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Old 05-19-2011, 08:40 PM   #15
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We're another of the Dawn + Calgon crowd. I use it mostly for the grey...fill up the tank partially, add the magic and drive to the next destination.

For the black tank a combo of Happy Camper and regular tank flush has kept the sensors clean for the past 2 years.
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Old 05-19-2011, 08:41 PM   #16
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This is true in a septic system. We don't have septic tanks, we have HOLDING tanks. Breaking down the waste is a side effect. As long as there's plenty of water in the holding tanks, the waste material will be flushed out when you dump.
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Old 05-19-2011, 09:52 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by radams View Post
Isn't that how they make ICBM's?

(Sorry guys, I saw that in a post one time and couldn't help myself. I totally plagiarized it)


took me a while, but I got it!
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Old 05-19-2011, 10:25 PM   #18
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ok ive been dumping my black tank as per outing ! i have tried the back flusher also ! yesterday i decided to run a hose down the toilet and fill the tank let it sit over night then i pulled it this morning wow ! i was shocked at what was still in there ! now im doing it again ! here i thought i was getting it all before but im definitely was wrong ! what do you do ?
DW and I eat a bowl of Fiber One cereal before going to bed each night, has made a huge difference
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Old 05-19-2011, 11:05 PM   #19
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Been RV'ing since 1957, never had a problem with a black tank. All I do is make sure the tank is AT LEAST ˝ full before dumping. Our DSDP does have a built in rinse unit but I very seldom use it. I think I've used it maybe five times in 9 years. Still no problems.
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Old 05-19-2011, 11:21 PM   #20
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The thing with the bag of ice theory is, unless you put that bag of ice in & immediately start driving, the vast majority of the ice will melt long before it even has a chance to do any scouring. I don't really believe the ice does anything at all.

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Old 05-20-2011, 12:12 AM   #21
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Mine has this problem now

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Originally Posted by njs42 View Post
I clean mine--(pick your method) to keep the senders clean that tell the level in the tank, If I do not clean they get clogged and register full all the time. My vote would be for cleaning, it really waste no time because you do it when you travel any way and the cost is minimal.

My black or gray tank has never been cleaned in the 11 years of the unit. I just purchased it and have to empty the black. The previous owner really neglected the maintenance regarding the tanks and now the sensor on the gray tank registers 3/4 full and it is empty. It was so bad that the valves were left in the open position for years and the only thing holding the gray and black water was the actual end cap on the line. I had to crawl under the trailer and with WD-40 work the cable/valve back and forth until I could get them to go into the closed position long enough to hook into my sewer line at home. I think the black water tank cut off valve will need to be replaced. I managed to salvage the gray water tank valve but it still operates very difficult. Maintenance is the key…and the previous owner was very neglectful. I picked my trailer up for a song and dance, but with a little tender loving care, I can restore it to a much better 5th wheel.

I think once I get the black emptied I will run into the same issue of a false reading. How do I clean both tanks seeing I will be stationary for a while with no driving around? And how can I get the level sensors to function properly again? Seeing my 5th Wheel will sit for a long while now so the ice sloshing around won't be able to dislodge any debris? I am new at all of this so any veteran advice you can give would be appreciated. :O)
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Old 05-20-2011, 06:01 PM   #22
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I have flushed and cleaned my black tank what I thought to be very good. I added the all the ice from our automatic home ice maker into the toilet and drove on a 5 hour trip (I put in about 10 gallons of water first.) I immediately dumped the black tank upon arrival at the camp gournd to see what it had done and was shocked at all of the "stuff" that came out (I have a clear plastic piece on the outlet.). Done correctly the ice thing will really clean it up. You must do it right as you leave though. We had a clog up on coach we had bought used and I had to run a snake up the outlet and am not going to ever have to chance that. We also call our black tank the yellow tank as we normally try to use other places for what causes the black.
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Old 05-20-2011, 06:22 PM   #23
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I am another member of the Dawn + Calgon crowd. I have a Class C motorhome that I bought new and have always cleaned the black tank so I will have no problems (none in 15 yrs.). I have to dump the black tank every 3 days (I leave the grey water valve open). I rinse out the hose with water from the sink. When I am ready to leave the campground I dump, use the flusher until it runs clear, the fill the tank about 1/4 full and add Calgon & Dawn. I do not add Calgon every time - like if I am going straight to another campground. If it will be more than a week until my next camping trip then I usually put a little more water (sometimes ice cubes too), the Calgon, and the Dawn.
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Old 05-21-2011, 01:28 AM   #24
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Our sensors are external to the tank on this rig (as it was on our previous one). They are not affected by stuck "stuff" in the tank. It's too bad more manufacturers don't use that type of sensors, people would have a lot fewer problems!!
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Old 05-21-2011, 04:34 AM   #25
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I think once I get the black emptied I will run into the same issue of a false reading. How do I clean both tanks seeing I will be stationary for a while with no driving around? And how can I get the level sensors to function properly again? Seeing my 5th Wheel will sit for a long while now so the ice sloshing around won't be able to dislodge any debris? I am new at all of this so any veteran advice you can give would be appreciated. :O)

Look at this web site: 5starhappycamper.com I have used their products for years. They have one that is designed just for what you want.
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Old 05-21-2011, 05:10 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NLOVNIT View Post
The thing with the bag of ice theory is, unless you put that bag of ice in & immediately start driving, the vast majority of the ice will melt long before it even has a chance to do any scouring. I don't really believe the ice does anything at all.

Lori-
In the winter where we live it would be the opposite problem. You would have to get moving before the ice cubes froze solid into an iceberg Fortunately we leave before that.

Our rig has one of those flush systems built in. It doesn't seem to do much. The old fashion wand gadget does a much better job. Last week I replaced the flush ball and gaskets in our toilet. Was not looking forward to working on it with the tank wide open right under my nose I emptied it, sprayed with the wand, emptied again and dumped a generous amount of Dawn in. After that I used the wand again with lots of water and emptied. No odor and you could see when spraying that no more "brown trout were about". It made an unpleasant job much nicer and the bowl hols water again.
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Old 05-21-2011, 11:31 PM   #27
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I've been RV'ing since 1957 and so far I've never had to replace a bowl gasket in ANY RV we've ever had. Even after 10 years with our '88 Type B and now 9 years with our 2002 DSDP. Guess I've been lucky or maybe I've got slippery "stuff"!!
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Old 05-23-2011, 07:28 AM   #28
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We are the second owners of our moho. I've always had a bit of a concern on the condition of the black tank since there's no way of knowing how well the previous owner took care of it. The factory had installed a tank flush system but it only has one spray head and it's mounted in such a way I didn't think it was doing all that good of a job. It doesn't hit the bottom of the tank near where the toilet down tube is so I decided to install one of those Tornado type spray heads, which I've done in the past on other RV's.

When I cut the hole to mount the new spray head, I looked in with a flash light and sure enough there was still lots of "stuff" sitting on the bottom just below the down tube, and this was after two thorough fill and dump and flush cleanings. So don't for a minute think two or even three good dumps and flushes gets rid of everything. The Tornado flusher comes with an angle mount which allows the head to be angled down. I mounted it in such a way the major spray would hit this area. It makes a big difference.
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