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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> RV Maintenance and Technical Tips -> Our black tank was left open too long, now it's full of.... well, you know. The drain is open, but it's not draining.
Post Info TOPIC: Our black tank was left open too long, now it's full of.... well, you know. The drain is open, but it's not draining.
TheDigitalHippies


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Our black tank was left open too long, now it's full of.... well, you know. The drain is open, but it's not draining.
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It's basically I imagine full of toilet paper, and waste. Short of a cleaning service to come out, how do we force the stuff down and out? 

I thought about closing the tank until the water was leaking out the overflow from the tank, then opening it. Repeating that a few times, with some http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers-Organic-Holding-Treatment/dp/B005XEFADU in the tank maybe?

I did search the internet, but most results were related to basic cleaning, and not our situation.

 



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Selah


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RE: Our black tank was left open too long, now it's full of.... well, you know. The drain is open, but it's not draining
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Since no one else is answering I'll give it a shot. First, as you found out, never leave your black tank open. As fas as cleaning I guess I would try this: if you have a drop toilet I would use a hose and with a strong stream and try and break down any "pile" that might exist. Be sure to close the thank valve first. Fill the tank full and then try and see if it empties. This may take several tries.
If that doesn't work you may have to fill it half full and drive the RV around, stoping, starting briskly and lots of turns.
Still no joy, try dumping several bags of ice down the toilet and drive it around. The ice may break things up enough to dump.
One last suggestion, always wait till the black tank is 3/4 full before dumping. If necessary add water to get it to at least 3/4.


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TheDigitalHippies


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Thanks Selah. The tips would be good if we owned a truck to move our 5th wheel, but we don't. Also it's not straight into the toilet, it's angled quickly after the toilet. I'm thinking of sticking a hose down there anyway to jostle things around, and see if that helps.

If nothing helps, are there services that can clean this out somehow without dropping the tank?

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Judy L


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Our black tank was left open too long, now it's full of.... well, you know. The drain is open, but it's not draining.
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There's a Camco Swivel Stick that you run down through the toilet.  It has a sprayer that's supposed to remove deposits and apparently it has a rotary motion. I also found another one called the Valterra Flexible Tank Wand.

If that doesn't work try doing a google search for an RV Tank cleaning service. I saw a card at an RV Park in Central Florida for a guy that uses a high pressure sprayer and goes up through the waste pipe.

Good luck!



-- Edited by Judy L on Tuesday 5th of May 2015 04:12:44 PM

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TheDigitalHippies


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RE: Our black tank was left open too long, now it's full of.... well, you know. The drain is open, but it's not draining
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Thanks Judy. We have the straight swivel stick from our last RV. I'll look for the flexible one, but not being able to see what I'm doing might make it not as effective. I've heard it's about $200 to clean out the tanks with a service, so I'm trying to do it myself and save some money. If all else fails, I'll hire out.

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cpaulsen


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Dump some Riddex in and some Dawn dish soap.......let it sit to let the Riddex work. Then make sure it is full and dump....this may take a few times but give the Riddex time to act.

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Bill and Linda


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Not intending to make any light of this situation as it is a serious problem. This problem is many times referred to as the “pyramid of doom” which is a good name when you consider what happens to the solids as the waste water drains out and creates the situation you are experiencing.  Bad deal all around.

You’re not the first to make this mistake of not keeping the black dump valve closed until the tank is at least half full.  I go for 3/4 full and add water via the cleanout if necessary to get to 3/4 full before dumping for both tanks. (If no clean out just add it via the toilet as we used to do back in the day. 

For those reading along, from years of experience I also suggest considering keeping the gray valve closed as well until the tank is pretty full. Like the full black tank this gives a good flush to get the food particles and soap residue out of the tank.  This can save you some trouble in the future.

When moving a short distance I sometimes put about 10-15 gallons of water back in each tank after dumping before the move. The heavy “sloshing” of the water during travel will help to liquefy some of the solids in both tanks – or at least put them in suspension.  As soon as I get to the new campsite I dump again.  You’d be surprised what will come out of that thought to be “clean tank.”

This technique of moving the rig with some water in the tank might break up some of your problem but will likely take more than one trip.  Couldn’t hurt to try.  For once, maybe try to find a bumpier road to agitate it as best you can.  A suggestion.

Bill



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LandYachty


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It may take numerous fills and emptying with a simple hose with the end cut off shoved down the toilet.

You can order from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-39062-Flush-Holding-Rinser/dp/B000BUQOAE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1430918694&sr=8-2&keywords=flush+king

a device called a Flush King that goes on the outside of the fifth wheel and does a flush. ( Just copy and paste the link).  Been where you are in the middle of the desert with no extra water to flush!



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cheryls-other-half


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and here's the 25cent question.

Do you have a inlet "drain" valve next to the water inlet (white water) tank?

Our 5er has a line that goes directly into the black tank:  If you do have one try this FIRST:

  1. connect brown hose to non-potable water input
  2. Close black tank valve
  3. set a timer (EXTREMELY important) for 15 mins.
  4. after 15 mins, pull your black tank valve and dump until all water out.
  1. Repeat 4-5 times, MAKE sure you time it.  OTHERWISE you will flood your rig from the bottom UP!

after all this, you should try spraying from top of toilet down...

 

good luck

 



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TRAILERKING


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LandYachty wrote:

It may take numerous fills and emptying with a simple hose with the end cut off shoved down the toilet.

 

 Just remember ..........................Not to take a drink from that hose again......



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Judy L


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Your black tank may not be as large as Mitch's so be very careful to pay attention when filling it. It takes us a lot less than 15 minutes to fill our 73 gal black tank. How quickly it fills also depends on the strength of the water flow. Just be careful and listen to the sound of it filling at the toilet. When it starts to sound full then turn off the water.

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TRAILERKING


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Also if already have a "PILE" in it to start with, it will not take long to fill.



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Jack Mayer


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In your particular circumstances LandYaghty's suggest is the way to go. I've cleaned several rigs this way. It can take a LOT of time, depending on how bad it is.

Make SURE you cut off the hose fitting before shoving it down the toilet. That will keep it from getting jammed in the pipes. In most cases you can get the hose into the tank...if you cannot then at least the water will help eventually break loose the "mass".

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Barbaraok


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I would start with a few pots of boiling water down the toilet - - hot water helps to liquify quicker. Put some down before going to bed, see what drains out in the morning. As everyone has said, this is going to take some time.



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TheDigitalHippies


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Thanks everyone! Yes, there is a black tank rinse inlet on the side of the trailer for running water into the tank. I have the tank cleaning wand arriving tomorrow, and the ability to fill the tank from the bottom up too.

I'll use the wand as my first plan of attack, then a few fill/dumps after that if it works. If not, I'll try a couple of times to fill it from the bottom up, using something similar to the flush king.

Thanks everyone! I hope this thread helps others in the future facing the same problems.

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