Clog/Black Pyramid help

laknox wrote:

melissajean0 wrote:
We have tried a snake, we have tried filling the tank, we've stuck a hose down it with a sprayer. Those haven't worked. The pipe in this RV goes down, curves, then dumps into the tank. So, by reading more I'm thinking that this is a black pyramid issue. Maybe it's right next to the pipe that drops into the tank. So, how do you guys fix black tank pyramid issues. We left the tank filled for 4 days before trying to re-empty it, it just filled right back up again. I emptied the tank a while ago, a little came out, but not as much as I expected to considering the sensor in here read full. I don't know where that censor is located, but it doesn't seem that the tank is full rather than a clog near or in the pipe. Any suggestions?

Edited to say: There's a clog somewhere for sure because the toilet water is backing up into the tank. We can push the foot lever down and see water and tp in it.

1. Use more, a lot more, water when flushing. You're in a campground so can dump at need.
2. Add 3-5 gallons to the tank after draining but =before= you dump. (Yes, this is a pun.) :-)
3. Do a search here for "GEO method" of black tank care. Though this may work more for when you're moving, it should also help maintain the tank after it's clean. Basically, it's Calgon (or other) water softener powder and, usually, Dawn dishwashing liquid.
4. x2 on the clear drain elbow. Wally World usually has them if Lowe's doesn't.
5. Don't rely on the tank sensors; they're always wrong unless you just picked up the RV new from the factory. About the only time they're right. :-)
6. Wait until you have a near-full tank before draining. Add water before draining.
7. You didn't say, but if you have a tank sprayer, use it every time. (One that you hook to a hose outside and sprays the inside of the tank.) Add water and drain again.
8. When you get to move, drain the tank, add a couple gallons of water and 20-40 lbs of ice and drive around, starting and stopping a lot. The ice helps break up chunks.

Hope you get this cleared up soon. I know it can be a real pain.

Lyle

Hi Lyle,

Yeah we've been using dawn in it. Someone else on here told me to do that. We won't be moving for a while though. Maybe 3-4 months from now. We've been here almost a year lol. I'm not usually the one that empties it, my bf does. But I know that he always plugs up the hose to it and leaves it running for a while before he dumps it. Then he does it again, fills it up, then dumps again and then puts more water in it. To be honest, this could be completely my fault. When we first got the camper in October I emptied it, then emptied again the next day. So maybe I started something there. Plus I use Quilted Northern, I wasn't using a lot of water. And it's not because I was lazy, it was because I didn't know to. But I honestly haven't used a lot of tp like I was, and hardly any water like I was since I learned to not do that a couple of months ago. So, I really don't know what's going on. If nothing's coming out of the tank when I open it to empty it, but it's in the bowl. Then, when it finally does get emptied and the water is sprayed through it, it's a matter of a few flushes before we can see the water again, I'm thinking there's something right under the pipe that empties into the tank. It's got to be a pile up of tp or something. I just need to figure out how to get it out of there.