Geo Method for Black Tank

[Shirlv]

I used this method the whole time I owned a rv. Never had a problem and bathroom smelled wonderful

1 cup Calgon
1/2 cup dish detergent
I gallon of water
Combine, shake jug and pour down toilet. I usually added a couple more gallons of water. It makes tank so slippery that nothing sticks to sides. It keeps sensors clear too. I always had a hard time finding Calgon so stocked up when I found it. Don’t know if people still add to their bath water.

P.s checked Amazon and they sell only bath beads not order thst I used. Guess beads would work. Also checked RV.net where I learned of method and could not find any info. I liked that I didn’t have to use stinky chemical.

[JudyJB]

Thanks for the advice, but unfortunately, the problem is not with my black tank. The black tank is emptying very well and is holding the usual amount of waste. Also, I have a built-in flush mechanism I can use with the black tank. I think I was not very clear about what was happening, so here is more explanation and what my thinking is:

The problem seems to be with the outlet of the grey tank, not the tank itself. In other words, there is liquid in the tank, but it will not empty, so I think there is either something stuck in the outlet or the outlet itself is broken somehow. I have already done all of the things to break up anything in drains to the grey tank or the grey tank itself, including more than two bottles of drain opening chemicals and even boiling water. I also dumped an entire bottle of dish detergent down the drains in case it was a grease buildup, but that did not help either. I also have gone through a bottle of enzyme product that is supposed to clean our grease and hair. Obviously, water is going into the tank, but it is not coming out and is making the tank fill up too quickly.

Also, this happened very suddenly, not over a long period of time it would take to fill the grey tank with something blocking the tanks. That makes me believe that the problem is not due to a lot of stuff that has built up in the grey tank.

Also, the problem is not in any of the P-traps for the shower, kitchen sink, and bathroom sink because if I add water to any of these, water starts to fill up the shower pan.

My two tanks share an outlet where I attach the sewage dump hose. About 3-4" above the bottom opening, the wide black tank plastic pipe is joined in a Y shape by the smaller grey tank plastic pipe. Based on my eliminating problems in the p-traps or anything inside the RV, the problem has to be in the grey tank pipe or the grey tank release handle. That is why I tried to shoot water with the hose from the bottom up into the grey tank with the release handle open.

I will be able to tell tonight and tomorrow morning if that helped unclog something.



I may be completely off-base on this, but my next step is to try to find a company that will flush my tank. They would have something that could flush further into the outlet, and possibly be able to put a camera in there to see if I am off-base with my analysis of all of this.

Anyway, thanks for your help.

[Shirlv]

Judy, just a thought. Like a bathroom vent could your roof vent somehow be clogged with leafs etc and prevent the tank from emptying.

[JudyJB]

That is a possibility, but the second mobile RV technician who climbed on my roof said that was not likely because of the cap on the vent pipe. He removed it and said he could not see how anything could get down the pipe. The cap wraps around the top and sides, but it does leave space for air to move through.

I may try to get someone else to look at that possibility if nothing else works.

[JudyJB]

UPDATE: I just took a shower. A couple of weeks ago, I tried using an old fashioned plunger I bought, but when the shower drain was full and overflowing, all it did was pull up slightly dirty water and made my shower messy. I did this a few times, but it did not really lower the water level in the drain, just splashed things around. In addition, up until a couple of days ago, all I could manage without the shower pan filling an inch or so and maybe draining overnight to an inch down, was one very short shower. I stopped using the plunger because it did not work and I was told by the second mobile repair guy that the p-traps were OK.

Anyway, I took one short shower last night, and it filled up the drain somewhat, but had drained overnight to the normal 6-7" below. (I have taken the screen off and using a flashlight to check levels.) So, tonight I was optimistic and took another shower. However, it started to fill up the drain again, though not as bad as before, so I got the plunger out. But this time, the plunger did something--it gurgled and with a few plunges, it made a big whooshing sound, and the level went back to the normal 6-7 ".

After all of this, I added about a cup of the CLR enzyme product I have been using occasionally. The problem with this product is that it is meant for septic tanks, and you are not supposed to add water for 24 hours, which is really hard in an RV. I've already gone through two bottles of drain cleaner. The problem is that if the p-trap under the shower were clogged, the drain would not fill with water from the kitchen sink, as had been happening.

So, instead of dumping my tank tomorrow, I am going to try to put dish washing water down the sink to see if it causes the shower pan to fill up as it had done before. I will also take another shower tomorrow night and see what happens. The good news is that I seem to be making progress because I can take two instead of one shower, but the bad news is that things are still not working right.

If it fills up again with tomorrow night's shower, I am going to go back to the clogged vent potential cause, which was the first thing I thought of when this all started three weeks ago. I had eliminated that because the guy on the roof was so insistent that stuff could not get into my vent to clog it because of the cover on it. But I have been wondering if insects could have built a nest in it??? I will ask the camp host next door if he knows if a mobile person who will actually blow air or put a camera in it to make absolutely certain vent is really and truly NOT clogged, as I had been told by second mobile person.

The nearest Camping World or real RV repair service is near Denver or about 80 miles of mountain driving away, and i am heading west, not east. I also doubt if they could get me in anyway.

[snowball]

the RV mechanic that I use in Q actually lives in Southern Colorado I could give you his number it might take a bit for him to get back with you but it's a possibility
also I don't know what route you are taking west but if Q it's too far out of your way the guys in Q would be a source the business is called RV Proctologist you can google them that is how Kerry found the name for me all I could think of was a play on colonoscopy
Hope it works out for you
sheila

[JudyJB]

Thanks, Sheila, but i am in northern Colorado right now. If I cannot get it fixed, I will send you a message when i am in southern Colorado in a couple of weeks.

[JudyJB]

ANOTHER UPDATE: I washed dishes tonight but let the water go down the kitchen sink instead of dumping it from the dishpan into the toilet. Then I used the plunger, and it gushed again and dropped the water level down in the shower to the typical 6-7". That is good, but I am still not sure what is plugged or why the plunger works but does not really clear anything up permanently.

Then I just took my nightly shower, and it started to fill up again, but more slowly. Anyway, plunged again, and water gushed and went down. So, after I got out, I let the water run until it started to fill up again and plunged again with same result. Repeated this second time with same result again. I don't like plunging because it does smell though at least now it is not bringing up any gunky water.

The other interesting thing is that I have been using so little grey water that it did not start to show in the sensor indicator until my shower yesterday, which was the second shower this week. It showed 1/4 of the tank. And after my shower tonight and two times letting water run and plunging, it now shows that the grey tank is half full. So, I am making some progress, but I don't know how or why. I will dump tanks at dump station tomorrow, and see if that improves anything or what comes out. Maybe having more water to dump will clear out whatever is clogging it wherever it is clogging it!!

Anyway, when I go to Camping World, I am going to get them to check my vent pipe a bit more thoroughly than last guy did.

[MandysMom]

Judy, wild guess, but I wonder if there is some kind of valve, such as back flow preventer that has failed and plunging is forcing it part way open? I wonder if the company who built the RV could tell you if there might be any unusual valves like that?
Velda

[JudyJB]

I am making wild guesses, also, especially since I got such conflicting advice from the two mobile rv guys. I will have Camping World check it on Monday after they check my wheel bearings.

[MandysMom]

Judy, sure seems you have coveted most conceivable possibilities. I would not go to CW, because we were screwed twice by them, but whatever it takes, I hope you get the issue solved. Certainly has cost you a lot in time, $$, and frustration!

[WickedLady]

Sounds like a valve problem to me.