Community Forums

TheKassman · 03-28-2018, 01:40 PM

I bought a 1998 36SDS used and when up on the roof noticed the vent cap was missing. I replaced it. When I flush the toilet a big air buble breaks the surface and the bowl drains slow. I'm thinking that while the vent cap was missing, don't know how many years that would be, That perhaps some debris got down in there and is blocked. What do you think? any other ideas??

krivanj · 03-28-2018, 02:10 PM

You can go on the roof and run a sewer rod carefully down the vent. That is where I would start.

twinboat · 03-28-2018, 02:13 PM

Dump the tank, leave it open and run some water into the vent with a hose.

If it runs out the waist line, no blockage.

Terry W · 03-28-2018, 02:55 PM

I just dealt with this issue, not much fun.

I was dry camping and the toilet acted up, it was doing exactly as you described. I couldn't open the tank and run anything through it so I went on the roof and blew air down the vent. I used the on board air and my tire filler chuck so I could control the amount of air. I had a helper, I'd suggest an in law or somebody you don't care to see again, crack the toilet valve open and listen for air flow. Crack the valve open is the key here! The air escaped through the open toilet valve and also brought a little bit of liquid with it. Having the toilet seat down or a rag over the toilet can eliminate a possible mess, not to mention a PO'd helper.

Once I found that the air was getting to the tank I figured the issue was in the toilet, I did dump 3 or 4 gallons of water down the vent for good measure.

My next step was to get a snake and attach it to my drill and run it down into the toilet drain pipe, which was already partially full of toilet stuff. I ran the drill slowly and pushed the snake in 'til it hit bottom and let it run slowly.
Voila the toilet drained. I turned on the pump and let the snake run for quite a while, I increased the speed to break up anything solid in there.

This cured the problem and got me through 4 more days until I could get home and dump the tank and thoroughly flush it. I have it sitting now 1/4 full with a double dose of chemical in it.

I don't know about your holding tank but on my '05 the tank is fairly shallow and very wide and long. I believe not enough water over time during a flush caused a pile of solids right below the toilet pipe and it finally reached the pipe and sealed the end causing it to try to vent past the pile.

I hope this helps,

Terry

DrDaveMA · 03-28-2018, 04:05 PM

This is a very common issue, people think that not putting much water into the black tank they save water, that maybe but it is the last thing you want to do. What I do when I dump:

1) turn on the black tank flush
2) IMMEDIATELY open the black valve
3) watch for clear water to drain
4) close the black tank valve
5) open the grey tank valve
6) when your black tank has about 5 gallons (about 10-15% on the gauge) in it from the black tank flush, shut off the black tank flush valve
7) once the grey tank is empty close that valve.
8) place chemicals (your choice, I use Tank Tech RX) in both your tanks.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, do not walk away from your wet bay with the black tank flush turned on and the black tank valve closed doing so will cause a Robin Williams RV movie style disaster!!! If you RV and have not seen the movie, go out and buy a copy tonight, it is a guide of what not to do!

With too little water the solid waste and toilet paper can form a rock solid mountain in the black tank that will climb toward your butt. The only way guaranteed to remove it is by pressure washing the tank. Ic.e or any of the other tricks do not work on this stuff, it is like granite, you have to blast it out. The way to avoid this issue is to have about 10 to 15% in the tank and use a good tank treatment that liquifies the solids and a tp that rapidly dissolves.

One other hint, do not leave the vent fan on when you flush the toilet. The negative pressure created by the fan WILL draw odors out of the black tank into your coach.

If you do the above you will have no problems with your tanks.

charliej · 03-28-2018, 05:13 PM

Sounds like the black tank is full. Have you dumped it since taken ownership, and ran water down it while open?

Old Scout · 03-28-2018, 06:25 PM

...may I offer yet another explanation: sounds like you are suffering from the "death pyramid of poo!" If you don't use enough flush water, and/or you don't agitate the tank between dumps, eg, driving around, the poop and paper products pile up right below the stand pipe that goes from the toilet to the black tank--said tank isn't very deep. The pyramid is exasperated by the fact that during the coach build process, large amounts of sealant/caulk were allowed to drop down the stand pipe and collect on the bottom of the tank, right beneath the stand pipe opening. The dried caulk is rough and snags stuff. Eventually, the pyramid builds up and blocks the stand pipe opening. If it has been there a while, you are going to have a challenge busting up the pyramid--concrete comes to mind.

RVPioneer · 03-28-2018, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

This is a very common issue, people think that not putting much water into the black tank they save water, that maybe but it is the last thing you want to do. What I do when I dump:

1) turn on the black tank flush
2) IMMEDIATELY open the black valve
3) watch for clear water to drain
4) close the black tank valve
5) open the grey tank valve
6) when your black tank has about 5 gallons (about 10-15% on the gauge) in it from the black tank flush, shut off the black tank flush valve
7) once the grey tank is empty close that valve.
8) place chemicals (your choice, I use Tank Tech RX) in both your tanks.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, do not walk away from your wet bay with the black tank flush turned on and the black tank valve closed doing so will cause a Robin Williams RV movie style disaster!!! If you RV and have not seen the movie, go out and buy a copy tonight, it is a guide of what not to do!

With too little water the solid waste and toilet paper can form a rock solid mountain in the black tank that will climb toward your butt. The only way guaranteed to remove it is by pressure washing the tank. Ic.e or any of the other tricks do not work on this stuff, it is like granite, you have to blast it out. The way to avoid this issue is to have about 10 to 15% in the tank and use a good tank treatment that liquifies the solids and a tp that rapidly dissolves.

One other hint, do not leave the vent fan on when you flush the toilet. The negative pressure created by the fan WILL draw odors out of the black tank into your coach.

If you do the above you will have no problems with your tanks.

Dave,

I won't quarrel with your success at keeping the black tank happy. The procedure you have recommended does conflict with the instructions in the owner's manual. Perhaps the warning to only operate the system with the dump valve open is to prevent the possibility of filling the tank completely and causing some serious problems?

I'm hesitant to use another method other than that covered in the manual. This is in combination with a high fiber diet and only a moderate amount of cheese.

Bob

DrDaveMA · 03-28-2018, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVPioneer

Dave,

I won't quarrel with your success at keeping the black tank happy. The procedure you have recommended does conflict with the instructions in the owner's manual. Perhaps the warning to only operate the system with the dump valve open is to prevent the possibility of filling the tank completely and causing some serious problems?

I'm hesitant to use another method other than that covered in the manual. This is in combination with a high fiber diet and only a moderate amount of cheese.

Bob

Bob,

I can’t dispute a document that was written 13 years ago by someone that has no skin in the game, and is off doing some other job. Between my post and old scout’s the entire story of poo has been told. I have explained what I do to keep from having issues, you have the ability to do what ever you like.

Barbaraok · 03-28-2018, 08:36 PM

Only thing need for happy black tank is USE WATER and only dump when 2/3 full. You do not need chemicals - the chemicals required for successful breakdown into a slurry is WATER and human feces. Biology does the rest. WATER, WATER, WATER is the answer.

If you want to save water, use the old rhyme,
"If it is yellow, let it mellow
If it is brown, send it down"
and use 2 bowls full of water to send it down.

No, I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn, yes, I am a scientist.

RVPioneer · 03-28-2018, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbaraok

Only thing need for happy black tank is USE WATER and only dump when 2/3 full. You do not need chemicals - the chemicals required for successful breakdown into a slurry is WATER and human feces. Biology does the rest. WATER, WATER, WATER is the answer.

If you want to save water, use the old rhyme,
"If it is yellow, let it mellow
If it is brown, send it down"
and use 2 bowls full of water to send it down.

No, I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn, yes, I am a scientist.

I believe it. And FWIW, the company we use to maintain our septic system at the house says that vegetarian households have more issues with their systems than those that eat meat.

I'm sure there's a scientific explanation for that.

greenmachine · 03-29-2018, 05:47 AM

When I purchased mine I had the same problem and I purchased two containers of Happy Camper extreme. Then as directed I put that in there and let it soak. When I dumped, the **** hit the fan. It kept stopping the hose up and I finally got it out of there. That's from setting awhile and the liquid leaked out and it got hard. Also on my 38FD the pipe doesn't go straight down to the black tank it has a offset. It would plug there until that got cleaned real good.
Larry and Tammy
2003 38Fd Alpine
Ky

Forkyfork · 03-29-2018, 05:48 PM

Where we stay we usually don't dump for 3-4 days because there is no sewer at the sites.

We bought a small poop mound. On the 650 mile trip home from Florida we had several gallons of water with dish soap and Happy Camper cleaner and let the motion do its thing.

I also bought the Happy Camper tank treatment but haven't used it since. We don't put anything in the tank now and have no problem with odors even at day 4. When we wash dishes we dump the dish pan in the black tank. This solves another problem when not having hookups, filling up the grey tank too fast. We have a smaller blank tank and have no desire to pre fill it with a few gallons before getting to our destination. I also check down the poop hole after dumping with a flashlight since our toilet sits right on the tank.

MFortie · 04-02-2018, 01:57 PM

My two cents...

We had a similar problem with our 36' and I would keep a plunger handy to 'help' the detritus along it's merry way.

What I discovered is that if I fill the bowl after the business is done with enough water to 'float' the paper, everything went swirling on down with no backup (or burping.)

Basically, we add enough water to carry everything down the drain and all is well.

I find I need to train any 'guests' we have in the proper procedure, else-wise we have a repeat.

Fourteen years in our coach has taught me a lot!