I bought a 2004 All American Sport 38' 5er. Used the bathroom, filled up after 3 days with 2 of us using part time.
Drove it 350 miles home, hoping the sloshing would loosen stuff up. Drained about 3-5 gallons out, but the water in the toilet has not gone down at all after sitting all night.
I am assuming there is dried up crud in there from the PO. There is no way to put water in from the outlet, as there is a 90 deg turn, and the pipe runs about 10 feet along the side of the trailer to the outlet drain.
Any suggestions? Cannot put water into the toilet, as it is FULL.
Flush King makes a black water tank flusher with a gate valve that attaches to the tank outlet. You attach a hose to it, close the gate and back fill your tank. Then open gate. You'll be supprised at the gook it knocks loose. You can't trust tank monitors. They can read full if sensors are slimed up.
Flush King makes a black water tank flusher with a gate valve that attaches to the tank outlet. You attach a hose to it, close the gate and back fill your tank. Then open gate. You'll be surprised at the gook it knocks loose
I would not do this in the OPs situation. That water pressure will force black water up the stack. UGH!.
You can not get the tank repaired while full.
No shop will work on it. (Biohazard)
Buy 1 quart of RV-Digest-It and dump it into the holding tank. If the toilet can not be used at all to add a quart of liquid, pour it down the stack from the roof.
Let sit a minimum of 72 hours; a week is better.
It should dump enough to do it again if it does not flush normally.
Here is where you get RV-Digest-it. Buy a couple of quarts.
If this does not wok at all or does not improve your situation; then Ovair is right and you have something foreign to the tank in there. (Diaper wipes or diapers)
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
if u don't have ready access to a snake, try using a plunger (plumbers friend). if u can pull it back up, it may release and go thru. (use the plunger in the commode...doubt if u can do much good on the drain.
the digest is a good idea. u may want to try the plunger first to see if the plug is between the commode and tank. then use the digest regardless of the outcome.
i'm betting it's going to be plugged at one end or the other but not the tank.
Ordered the RV Digest it. Thanks. It is hard to back flush thru the dump valve, when there is a 90 deg turn just after the tank, then 10 feet of pipe, then another 90 turn, then the outlet.
Thanks.
Ordered the RV Digest it. Thanks. It is hard to back flush thru the dump valve, when there is a 90 deg turn just after the tank, then 10 feet of pipe, then another 90 turn, then the outlet.
Thanks.
you can attach the drain hose, elevate it to just above what the black tank but below the toilet top and put water in it. that way u can see if it will go back into the tank. if it goes in, u know the outlet is not plugged and the tank will accept water. sometimes a little movement in the opposite direction will dislodge a plug.
i'm concerned that if the water is backed up to the commode, that u won't be able to get the rv digest to go into the tank.
another concern: does the rv digest produce gas? if so, u may want to leave the flush valve open on the commode to prevent pressure buildup.
if u pour a gal of water in the vent pipe, does it come up in the toilet or drain out the drain pipe.
if it comes up in the toilet u know ur free into the tank. at least there will be a place for the pressure to go. if it comes out the drain, u are clear thru the tank and drain.
i would really like to see u make sure u have a place for gas to go before u start dumping chemicals in there. read the label carefully on the digest. forcing the flush valve to stay open while the digest works at least gives u a known path to atmosphere.
On my 2011 Rockwood 2902SS I had trouble with the black tank emptying. I looked up the black tank pipe with a flashlight and the glue that they used for the PVC pipe had dripped across the pipe and hardened in place, looked like 3 pieces of hard plastic strings the size of pencils. I used a stick to break the glue strings and I don't have a problem dumping the tank anymore.
__________________ 2013 Prime Time 230 FBS
Days camped in 2013: April to November
Days camped in 2014...about 40
Days camped in 2015...more than 2014!!
Not to irk Jim, (and I apologize if I do) but I think that the problem is in the tank and not the toilet. I am working on the assumption that your toilet is a standard RV toilet (Like a Thetford). There is no trap built in to the toilet. It just has a sealing valve that opens when you flush and closes when it is not flushing.
My money is on solids build up at the dump valve. As you can see from the photo of a 5th wheel's black tank (the one on the right) The vent is the small opening on the right and the "hopper" outlet goes into the larger opening to the left of the smaller opening. The dump valve goes on the big hole in the center of the tank.
For your toilet to have black water in it, the tank has to be full to the toilet. Opening the dump valve and only letting out a small amount of water is a story that we have seen before here. It was solids blocking the large discharge pipe. The Digest it will soften and liquefy poo and TP allowing more water to flow past the blockage. Hopefully one treatment will be all you need, but I think you might need two to clean out that tank. Once you are back in business, use the GEO method (attached) to keep that tank running like it should.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
On my 2011 Rockwood 2902SS I had trouble with the black tank emptying. I looked up the black tank pipe with a flashlight and the glue that they used for the PVC pipe had dripped across the pipe and hardened in place, looked like 3 pieces of hard plastic strings the size of pencils. I used a stick to break the glue strings and I don't have a problem dumping the tank anymore.
Another great tip.
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Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
I had an extremely slow draining black tank after one outing. When I finally felt safe to take a look with the valve open, I saw a round cut out covering the opening almost perfectly. It looks like they cut a hole in the tank to mount the discharge pipe but didn't remove the cutout and left it in the tank. I'd tried getting it out, but it fell back. Luckily it hasn't caused any more problems. This was about (2) years ago.
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2002 Ford Excursion w/ 7.3 TD, 3.73 rear
2008 Salem 26TBSS
Wife and (3 kids): 10g, 9g, 4b
I got it to drain. The tank was empty, but the toilet full. I used a HD snake, not the small hand held one. There is a 90 deg turn below the toilet, going into the tank.
As soon as the snake made the turn, it would stop. Solid. I worked the snake pretty hard. Hitting the stop. Did not want to break anything. FINALLY, it broke thru. Black water drained out of the toilet, and you can clearly see the 90 deg turn at the bottom.
Opened the drain valve, and about 3-4 gal came out. Flushed well with water down the toilet, seemed fine.
I think some "crud" had dried at the bottom of the 90 deg turn, and sealed it up. Maybe some glue too?
I am going to use the RV Digester when it comes, and let it set.
glad u found it. there must have been a reason for the 90 but that isn't good practice.
my concern was that if the plug turned out to be between the tank and the toilet, the digester could build pressure in that area. if the toilet valve were closed, that could result in the water being forced out around the seal next to the flange (worse case). didn't know if the seal next to the flange or the seal going to the toilet would be the week link.
if the tank were plugged, was the vent also blocked...there were too many variables. i'm not comfortable with that many unknowns.
on mine, when the tank is close to full, the commode flushes by hesitating until air comes up then the water rushes down. i'm wondering if my inlet line is extending into the tank some (as some have reported finding on their motorhomes).
I didn't take it that way. to me it is more a guessing game. you (and most on here) have a wealth of experience to draw on and i appreciate that.
i have down loaded a number of ur pfd post. found them to be well thought out and helpful.
Everett & Joan after 60 years together. 2004 1/2 ton Chevy & 2011 Rockwood 1809S
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