Black tank saying 2/3 full

[Tappy]

First of all I like to thank everyone for helping me out in my past post. Got another question. .. the last time we were camping I fully drained both the black and grey tanks. We are camping this weekend and happen to check the gauge for the black tank and it says 2/3 full. The greys say empty. Has this happen to anyone else? I know there cannot be that much there.

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[Tappy]

Originally Posted by Tappy

First of all I like to thank everyone for helping me out in my past post. Got another question. .. the last time we were camping I fully drained both the black and grey tanks. We are camping this weekend and happen to check the gauge for the black tank and it says 2/3 full. The greys say empty. Has this happen to anyone else? I know there cannot be that much there.

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Also, we have not put toilet paper in it.

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[fhenn]

Yes that is kind of normal they do not have the best sensors for that, plus toliet paper will hang up on the sensors

[Ashevegas]

Mine did that too for the first day, but after a couple flushes it went back to normal. Just something stuck on the sensor, worried me at first too

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[mark5w]

Clean your black tank using the GEO method. https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/

Always does a good job for us.

[MartyinSC]

Sometimes we just "dump," but usually we try to "dump and flush." A poor flush would be from the TT water system, using the fresh water pump on battery power at the dump site. When there is no line behind us, we try to hook up a designated garden hose from the dump site water supply under the TT, in the door, and down into the toilet. If I really have time, I'll close the outlet valve a little while fresh water comes in, and have my wife monitor the gauge lights. When it hits 2/3 full, I open the valve. Watching all the while through the clear elbow on my Flush King, it might take 3 or 4 fills to get the output to be clear and without debris.

[travelin texans]

Don't drive yourself nuts over it, they're known to be very inaccurate, yes you can try cleaners, Geo Method, ice cubes, but none will work for very long, some have good luck with them others like myself don't, I don't ever look at them anymore.

[markandkim]

Next time you get underway, dump in 30 lbs of ice cubes in the empty tank. Helps a lot.

[Tappy]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, they were all a great help.

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[johnboytoo]

Leave the black tank valve closed until it is 2/3 or more full so it will evacuate well... and do flush the tank after the final dump...

Been know to leave plain water in the tank after dumping for the ride home...
allows it to soften and rinse any remaining stuff....

[heatherbella]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Been know to leave plain water in the tank after dumping for the ride home...
allows it to soften and rinse any remaining stuff....

We're staying at a full service in a week and I'm considering filling my black tank today to hopefully flush out anything in there next week. Should I put anything in the water to help break down crud?

[Lloyd]

https://www.google.com/search?q=geo+...utf-8&oe=utf-8

There are a lot of us that use this method.

You can also download this info from the document section.

[MartyinSC]

Originally Posted by heatherbella

We're staying at a full service in a week and I'm considering filling my black tank today to hopefully flush out anything in there next week. Should I put anything in the water to help break down crud?

I don't think I'd fill it up for the trip, due to the weight. Just over 1/3 full ought to slosh around enough. Then, at the site, fill it up with a hose first. Then go about your normal unhitching, set up, leveling, etc. Do the sewer hose last. By this time, the sloshed around, but now diluted solution will have 30 minutes of soaking. Now go ahead and drain it.

[Tonemeister]

Each & every time just before we check out of our campsite (with hookups still connected) I wedge the foot flush pedal to open the toilet valve & run water into toilet. I wait for black tank to fill while I monitor water level with a flashlight pointing down into toilet "hole". As soon as water level is couple inches below valve I release foot pedal thus stopping water flow. I then go outside & empty black tank. I do this a few times just to be sure I have a clean black tank. Never had an issue with gauge sensors yet. I also have a clear elbow to monitor water clarity coming out. I do this procedure every time we pack up to leave for home, then don't use toilet again on trip home. Just my 2 cents, I'm a a bit of a stickler for a clean black tank. I find the Black tank flush to be useless on our trailer, very little water flow overheard when hooked up. (possibly a kink in that system from the getgo)

[heatherbella]

Originally Posted by MartyinSC

I don't think I'd fill it up for the trip, due to the weight.

Oops, I should have specified we're only going 10 minutes away from home this trip. LOL! First trip with the new rig and our daughter has dance practice on Saturday.

[travelin texans]

The way I'm reading this is you normally leave the black valve open when hooked to sewer?? If so, NEVER do that or you will create a poop pyramid in the tank & it will be like a big rock. You can leave the gray tanks open til a day or so before draining the black.
If your just wanting to add water for the drive home I agree, about a 1/3 of a tank would be plenty, might add a healthy squirt of dishwashing/laundry soap to the toilet before the drive.

[heatherbella]

Originally Posted by Tonemeister

Each & every time just before we check out of our campsite (with hookups still connected) I wedge the foot flush pedal to open the toilet valve & run water into toilet. I wait for black tank to fill while I monitor water level with a flashlight pointing down into toilet "hole".

Great idea. Unfortunately we have a hand flush but that could also be wedged open. I've dumped water in the toilet before but I run out of patience before it gets even close to full. I like your plan.

I know the sensor reading isn't a big deal but it just sort of bugs me.

[heatherbella]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

The way I'm reading this is you normally leave the black valve open when hooked to sewer?? If so, NEVER do that or you will create a poop pyramid in the tank & it will be like a big rock. You can leave the gray tanks open til a day or so before draining the black.
If your just wanting to add water for the drive home I agree, about a 1/3 of a tank would be plenty, might add a healthy squirt of dishwashing/laundry soap to the toilet before the drive.

We definitely don't leave the black valve open when hooked to sewer. In fact, we rarely ever actually hook to sewer unless we have to or we're ready to leave. We do mostly 2 & 3 day trips so nothing gets full enough to need to dump more than just at the end.

That said, this is a new to us RV...so....who knows what the last people did.

I was reading on the link provided that the grey tank gets soap from dish water but the black tank doesn't. That an interesting concept to consider. Blue Dawn seems to be the magic soap, maybe a squirt of that?

[travelin texans]

I use the cheapest dish soap that the dollar store has & use it about every 3rd-4th black flush. Also in the gray tanks I occasionally add about a 1/4 cup of cooking oil to keep the valves lubricated.

[woodwalker]

I use dawn dish soap in black tank everytime after dumping. It has made a world of difference in the cable valves I have. Much easier to operate and no sticking or hard to pull