hodo06
ohio
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We just bought a 1996 jayco about 6 weeks ago, have it parked at a campground for the summer. We have hooked up to the sewer system at the campgrounds. We only camp on the weekends and everything seemed to be working great until we arrived for the fourth of July weekend. The toilet is full of water and it will not flush away. Don't have a clue what to do? Everything on the outside looks to be open and should be flowing into the sewer we are hooked up to but it is not. We could use some suggestions as where to how to start fixing this problem.
Thank you
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JFG
TN
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You shouldn't hook-up to the sewer with your black tank valve open. You should leave it closed and only dump when tank is at least half to 3/4 full. It needs the extra volume and water pressure to flush everything down the line. You probably have tp or a combination of things hung up somewhere. try a plunger and see if you can dislodge or get a snake wire and run down system.
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DianneOK
Donnelly, ID
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Did you leave the valve to the black tank open? If so, therein lies your problem. RV sewer systems are merely holding tanks. If you leave the valve open, the liquids drain out but not the solids. Eventually you have the dreaded "pyramid".
Hope you can get this resolved.......
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SieraSam
Gold Country
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1, Check the knife valves outside to make sure they are open.
2, If valves are open, use a spray wand on the end of a water hose to loosen the stuff in the holding tank.
3. Make sure the slide valve in the bottom of the toilet opens when you work the flush lever. If it does not open, you have a defective mechanism that is part of your toilet assembly. If that is the case it is best to hire a mobile RV service to fix it.
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hodo06
ohio
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thanks for the quick answers, yes i am sure we left the blank tank open. Can we fix the problem ourselves or do we need to call someone and who do you call? After the problem is fixed do we close the blank tank all the way or leave it open some. The people that we bought the camper from said that when it is parked leave both tanks open. The said the only time they shut them is when they traveled. Not sure what we are doing?
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joanne0012
Boston, MA
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Some fulltimers can get away with leaving the valve open, but it depends on how your drainage plumbing is set up. If you do indeed have a serious poop pyramid, you might be able to break it up with a stick if it's relatively new (i.e., you didn't buy it along with the camper). Otherwise, you can search the boards for threads that refer to pyramids and the various chemical and mechanical approaches to dismantling them.
After you get the problem fixed, you can avoid a recurrence by keeping the black tank valve closed until the tank is at least 3/4 full, and always use plenty of water with each flush. Then it will have enough liquid mass to flush most of the solids out when you open the valve. Leaving the valve open just a little bit is worse than leaving it wide open, since that would guarantee that only liquids drained out.
* This post was
edited 07/05/08 10:01am by joanne0012 *
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D_Thadd
Orange County, CA
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My black tank was not emptying all the way and I suspect it was getting a solid build up. I bought one of those wands you put on the end of a garden hose and sprayed out the tank. It worked really well and the tank shows completely empty now after I release the valve.
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hodo06
ohio
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i have another question how exactly do we know if the black tank is open or closed? we have two metals rods sticking out of the side I assume one is for the black and the other is for the gray tanks. We are assuming that if they are pulled all the way out that they are open. Am I correct? My husband says that they will not move. Also I don't think that I can use a wand on a hose to spray down through the toilet as there is standing water almost filling the basin of the toilet not going anywhere. Thank you sorry for all the dump questions this is our first camper and we are totally lost on what to do.
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NCHornet1
Mt. Airy, NC.
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You have a real mess on your hands, and I mean a mess. Some homework after you purchased the TT would have helped, but let's not worry about things we can't change. Your problem is you have a complete blockage and your tank is so full it is backing up into the commode. In answer to your question, if the rods ( which should have handles on them, you can buy them at any RV store) are pulled all the way out ( check with a pair of vice grips to pull out, or install new handle) the valves are open. To unclog the tank you can stick something up from the outside drain, but when the clog is broken through you know what is going to come flying out at you real fast!! The best way is to get a flush king device, you can buy this online for $45 or most RV stores will have them. This will allow you to attatch a hose to the drain and backflush the tank. With a hose hooked to it, you need to close the grey tank valve, this will direct the water pressure to the black tank. This water pressure should break through the blockage. The seal on the commode should keep it from backing up into the trailer, but have someone watching it just in case. Since your tank is full you don't want to keep the water on to long, I would do like 15 sec, and then turn off water and open the valve on the FK, you should get a flow of "stuff", if not try another 15 sec or longer. The problem is your tank is already full, so it could get to the point where it starts coming out your roof vent. Not pleasant but much better than inside your TT. After you get the blockage removed you are still probably going to have a lot of solids left in the tank because of the way the previous owners used the TT. Once the blockage is removed it will take lots of backflushes to get these solids out, as well as one of those wands down the tank. When you leave for the week dump some redex down the commode to help break up the stubborn stuff during the week. This will probably take several weeks to get them clean. When you leave your campsite always leave water in your tank, never leave it dry as the stuff hardens and will be very difficult to remove. In your case I would almost fill the tanks while you are gone to allow the water to soften this stuff up. Don't call someone because they will charge you a fortune to do this, at least I would. Follow my directions and you can fix this. If you have any ? just PM me, also look up Geo method and follow it the next time you use the TT. If the PO did this for years you may never be able to get all the stuff out and replacing the tank may be in order. Once you get the blockage free a pressure washer down the commode wouldn't hurt. PM me with any ?
Good Luck
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Dixonmatco
Santa Rosa, California
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Some campgrounds have a "Honey Wagon" to empty tanks on those sites without sewer hookups. This involves them hooking to your outlet pipe and firing up their pump to pump into their truck. This might create enough suction to clear the blockage. Once you have it drained down a bit, the process of flushing and filling your tanks starts. Perhaps some of the tank organic chemical packs would help as they help break down the waste. You could leave it in there while you are gone, as it takes time to work.
This is a classic example of why one should not leave their black tank valve opened when at a full hookup site.
Best of luck to you getting this mess cleaned out.
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