Gray Black Galley tank handles

[Frankenstien]

New to us 3800FL What would seem so simple .... Which is which? All three T handles sit next to each other, All three handles are black.... no clue as to which is which, So I filled the tanks, opened the one to the far rear, no change on the indicator lights, did the center one, the Gray tank went down to 2 led's did the front one, no change in any of the LED's.... I called Forest river who told me they make the grey tanks with grey handles, and the black tank with black handles..... all the handles are black...

Robert

 

[5picker]

If you can, empty the tanks and then leave the handles/valves open.

One at a time, go in and run water and see which outlet it comes out, (probably toilet, shower, kitchen) then mark them.

 

[5picker]

Also, don't rely on the indicator lights. They are notoriously inaccurate.
There are thousands of complaints on RV forums about them not working correctly or not at all. Few of mine over 40 years have worked well. With time, you'll get used to knowing/hearing when the tanks are full and when it is time to dump.

There are other sensors/systems that work better but that is another discussion.

 

[Blackrock]

The piping from the black tank is the biggest valve. The others should be slightly smaller.
Tank indicators are bot floats but little sensors that detect water/moisture and are not that responsive until they dry out after dumping.

 

[Frankenstien]

Unfortunately all my T handles are the same size, good Idea tho about the open, drain, wait then tun water down the sink, then the shower...

Our Montana previous 5th wheel, The lights were fairly accurate, plus it had a clean out hose connection for the black tank, when water was turned on it sprayed directly on the sending unit and did a fairly decent job of cleaning it out.

thanks for all the responses.

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

Unfortunately all my T handles are the same size, good Idea tho about the open, drain, wait then tun water down the sink, then the shower...

Our Montana previous 5th wheel, The lights were fairly accurate, plus it had a clean out hose connection for the black tank, when water was turned on it sprayed directly on the sending unit and did a fairly decent job of cleaning it out.

thanks for all the responses.

He was referring to the size of the drain pipe, not the size of the handle.

 

[Walholler]

I have two valve handles, one is black and the other is gray. Black drains sewage and gray drains sinks and shower. Unit came with two black handles, but I changed one to gray. Also repositioned both handles to the outside of the lower skirt, now even an old RV'er can drain his tanks.

 

[HerveVR]

Just pay a visit to the grocery store and get food coloring stuff (one for each drain circuit) and make a serious observation of the result when pulling one of the handle. Repeat for the next one.

It works, believe me!

 

[Frankenstien]

pics ... cant see what handles are what... but for future owners,

it would appear Front is Galley, Mid is Gray, Rear is Black.

 

[jgourlie]

My handles were backwards. Grey handle was black and black handle was grey tank. Slightly different from your problem, but I ended up cutting a hole in my underbelly trying to figure out why my grey tank wasn't draining with the grey handle pulled. I had forgotten which tank is which coloured handle.

I now have grey duct tape for grey tank and black electricians tape for black. I might suggest you make your grey tank handles grey, cause if your memory is short like mine it will help you keep things straight later on.

 

[Frankenstien]

hmmm technoligy...

bet you cant guess where these are going...

 

[Pixelbum1]

Just pay a visit to the grocery store and get food coloring stuff (one for each drain circuit) and make a serious observation of the result when pulling one of the handle. Repeat for the next one.

It works, believe me!

ALL great suggestions...picked up a few new idea's too! Hey once you've got her figured out then wrap BRIGHT red or wing-tip tank Orange tape around the poop handle, gray around the sink/shower handle , or any color you deem appropros for the rest to tip you off when you are trying to function at midnight after grinding out 500 miles on the rd that
day. The IMPORTANT one is the poopy doopy handle...you know why! I even have a glow tape on mine to help out at night...also...install an eBay batt. op. motion light down there too. Have fun and don't
miss!!

 

[Pipcoo15]

New to us 3800FL What would seem so simple .... Which is which? All three T handles sit next to each other, All three handles are black.... no clue as to which is which, So I filled the tanks, opened the one to the far rear, no change on the indicator lights, did the center one, the Gray tank went down to 2 led's did the front one, no change in any of the LED's.... I called Forest river who told me they make the grey tanks with grey handles, and the black tank with black handles..... all the handles are black...

Robert

Bob , the sensors are never, ever right, something you have to deal with. The black tank is obvious, the other simple, go pull lever an watch board, like I said not perfect but well enough to figure out

 

[MikeCNY]

Your 1st handle from front to rear should be for kitchen sink, 2nd handle should be bath sink and shower and the last handle should be the black (toilet). At least thats what's on my 2015 3800FL.