Holding tank

[BWilson]

I recently purchased a 94 Jayco 5th wheel. We have taken it on a few trips and the last two trips, I can't get the holding to drain completely. Any ideas??? It drains for at least 5 minutes, then stops. The first time, I just thought it was empty. Then the second time, I tried flushing it with more water, jumping on the bumper, etc. No luck. Any ideas would help.



What a rotten job

 

[Ram4Sam]

Works for me...

BW, I was having a problem like similar to this, couldn't get all the floaters out of the the tank. I just pull the trailer up on leveling blocks on one side to get the valve side of the tank lower than the rest of the tank, and as they say, s**t flows better down hill.



Sam

 

[CoastyAV8R]

How did you verify it's not empty? I ask this because if you rely on the indicators, they are not always accurate. Sometimes toilet paper gets hung up on the probes and gives a false reading. If you sure it's not empty then it will be fun as you'll have to identify what is in there. If it is human waste, it will break up over time if you put in the treatment and water and drive around. The motion will break up everything I have seen. If it is a solid object like a ball, a book, a shirt, whatever, it is obviously too big come out the drain so, as you already have thought, you may have to get into the tank to see what your up against. If the previous owner had kids, you never know what the heck they may have thrown in there, heck, you may find Jimmy Hoffa in there...



Good luck,

Pat

 

[Tejasdge]

I would guess that it is build-up from waste that was allowed to stay in the tank and dry. I have gone after mine in two ways. First, I made a cleaning wand out of 3 or 4 feet of 1/2 inch pvc. Cement an end cap on one end and drill an 1/8 inch hole in the cap so the water squirts out perpendicular to the pipe. On the other end I put a female pvc hose connector and then an in-line hose shutoff valve. Shove it down the toilet and let it fly. Make sure that you twirl it to get the whole tank. My buddy bought one of these at a RV store with three holes, but the water just dribbled out and didn't have the umph behind it like mine does.



Our trailer mostly sits out on our land for weekend use, so I didn't have the opportunity to try the second method until recently. That entails pouring drain build-up remover into the tank, filling it about half full of water and driving around. The sloshing action working with the build-up remover seems to have done a nice job of cleaning up the tank since the level indicator gauge worked properly for the first time in a year. Home Depot has a couple of versions of the build-up remover, Draino and Zep I believe, but DO NOT USE REGULAR DRAIN CLEANER who knows what it would do. I also cannot guarantee that the build-up remover won't damage the seals or something, so all the standard disclaimers apply here. Any first hand, long term experience with build-up remover out there? Another option is to buy level indicator cleaner at the RV store, but it's pricey, and I don't know if it will dissolve the build-up as well.



Good luck and happy flushing!

 

[RKaniefski]

Camping World has a few items that will help you

clean out your tank. I drilled the tank and installed a kit from them. It has a nozzle with many small holes and a garden hose connection. I drain the tank once and then fill it with the nozzle, which also cleans it. Then I drain, and while it is draining I turn on the water again. I play with it a few times turning on and off , it seems to work well. Another item is the clear elbow with a hose connection in it that hooks to the drain connection. If your piping is straight to the tank it will help clean it. I use it to see if the water coming out of the tank gets clear with no floaters. Hope this helps.

 

[Ron Bissett]

scoop on thr poop

Get drain cleaner Enzyme at Wal-Mart or home depot , Lowes or other store. Fill tank add plenty of the Enzyme cleane ,will not harm pipes tank or septic system or you but . Add to tank let stand over night or longer . You can also use Rid-X as its loaded with Enzymes . Flush tank add small amount to all drains flush with a pint or more water ,let stand for a few days if possible Flush gray tank . Drains will be cleaned out and tank to . I use enzymes in the tank in place of the blue stuff . Enzyme come in liquid or powder form both work to eat up the Paper and any organic stuff in the tank ,but kid input etc ... ... ... ... no. Ron Bissett in Metro Louisville KY

:-{}

 

[4xquadrod]

Tide

I like to put in a cup of tide in just before I leave, let it slosh around a bit and then drain, it seems to keep my tanks fresh and clean. I leave the valves open to dry out the tanks. I also installed some spray nozzles in the tanks so I can perform most of the task at the valves.

 

[Dbonzi]

The cheapest and easiest to find is ice.

Fill the tank about half way with water and then dump a bag of ice in the tank and drive around. It will clean that tank right up.

Dennis

 

[Hunter1]

Yep, ice, don't really need much water, dump 3-4 bags of ice in her, take a nice drive until it sloshes around all the sensors and the tank walls etc, drain and you are done!

 

[RMcCulloch]

Ya know, Dbonzi and Hunter1, that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Cool your s***!"



Our Montana came with a Black Tank Flush built in.

 

[R-N-R]

I've had to use both tissue digester and level gauge cleaner on seperate occassions. I have the Quickie Flush that RKaniefski described installed on both the grey and black water tanks. They certainly help flush out the "extras" that regular draining leaves behind. They also make adding some water back in after draining much easier.

 

[Briman]

What's a floater?

 

[DIESELMAN]

Originally posted by Briman

What's a floater?

Ice is Nice, great idea, it works!