Community Forums

myredracer · 08-30-2013, 01:32 PM

It's definitely white PVC down there. I was wondering about the use of PVC and thought that they were normally ABS. This is factory though. I hope they used the proper transition cement if they mixed ABS with PVC. Why would they use PVC?

I checked and the toilet is pretty much right in the center of the tank (front to back) so I have no idea why they would have a bend into it?? And what is the elevation of the pipe outlet into the tank at relative to the bottom of the tank? One more thing for the deficiency list.... Potentially too much wrong to try and rectify myself but it would be nice to inside with a camera. Are RV techs any good at investigating and diagnosing this sort of thing? Pales in comparison with our frame problems though.

flaggship1 · 08-30-2013, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myredracer

It's definitely white PVC down there. I was wondering about the use of PVC and thought that they were normally ABS. This is factory though. I hope they used the proper transition cement if they mixed ABS with PVC. Why would they use PVC?

I checked and the toilet is pretty much right in the center of the tank (front to back) so I have no idea why they would have a bend into it?? And what is the elevation of the pipe outlet into the tank at relative to the bottom of the tank? One more thing for the deficiency list.... Potentially too much wrong to try and rectify myself but it would be nice to inside with a camera. Are RV techs any good at investigating and diagnosing this sort of thing? Pales in comparison with our frame problems though.

Assuming this isn't an electric toilet, Tecma for example - it is really pretty simple to pull the thrown. That will give you a much better look into the tank. Turn the water off - get a few towels - pull it - toss it in the shower to get it out of the way - and see what ya see.

If you think you really need to see down into the tank you can get a USB scope camera for $30 bucks on Amazon - plug it into laptop and see what ya see.

myredracer · 08-30-2013, 02:23 PM

Not electric. I like the idea of one of those cameras. Wouldn't have to pull the toilet off. I see you can get them on ebay for under $15 incl. shipping. Can think of other uses too.

Never know - could come in handy some day for peeking under a door before breaking it down to go after some bad guys behind it.

(Watch too much TV)

flaggship1 · 08-30-2013, 02:40 PM

Flashpoint comes to mind. And yes - I don't have one yet - cause like everything else I buy - I do a little research and that bumps me up in price - and up again - and then Flashpoint comes on and I get distracted. Then I see your post and remember I was going to order one. And then you remind me of the price to value comparison and I decided to take a nap.

Have a great holiday and good luck. Btw - I only suggested pulling it as an option cause I have heard / read of seals and certain toilets collecting some foulness that might not be visible without pulling it - scope or no scope.

garykk · 08-30-2013, 03:00 PM

I think you have two choices at this point, bring it back to the dealer as it still should be under warranty and let them figure it out or..........drop the under belly and check it yourself. Most bellypans are a corrugated plastic and attached with screws and pretty easy to drop...

BFlinn181 · 08-30-2013, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myredracer

Not electric. I like the idea of one of those cameras. Wouldn't have to pull the toilet off. I see you can get them on ebay for under $15 incl. shipping. Can think of other uses too.

Never know - could come in handy some day for peeking under a door before breaking it down to go after some bad guys behind it.

(Watch too much TV)

After peering down the toilet, seems the best use for that camera would be to hang a shingle outside and offer "Colonoscopy Exams"

That would pay for the camera!

myredracer · 08-30-2013, 05:57 PM

Thanks for the comments and advice. Much appreciated!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

After peering down the toilet, seems the best use for that camera would be to hang a shingle outside and offer "Colonoscopy Exams"

That would pay for the camera!

Hmmm. And I could start by doing some self-examinations for practice. Umm, actually, no, not a good idea... Imagine if it got stuck. Just how would I ever explain that to my doctor?

Mossy cat · 08-31-2013, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myredracer

Our new TT has a toilet that has the outlet pipe into the tank that has a bend in it. I have no idea if it's just a 45 degree bend or it's more. It seems to get plugged a lot with "stuff" (this is a family forum and can't spell it out). I've had to find a stick from around the cg a few times to push it through. It's getting to be a real PITA. Can't look down into the tank either to see how full it is.

Our old TT had a pipe which dropped straight down into the tank and we never, ever had any problems with clogging. We could also see straight down into the tank and see how the level was doing.

The last time out camping, we used our tote tank for the first time (no sewer at the cg) thinking that the tank was 100% full. It was well after dark but something had to be done. It turned out it was just a clogged outlet pipe. Dang.

Is this a common problem out there or is it possibly just the way our particular unit happens to be? In searching this and other forums, some say that one thing you can do is get a length of 1/2" PEX tubing, plug both ends, and use it to push "stuff" through. It bugs me not being able to look down into the tank to see how full it is.

The tank sensors say the tank is always at least 2/3 full and mostly full even right after a dump and flush. We have a built-in flusher but the one time I tried it, it didn't seem to do much. I use a Valterra Hydroflush elbow which seems to work well. But we still have a 2/3 or full reading.

I think another contributing factor may be the type and brand of TP we are using. We have Amco brand RV at the moment but I did a water test with it and it does not break down. I did a test last summer with 4 brands and found that one Costco brand breaks down and one RV brand which I am almost positive was Thetford did not. I am wondering how important it might be to use TP that breaks down to improve false readings? I have to wonder the same thing about clogging in the toilet outlet pipe?

DW was thinking of upgrading to a porcelain toilet but had to explain to her that the problem is with the outlet pipe and not the toilet. Not what she wanted to hear.

Being the type never to get overcome by obstacles in life, it looks like a winter project may be to take the underbelly off. remove insulation, drop the tank and modify the piping....

On the other hand, it would probably be easiest to just keep the last branch I found at a cg for unclogging.

But what do you expect in a $35,000 RV? We already have to use bungy cords on the cabinet doors in our rear kitchen to stop things from falling out, so what's so bad about having to use a stick in the toilet? I *suppose*....

We've had clogged up "stuff" before too. Had to use a coat hanger to rotor rooter it through. Now we just run lots of extra water when we go to keep things dumping as they should. No more issues.

myredracer · 09-02-2013, 01:35 PM

There's definitely something wrong in a major sort of way. The honey wagon pumped us out on Friday, and today, 3 days later, the water level in the black tank is right up to floor level.

We have not used it for pooping and there's only two of us. We've also been out sightseeing or at the clubhouse most of each day so it's only had a small amount of use for no. 1. This time, I'd didn't add any water to the tank after dumping because we knew we weren't going to use it for no.2 and we have been easy on water when flushing both to try and extend the use of the black tank.

The cg maintenance guy is going to come by and help us look at it and he'll pump it out again. He also has some kind of a roto-rooter thingy he's going to try. It might be that the tank is only partially draining out each time. Or we may the dreaded interconnection between the grey and black water piping. I've noticed since the beginning 4 months ago that the grey water tank (we have a galley tank too) has always drained very slowly and it's never seemed to have drained much out. The galley tank in comparison flows really well and lots comes out.

The grey tank sensor read 1/3 full after dumping which is acceptable since sensors typically don't work well or at all. We've both had showers now and the grey tank still reads 1/3 full. Seems suspect. I don't remember it being more than 1/3 full before but have never had a reason to watch it carefully.

Seems like we have the indications of interconnected piping. Never thought we'd be a victim of that one.... Not sure how to tell for sure without ripping out the underbelly material? Pour known amounts of water into the grey or black tank like say from a 5 gallon pail?

BFlinn181 · 09-02-2013, 01:50 PM

Go to the grocery and buy food coloring to put down various drains. Also, could your lavatory sink be hooked up to the black tank? That is pretty common in Class A's. This works best if you've got a section of clear drain pipe hooked to dump valve, sounds like you're not at a campground with sewer connection. If you were,, I'd put, say, red dye in lavatory drain, then open valves to look for color. Blue in kitchen, drain, etc.

Steve N Sal · 09-02-2013, 01:59 PM

More water in the bowl and proper TP. We use Scott 1000 1 ply. Have never had a problem and yes we have an elbow to the tank. As far as a chemical we use a RV Digest-it made by Unique. This stuff liquifies everything.

myredracer · 09-02-2013, 02:57 PM

The honey wagon pumped out about 40-45 gallons between the black and grey tanks. The grey seemed to have about 10-15 gal. in it. Black and grey are both 32 gal. There's no way the black could have filled up again in just 3 days the way we've been using it.

BFlinn181 · 09-02-2013, 05:24 PM

If you're hooked up to city water (system constantly pressurized) and you have even a small leak in the toilet, you could fill black tank overnight.

myredracer · 09-03-2013, 12:29 PM

This is getting ridiculous.

It's been about 24 hours since the honey wagon pumped the black tank out. Now it's almost up to floor level again!

Maybe water IS getting in via the city water somehow?? Isn't the only way water would get into a toilet is from inside the bowl and above the valve? There's no water building up in the bowl.

Maybe there is a big blockage in the drain pipe under the toilet or inside the tank that's really plugging the flow up? Maybe it's the disc that was cut into the tank but is still in there causing a blockage?

I like the idea of trying food dye. We're going to try some liquid drano tomorrow before we leave the cg tomorrow. Will leave drano and water in the tank for about a 100 mile drive to the next cg and see what happens there.

Running out of theories.... Very frustrating.