Problems draining gray water tank #2 in Landmark

jbeletti

Well-known member
Moved by Admin from Bighorn ATF to Landmark Plumbing as online Factory input no longer needed

For the first time in over a year, I am now having trouble getting my gray tank 2 (shower/lav) to drain.

It's not a bad sensor to be sure as we've taken several showers. The only thing that is coincidental to this is that we had all tanks pumped out on Friday while camping at the Kentucky Horse Park. We were not at the site when the pump out was done.

Upon our return, the tanks were empty to low according to the Control Panel. Two days later (this morning), when at the dump site upon our departure, nothing at all came out when the gray tank 2 valve handle was pulled.

We've traveled about 250 miles since this morning. We're at one of the KOAs near Indy (Greenfield, IN). Hooked up the sewer hose with clear connector and this time, I got "some" water to empty out of gray tank 2. But not much - a few gallons maybe. Still showing 2/3 full and teetering to full.

When at the KY Horse park, I was high on the door side by maybe a half-board. Here in Indy, we are level. So I don't feel my level is part of the problem.

I am guessing the valve pull handle and cable assembly is not connected well at the tank or we have some bizzare obstruction that went down the lav sink or a vacuum lock.

Thoughts?

Terawatt - did you figure anything out as to the cause of your gray 1 not draining until you flushed the black tank? I will be flushing in the morning and will know then if it has any affect on my gray 2 (shouldn't).

One other possibilty although far-fetched is that the honey-wagon driver didn't know to just pull the handles as instructed by phone but also turned the handles many-many times. Not sure if that would do anything anyway but I am grasping at this point.

Jim
 
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Ken Washington

Guest
Jim,
Would the driver do any damage if he pumped with all valves closed? Just goes to show you that you have to do everything yourself or it won't be done right! Was everything fine until the driver showed up?
Ken
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Ken,

Not sure how much suction a standard honey-wagon has on it to know if it could cause any trouble. I did notice that he used one of my hoses to connect to his hose and it was interesting that in my hose container, there is actually, gray'ish water coming from that hose. My gray water tank never puts out real gray water of course and I know the word "gray" just means it's not fresh water and not black but in between. Still, I thought it wierd that my hose had real gray'ish water in it. Like he pumped me full of a thin concrete slurry.

Yes - all had been well prior to this pump out. Still doubt he broke anything but we shall see.

Anyone else have ideas on mine or terawatt's issue?

Scott - you back from vacation yet?

Jim
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Jim;
Maybe when they used the hole saw to cut the hole in your tank, the piece fell into the tank and is now pluging the drain. I have a clear plastic flushing connector that I connect a water hose to and I use it to flush my gray water tanks. If it is a plug, that would break it loose. Here is the link for it. http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm/Maintaining-Your-RV/Sanitation/Drain--Flush-Systems/RV-Hydro-Flush-with-AntiSiphon-Valve/skunum=14496. This will beat the heck out of tearing out the underbelly. Good luck,
John
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi John,

Thanks for the tip. I agree, if this would work, beats taking the trailer apart. I read all the reviews on the product but the results seem mixed. Some say it's only real effective at the tank when there is a straight shot to the tank. We know with 3 tanks that maybe only one will be a straight shot.

There is an RV dealer (formerly Mark's RV) a block from me. They said they are 2 weeks out on service and cannot look at it. They have a store that may have one of the flush couplers so I am thinking about it. Even if it will not push water pressure into the tank, it still may help clean the pipes up to the valves and the extgerior of the valves as well.

Thanks John,

Jim
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Jim;
The effectiveness of the Hydroflush is directly proportional to the water pressure that you put in. I try to have 60 to 65 psi at the faucet and a fairly short 5/8 inch hose. Works good for me. I read the reviews too. It sounds like some of our Heartland reviews. Some love it, a few are unhappy.

John
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
You're so right John.

I spoke to Randy Denton and got the number for Stouts RV here in Indy. They are 2.5 weeks out for service and their Master Technician is out sick today. Larry in service there guessed it's a cable issue. He did give me the name and number of a mobile repair tech. In a few minutes, I'll be walking up to the nearby dealer to look for that flush valve. It's worth a try.

Jim
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
John,

The RVer next to me had a male to male hose adapter. Using that on the end of a sewer cap with female hose threads, I was able to push water into the tank drain pipes.

I did this with gray tank #2 valve open at first. Not knowing if anything was happening, I shut the valve and opened it a few times. At one point, when closed, I ended up blowing the sewer cap right off. Broke one of the plastic hooks :eek:

I ended up getting some gray water out of the tank. By pressurizing gray tank #2 several times and draining in between, I was able to get some gray water out each time to the point that I am now teetering between 1/3 and 2/3 full. That's down from a solid 2/3.

I think we'll limp it home from this point. I'll get one of those flush valves from CW too. Need the back flow prevention and the plastic may be tougher than the black plastic cap.

Perhaps the the road home will dislodge the blockage, if that's what we have. In any event, I'll put this on my list for service work to be done by a service facility.

Jim
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Jim;
Yep, sounds like you have something fairly solid in there. Before you hit the road, put about 1/4 cup of "original" Dawn dish detergent in the tank. If it's a grease block, that will disolve it while you are driving. That is good to do about once or twice a year with the tanks about 1/3 full anyway. It cuts the grease off the tank and helps keep the monitor probes clean.
Good Luck,
John
 

Trap

Well-known member
Actually along with the dawn dish detergent adding a cup or 2 of calgon water softner and you will be amazed at how clean your tank gets.

Trap
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Stopped at Camping World in Bolingbrook, IL on the way home from Indy and picked up the flush connector. Next weekend at my CG, I'll work on the tank, continuing to flush it until it flows freely. If not, I'll keep it on the list for servicing at the end of the season. There's no way I am dropping it at any dealer and risking losing weeks or months of camping while it sits in their service queue and then for parts if needed. I'll limp it along as long as I can if I need to.

For the 2 gray tanks - all season long, I have been putting about a cup of powdered water softener (used Calgon now using cheaper brand) in each along with a couple galons of water after I empty each tank.

For the black tank, I have been using a cup of powdered water softener and a cup of laundry detergent (Tide).

So far, good results with each. There are so many schools of thought on treating, cleaning and deodorizing tanks - many, many opinions. This is just what I am trying for one season. If it works, I'll stick with it.

I like the Dawn idea a couple times a year though. May have to try that one - thanks John and Trap.

Jim
 

fireflipper

EX-Travel Bug
fireflipper

Hi Jim
Just a thought, I have the same problem now and then and found that stuff sticks on the sensors in the tanks. Put some stuff down the drain and make sure there is about ten gallons of water in the tank, drive it for the day or a few miles and see what happens. This takes care of the faulty reading on the monitor panel. I hope it is not something solid stuck in the tank, it will probably happen again until the tank is dropped and the peice removed.
 

bking

Active Member
Last summer I had similar problems with Gray tank #2. It wouldn't drain at the dump station when I left. But by the next time I wanted to dump, the pipe was full of gray water. I bought a gate from Camping World that twisted on to the end of the sewer pipe and put the black end cap over the gates output opening. This kept me from making a big mess when I hooked up the sewer hose.

When I finally got it to my dealer, the tech found the cable had pulled out of the pull handle. Pulling the handle did not pull the cable and open the drain valve on the tank. The tech fixed the problem by loosening the plate holding the three valve handles and tipping the handles out so he could drill a small hole in the back end of the handle for a set screw. He pushed the cable back into the handle and tightened the screw to keep the cable tight in the handle. After that I had no problems.

I think I caused the loose cable problem by pulling or pushing the handle too hard one time when I was dumping. I'm a lot more cautious and gentle with the handles now.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Bob,

When we are camping next weekend in southern, IL, I just may take a look at the cable situation. So much as I can see from the basement area anyway. Not ready to drop the underbelly just yet.

Thanks,

Jim
 

bking

Active Member
Jim,

the tech unsrewed the plate located in the universal docking center that the holding tank slide handles pass through. He then tipped the plate and hanldes out far enough to get behind the plate and do the repair. The repair took place entirely inside the docking center.

Bob
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
Jim,
What did you do to fix the problem with your number 2 grey water tank?
trdeal
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
bking
Thanks for the info. I just came in from taking loose the plate that holds the tank drain handles, and the cable housing on the no.2 tank handle is loose from thr handle. I pushed it back in,but it popped back out.I will try to find a set screw tomorrow and see if I can fix it the problem. If I can't I guess I will replace the whole assembly. I feel as you do, Heartland dropped the ball on this one. I know that it is just a matter of time before the other two cables do the same thing.Putting a gate valve at the sewer hose connection sounds like a pretty good idea. I wonder if anyone at Heartland has been made aware of this problem? Thanks again for your help. trdeal
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
trdeal,

I have not fixed it yet. We have not been camping for quite a while due to other commitments. I limped it along the last few uses. If I can limp it along until the end of the season, it will be on the list for LSI to look at when I drop my unit off there on 27-Oct.

If I had more time and wasn't on lumpy gravel at my CG, maybe I'd tear into the underbelly but I just don't want to find some flat ground and take a day to tear it apart. Whatever is found to be the issue, I will post it here.

Jim
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
I dropped the under belly this afternoon on our Landmark. It really was not that big a deal. The cable at the valve end seemed fine, but when I took the mounting plate for the drain handle out ,the cable housing was not attatched to the handle. The cable itself was attached, but the housing was not. I read a comment from bking eariler. He had the same problem and used a set screw to fix it. I will try this. If this does not work I guess I will see Bill Plemmons RV or maybe a local rv repairman. Thanks for your help and for this web site.
Terry and Renee:D
 
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