Grey Water Tank/Drain problem! Urgent!

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Trisha

Grey Water Tank/Drain problem! Urgent!

Post by Trisha »

I have a new problem. I thought it was the tank monitor but I think maybe not.

I empty the Gray tank (26' RB) 23-24 gal Gray tank. Once I am sure there is no more liquid draining, I check the monitor and it says I have 2/3 full.

I have gone through this a bunch of times. The black tank says 1/3 full when empty. (Maybe not right after a flush with the power flush, it might show empty).

The gray, 2/3. I wash a few pieces of silverware and a bowl, and it shows full again. I go out and empty it, it drains for a few short minutes, and it stops. I go back inside, and it's 2/3 again.

I tried changing the angle of the hose. I tried changing the angle of the valve pipe where the slinky attaches. I tried opening and closing the valve a number of times.

I went through this whole thing 3 times. Still showing 2/3 full right after emptying.

What the heck is wrong? If I try to push it, I might have a problem with backup (if the monitor is correct.) Or I can push it and find out the monitor is wrong. But the consequences if it's not the monitor? Not very palatable.

Is it possible for something to be stuck (I am very careful I even use a strainer-type screen in the galley sink). But on the rare chance that something might have gotten in there???

How could somethin gblock all but the last 1/3 of the top of the tank?

What is wrong?

trish
George Boley

Post by George Boley »

Trish, Relax everything is fine. Historically the monitors are only accurate for a short while after you purhase a new unit. Residue gets stuck on the sensors creating a false reading. You learn to live with it and gauge your dump needs according to use. Remember the waste tanks will hold every bit of fresh water you have on board. You can play it safe by always operating on you pump and onboard fresh water tank, even when you have hookups available. I hardly ever hook up to fresh water.

Now if you really can't get along without knowing. There is an add on system that has the sensors on the outside of the tank. It's expensive by my standards and takes a little work to install. Give Mel Wilbur a shout if you really think you need one. The country boy George B
xmariner

Post by xmariner »

Hello Trisha,
I've been lurking (reading with great interest) around this forum for a couple of months and I can second George's reply. We are currently on our 3rd motorhome, a class B, and I can assure you that your problems sound as though the sensors are coated with whatever.
A temporary fix is to give both tanks a bleach rinse, much the same as you would do with the freshwater tank. A cup (or so ) of household bleach, fill the tanks then take your rig for a 5 mile drive. Dump the tanks after 24 hours and the monitor should read true (for a while).
We are looking with great enthusiasm at the 26' RB model and hope to make the move in a few months.
Have a great day!
Jim Hofmann

Post by Jim Hofmann »

Trish. If the above remedies don't solve your problem, or you don't wish to try them, may I suggest that you just go about your business as usual and use your water supply (either from your fresh water tank or hook up source) BUT keep and eye on your shower stall. That is where your gray water tank will back up into. It's a little messy, but easily washed out.
Jim
robert newby

Post by robert newby »

Trish -- if you want your black water tank to read correctly then I suggest that you get a " wand " that attaches to your hose and stick it into the black tank thru the toilet and rotate and push up and down in the tank --this will wash out the tank along with washing the sides of the tank -- all the time keep the valve open so that the residue washes away -- I do this and it helps to keep the indicator lights working OK -- Bob N
Trisha

Post by Trisha »

Well, I have received a pm suggesting vinegar. I added a quart of vinegar to the tank, and then started filling with water. Viola! The sensor went from 2/3 down to 1/3 (hehe) while I was adding water! So I added more water, and it started registering correctly. Now it's soaking at near full. I will empty and then flush the black tank, then I'll empty the gray and I should be good to go for a while. I'm going to get one of those wand thingies that was suggested here too.

I know these sensor things can be unreliable, and my rig is now a year old (almost) so I was expecting this, but I also want to try to keep them working as long as possible, by keeping the tanks as clean as possible.

Thanks all.

Trish
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

Trisha wrote:I added a quart of vinegar to the tank, and then started filling with water. Viola!
Hi Trish:

Just a follow-up. Are your sensors still working properly since the vinegar bath?

I've just begun to experience similar problems with my black water tank sensor, and to some degree my gray water tank sensor. If your experience with adding a quart of vinegar to each tank had good results, I'll try that too.

Thanks, Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
Jim Hofmann

Post by Jim Hofmann »

Trisha; How about giving us an up date on how you (hopefully) cured your monitor readings on your gray water tank.

Jim
Trisha

Post by Trisha »

Update....

I was in alaska and couldn't reply earlier. Hi George!

Back home safely and soundly. No more leaking. Too bizarre. Lots of areas that had to be dried out and will need work. Will have to try the sprinkler thing or have the factory take it in their water bay.

Well, tank things.

My gray tank is an off-again on-again thing with sensors. I think there is stuff on the side of the tank. So I've dumped today and filled both tanks up with fresh water from the hose. I'll let them sit for some time and then dump again.

Sometimes my gray tank shows 1/3 full when I've just emptied, and it's also draining slowly. George, if you're reading this, when you guys were using the vent to flush, was that only a black tank thing? I am going to get one of those clear elbows that fit so I can see what's coming out... but you know where you hook up the hose? Does that actually put water into the tanks or only as far as the valves and a little past?

My black tank was also reading wrong...showing 2/3 full or full after just dumping. If there's not one of those flush hoses available where I dump, and Ican't run the flush system, it doesn't seem to empty.

Hard to know exactly when to dump when you're not sure if you're full or not. It's easy enough to guage if you're travelling with your usual complement (so you know how long it takes you to fill things up) but when it's not just you, and you don't know the other's water use habits, it's a little harder.

The false readings have caused me to dump prematurely at times. I have to find a dump facility near here with a threaded hose. Did get a good cleanout at Yellowstone. After today's dump, black read empty and gray 1/3.

Seems that the longer you have the rig, the more regular maintenance time you need to put in to keep things moving properly. I hope rinsing with clear water will help.

I may do it more than once. Putting some water in with high pressure might be good too....

So the saga continues.

Trish
User avatar
Steve
Posts: 204
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:46 am

Post by Steve »

Trish,
I constantly have the same problem as you, I went ahead purchased and installed The Tank Monitor: http://www.venaengineering.com/
I was able to purchase it at Camping World and saved about $75.00. It required a fair amount of wiring and fishing of wire across the ceiling, but it seems to work well (at least after calibration) We still haven't used it enough to be sure of the accuracy of the unit.
I do like the fact that the display always reads the following: fresh water level, gray water level, black water level, propane level and battery voltage.
The display only draws 5.5ma./12vdc. Anyway go to the website and read about it.
Steve
springerbill

Post by springerbill »

Hey Trish - other than your probe problem, how are you? How was the Alaska trip? My solution to the ever recurring incorrect tank probes reading is to "ignore the monitor panel readings". Don't fret about things that you can't easily resolve. We can reliably count on 3-4 days of usuage for both black and grey tanks. I try to dump every third day if possible. If not, go for 4 days and watch for grey water backup into the shower. The black tank is never a problem even for 4 days.
joslef10

bad monitor readings

Post by joslef10 »

Hi Trish...I am an "old timer" camping type! I started in 1971 with a pickup camper...All told we have had 4 pickup type & 4 motorhomes...
During the 1970's we never had "monitors", But starting in 1986, I had
a 1986 "Country Camper" (predesessor to today's Country Coach's) with a monitor & none of them ever registered correctly. On my BF, I just look in the toilet after 3, 4 days & kake my own judgement. My previous MH
was a 36' diesel which never did register correctly! Edith & I (both 80 yrs old) are still going once in a while!, so join the anti- monitor club With us
Joe & Edith Lefebvre Baton Rouge, La
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Mike Jean Bandfield
Posts: 513
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:43 pm

Post by Mike Jean Bandfield »

How much of a problem this can be depends on your rig's configuration and the other ways you have available to determine tank status. Finding an inch of water in the shower basin after you are all soaped up would be annoying. :( (We once had an RV with a shower that emptied into the black tank. It was always an unpleasant surprise to learn when the black tank was full. :shock: ) The tank configuration was a big factor in our choice of the RSB.

The RSB has a 35g freshwater capacity and, coincidentaly, a 35g gray tank. Most of the time I ignore the monitors and simply look at the fresh water tank under the sink. This gives me the exact reading on the fresh water and, intuitively, a similar sense of the gray water tank status.

At 21g, the RSB's black tank more than compensates for the "beer factor" and rarely is of concern.

The water from our home is naturally very soft and that may have an influence. We get wrong readings maybe 10% of the time but when you don't have to depend on the monitor it's not a concern.

If I had the RB with the relatively small gray tank, I might seriously consider the Vena (or similar) monitor upgrade that Steve uses. It's sensors are placed on the outside of the tank where they don't become fouled. These kinds of sensors are accurate and are seldom fooled unless there is a buildup of "plaque" in the tank or mud on the outside and these issues are relatively easy to resolve.

Mike
Mike & Jean
2005 26' RSS Diesel
Trisha

Post by Trisha »

Yes, I have the small gray tank. (Don't ask me why they'd put in a 35 Gal black and only a 23 gal gray. Makes no sense to me.)

So it's more of an issue. If i did not store stuff in the shower now and then, it wouldn't matter, but to have stuff backing up into the shower if there's something in there doesn't really appeal.

I'm debating the new sensor thing. When I'm alone, I can judge fairly well. It's when I have others with me whose habits aren't as well known to me that I can have more trouble figuring.

Alaska....wow. It was a fun trip (Thanks to the others and esp. for us the Boleys) we saw awsome scenery, had many memorable experiences, and made some new friends. It was wow. I can't believe how far... someone asked me today what I would do tomake Alaska better, and I said "move it closer to the lower 48 so we don't have to drive so long into Canada!" Well, it is a very long trip in Canada. And don't let those little maps deceive you...they put massachusetts and Texas on the same size page. Imagine how that wharps your idea of the size of either? Well, they do the same with Canada. I bought a dedicated map of canada.

That little bit of Yukon Territory is vast. That little bit of British Columbia or Alberta (depends on how you go...we went through Banff and Jasper ont he way up) is also vast.

I will go back when I get a chance; stay longer, visit some places more and skip a few... but it sure was a great overview. It was hard to keep up sometimes...I usually need more down time...but I managed and it was worth it. Had a few minor ? mechanical issues... thanks to 'top of the world highway' which is ont he top of the world but definitly is NOT a highway. More like a jeep track.

If I go again, I will tow. But that's because I'll go with my own agenda. And I'll want to drive someplaces I won't take the MH...like top of the world highway. I know many others said they did okay, but I found screws that had snapped in two, others are coming out (holding some woodwork on), and other things that suggest perhaps structural trouble.

BF will be seeing me soon... (fair warning.)

Gorgeous place, though, no doubt about it. Way more Mosquitos here in MN and North Dakota than we saw anywhere else on the trip. Unless this was an anomolous year, they can have our bugs and then they can reclaim their claims. You should see my rig (bugwise) the worse it got on any part of the trip was the last day. North Dakota and home!

How was your Ouray rally? I was thinking of you guys. I hope it was fun and warm!

Trish
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whemme
Posts: 2110
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:05 pm

GRAY WATER TANK SIZE IN 26' REAR BATH

Post by whemme »

Trish,

I am glad you had a good time and enjoyed Alaska.

The main reason that you have a 21 gallon gray water tank and a 35 gallon black water tank in your 26' Rear Bath versus the reverse that I have in my 26' Rear Side Bed unit is most likely because the two coaches have the same tanks mounted in the same location and probably will only fit that way. But the layout of the shower and sinks in the two coaches to be able to connect to the gray tank and the toilet location to be able to connect to the black tank are different.

On the subject of tank level sensors that seem to not work properly after a while, here what I found works for me. As soon as I am done camping, I try to dump both the gray and black tanks as soon as possible - don't wait until you get home. If possible at the campground, I then fill each tank again with clean water and dump them both again. Then, when I do get home, I fill both tanks clear full twice with clean water and drain them again. On the last fill, I add a cup of bleach to each tank before filling and then draining the last time.

So far this seems to have kept my internal tank sensors reasonably clean and working properly.
Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad
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