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HerbL 
Newbie 
Joined: 16 Jan 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 21 |
 Topic: Need help - black tank won't dumpPosted: 21 Jul 2011 at 10:12am |
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I'm probably no help, but the first thing I would do (if you have not) is open the toilet and look inside to be sure the tank is actually full. The red light indicators get stuck and indicate a full tank sometimes when it is not full. If the tank is not fairly full, fill it through the toilet and then open the valve (at a dump station). We never drain the black water with less than a 3/4 full tank to help flush thing out with water pressure. If your tank is actually already full, good luck and disregard my advice.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 21 Jul 2011 at 10:46am |
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Its full. Towards the end I could see the progression of the flushed "material" as it rose in the pipe towards the toilet. Also the usual gurgling and vibration of a good flow through the drain hose never occured when the black tank valve was opened, but did when I opened the gray tank valve. I don't trust the indicators since they are never right - in this most recent case they read 3/4 full when I knew darn well it was almost 5/4 full! After the trip to the dealer they read 4/4. I trust the gray and fresh tank indicators more, they have proven to be more reliable.
I do as you do and wait for the tank to be full, or if its a weekend trip I wait until the end of the trip before opening the black tank valve. If anyone reading this does not know, you should never leave your black tank valve open if you have full hookups. Its ok to leave the gray tank open, but leaving the black tank open will lead to the "triangle of death", a cement-hard formation of stuff that hasn't drained properly from the tank and then dried. Wait for it to fill up, then close your gray tank before you take a shower to build up some flush water, then later dump the black tank (closing the valve when you are done), then reopen the gray valve to flush the sewer hose.
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 30 Jul 2011 at 9:50pm |
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Final update on our black tank saga. We got our 'pod home today from the dealer and I went right to work on the tank. Even after a total of about 7-8 hours of sloshing around when I pulled the valve open... nothing. I tried a plunger on the toilet, nothing. Pulled the 'pod to another area on my property where I could tilt it at a good angle. Nothing. I don't have a snake, but I had some scrap copper wiring under my work bench so I started twisting it together to give it rigidity. Shoved it up the dump pipe a few times, and got a nice little flow, finally. But when I looked in the toilet there was still water right up to the top of the toilet valve! So now I knew I had 2 problems, and only one was solved. I used my make shift snake on the toilet and finally got it to empty, slowly. My water tank was empty so I moved the 'pod back to my house and got the hose out, and filled the toilet bowl again and again and again and each time it would flush a little faster. After a dozen flushes it finally flushed normally. I then completely filled up both waste tanks and emptied them - with a satisfying gush from both. Success! TWO blockages on the black tank. Argh. What a pain. Hopefully this doesn't happen again. But now we can go on our next trip knowing everything is back to normal. |
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Podsible Dream
podders Helping podders - pHp 
Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Location: Hightstown, NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 571 |
Posted: 30 Jul 2011 at 10:19pm |
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Glad to hear it, wouldn't want to think of y'all having to share facilities during your reunion!
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Chris and Walt
'10 RP-171 'Free Spirit' '13 Dodge Durango Crew 5.7 L Hemi V8 |
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Hodge-PODge
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Location: Calhoun, GA Online Status: Offline Posts: 539 |
Posted: 31 Jul 2011 at 10:47am |
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Tech,
Why do yo u think you got 2 blockages and how do you think they could be avoided the next time? I really want to know how to avoid THAT situation!
The reason I ask is because the 2011 R-Pods have a black tank flush (does yours?). Well, I've only camped out 3 times using my black tank. The last time I camped out I had sewer hook-ups and I had plenty of time when I broke up camp so after I emptied the tanks I decided to use the black tank flush. I have a see-thru connector at the end that dumps into the sewer. So while I packed up I hooked up the water hose to the black tank flush and let it run for about 15 minutes. In that 15 minutes I couldn't believe the stuff I could see (through the clear connector) that was washing out of what was SUPPOSED to be an EMPTY tank!
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2011 RP 177, the Hodge-PODge
2011 Mercedes ML350 "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." |
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Iteach5th
Senior Member
Joined: 25 Nov 2010 Location: Floral Park, NY Online Status: Offline Posts: 109 |
Posted: 31 Jul 2011 at 10:55am |
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I use that black tank flush every time I dump. Takes only a couple of minutes, seems like a prudent thing to do
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"Whether you think you can or think you can't, either way you are right"- Henry Ford
2011 RP-177 2009 Jeep Cherokee 1982 Coleman Redwood pup |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 31 Jul 2011 at 9:34pm |
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Hodge, my guess is that the few times I ... sat down ... I should have flushed it several times during ... the process ... from start to finish, instead of the one time I was doing it. Brown stuff, flush, wipe, flush, wipe, flush, etc. And I will now add more water to the bowl than I was using. Never was a problem in our popup because it dumped directly into a portable tank - no pipes to the tank or from the tank. I know there are two 90 degree elbows and a foot of horizontal pipe from our toilet to the tank, all things that will rob forward velocity from the ... stuff. Breaking it up into multiple flushes and using more water will all help. Same with the dumping process, two elbows and horizontal pipe doesn't help, and the additional water will help here, too.
No, ours doesn't have a back flush, but I was wishing for one! |
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Guests
Guest Group 
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Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 5:45am |
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I'll speak....now that the problem has been solved!
 When you first mentioned this, 2 things occurred to me: 1. Construction debris - such as when they cut the holes for the pipes & toilet - could have been left in the tank (by accident/oversight); just now finding it's way into just the right spot. 2. Solids to liquids ratio = very bad; yielding something the consistancy of "meatloaf". Being somewhat of a rebel, I don't do what "the book" or conventional wisdom indicates - I dump nearly every time I camp. In decades of camping, I've yet to have a problem (knock on wood). One of the "keys", as you have already pointed out, is not to be too frugal with water. Use the toilet for both forms of "relief".....the more liquid the better. Think soup, not meatloaf. In regards to the "wait until it is 2/3 full" theory, I would offer this this simple experiment: Take a soda pop bottle, fill it full of water, put the cap on, and try to shake it.....not much movement. Empty at least on half of the water, replace the cap, and shake. You will see lots of movement/agitation. This is what you want to occur in your black tank. Plenty of fluids and movement to break everything down into "soup". The more full the tank becomes, the less room there is for agitation. I don't think you need to change your personal habits, per se. Just use more water, on the whole. Dump more often. Here is what I do: After dumping, I try to get about 5 gallons of clean water in the tank, along with the chemical. I have a 20 gallon tank, so that is about 1/4 full already. The drive home (sloshing about) provides opportunity for this to break down anything that may have remained in the tank. This also gives me a "head start" on building liquids in the tank for the next outing. The drive to the next outing provides even more sloshing. Your plumbing arrangement IMHO is going to make this even more critical. IMHO...use plenty of water and dump frequently. It just never made sense to me to haul around a couple of hundred pounds of "vintage poo". |
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secretbard
Senior Member
Joined: 12 Apr 2011 Location: Budd Lake, NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 195 |
Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 12:40pm |
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I was going to have meat loaf and soup tonight...
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2010 Rpod 172 :)
2004 Chevy Trailblazer |
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 01 Aug 2011 at 1:14pm |
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ROTFL! No meatloaf for me tonight, either.
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Need help - black tank won't dump