Black Water Dump

rvskipper · 01-06-2008, 07:52 PM

When I dump my black water tank it stops at 1/3
on the indicator. I have tried left side low with the leveling jacks,no help. When I flush the tank I get just a trickle of out flow. Any ideas

rvskipper · 01-06-2008, 07:52 PM

When I dump my black water tank it stops at 1/3
on the indicator. I have tried left side low with the leveling jacks,no help. When I flush the tank I get just a trickle of out flow. Any ideas

Gary the Wombat · 01-06-2008, 08:12 PM

It probably is empty, but you might have "something" stuck on the inside wall (probably paper) next to the external sensor. A good clean out should fix it. There are various methods, all detailed on this forum (do a search--you'll find them).

Sometimes mine does the same, but a good flushing with a cleaning wand, half fill the tank with fresh water, and a drive along a bumpy road, usually does the trick. Some people recommend a bag of ice as well, though I've never tried it myself.

Davel · 01-06-2008, 08:42 PM

rvskipper,

I had a similar problem. Mine was self inflicted as I took the coach home with a 1/4 tank thinking we were going back out in a couple of days. Of course the plans changed and I forgot about the tank and it sat for a couple of weeks in very hot weather. When we used it again and I tried to dump it would not completly empty. I think the water evaporated out and the solids that were left moved over and plugged the outlet. We tried a clear adapter with a flush hose fitting to back flush thru the large drain....didn't work. Some suggested full strength Pine Sol....didn't work. We finally had to have it flushed at a repair shop that used an attachment on a pressure washer down thru the stool. A $130 lesson I won't soon forget.
While these tricks didn't help us, they may be worth a try. The clear 45 degree flush adapter is a useful thing to have. I leave it on all the time and it's amazing how long you have to flush the tank before everything comes out clear.

Good luck on a crappy job.

Dave

GG1 · 01-07-2008, 03:41 AM

I dump with a clear extension on the end of the sewer drain and backfill and dump over and over for at least 1/2 hour. Ususally stuff continues to come out, when it runs clear no matter how long it takes I am done. One dump at a dump station does not empty the solids. After 5 yrs the guauges work reasonably well. But the best solution I have found for the black water is a flashlight down the commode and dump at least once a week.

John_Canfield · 01-07-2008, 04:47 AM

This is a very common problem that happens to most all of us at some point or another. As I have mentioned many times in the past, the permanent solution is to replace the Winnie system with an after-market tank monitor. They don't seem to have the problems the Winnie system does.

The other good reason to upgrade is the resolution, or lack of. We discovered (rather quickly) the 1/3 tank resolution is not exactly worthless, but not particularly useful either. "It's better than nothing" sort of sums it up.

Our black tank read 1/3 while empty for most of the summer, but it eventually cleared after many long flushes. Since we can easily last for 10-12 days on our black tank, I don't get too bothered with it stuck on 1/3rd.

Upgrading my tank monitor is yet another future coach project for me.

Richard 34A · 01-07-2008, 10:16 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rvskipper:
When I dump my black water tank it stops at 1/3
on the indicator. I have tried left side low with the leveling jacks,no help. When I flush the tank I get just a trickle of out flow. Any ideas </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Once in a while, I simply fill the black tank approximately half full with warm water and let it slosh around while driving, then empty the tank upon arrival of my destination. Seems to work pretty well for me...

Jeeperrmartin · 01-07-2008, 04:46 PM

I have always found the best way to check if the tank is full is to take a flashlight and look down the toilet.

Gary CA · 01-08-2008, 03:04 PM

Flush your black tank until you believe it is running clear. Use a bag of ice, a cup of dry laundry detergent and a bucket of water and take a drive. Empty it again and you'll swear you never emptied it in the first place.

hamguy · 01-09-2008, 07:10 AM

GG1,

So you are the

that made me wait so long in line.. Very impolite, very rude, very bad. A pox upon your black tank.

ZOT!