dumb, dumb, dumb

[Echo]

Well had a good job today. What was it you may ask???

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!! Our water hose froze up which all in all wasn't a biggie. But of all the other things to freeze up??? It was our sewer hose....~sigh~ And I mean full and solid!!! Dummy me. Well yes and no that is. Having never had to worry about it ever before I never gave it a thought that the hose laid on the ground. Actually it was about 3 of 4 inches lower than the sewer pipe it drains into. But I use to think I had brains and at least a little logic or common sense. I guess not? And no I don't have one of those fancy smancy hose prop thingies.

When Kelly went to the bathroom of course she flushed. Well she then let me know that she could see the 'occupants' who 'live' in the black tank. (contents) She wondered if they were waiting for me to cook the turkey tomorrow. (smart azzed kid)

Went out to dump the tank. It was just fine for like 30 seconds and everything 'jammed' up. Yucky, smelly water started to drip out of the coupling. OMG!! I shut the valve off. Scratched my head and grabbed the hose. Oh no! Hard as a rock, cold as ice and all dead weight. The very nice sun shine on the 'other side of the trailer sure did dim down and my day got a little darker.....

So I spent over 3hrs sitting on a milk crate with my hair dryer defrosting/thawing my sheet hose. Probably closer to 4hrs. Attempted to drain the black tank again. Ohhhhh? Ahhhhh, I hear liquid at least! Still had chunks of ice in the dang thing but at least I had thawed it out enough to drain the liquid out of the black tank. Hmmmmm? All the liquid is gone, I know that there is 'stuff' still in that tank... The water hose inside the trailer was of course by then thawed out as I had had Kelly take it inside in the heat. (wasn't gonna do that with the sewer hose. nuh uh! Nope. Had her bring it out and we put it back on. Told her to go in and turn on the hot water!! She did so and finally turned it off when the water cooled to warm. But lo and behold! It was enough to break up and take away the ice chunks still in the sewer hose. YEEHAW!! I came inside to thaw myself!!! I then proceeded to flush a WHOLE BUNCH of water into the black tank and then I went back out and dumped it again. Wow it was so nice to hear that free flowing water thru that sewer hose.

I made sure that the hose was completely empty too. I scrounged around here and found enough flat rocks and a piece of 2x4 to make a ramp for the sewer hose from the trailer to the sewer pipe at a more efficient angle than having that low point between the out and the in!

Rather proud of myself to tell you the truth!!! I had a major problem, I persevered, I conquered it and the crapper works again!!! (so much nicer and warmer for middle of the night needs )

Told Vickie about my little job today. First thing she did was laugh and ask if we had taken pictures???? Said "no, no pictures. nothing exciting about me sitting on a milk crate holding a hair dryer". ??? Some people have strange senses of humor. 'just saying!!!

[VickieP]

[rvgrammy1953]

Echo, are you leaving the black tank open all the time?? If so, not a good idea for 2 reasons....1 you already discovered when living in a winter cold climate...it will freeze.. #2, when left open to "free flow" into the sewer hookup, all liquids go thru, but the solids may not...hence, they tend to dry and bunch up in the tank...then you got another mess to clean out....when we are at a full hookup site, we let the gray water open, but not the black....once a week we will close off the gray and open the black to drain....flush a couple of toilet bowls full of water down it, then close it off again....then re-open the gray....just a suggestion that works for us....

[dpf]

Yep...I agree with Lori. A young couple here in town bought a TT that had used been as an on-site lake home for several years. Apparently the previous owners must have always left the valve to the black tank open all the time...the liquids washed away but the solids stayed in the bottom of the tank. After several dry camping trips Jim and Pam couldn't figure out why their black tank was always full while those people that they were camping with were seldom full after several days at the campground and when they emptied it would take forever for the black tank because they were just getting a slow stream of liquid. Turns out that they had a black tank full of petrified poop, toilet paper and feminine hygiene products (which should NEVER be put in the black tank!) They tried everything short of dynamite to get the contents of that tank softened enough to flush out and finally ended up having to replace the tank....luckily Jim was handy and could do it himself and didn't have to pay the $100 per hour labor charges at the RV service center.

DH thinks I'm a little anal retentive when it comes to the tanks in our RV's but before we leave a campsite I'll use all water left in the fresh water tank to fill the black tank so there is enough liquid to completely flush the contents with centrifugal pressure.

[mitch5252]

DH thinks I'm a little anal retentive when it comes to the tanks in our RV's...

I have to laugh - I'm exactly the same way. During the research phase of this RVing adventure of mine, the people over on rv.net put the fear of God in me about the - drum roll, puh-leez - The Dreaded Poopie Pyramid !

So, to be perfectly honest, George is the only one I let do Big Potty in the trailer (I'm afraid he would get lost going to/from the campground facilities, so I keep him close to home).

Yup, keep that black tank closed until it's 3/4 full. Then let 'er rip.

PS: Could that hard freeze of Echo's hose have caused some small (or maybe not-so-small) leaks in it?

..

[dayspring39]

Right on ladies... I always leave the black water closed unless dumping... but I also shut the gray water tank a day before dumping then there is some gray water to flush out the hose after dumping the black water... when we (my husband and I) had a tt I would always use a hose to put water down the toilet until I was sure it was cleaned...
Be sure to use the black water holding tank digest after you dump... I always use about a gallon or so water after I add the digest...
Not sure exactly what you are aware of... also if you use water from your fresh water tank always let it be empty before adding fresh water that way it is clean and you do not get putrid water... you will also need to purify the fresh water tank every few months...
You are a trouper Echo... wow I could never have learned all you have in such a short time... keep it up girl...
from your sistar
Kathleen

[Travelinana]

Echo, I can tell you're not one of those 'hand on the forehead' saying "Oh me, what am I going to do, why does this have to happen to me, I just want to run away "Nope, well maybe for a couple of seconds then it's 'don the armor, victory is mine' My motto in these circumstances "Mind before Matter"
You are inspiring, I love how you keep your sense of humor in all the trials and tribulations

[mitch5252]

I love how you keep your sense of humor in all the trials and tribulations [/color][/b]

Ditto that! A more positive person I've rarely met!!

[Echo]

Nope! I don't keep the black tank valve open just the gray. My parents bought a TT from some friends who did that I think? I borrowed the TT when I went to truck driving school. While getting the TT ready we discovered the 'hard crusty bottom'! Not to mention a crack in the fiberglass tank. I got the job of cleaning that tank out and fixing the crack. OMG I know I didn't get the WHOLE bottom clean but my arm was small enough to fit down thru the toilet past the valve. I used putty knives to scrape the bottom of the tank enough to clean what I could and repair the the crack with fiberglass repair stuff. Now that was like forever ago and I don't know how many TT's were designed where you could look down the toilet and see the bottom of the tank??? But that one you could so I was able to repair from the inside and outside. And besides??? After reading what all has gone on here and the different things that have happened. And all the advice? Nope don't leave that black valve open. Plus living in the 5er at the beginning of the season at the Lodge I was told to leave the gray open the black closed and why.

I plan on getting one of those stretchy out thingies that you put the hose on sooner or later. Or else a length of rain gutter!

And yeah I ended up with a small hole in the hose. Used some vinyl repair stuff we have and "DUCT TAPE" the miracle tool!

[rvgrammy1953]

Option 1: Stretchy Out Thingy: definition of what's called a "Sidewinder".... Option 2: PVC pipe cut in half length wise... According to the Sultan, option 2 is cheaper, but have to find someone to cut the PVC. For travel he suggests to bungee or strap to TT bumper, or throw in the bed of a truck....Option 1: is more convenient, but more expensive... His 2 cents....

[Echo]

LOLOLOL

Thank you for the advice! At some point? Simplicity, convenience, work savings and whatever else can out weigh cost! Have seriously thought of buying a long heat tape and some insulation to insure that the dang thing never freezes again! Then I will always have if not hot sheet at least it will be thawed sheet. I sure don't want to spend 3 or 4 hrs again out there with a hair dryer. Might not be so easy next time! But there hadn't better be a next time so I will really be "dumb, dumb, dumb"!

[snowball]

I know it would be a pain in the tush! but maybe the thing to do would be to put the hose away until you need it then haul it out...how long is the cold spell there? may not be long if so then it would be a long inconvenience. You did good is solving the problem
sheila

[Forestgal]

I second what Sheila said. I'd also go so far as to dump a gallon of cheap window washer fluid down BOTH tanks, just to help keep them from freezing. When you're going to be in those cold temps you've got to expect "challenges" and be proactive. Remember, most trailers aren't made for living full-time in such cold, but it can be done. Good luck!

[bikerchic777]

Thanks for sharing your trials and tribulations. Someone always learns from our mistakes We had a hard freeze warning last night, so I left my faucets dripping all night. Others here did, too. I like to leave my gray tank valve open until my black needs to be dumped, once a week. I have been using the advice from here about putting my tp in the waste basket (except for #2) and I think it helps to keep it from filling so fast and also empties out better. I have a sprayer next to my potty and when I dump my black tank, I flush a few full bowls of water, then spray water down there for awhile. Seems to be working to give me a more accurate reading on my gauge.

When you talked about using the hair dryer on your sewer hose, it brought back memories of 2 winters ago. Was in FL with my then DD and it got below freezing one night. We had no water in the morning so he spent a long time out there with my hair dryer on the riser, trying to thaw it out. We finally got running water, but found out a couple of days later that the park had turned off the water to prevent ruptured pipes All that work for nothing