Toilet plugged

[Hurk]

Just came back from one week trip and on second night toilet plugged. Didn't have plunger so used toilet clean brush and cleared. Next day or plugged again. Brush wouldn't work. I pushed stick down hole and must of hit bottom of pipe but not clear. I emptied the tank and emptied no problem but still plugged. Got a plunger and light push cleared? Prior to plugging when flushing it seemed like a slight vacuumed build up and the toilet would spit back water. I'm thinking my vent may be plugged. I always have tank at least 1/2 full before I empty to avoid pyramid issue? Anyone have this issue?

[2 Stroker]

Need to use more water Do you have and use the black tank flush.
2 stroker

[tkcas01]

I suspect you still have a pyramid - as 2 stroker says you need to flush with more water to disperse solids. The reason it burps when you flush is that some of the water in the pipe below the bowl has seeped into the tank creating an air pocket between the pyramid and the bowl. This is what is escaping when you flush to let new water into the pipe above the clog.

[Czar Of Poop]

If you call our hot line we will tell you how to solve your back-up problem and keep it from happening again. Afterwards you can post the info so that others can benefit from the info and what worked for you. Good luck

[H. Miller]

Wonder what kind of toilet - mounted to what model of coach we're talking about?????

[Knightab]

On our ACE the toilet sets right over the tank and the depth at that point is probably 2-3". Kind of a poor design, the wife often forgets to add extra water and builds a TP pyramid. :-/

[K7JV]

The ONLY way for a normal RV toilet to require plunging is for a pyramid of solid waste to have built up to the point of blocking the outlet at the bottom of the down-pipe from the commode, itself. Further, it is extremely likely that the pyramid (I call it "The Cone of Death") has solidified through much of its mass to the point that it is going to be very resistant to breakup from nearly anything other than mechanical destruction. By mechanical destruction, I mean either a powerful rotating hydraulic jet for more than just a couple of minutes, or some sort of flailing wheel of brush or something that can grind its way down through the structure of it. I've never seen such a device, but it could surely be useful. On the plus side, the cone is centered directly below the toilet down-pipe, so the problem is concentrated pretty much to that one part of the bottom of the tank.

If you can stand the thought of it, try using an automotive type bore-scope and take a peek down through the toilet. You'll see what you're up against (literally), and what progress you make as you try to break it up.

Causes? Not enough water in the tank. Not enough flushes in each use. Using TP that is slow to break down. Leaving the black tank valve open. Not enough agitation. Making it a habit of driving some distance with more than a little liquid in the tank prior to dumping can truly help dislodge at least some of the "stuff". (Dump after you get back to town, rather than at the park dump station.)

A couple more thoughts. I truly believe that digesters and enzymes and the like can be helpful, but their benefit is likely far less than advertised. Our RV tanks are holding tanks. They are not septic tanks. Hopefully the "stuff" won't be in there long enough at a time for significant septic action to take place. Also, try putting a couple of pounds of ice cubes in an open tank with 20 or 30 gallons of water, and then shake it around a bit if you can, and see how much impact the cubes have on the walls of the tank before they all melt. There will be a floatilla of cubes, only the outer few of which will ever impact the walls, and at that, only at the surface level of the water at the moment, for the minute or two that they survive before melting. The true benefit of that procedure is, unfortunately, unmeasurably small.

Mr Hurk, you have a problem, but it can be solved. Try the rotating jet wand for several minutes. Try keeping a lot of liquid in the tank for your next several outings, while on the road, dumping only after driving a while. Try the wand again. Repeat as needed. Take a look with the bore-scope before and after each attempt at a purging. (Harbor Freight?) Adopt toilet practices that help to prevent such build-ups in the future. Good luck!

[Hurk]

Originally Posted by K7JV

The ONLY way for a normal RV toilet to require plunging is for a pyramid of solid waste to have built up to the point of blocking the outlet at the bottom of the down-pipe from the commode, itself. Further, it is extremely likely that the pyramid (I call it "The Cone of Death") has solidified through much of its mass to the point that it is going to be very resistant to breakup from nearly anything other than mechanical destruction. By mechanical destruction, I mean either a powerful rotating hydraulic jet for more than just a couple of minutes, or some sort of flailing wheel of brush or something that can grind its way down through the structure of it. I've never seen such a device, but it could surely be useful. On the plus side, the cone is centered directly below the toilet down-pipe, so the problem is concentrated pretty much to that one part of the bottom of the tank.

If you can stand the thought of it, try using an automotive type bore-scope and take a peek down through the toilet. You'll see what you're up against (literally), and what progress you make as you try to break it up.

Causes? Not enough water in the tank. Not enough flushes in each use. Using TP that is slow to break down. Leaving the black tank valve open. Not enough agitation. Making it a habit of driving some distance with more than a little liquid in the tank prior to dumping can truly help dislodge at least some of the "stuff". (Dump after you get back to town, rather than at the park dump station.)

A couple more thoughts. I truly believe that digesters and enzymes and the like can be helpful, but their benefit is likely far less than advertised. Our RV tanks are holding tanks. They are not septic tanks. Hopefully the "stuff" won't be in there long enough at a time for significant septic action to take place. Also, try putting a couple of pounds of ice cubes in an open tank with 20 or 30 gallons of water, and then shake it around a bit if you can, and see how much impact the cubes have on the walls of the tank before they all melt. There will be a floatilla of cubes, only the outer few of which will ever impact the walls, and at that, only at the surface level of the water at the moment, for the minute or two that they survive before melting. The true benefit of that procedure is, unfortunately, unmeasurably small.

Mr Hurk, you have a problem, but it can be solved. Try the rotating jet wand for several minutes. Try keeping a lot of liquid in the tank for your next several outings, while on the road, dumping only after driving a while. Try the wand again. Repeat as needed. Take a look with the bore-scope before and after each attempt at a purging. (Harbor Freight?) Adopt toilet practices that help to prevent such build-ups in the future. Good luck!

Thanks for the detailed response. I pushed a stick down the down pipe and it what feel to be solid plastic I thought was an elbow but the down pipe I believe is a straight pipe to bottom of tank? If the stick hit the pyramid would it not be soft and come back with poop on the stick. It was clean. I always have tank at least 1/2 full before flush. I use the tank flush system. This time I filled the tank 1/2 full with fresh water and drove home we will see on next trip if helped. I bought 2007 Carmen September 2014 from one owner. Previous owner would drive to Yuma stay for 3 months then drove home. Maybe when he hooked up to sewer he just let it run all time? He was a fussy guy so I doubt it but never know?

[K7JV]

Hurk, that is truly weird. If it were the vent that was plugged off, I would expect the toilet to burp when flushed, but not to respond to plunging in any way. Yes, I would expect "stuff" on the stick, if you "stuck the tank" as they say in the petroleum business, unless you did hit the inside of an elbow. I would not expect significant elbows between the toilet and the tank, either.

You are correct that sitting for extended periods is problematic, and can lead to the cone of death. Hopefully he didn't leave the valve open. If he did, I can't imagine how a cone wouldn't be there, but as you say, he likely and hopefully didn't do that.

I really like the bore scope idea, with what you have going on. If you can get your hands on one at least three feet long, you might have a chance of seeing what's going on down there. Try to find one with a detachable angle mirror on it, so you can look around a bit.

I think many will be very curious to hear what you find.

[luckyd]

Have you tried a back flush?
Have you put a water hose down the vent?

Flushing a toilet requires down pressure.
Without it the toilet will not flush properly.

A mound could have backed up into the vent.
Try dumping RidX down the vent.

[Mr_D]

In my 55+ years of RV'ing (and that's before RV's had tanks) I've never had a toilet/tank not work correctly till we got the Magna. Even with the tank emptied the gauge still reads ¼ full so I can only surmise that the previous owner didn't know how to take care of the tank. I tried the flush unit and as long as I let it run I kept getting "stuff" out. Need to get to a park where I can hook up the sewer line and flush the tank for a good while. May have to finish my tank flush stick too. Luckily our toilet is directly over the tank so it's easy access.

RidX is good for septic systems but we don't have them in RV's, we have sewer tanks and the effluent doesn't stay in them long enough for RidX to have much effect unless you leave the RidX in there for several weeks or longer

[NVMike]

Over the years I have had issues with tank readings. The black tank has been relatively easy to rinse with copious amounts of water through a wand down through the toilet. Lately I have had problems with the grey tank. Can't seem to get the sensors clean. At a campground we used to leave it open for showers and the washing machine. Now I keep it closed and monitor religiously for draining, but the tank always indicates 2/3. How does one give the grey tank a good cleaning?

[Lued]

This helped me ,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6sv4d3PsTo

[NVMike]

Originally Posted by Lued

This helped me ,

My issue is the GREY tank. There is no good access to clean it.