Tank guage lies

[ice2fire]

When I empty the waste water tank, the guage indicates it is still full. Obviously the contacts inside the tank have got gummed up ? Our trailer never moves, it is on a fixed site. What can I do ?

Thanks

[drsteve]

Dave H M wrote:
I get it now, GREY GREY. I should have realized that from your first post. :h :W

When I read waste, I'm thinking human waste, not shower water.

Usually the black tank sensors are the ones people have trouble with.

I would check for a possible electrical issue.

Cleaning the grey tank sensors is going to be a bit tougher.

[Dave_H_M]

I get it now, GREY GREY. I should have realized that from your first post. :h :W

[doxiemom11]

We ignore them - don't even look at them. Can tell when tanks need to be emptied.

[ice2fire]

Sounds good. I have ordered it from Amazon. THANK YOU.

[SoundGuy]

ice2fire wrote:
When I empty the waste water tank, the guage indicates it is still full. Obviously the contacts inside the tank have got gummed up ? Our trailer never moves, it is on a fixed site. What can I do ?

An occasional dose of Walex Commando is designed to address this issue and has always seemed to help my tank sensors read properly, 'though truthfully I've never paid much attention to them.

[ice2fire]

Done. Hmm ! $150 each. I'd need two of these. Unless..... I used just one for Black tank, and kept the grey valve always open, using block. When it came time to flush Black, remove block (easy), push button, black tank flushes. Open up hot water in kitchen, run it for a while to clean out outside sewer hose and Y junction. Push button. Black tank closes. Turn off kitchen tap. Replace block. Easy. Need to think about it for a while. Thanks. Never knew the remote ones existed !

I might use the manual ones plus block for a while to see how it works out.

[time2roll]

Google

[ice2fire]

Remote control ?? How ? Are there systems for this ? Thanks.

[time2roll]

You could change your dump valve to be remotely operated. Just push the button when the sink backs up. Make the rest easier too.

[ice2fire]

Thanks for al the replies. I did mention in my first post that it was the waste water, i.e. grey water tank, i.e. NOT the BLACK tank, sensors that were not working, but it looks like people maybe read my posting too quickly !! This GREY water tank (K) is attached only to the kitchen sink, which of course, gets lots of waste water supply.

Whatever, I think we will fill this K grey water tank with hot water as much as possible, and then foaming RV tank cleaners like Tank Blaster or Commando. Also fill tank with water and CLR or Lime Away.

Up to now, I have flushed the K GREY tank when it was full, about twice a week, and after I have flushed the BLACK tank so as to clean the outside sewer pipe. The sewer lines from the K tank and the BLACK tank are joined under the trailer, with a flush gate attached to each tank.

We also have a separate sewer line from another GREY water tank (B) that has ONLY the bathroom sink and shower attached to it. I leave the "flush gate" open all the time on that. However, outside, close to the trailer, I have placed a 6" high block of wood underneath the sewer hose, thereby creating a U type drain. This works well and keeps the RV Park sewer lines smells at bay.

I could do the same with the K GREY tank, only keeping the "flush gate" to the BLACK tank closed. When I wanted to flush the BLACK tank, (which is not that often, two weeks even) I would close the "flush gate" to the K tank, fill up the K grey tank, remove the block under the sewer line, flush the BLACK tank, flush the K tank, close BLACK tank gate, replace block.

What a procedure !! But I don't think it's worth messing about with new sensors. And since I am elderly, getting down underneath the trailer to open and close gates is a pain. I'd rather not rely on a schedule, my DW (and myself) sometimes uses the kitchen sink a lot, sometimes not that frequently ! I could be draining the K tank unnecessarily.

[ice2fire]

Dave H M wrote:
Go to Walley's or on line and get one of those flexible wands with the rotating end on the want. Stick it down in the tank and rinse it out.

Has worked for years for me.

It's the grey water tank, NOT the black tank. Can't get to former. Black tank is easy, just look down the hole.

[mgirardo]

I agree, water is your friend. We are on a permanent site and leave our Grey Tank valves open all the time. The black tanks are closed all the time except to dump. Our main black tank fills up about once a week. The half bath in the bunkhouse can go 2 or 3 weeks before emptying.

When I empty the tanks, I rinse them multiple times. Generally, after the initial dump, I close the valve and use the in-tank rinse to fill it back up again. We have relatively low pressure at our site, so I let it fill up for at least 10 minutes. That puts about 30 - 40 gallons in the tank. Then I dump it. Rinse and repeat.

Our gauges usually work all the time. Even if they aren't working properly, I just wait until the toilet burbs when flushing to tell me it is time to dump. When the tank level gets above the vent line, it will burp when flushing the toilet. I dump after the first burp.

-Michael

[maillemaker]

My RV is 29 years old. We are its second owner. We have had it for about 10 years now.

Our sensors work fine.

Now, they are not instantaneous in response. If you drain the tank and immediately check the levels, the sensors will say the tank is still full. This is probably because the side walls of the tank are still very wet and electrically conductive and so the higher-level sensors are still wet and think they are submerged still. But, if the tank has been allowed to sit for a bit, then the sensors work fine.

You'll note that I never do anything special to my tanks. All I do is put one of the "poop pellets" down the toilet every time we use the RV. And, at the end of every trip I put a block of wood behind the flush lever to keep it flushing until the black tank is completely full before dumping. But I never go to any of the lengths that others try to go to to keep their tanks clean. I have never sprayed it out. My dad, in an attempt to be helpful, dumped ice cubes down the toilet the day we bought it, but I doubt this did much.

[drsteve]

myredracer wrote:

Chemical treatments that you put in a black tank before each use of the tank are no help. Water is your friend.

Very true. Not only are they ineffective and a waste of money, some contain chemicals that are harmful to the bacteria that make septic tanks work. Here in MI, the state parks are trying to educate people that this stuff can be really bad for the dump station.