when flushing.

[prairiecamper]

lots of water before first use, bingo!

[youroo]

Originally Posted by fonzie

Probably you know, but first rule of thumb is water,water,water after each use.....then the other stuff mentioned here..........

Water,water,water! Your water turns Counterclockwise, going down the drains,Yes? Youroo!!

[DAISY BOYKIN]

When being parked for long periods of time, you should use a "SEPTIC TANK SAFE" paper. I tested several toilet papers by filling a glass with water, then insert 2-4 squares of "T" paper in the water. Time how long it takes to break down in the glass of water. The faster the "BREAK DOWN" the better the paper is friendly to your blank tank. I found one paper that was labeled "SEPTIC SAFE" to break down as quick as seven minutes. Another one took two days before it began to break down and was labeled as "SEPTIC SAFE".

You can purchase a plastic wand that will fit on the end of a hose to help flush the black tank. Or you can make one from PVC, CAP, HOSE FITTING with holes drilled in the cap.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by fonzie

Probably you know, but first rule of thumb is water,water,water after each use.....then the other stuff mentioned here..........

I know no one like to dump the black tank (even in hookups), so they have a tendency to skimp on water in the flushes.

Resist this tendency. Water, Water, Water and more Water.

[fonzie]

It could take a while before we get an answer back.......

Esperance, Western Australia Time - Local Time in Esperance - Time Zone in Esperance, Western Australia

[pappcam]

Originally Posted by JohnW

any of you folk stay parked up for long periods of time in your van/trailer/5th wheeler?

we've been parked now for 2 1/2 months. I am hooked to a working septic tank where we are. grey water is always open to the septic, but I leave the black tank closed until it needs draining. we are having problems with waste and toilet paper building up enough to block the tank drain and well basically not drain. I've made a pressure pipe set-up to wash out the tank and flush it all out. but...

I feel if I can have some sort of agitator in the tank to 'mush' up all the waste it'll just flow on out and empty with-out any dramas.

so has anyone heard or done something like this?

whilst we are on the move with the blue solution in the tank we find the movement of travelling is enough to 'mush' it all up for good tank emptying.

thinking I will have to make something myself. which I like to do anyways.

cheers.

You aren't using enough water when you flush. I know many have already said that but I'm just adding my opinion for emphasis.

Use more water!

[JohnW]

morning from down under!

we do use plenty of water. sometimes I think the wife is trying to drown the toilet. haha... after I drain the tank before we use it again I put approx. 7-10 liters of water into the tank with the blue fluid I buy at the local rv shop. this fluid is suppose to help break down the waste etc.

while we were on the move there was no issues as it was all getting sloshed around.

I do admit, we are using good quality soft domestic toilet paper, hell it's nice on my piles! haha.. I've never heard of RV dissolving toilet paper, I will have to find out where I can get that from. will probably have to order it in from the city (720k's away).

I've already made a power wand to stick down the loo and flush the tank, will have to use it today as I think I've got a bloody toilet paper blockage at the drain point.


while we are parked up hooked into the town water supply we don't have an issue with using more water, well apart from when the water bill arrives each month. but when on the move there is limited water supply stops, so I wouldn't be as keen to use as much as we do now. so I really do think some sort of in tank agitator would be of benefit to us and plenty of other rv'ers out there. so while I am parked I will still keep thinking of something I can make to work.

thankyou all for your replies. i'll read through them again once the coffee has kicked in some more.

[mark0224]

Before you flush fill the toilet bowl with water then let the toilet flush your hooked up to a septic system the amount of water filling your tank up makes no difference. You just have to empty the tank more often. When you dump your tank back flush every time in this case it won't hurt again your on a septic system don't worry about the water.

[imabmwnut]

I've looked up water softner on their websites at stores only to get there and not find any. Never seen it on the shelf