Unintended Bidet, Part II

[colonel1942]

I have a 2011 Dutch Star, 4344. I have a regular toilet in the middle of the coach and a Tecma Theford toilet in the rear which pumps liquids thru a 1" hose to the black tank.

Here is the scenario: When the black tank is 95 to 99% full and the back toilet is flushed, it appears the black tank is being pressurized and the vent system is not vented. If you then use the mid coach standard toilet, you are in for a surprise as there is an eruption for the 4th kind! Not only did I do this scenario once but I validated by scenario the second time. Not pretty!

Lucky for me, I got the advance "blurp" sound yesterday when using the mid-toilet and did an immediate black system service.

I talked to Newmar service technician who acted surprised. Said he never hear of this issue.

I suspect the vent system is either clogged or not hooked up. Any suggestions?

[JMonroe]

We had a similar experience with our gravity mid bath toilet in our Revolution. They found the soil pipe extended too far into the tank. Since they've shortened it, no more geysers or clogging.

["007"]

Welcome to the forum & irv2.
Have to agree with Jay the vent pipes to low in tank.
My bath and 1/2 has two tanks each with its own vent.
Most of your tanks are in between your chassis rails.
You may have to watch your fluid levels on display and empty sooner until you get fixed.
Enjoy the forums.

[jackrobinryan]

"re-create" the problem? You are brave.

I for one never miss an opportunity to dump and flush the black tank and would never consider letting it get 95-99% full. Unlike gasoline, that is one item I want as little as possible on board.

safe travels
j

[RVNeophytes2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonel1942 Here is the scenario: When the black tank is 95 to 99% full and the back toilet is flushed, it appears the black tank is being pressurized and the vent system is not vented...

Hey, wasn't there a thread not to long ago about toilet paper sloshing onto the end of the vent stack and papering it over? I made a mental note to empty the black tank earlier, dump ice into it more frequently.

You might consider shooting water into the vent stack from the roof, making sure it is unobstructed.

I'm gonna go take a shower now... jeesh, that sounds awful

[colonel1942]

007

Thanks for your comments. I think you are correct. Can I shorten the vent pipe myself or is this an "RV Dealer" thing to do. The coach is still under the 1 year warranty.

As a side note: As my age gets higher, my intelligence gets lower.

[Ken Gluckman]

The Tecma has its own tank sensor and is supposed to give you a red light at the button and not allow flushing when it is nearly full -- well before 99%. Whatever other problems you have, have this checked also.

["007"]

If you can see the vent pipe on top of tank entrance you maybe able to work it up by twisting the pipe back and forth and lifting.
I had to do this when one of my sewer pipes, which wasn't glued into floor flange, for toilet.
I could see the large 4" pipe and the seal going into tank around pipe.
If you pull to hard you will pop seal out of entrance into the tank.
Your under warranty I would have dealer or Newmar factory repair do the work.
The pipe some where should have a clamp so pipe can not drop down into tank from vibration traveling down some of our good bumpy highways.

[clubmed98]

Re tecma if panel shows red if you hold the two buttons in for about 5-10 sec it will flush...this is an override feature...also just to clarify on how full tank should be, the more full tank is the more force it will dump with which will help stop plugs in sewer hose and also help flush black tank. I would also suggest having some water left in bottom of tank after dump to keep tank damp and wet so paper and poop does not dry out and stick to side walls and floor of tank..I keep the flush on until my grey tank finishes dumping...

[colonel1942]

I thought I would take a few minutes to conclude this thread.

After my last post, I contacted Newmar, KIB, and Thetford. All of these vendors were very helpful and provided technical information. Newmar asked me to check the vent line by putting water down the vent pipe and we could hear water going into the black tank.

I took my RV to a Newmar dealer and 8 hours later, I got it back. I saw and talked to the technician during the repair process.

First the KIB Electronics control panel. Don't hold the test buttons longer than 2 seconds or you risk accidental calibration. My system was out of calibration which gave false indications. I was going to calibrate my system by the RV dealer took on the task.

The Thetford TECMA full and mid level sensors were found on the RV floor. Thus the full (red) safety feature was de-activated and the TECMA toilet thought the black tank was empty.

The black and gray vent pipes were 2" inside their respective tanks. In addition, the TECMA line going to the black tank was 2" inside the black tank. All 3 had to be shorten.

Bottom line: The black vent line was closed off when the black tank was approximately 3/4 full. When the TECMA toilet was flushed throughout the day, it pushed liquid into the tank which was not vented so when the standard tank was use, the pressurized black tank ventilated thru the normal toilet resulting in a mess.

I will contact Newmar and inform them of this issue. Hopefully they will take action to securely attached the TECMA sensors to the black tank and take action to minimize the distance the vent lines go into their respective tanks.

[Iron Man]

Did Newmar cover it under warranty?

[colonel1942]

Yes, the problem was covered under warranty.

I sent a modified copy of this post to Newmar and lodged a complained.

I personally checked out the TECMA light system (green, yellow, red) and it worked liked advertised.

[JMonroe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colonel1942 ... the TECMA line going to the black tank was 2" inside the black tank. All 3 had to be shorten.

2 inches doesn't sound like much?

["007"]

Thanks for the added information Colonel it may help others that have your model coach.
Different arangement of tanks in your coach from what I have seen over the years,interesting.
Jay, it may make a difference as to how deep in tank his toilet pipe is in tank related to vent pipe.