Community Forums

Full.Monte · 12-07-2011, 07:24 AM

I can't figure out how I ended up with a lot of sand coming out of the black water tank when dumping. It may have been in there since I bought the MH.
The MH does not have a filter for fresh-water tank filling. The sand has already destroyed one set of seals in the black water dump valve. Does anyone have any ideas how this could happen?

MaverickBBD · 12-07-2011, 10:03 AM

Have you been eating a lot of seafood?

Full.Monte · 12-07-2011, 10:14 AM

Ha! No...occasionally freshwater fish, but no shellfish. And my wife is vegetarian. And the fish were cleaned.

ArmyEOD · 12-07-2011, 10:30 AM

if you are the second owner? maybe the first guy had a pile of poop stuck on the bottom and he used a mixture of sand and water to break it lose.
I would suggest that you drain the trank, remove the valve, stick an old water hose up the pipe and let it run for a while. maybe get one of the potty wands from camping world and sweep it around through the potty.

when all the sand is washed out, install new valve and or seals and enjoy the rv.

Merry Christmas to all.

stik · 12-07-2011, 10:30 AM

Got Kids??
Got GrandKids??
Got friends that aren't really friends??
That's all I can think of

stepside454 · 12-07-2011, 10:36 AM

Did someone eat a sand-wich?

RVNeophytes2 · 12-07-2011, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Full.Monte

I can't figure out how I ended up with a lot of sand coming out of the black water tank when dumping...

Aw... I was going to suggest an alternate method for getting enough roughage in your diet

One idea, and a way to test it: someone was using your toilet as a rinse basin, over and over, at the beach. One of many possibilities, a shell collector. Or, one of those metal detector aficionados. Bring their treasures home, dumped them in a dedicated colander placed in the toilet bowl, grabbed the "bidet" and let 'er rip. 'Sounds odd, but this trumps my earlier Little Mermaid DW thesis.

My own toilet has a facade around its base whose cleaning changes the whole character of the bathroom. Really, folks, they need to be cleaned. Pull that off, and you'll surely see evidence of what I'm describing scattered on the floor.

The only thing for certain: you aren't adding to the problem. With a wand sprayer inserted through the toilet, you should be able to dislodge and rinse out all the remaining grit. I'd shine a light down inside to check, each time. When you get to the point where hitting each corner fails to move sand into the center of the tank, you're most likely three or four rinses from being done. After that, I'd dismantle and rinse that new slider, lube it with some silicone gel (plumber's lube at the home stores).

Ariel, from Little Mermaid

LadyFitz... · 12-07-2011, 01:59 PM

Wash your spinach outside.

Billieg · 12-07-2011, 05:30 PM

Living in Fl. we find some parks have a leak in the water line which draws in sand. (happened at the house too). Any small break will draw in the sand around it and deposit it in your MH. Our home had sand in the toilets and we went nuts trying to figure it out until we got a $290 water bill. Dug up the line and found the leak. Been to a sandy state lately???

Full.Monte · 12-08-2011, 07:39 AM

Thanks! The sand-blasted poop pile may be plausible. We have owned our rig for only 5 months and are the third owners. We have no kids or pets and have taken 4 trips in our MH so far. I don't know if anyone washed sea shells in the toilet. The coach had 11,500 miles when we bought it.

quadnkev · 12-08-2011, 09:01 AM

Maybe some body had a cat and put the litter down the toilet?

alvinc · 12-08-2011, 10:10 AM

In some RV's the shower drains into the black water tank, rather than the grey. Usually a plumbing convenience. If this is the case and someone took a shower to rinse the sand off after being at the beach, sand would end up in the black water tank.

ralphie · 12-08-2011, 10:27 AM

I gotta go with the grandchild at the beach thinking LOL.

Full.Monte · 12-08-2011, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alvinc

In some RV's the shower drains into the black water tank, rather than the grey. Usually a plumbing convenience. If this is the case and someone took a shower to rinse the sand off after being at the beach, sand would end up in the black water tank.

Hmmm...I thought my shower drained into the gray water tank. I'm not sure now. In any case, it would be the previous owner that may have put sand down the shower drain, not us. It's still a mystery.