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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / June 2005My RV learning experience
Well, I learned a couple things on my last outing. Here goes: After a couple days camping and a night of heaving drinking, my black water tank seemed to be full. I could tell because I could see the water level close to the floor level. I hooked up the hose and pulled the valve and nothing came out. What's up with this? I thought the valve wasn't operating. I was lucky and Camping World was only a few blocks away. The guy at the service center said that occasionally the rod comes loose/breaks from the gate in the valve and that is probably the problem. Oh my! How do I replace a valve with a lot of waste behind it? He advised me to take a hacksaw and cut the housing of the valve where the rod is. Then take pliers and open the valve. After it drains, replace the valve. Lesson one: I purchased a new valve. After borrowing a hacksaw from the KOA worker and being careful not to make a mess, I did as he told me. Altho I learned how easy it is to replace the waste valve, that wasn't the problem. I knew there was liquid in the tank because I could see it. Using my wifes suggestion, I straightened a metal coat hanger and stuck it down the toilet. I probed and twisted and probed some more. It seemed like the tank was full of toilet paper. After a few minutes of snaking with a coat hanger, I was able to see the liquid level go down. Voila! I went back and opened the waste valve again and the contents rushed through the hose. Kewl! Lesson two: When using the toilet, flush with copious amounts of water. It seems that the pipe going into the tank is close enough to the bottom of the tank that it may get clogged with debris. using lots of water will prevent this. Lesson three: Don't work on your black water tank with a hangover. Lesson four: Try lesson two before you try lesson one. Lesson five: Just because your day starts a little shitty, doesn't mean it will always be that way. Lesson six: Women use way too much toilet paper. Lesson seven: Men buy the wrong type of toilet paper for a camper. Lesson eight: When you drink too much, god gets even. Hustlin' Hank <~~~~~hates learning the hard way > Well, I learned a couple things on my last outing. Here goes: > <tale of battle with a black pyramid snipped> When I bought my motorhome, I did all the things I thought needed to be done. I used it for a while. Because of where it is parked, I needed a solution to draining my black tank. I bought a sewer solution. It worked great. But, there is a clear window on there. I drained the tank one day, and noticed I was still getting some pieces of paper out of it. That meant there was paper still in the tank. I repeatedly filled the tank and emptied it, each time getting paper. I got some PVC, a cap, a 90, and a valve. I measured the distance from rim to the bottom of the tank, and made the pvc wand that long. I drilled holes in the cap and pvc so that it would blow water inside the tank and hopefully get the tank flushed out better. I hooked it up and ran it. I was getting toilet paper out of there for SIX HOURS. You might want to try this. It will cost you a few bucks, and you will be sure to have a clean tank. They can be bought, but I like mine because it really sprays horizontally, where I want it to. I guess you could put a 90 at the end of it, so it really sprays out horizontally, and makes a jet that would dissolve accumulated waste. I also have through the tank sprayers that I hook up. If you have those, hook them up. Stay with the job and watch it. In my case, water can be put into the tank faster than the sewer solution can take it out, and if not watched, the toilet can overflow out the top. If you have some obstruction, this could also happen to you. That is where the valve on the top comes in. Just one of those inline hose valves that are either plastic or brass. Inexpensive. Have fun, and welcome to RVing. Steve I have had the same problem and this is what I have done to clean the tanks. I fill my black and gray tanks about 3/4's full and go for a drive splashing everything around and loosening everything up. There is a county CG in town and I use their dump station. I use a spray wand for anything left in the tank and this process seems work pretty good. I try to do it every fall and the tanks seem to stay pretty clean. Ted > Well, I learned a couple things on my last outing. Here goes: > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > > Hustlin' Hank <~~~~~hates learning the hard way So what is the correct paper for an RV? LB <LB@notmine.com> scribbled the following question after posting megabyte upon megabyte of unrelated conversation: > So what is the correct paper for an RV? > > LB Anything but newspaper, Sears catalogs or paper towels. Whatever's on sale. Steve >"SteveB" <desertNOSPAMtraveler@cox.net> wrote: ><LB@notmine.com> scribbled the following question after posting megabyte >upon megabyte of unrelated conversation: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Steve Don't use Cottonelle. In almost three years of full-timing, that's the only brand we have tried that did not break up into a slurry overnight.  SignatureDD > >"SteveB" <desertNOSPAMtraveler@cox.net> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Don't use Cottonelle. In almost three years of full-timing, that's the > only brand we have tried that did not break up into a slurry overnight. I stand corrected. Thanks for the information. If they don't sell it at Costco, I don't have to worry about it. STeve snip >> Hustlin' Hank <~~~~~hates learning the hard way > > So what is the correct paper for an RV? > > LB You can do the old TP shake and see how the paper breaks up. Put a couple sheets in a jar of water and give it a few shakes. Charmin I understand is one of the strongest and hard to break up. Angel Soft will come apart quickly and is what we use most of the time. Do not put anything that won't break up into the tanks or you will have problems. Ed I see where "Ed" <edgar88@FIXatt.net> contributed: >You can do the old TP shake and see how the paper breaks up. Put a couple >sheets in a jar of water and give it a few shakes. Charmin I understand is >one of the strongest and hard to break up. If you'd actually run the test you recommend, Ed, you'd find that virtually ALL TP's disintegrate fairly quickly in water. There is NO real justification for special "RV" TP - never has been. Use plenty of water, avoid building pyramids (of any color) by leaving the drain open while the tank is in use, and you are only going to get clogs if you deposit HUGE amounts of TP - any brand. Will Sill The Curmudgeon of Sill Hill > Use plenty >of water, avoid building pyramids (of any color) by leaving the drain >open while the tank is in use, and you are only going to get clogs if >you deposit HUGE amounts of TP - any brand. I think you meant to say by *not* leaving the drain open. Hunter Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh.t...what a ride!" >> Use plenty >>of water, avoid building pyramids (of any color) by leaving the drain >>open while the tank is in use, and you are only going to get clogs if >>you deposit HUGE amounts of TP - any brand. H: >I think you meant to say by *not* leaving the drain open. No, I didn't. But thanks for playing. If you leave the drain open as you use the facilities, liquids drain off, leaving the dreaded pyramid. Keep the drain closed until ready to dump - which ideally is at the end of a day's travel. Travel assures agitation of the contents. Black tanks do not have built-in agitators like RORT. Will Sill The Curmudgeon of Sill Hill > >> Use plenty > >>of water, avoid building pyramids (of any color) by leaving the drain [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Will Sill > The Curmudgeon of Sill Hill I also misread your first post on this subject. Your recommendation is correct for the scenario you describe. I must add NOT to leave the "foot valve" open while producing feces. One must partially fill the bowl with water first and then flush after the deposit. The larger amount of water will move the solids into the tank better than a small stream. Hank <~~~~ always full of S**T (solids) :-) snipped > I must add NOT to leave the "foot valve" open while producing feces. > One must partially fill the bowl with water first and then flush after > the deposit. The larger amount of water will move the solids into the > tank better than a small stream. > > Hank I don't agree <g>. You can almost avoid skid marks by opening flapper valve while "dumping". HD in NY not perfek eeder > snipped > > I must add NOT to leave the "foot valve" open while producing feces. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > opening flapper valve while "dumping". > HD in NY not perfek eeder Your theory may be correct about the "skid marks". And I agree, but, I think if you read the manual, it states to fill the bowl BEFORE taking a dump. The reason is to have enough water to wash the solids to the BOTTOM of the slanted tank. The small stream that flows while holding the valve open isn't enough. So, the solids hit the bottom and stick, then the toilet paper sticks to the solids. After a couple times, you may get a clog. I think "dry flushing" or "avoiding skid marks" was a contributing factor in my problem. I know this isn't the best topic. I am only hopeful others can avoid the problems I and others have faced. Hank <~~~feels a little flush >No, I didn't. But thanks for playing. If you leave the drain open >as you use the facilities, liquids drain off, leaving the dreaded >pyramid. I know Will. I'm not playing... your very words.... <snip> avoid building pyramids (of any color) by leaving the drain open while the tank is in use<snip> The snippage doesn't change the meaning. I thought you just had a typo and I would correct it for newbies. Hunter Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh.t...what a ride!" >>No, I didn't. But thanks for playing. If you leave the drain open >>as you use the facilities, liquids drain off, leaving the dreaded [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Hunter I read the original as "avoid.... leaving the drain open", which should cause the tank to fill with liquids as well as solids, no? >I read the original as "avoid.... leaving the drain open", which should >cause the tank to fill with liquids as well as solids, no? I read avoid *by* leaving the drain open..... Whatever. What's important is what he meant wasn't clear and now it is. Hunter Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh.t...what a ride!" >>I read the original as "avoid.... leaving the drain open", which should >>cause the tank to fill with liquids as well as solids, no? [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Hunter I agree. I read it, saw it was confusing but knew what he meant. He took issue with your "correction" and did his usual. HD in NY not perfek eider > I see where "Ed" <edgar88@FIXatt.net> contributed: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Will Sill > The Curmudgeon of Sill Hill Education is about knowing where to look for answers. Interesting LB > There is NO real justification for special "RV" TP I agree. I just used the LAST roll of a 3/4-case that I bought from Camping World. I bought it just to see if I could tell any difference between it and what we HAD been using (Scott 1-ply). There is no difference, except the higher cost. :) JR
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