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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> RV Maintenance and Technical Tips -> rinsing black tank......(funny if it was'nt you!!!!)
Post Info TOPIC: rinsing black tank......(funny if it was'nt you!!!!)
Lucky Mike


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rinsing black tank......(funny if it was'nt you!!!!)
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Ok.......this is going to sound kinda funny to seasoned RVers,

Reading on another Forum there was a question about black tank over flow and water coming in through the A/C unit...!!!!..and wanted to know if they are connected

it seems that during the rinse process they relied on the monitor to see when the tank was full.. and it flooded the rooftop!!!!(you can see where this is going)

 

black water tanks have NO over flow, it will first back up thru the toilet and if the toilet seal is good then it has no choice but to go up the vent stack!!!!!!

(Note: some RV's the bathroom sink is connected to the black tank)

 

 

Rule number one!!

When rinsing your black tank with an on-board sprayer built into the tank, you leave  the dump valve open!!.......this allows the solids and waste to be flushed from the tank during the process. if you leave the valve closed the solids below the increasing waterline cannot be loosened and cleared by the spray...the spray becomes deflected by the water level.    If you are manually cleaning the tank using a wand or just flooding the tank the bowl valve should be open and you should have a flashlite in hand to monitor the level of the tank...(if using a wand, again the outside valve should be open!!)

rule number two

when the sensors in your tank get debri on them they do not work correctly.....treat your readout panel like your GPS , it is a convenience that if you trust it, it will drive you into a bad position fairly quickly!!...simple cleaning for sensors would be to add a ten pound back of ice, a cap full of laundry detergent and 5 to 10 gallons of water prior to leaving to go on the road, this will cause a cleaning action as the ice is banging around in the tank and remove alot of the effluents stuck to the inside of the tank....not to mention leaving the tank smelling just a little better

 

your grey tanks normally if over filled will push out at the lowest point of connection which is the shower drain so keep that in mind when it starts backing up!! 

the cleaning method on the grey tanks is to put some kind of de-greaser in the tank and 10 gallons of water prior to leaving.....1/4 cup of laundry detergent or dawn ulrta works great to remove the grease and oils from this tank and clean the sensors.......just dump your tanks on arrival and your good to go!

 

hopefully you will never have to experience what the person did in the beginning of this post.... (which I left to your imagination!!...guess you would have to be there to get the full horror show!!)

 

Wish I could point out the forum this came from ,but out of respect and dedication to this forum I choose not to.. 

 

 

 



-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Monday 17th of June 2013 08:31:30 AM



-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Monday 17th of June 2013 08:34:58 AM

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RVRon


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Funny if it wasn't you is right, Mike.  We had a couple in the RV park we were in that mistakenly connected their black tank backflush water hose to the site's irrigation spigot.  Someone came along and turned on the irrigation line but evidently didn't check to see if water was coming out the sprinkler heads!  The occupants of the RV weren't home at the time and really bad things happened when that black tank overflowed.  The entire motorhome became one giant black tank! It took them weeks to clean and sanitize the RV, including replacing all of the carpet and flooring.  A very expensive lesson!

I have it down to a pretty good system that works for me regarding the flushing of the black tank.  First of all I never leave the hose connected to the flush valve (see above) except when I'm actually flushing.  I like to nearly fill the black tank while backflushing and have timed that to be about 8-10 minutes.  I set the timer on my watch and let 'er run until it's time to shut it off.  Works for me!

 



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NorCal Dan


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I agree with Mike...when flushing holding tanks leave the dump valve open. RVRon, a note of caution, your 8-10 minutes is NOT a good idea, the amount of time it takes to fill your tank will vary with water pressure/volume at any given location. Be safe and leave that dump valve open.

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Terry and Jo


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We are static full-timers as most of you know.  When I dump and flush, I start with a dump and after that is done, I flush for about 5 minutes.  That is followed with about 3 "sessions" of close the valve for 2 1/2 minutes and open to dump for 2 1/2 minutes.  Obviously, since I am static, the time involved isn't an issue.  However, if one is at a dump station instead of an onsite sewer connection for the lot, one probably can't spend that much time flushing.

Terry



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RVRon


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NorCal Dan wrote:

I agree with Mike...when flushing holding tanks leave the dump valve open. RVRon, a note of caution, your 8-10 minutes is NOT a good idea, the amount of time it takes to fill your tank will vary with water pressure/volume at any given location. Be safe and leave that dump valve open.

 Dan I thought of that possible problem with varying water pressure but thanks for your concern.  I actually timed it to be about 12 minutes for a full tank and that is with a full 60 lbs. of water pressure.  I use a Watts 263A pressure regulator so the pressure will never go above the 60 lbs I have it set at and the volume is limited to that device's capacity.  Besides, the way I back flush is by a hose connection on the sewer line with a separate gate valve downstream of the hose.  I close the additional gate valve, open the black tank valve and let the water back up into the black tank for the prescribed time.  It's my belief that the larger volume of water aids in flushing solids out of the tank... kind of similar to the idea that you shouldn't dump the black tank unless there is enough volume to carry out the solid material.



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