Gray Tank #1 Problem

Mels Musty Music

Active Member
Think I might have encountered my first problem with my BH and am looking for advice as I've never run into this situation before on previous 5th wheels.

Went to dump my gray water #1 tank this afternoon. Have a transparent elbow off my sewer pipe so can see whats going on. When I opened the valve the water flow was slower than the normal rate for the gray water #2. Normally it drains at a much faster rate. It only drained for maybe 3-4 minutes at this much slower rate and then stopped. Checked monitor and it reads 2/3 full. Have probably dumped this tank 8 to 10 times on this trip already and it has always read empty afterwards so I think the reading is accurate. I don't leave any of my valves open when we are hooked up. Prefer to empty them when they get full. The valve feels like it is functioning normally when I pull and push the handle.

Not aware of any foreign object going down the shower or bathroom sink drain and if it did seems like it would be too small to cause a problem.

Leaving here on Monday and won't have a chance to pull the belly panels if thats what I have to do. Only going 150 miles to our next stop.

Any ideas or observations will be greatly appreciated.

Hank
 

Forrest Fetherolf

Senior Member
Don't rely on the gauge. There have been many complaints from other owners about inaccurate readings, as well as mine. If liquids are kept in the tank for long periods, scum and "whatever" will adhere to the tank sensors and cause the gauge light(s) to light even if the tank is empty. Leave a couple of gallons of water in the tanks when traveling. The motion will sometimes slush the water and clean the sensors.
The slow draining could be caused the valve adjustment (not opening enough) or maybe not much liquid in the tank when drained. Drive the rig to the next stop and recheck the flow rate before tearing into the underbody.
 

DougLynne

retired Alberta Chapter Leaders
I had trouble with one of my grey tanks when I dumped this Fall. It is the only time I've dumped thus far. I stopped by our dealer on the way home and he opened up and it seemed to flow OK. Got it home and tried some more, I think my problem is that the door side has to be higher than the drain side to get a proper dump as I put blocks under that side and managed to empty the tank(I think)..../Doug
 

sailorand

Past British Columbia Chapter Leader
Hank
the Polish TV you have installed on your sewer line is the only way to go. I like to see what is going on too. So far I have not had any problems dumping.
Rand
 

ChopperBill

Well-known member
I dumped my black tank into our blue boy and after it was empty I put a few gallons down the toilet to flush it out then opened the valve again. NOTHING came out. Strange as I hadn't moved the trailer or did anything else different. Would have thought that those added gallons would have come out seeing how I hadn't even moved the trailer. Lots of spooks are living in the BH belly! :eek:
 

dieselengineer

Charter Member
Check if the valves are indicated correctly. The first time I clean the holding tanks, I found that the black water tank was labeled as gray water. You may have opened the incorrect valve. The other item to check is if the cable has slipped and the valve is not opening. You will need to remove the underbelly to check if this is the case. The handle will feel the same if the cable is slipping or not.
 
C

Chulinw

Guest
At least you got your tanks labeled. I still don't have the labels after two years of asking the dealer for them. I just gave up and I know that the far left is black tank, next is gray tank for shower and other gray is for the kitchen. I would like to have some way to flush the kitchen gray out seems to seem after some food didn't wash out..
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Chulinw;
The best way I've found to clean the holding tanks is after you empty them, fill them with about 20 gals of water and 1/4 cup of Original Dawn dish washing liquid and drive to your next stop (over 20 miles) and then dump. It washes the grease and food residue and also keeps the tank level sensors clean. This also works in the black water tank.
John
 

cdbMidland

Past Michigan Chapter Leader
Chulinw said:
At least you got your tanks labeled. I still don't have the labels after two years of asking the dealer for them. I just gave up and I know that the far left is black tank, next is gray tank for shower and other gray is for the kitchen. I would like to have some way to flush the kitchen gray out seems to seem after some food didn't wash out..

On our 3655RD the front valve is gray #1, middle is black and the rear is gray #1, so all floorplans and years are not the same.
 

Mels Musty Music

Active Member
I'm back and thanks for everybodies responses. Just moved from Casa Grande to Camp Verde. Before we packed up I filled all three tanks to the brim - about all this Arizona water is good for anyway. Black tank drained normal and after flushing it read empty. Got to admit this is the first trailer we've had that the black tank ever read empty after the first couple of dumpings. Gray from kitchen drained as always - slow. Gray tank from shower drained even slower - in fact it took well over 10 minutes before it stopped. Used to take less than a minute so I think the valve is not opening all the way as some of you suggested. Will have to get by with it this way till we get home later in March. Will give them the Dawn treatment as suggested too.

Rand - Will be in Sun City on Wednesday. How long will you be in Mesa?
 

nscaler2

Well-known member
Mels Musty Music said:
I'm back and thanks for everybodies responses. Just moved from Casa Grande to Camp Verde. Before we packed up I filled all three tanks to the brim - about all this Arizona water is good for anyway. Black tank drained normal and after flushing it read empty. Got to admit this is the first trailer we've had that the black tank ever read empty after the first couple of dumpings. Gray from kitchen drained as always - slow. Gray tank from shower drained even slower - in fact it took well over 10 minutes before it stopped. Used to take less than a minute so I think the valve is not opening all the way as some of you suggested. Will have to get by with it this way till we get home later in March. Will give them the Dawn treatment as suggested too.

Rand - Will be in Sun City on Wednesday. How long will you be in Mesa?
Mel,
We had similar problems with the grey tanks being slow to empty. My dealer found that they had sagged in their moorings causing the drain opening in the tanks to be slightly up hill. They braced them both up. This was done just before we stored the trailer for the winter. So, it remains to be seen, later this spring,wether it helped.
 
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