Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > TRAVEL TRAILER, 5th WHEEL & TRUCK CAMPER FORUMS > Travel Trailer Discussion
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-25-2016, 02:09 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 254
Black tank not draining

the last two times I went to dump tanks there was some left over sewage that came out when i opened the cap, the drain handles were still in the off position. Its not grey water its the bad stuff and although its not a lot it still should not have that much still in the drain line. Please let me know what i am doing wrong at the dump station. thanks again from the rookie in SA tx
cmcguire48 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 05-25-2016, 02:17 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 3,059
Sometimes if the drain pipe is long enough from the valve to where you connect your sewer hose to the MH, there is a little fluid that will continue to the end cap even after you have closed the valve. It's not necessarily the valve leaking just residue fluid draining off. Always dump the black tank first, close the valve, then drain the grey water to flush out the sewer line/hose. When I open the Cap I always hold the sewer hose under the fitting as I still get a about a 5 second drip of fluid coming out. That way it doesn't drip onto the wet bay area.
__________________
Mike & Charlotte
2014 Newmar Canyon Star 3610
Orange County, California
Mike and Cha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2016, 02:30 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 254
thanks appreciate the help
cmcguire48 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2016, 06:32 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Nowhere, now here. Freedom!
Posts: 4,602
Do you have a black tank rinse system? If so did you use it?

There is a small chance that there was something that prevented your valve from sealing, and allowed a small amount of sewage to get past. Without knowing more I will just say, as I and many others do, use plenty of water when flushing the toilet, especially for number 2. It helps break down TP and solids.
__________________
ORV 19B Full Timer from '15 to '20, '14 Ram 2500 Diesel and a GSD. Vancouver, WA
de K7NOL 146.52Mhz Safety? (CLICK ME!)
1bigmess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 08:33 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 379
Good suggestions here. Your black water should NOT be the last thing to exit your sewer hose. As suggested, if you have a black flush connection, use it for 5-10 minutes after each black water flush. This cleans the tank and the sewer hose. After this process is accomplished, open the grey water valve and allow the soapy gray water to do a second flush of the hose. I also always run fresh/clear water from a water hose through my sewer hose before storing it for travel.
RSchleder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 08:41 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Carlos, Texas
Posts: 1,746
It also helps to fill your tanks full before dumping. I have a red solo cup I keep that fits perfect between the handle and the wall. I let it sit there till I see water all the way up to the top. I also fill both gray tanks. I turn off the water heater first and fill with the hot side so it takes all the ht water out and I can safely drain it before travel. If your parked for a time, it's ok to let the gray water drain on out but always hold the black tank till it's time to dump. Otherwise liquids will go out solids will build up and can be difficult to clear.
charliez is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 08:41 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
dagmandt's Avatar
 
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Auburn, WA
Posts: 427
I always follow the black tank with the grey tank. Assuming your two tanks merge to the same outlet, this flushes all the scary stuff out. My tanks merge fairly close to each other so this works well for me. This shouldn't be an issue though as a proper draining of the black tank requires that you rinse and repeat until the water coming out is nice and clear with no more scary things in it unless you are just draining the tank to extend your stay but then the scary stuff doesn't matter.
__________________
TV: 2012 Ford F350 CC 6.7L 4x4
TT: 2014 Wind River 250RDSW [Dual Crown 6v, Trimetric, Iota 15.4v 55A charger]
dagmandt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 12:43 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 254
My question is as follows: I go to dump station and completely empty both tanks. then I go home and the trailer sit for a few days. The next time I go out and stay for a few days and then when I go to the dump station and open the drain tube bad stuff comes out. How did it get into the drain pipe when the last time i emptied there was nothing there. Do you think my valve to the black tank is not shutting all the way. After I drain i hook up the water hose and put some water back into the system, and then my wife goes into trailer and flushes the commode a few times and then drops in some pills. Am I doing this wrong and if so what do you suggest?
cmcguire48 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 01:10 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 379
It certainly seems as though your black tank valve is "seeping" a little bit. That would be the only way to get black water into the drain tube as you've described. Tank valves are relatively inexpensive and held in place with 4 bolts so no big deal to change it. Since it continually occurs, I'd replace the valve (either you or your RV service dept) and quit fooling around with it. Easy, cheap fix so it's not worth the frustration!
RSchleder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 03:31 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 254
thanks for your suggestion and I agree with your advice about blank tank leaking. How would i know which tank, could it be the grey tank? the smell was bad but grey water can smell also.
cmcguire48 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2016, 04:19 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 379
Grey tank water is GREY, Black tank water is Brown. Next time catch the runout in a plastic cup (tall size and the color will definitely tell you. If it's the gray valve, and you really rinsed well after the black tank dump, it has to be grey water. If you did as described and it's brown water, then your black tank valve is seeping!
RSchleder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2016, 11:08 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Nowhere, now here. Freedom!
Posts: 4,602
If you have a clear elbow for the drain pipe, you could put it on, and cap the end of it when you park it for a while. You'll be able to check it to see it collecting liquid, and what it is.
__________________
ORV 19B Full Timer from '15 to '20, '14 Ram 2500 Diesel and a GSD. Vancouver, WA
de K7NOL 146.52Mhz Safety? (CLICK ME!)
1bigmess is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2016, 11:47 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
dagmandt's Avatar
 
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Auburn, WA
Posts: 427
I think you might have the same issue I had. In my trailer ORV used a blunt slightly curved blade in the black tank valve. This design forced any toilet paper that was in the valve to be packed into it. Eventually this led to an inability of my valve to seal properly. It manifested itself as a slow leak from the black tank which left it empty of liquid after sitting overnight. This, of course, is undesirable. I ended up replacing the black tank valve with a sharp, knife valve/slider that cuts the toilet paper rather than packing it. Once I removed the old one it was exactly as I suspected, tons of TP packed into the chamber where the blade slides causing a 1/2" gap sealed by nothing but permeable, compressed toilet paper.

I now have a valve installed at the outlet of my ABS Pipe... where you hook up the hose. I no longer use the black tank valve when cleaning. I only open it to empty. When rinsing I use the valve at the outlet to close things off. I then close the black tank valve once all is clean eliminating the toilet paper problem altogether but if there is a piece, it will likely be cut in half rather than packed in.

Sorry for the long winded explanation, hopefully that is clear.
__________________
TV: 2012 Ford F350 CC 6.7L 4x4
TT: 2014 Wind River 250RDSW [Dual Crown 6v, Trimetric, Iota 15.4v 55A charger]
dagmandt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2016, 12:05 PM   #14
Registered User
 
mel s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 8,777
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmcguire48 View Post
My question is as follows: I go to dump station and completely empty both tanks. then I go home and the trailer sit for a few days. The next time I go out and stay for a few days and then when I go to the dump station and open the drain tube bad stuff comes out. How did it get into the drain pipe when the last time i emptied there was nothing there. Do you think my valve to the black tank is not shutting all the way. After I drain i hook up the water hose and put some water back into the system, and then my wife goes into trailer and flushes the commode a few times and then drops in some pills. Am I doing this wrong and if so what do you suggest?
cmcguire48
Either that or the seals in your black tank dump valve are leaking.

RV DUMP VALVE WITH SEALS

Mel
'96 Safari
mel s is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
tank, black tank



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
BLACK TANK: "can we" or "can we not" leave the black tank open in an RV park?? doodlebug52 Travel Trailer Discussion 20 12-06-2023 01:45 PM
Grey tank not draining unless... rtracy Keystone 7 01-10-2016 02:01 PM
Bathroom Sink draining to Black Water tank bassoneman Class A Motorhome Discussions 18 04-10-2015 06:05 PM
Any suggestions on black tank draining issues?! NewbieToThis iRV2.com General Discussion 27 03-04-2015 11:30 AM
help with draining black tank Mulcahy iRV2.com General Discussion 12 07-21-2013 05:31 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.