Plunger damage to black tank/toilet

chrissybird · 06-03-2016, 09:53 PM

Can using a plunger on an RV toilet cause major damage to the toilet and black tank? Long story short, SO used RV toilet for the first time, and I didn't think to tell him about adding water to the bowl before & after flush, and it clogged. We cleared it by sticking a piece of old hose down toilet, and it started flushing properly again. Next morning, it clogged again - possibly didn't get it all the day before. Tried a piece of hose down the toilet again, but didn't work that time.

SO found a plunger, used it, and it cleared the clog - but problems after. The toilet no longer held a bit of water in the bowl. I figured the "flapper" seal was damaged and didn't want gases coming back into the RV, so I went outside to dump. We had full hook up, but had kept the black tank valve closed and the gray tank valves open (planned to close them that morning before showering since we'd be unhooking in the evening, to let them fill up and use them as a flush after BT dump). When I went out to dump the BT after realizing the toilet wouldn't hold water, I saw that "water" was leaking around the black tank valve - more specifically by what looked like where the pipe came out of the BT into the dump pipes, and also along the gray spray foam insulation in the same general area.

How bad did we mess things up??? Could we have totally blown seals on the black tank?? Or maybe just fittings where it goes into the dump pipes? We've since read that plungers should never be used in an RV toilet unless the black tank valve is open - is this true? We're newbies to RVing, so any advice, suggestions, etc. are greatly welcomed!

SeaDog · 06-03-2016, 10:07 PM

I have never heard of using a plunger on an RV tank. I have used a hose, but with water running thru it to clean a clog. Its really hard to tell what has happened. If the unit is new take it back to the dealer and have them check it if not I think would flush the black tank real well and then pull the underbelly covering if you have it and see what is going on.

gilwilliams101 · 06-03-2016, 10:19 PM

I used a plunger on ours last weekend. Turns out tampons WILL stop one up in a heart beat!!! LOL

B and B · 06-03-2016, 10:27 PM

There is a vent on the black tank. The pressure caused by a plunger would be more or less released on the roof vent.

gilwilliams101 · 06-03-2016, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B and B

There is a vent on the black tank. The pressure caused by a plunger would be more or less released on the roof vent.

And now I know why the plunger didn't do crap.............. LOL

(yes-pun WAS intended)

chrissybird · 06-03-2016, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B and B

There is a vent on the black tank. The pressure caused by a plunger would be more or less released on the roof vent.

That's what I thought as well - how could it create enough power to damage the black tank?? However, I didn't see it leaking before, but it was leaking after. RV just rolled off the line and we picked it up in Feb of this year. This incident happened on our third time out with the toy hauler.

chrissybird · 06-03-2016, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrissybird

That's what I thought as well - how could it create enough power to damage the black tank?? However, I didn't see it leaking before, but it was leaking after. RV just rolled off the line and we picked it up in Feb of this year. This incident happened on our third time out with the toy hauler.

But we bought it in Ohio and live in NC

SeaDog · 06-04-2016, 07:13 AM

There should be a dealer in your area that handles that brand of trailer, by the way when you post, if you state the make and model of your rig there is normally someone on the forum that has knowledge about the specific model. Probably best to put anything other then toilet paper in the trash and not in the holding tank. Good luck let us know what you find out.

rattleNsmoke · 06-04-2016, 07:37 AM

You may have to (with disposable gloves) open the toilet blade valve and push the rubber seal down a bit so it will better contact the blade. You can try a bit of household oil on the rubber seal too.

chrissybird · 06-04-2016, 09:10 AM

Thanks all. It's a 2016 Forest River Hyperlite XLR 29HFS toy hauler.

ornery · 06-06-2016, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke

You may have to (with disposable gloves) open the toilet blade valve and push the rubber seal down a bit so it will better contact the blade. You can try a bit of household oil on the rubber seal too.

OR silicone grease designed for rubber and plastic.
I can't imagine how it can clog. I assumed it is a straight drop into the Black tank and no trap.
Can you shine a flashlight down there and see anything?

**Flybob** · 06-06-2016, 07:10 PM

Most pool stores carry a silicone grease that will not damage the blade or the rubber seal. It sounds like you moved or removed (pushed down the hole) the rubber seal.

chrissybird · 06-08-2016, 09:25 PM

Well, we finally had a chance to take a close look at our issue today. Interesting find. There was a small pile of TP just below the toilet hole, but not a mountain blocking it. After seeing what the BT flush didn't get, I'm thinking forget that, just drop the back ramp, bring a hose in, and flush the tank from the toilet itself - which is what we did this evening.

Here is the real issue/culprit. The hole Forest River cut in the BT doesn't fully line up with the straight down drop pipe of the toilet (I was wrong about thinking it was slanted). There is a crescent moon shaped section of the BT hole that obstructs a part of the bottom of the toilet pipe hole. I'm guessing that when something other than a "pee" is flushed, particularly if enough water is not used in the flush, sh*t gets hung up on that crescent moon causing a clog (pun intended).

And this misaligned hole issue is the cause of our leak in the underbelly. When I only filled the BT to just below the crescent shaped misalignment of holes (doing so with a hose in the toilet with a flashlight), no leaks from the underbelly. As soon as I tried to fill up the BT so that the water rose up into the toilet drop pipe - no dice, couldn't get it to fill beyond a certain point and it began leaking from the underbelly.

So, obviously, once water gets above the misaligned holes, it begins running on top of the outside of the BT, and leaks through the coroplast underbelly where pipes come out around the gray spray foam insulation. Query - shouldn't there be some type of seal or sealant where the toilet pipe dumps into the BT????

Also, and this scares me a bit, when crawling around looking at the underbelly, I noticed that our coroplast underbelly has bowed down under the BT and is actually touching the TH's axle - presumably from the weight of the water that went on top of and outside the BT instead of inside it.

I'll be calling Couch's tomorrow about this. Since we're about 2 hours away from a reputable "bricks and mortar" FR rep (refuse to use Camping World that's about an hour away as they have a horrible service reputation), I have our mobile RV repairman that we've established a relationship with coming for a service call the week after next. I haven't filled him in yet on our discovery tonight, but will do so first thing tomorrow. Anyone have any thoughts on how tough a fix this could be? Think it could be something that could be done "on site" or does it sound like something that needs to be done in a shop? Wondering whether the BT will need to be dropped. Any thoughts/advice are much appreciated!

You may also like: