Gray 1 tank not draining - help

[charlene1]

I am new to this forum and a new Heartland Elkridge 5th wheel owner (2014). Ever since we purchased this RV, the Gray 1 tank doesn't drain at all. We had a black tank repair person come out to check out a leak we had just to be sure it wasn't the black tank and he put dye down all the drains...we have good draining in the black tank and good draining from the bathroom sink. The tank that handles the kitchen sink and the shower doesn't drain at all. First we thought it was blocked by ice since we had a very, very cold winter and we thought the ice was melting which was causing the drip. But, now the drip has stopped but our tank won't drain and the sink and shower back up and burp if we put too much water down them. Plus, I have no idea where the water is going. The sink and shower appear to be completely full and then they drain and let us use them again for a little while but I have no idea where the water is going since the drip has stopped.

Any thoughts? We have contacted the place we bought the RV from when this first started, about 5 weeks ago now, and they "have us on their schedule". We are full time RVers and claim they just haven't had anyone to come out to our RV yet. This is getting very frustrating since showers have to be 1 minute and the kitchen sink has to be used with very little water.

Associated with this is the kitchen breaker keeps going off - we are pretty sure that wherever the water is going is getting on some wiring which causes the kitchen breaker to keep flipping, especially when it rains. I have to take the toaster to the front room to have toast

Any help will be appreciated....this is just so frustrating. Other than this, we love our Heartland Elkridge 2014 5th wheel!

 

[cookie]

When your tank guy came out didn't he look at all the tanks? Seems if he dyed the tanks he should have noticed a problem.
Anyway, it sounds like you may have a problem with the drain valve. Could be that the cable does not operate the gate valve properly.
The cable could be disconnected from the valve not allowing the valve to be fully opened and it is not completely shut off allowing slow drainage of the tank allowing you to take that short shower.
You need to inspect the cable and gate valve for that tank.
When it rains you said that the kitchen breaker trips. Is it the breaker or the GFI? Wet location receptacles, outside, bathroom, basement and kitchen would be protected by a GFI. If the outside receptacle gets wet during rain then it would trip the GFI. This includes the receptacle that provides 120 volts to your refrigerator.

Peace
Dave

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Do you have access to a plumbers snake? In your case I would make this a two man job.

One person manning the grey tank handle....the other will work the snake back up into the pipe, until water start coming out (and it will be FAST). This might get a bit messy, so do it in a location that will be OK with a bit (ok, a lot) of grey water leaking out.

When they cut the hole for the valve/line they might have left the round part in the tank (assume it fell out of the bit vs staying in) and now that has worked its way to the opening and and is blocking your water from leaving.

Just to be clear, you have 3 handles total...1 for black and 2 for grey. You are opening all 3 valves at different times. My previous trailer actually had 2 drain lines. One in front of tires and one behind. Any chance you've simply overlooked this and have 2 drain valves?

Finally...which ElkRidge model do you have?

 

[Apropdoc]

Not sure if this would matter, but in theory, if your holding tank is full and the water level is above the vent pipe, then the water traps at each drain could contribute to Vapor Lock, preventing the tank from draining (same issue on aircraft lavatories). On another note, I had to adjust the drain 't' handle on my rear grey tank...it wasn't opening very far and I just had a little more than a trickle. After adjusting the gate valve, the grey tank emptied FAST!

 

[charlene1]

Yes, the tank guy said there was a problem but he only works on black tanks and, for some reason, thought this problem needed a valve replacement, cable replacement or it was a tank problem and he didn't do that. We think it is a case of either the valve not opening or the cable not attached but as I mentioned, we are extremely new to this and have no idea how to check this out....do we go in from the bottom of the rig? We are happy to check this ourselves since the place who sold this rig to us is taking its sweet time on getting out here (and we have one of those bumper to bumper warranties as well), we just need a little guidance.

In the kitchen, it is the breaker for sure...I have to go to the breaker box and flip the 15 amp breaker back on. When it acts up, we can have only thing running at a time - coffee pot, toaster, or fridge...plus the bathroom GFI is on the same breaker so, at times, I have to turn everything off so I can use my curling iron.

Thanks for the reply!

When your tank guy came out didn't he look at all the tanks? Seems if he dyed the tanks he should have noticed a problem.
Anyway, it sounds like you may have a problem with the drain valve. Could be that the cable does not operate the gate valve properly.
The cable could be disconnected from the valve not allowing the valve to be fully opened and it is not completely shut off allowing slow drainage of the tank allowing you to take that short shower.
You need to inspect the cable and gate valve for that tank.
When it rains you said that the kitchen breaker trips. Is it the breaker or the GFI? Wet location receptacles, outside, bathroom, basement and kitchen would be protected by a GFI. If the outside receptacle gets wet during rain then it would trip the GFI. This includes the receptacle that provides 120 volts to your refrigerator.

Peace
Dave

 

[charlene1]

Thanks for the reply.

We don't have a snake but can purchase one I guess....I have thought of trying to put something up the pipe but was afraid of ruining something since we really don't know what we are doing.

Yes, we have three handles. This is on a panel next to where our propane goes, covered by a large door. One valve is for Gray 2, then black, then Gray 1 (this is the one that doesn't drain). We have the 2 gray tanks open at all times and only open the black when we drain it (which works great).

We have friends who had a Jayco 5th wheel and it had the two drain valves - one next to the black tank valve and one near the tires. This one has all the valves in one place.

We have an Elkridge 32TSE I think (I am not home right now so can't go out and check).

Do you have access to a plumbers snake? In your case I would make this a two man job.

One person manning the grey tank handle....the other will work the snake back up into the pipe, until water start coming out (and it will be FAST). This might get a bit messy, so do it in a location that will be OK with a bit (ok, a lot) of grey water leaking out.

When they cut the hole for the valve/line they might have left the round part in the tank (assume it fell out of the bit vs staying in) and now that has worked its way to the opening and and is blocking your water from leaving.

Just to be clear, you have 3 handles total...1 for black and 2 for grey. You are opening all 3 valves at different times. My previous trailer actually had 2 drain lines. One in front of tires and one behind. Any chance you've simply overlooked this and have 2 drain valves?

Finally...which ElkRidge model do you have?

 

[charlene1]

Thanks so much for the reply. To adjust the drain "t" handle, do we go under the rig to do this or are you talking about the handle that we pull to let the water out? Not sure how to adjust it....it is extremely hard to pull out and doesn't "feel" like the other one.

Not sure if this would matter, but in theory, if your holding tank is full and the water level is above the vent pipe, then the water traps at each drain could contribute to Vapor Lock, preventing the tank from draining (same issue on aircraft lavatories). On another note, I had to adjust the drain 't' handle on my rear grey tank...it wasn't opening very far and I just had a little more than a trickle. After adjusting the gate valve, the grey tank emptied FAST!

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Can find another service company in your area??

Did the tank ever work properly for you?

Did you test it during your PDI?

As it is a 2014, someone that owned it before you could have caused a big problem.

 

[charlene1]

I just checked the Heartland site and found an authorized dealer in Coeur d'Alene, ID, about 120 miles from us...there was an email so I sent them a note as well....it would be worth it if they can find and fix the problems.

No, this started the very first time we tried to empty this tank.

PDI?? If this is the pre purchase run through, their technician was supposed to have checked everything but, obviously, that wasn't the case.

Yes, I think that this problem started and they traded it on a larger rig without fixing these problems....and, of course, the place where we purchased it says they know the previous owner and he is a very conscientious person about his rig.....

Can find another service company in your area??

Did the tank ever work properly for you?

Did you test it during your PDI?

As it is a 2014, someone that owned it before you could have caused a big problem.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

I just checked the Heartland site and found an authorized dealer in Coeur d'Alene, ID, about 120 miles from us...there was an email so I sent them a note as well....it would be worth it if they can find and fix the problems.

No, this started the very first time we tried to empty this tank.

PDI?? If this is the pre purchase run through, their technician was supposed to have checked everything but, obviously, that wasn't the case.

Yes, I think that this problem started and they traded it on a larger rig without fixing these problems....and, of course, the place where we purchased it says they know the previous owner and he is a very conscientious person about his rig.....

Sorry you didn't find us sooner. We would have told you to do your own PDI...and never trust the dealer to complete one. You can still do one if you want, you can get my PDI from the link in my signature below or google for another one. Mine will take you about 4 hours to complete and (sorry to rub salt on the wound) you would have found this problem.

I think you have a real problem, the dealer probably knew about. Of course they are going to test tanks on a trade-in. I think you need to talk to your dealer and get them to agree to pay the repairs from the dealer 120 miles from you....that is only fair.

 

[Apropdoc]

Thanks so much for the reply. To adjust the drain "t" handle, do we go under the rig to do this or are you talking about the handle that we pull to let the water out? Not sure how to adjust it....it is extremely hard to pull out and doesn't "feel" like the other one.

I have a NT TT and was able to adjust the mechanism by just sitting on the ground and reaching the valve that is under the trailer (about arms reach).