Cleaning the Gray water sensors?

After a while you get to know your own water use habits and the need to "monitor the monitor" goes away.

We used to worry and fret about our displays - till I realized that drawing from a full on-board fresh water tank would never exceed the capacity of the black and grey water tanks.

All of our trips begin with full fresh water and empty waste water tanks - this does us very easily for a 3 night stay. To conserve on-board fresh water for a longer stay we will draw from the campground system for dishes and wash them outdoors.

We have not relied on the monitor display for years - other than to share a laugh when they read exactly the opposite of what they should be reading.


Jay

After I dump the tanks, I put a cap full of calgon liquid water softener and a scoop of the cheapest, powder laundry detergent I can find at the dollar store along with a gallon of two of water in the black tank. This rides with me home from the campground.

It gets sloshed around and coats everything and so far as prevented me from having any tank sensor issues. It also stays in the tank until my next trip where it is sloshed around again on the way to the campsite. Also seems to keep the tanks from smelling as I've never had any issues there, even with hot summer temps.

The grey tank has never been an issue but we wipe plates and pots off outside in the garage bag before going to the sink with them to minimize food particles in the tank.

If we have anything really grease covered such as bacon skillet or something along those lines, they get wiped with paper towels, washed in a tub of hot water out by the outdoor shower. Best use I've found for that shower handle as no one uses it for anything else except washing sandy/muddy feet off in my group. A big squirt of dawn dish soap down the sink followed by 3-4 gallons of hot water and then a ride to the dump station would be my solution if I had grey tank sensors sticking.

rockhillmanor wrote:


Fresh water tank - Once a year I put in a bottle of Thetford Fresh water tank sanitizer. In between those times I periodically will rinse out with some bleach if needed.

Just curious what the active ingredient is in that sanitizer. I saw something similar in another store and it was nothing more than over priced bleach water.

rondeb wrote:
I am so careful, but I obviously have got something on the sensors in the Gray water and it was stuck on 2/3. It will register full, but will never go below 2/3. The motorhome is almost new and the tank is truly emptying. I tried putting some Tide in the tank while we traveled, and now the sensor registers 1/3 so I have made progress. Does anyone have an idea as to what I can put in the Gray to clean those sensors. I am assuming they have grease or something of that nature. I wondered about putting some coffee grounds while we travel. Anyone have an idea. My black tank sensors are stuck on 3/4 and NOTHING has worked for those, but I can see into that tank and can visually see the level. The black also empties completely as I can see the bottom of the tank and it is clean as can be when we empty it. We have always used tons of water. Tomorrow I am going to try and put like 3 bags of ice in the black and if that works great, if not, not going to worry about that.
This is our 4th Motorhome and I have never had my sensors not work so it is frustrating.Thanks

Thetford makes a 'great' holding tank sensor cleaner. And it DOES work! I use a bottle of it periodically.

Everyone always seem to blame the sensors themselves. Interestingly I was reading my MH manual about the tanks and sensors and right in the book it says that many different types of minerals in just 'plain ole water' in your fresh tank can foul the sensors. CG waters have a lot of minerals in them! Not to mention all the stuff that sticks to them when you don't flush and clean them.

Here's my routine:
Which after many years my sensors always work. Yup as many say it is only a holding tank. But it is a holding tank with sensors in it that you have to keep the TP and garbage off of them, if you expect them to work.

Black Tank 'Every' time I dump the black tank- I then fill up with water and dump again.

Gray tank - Publix has a quart bottle of lemon cleaner for 1.00. This stuff works great! I put half a bottle in periodically. Once a month when I dump I fill up with water and put a whole bottle in and then dump again.

Fresh water tank - Once a year I put in a bottle of Thetford Fresh water tank sanitizer. In between those times I periodically will rinse out with some bleach if needed.

IMHO, JMHO, you DO have to put an effort in to keep them clean if you want the sensors to work for you. :W

Maybe The Geo Method will help?

having wasted time and money on both home remedies and commercial products made to clean the sensors, as others have noted, we installed Horst probes and the issues vanished

Jim

For the grey tank I us the grey tank chemical. Never have any problems. For the black tank I made up a wand with valve. 30" of copper pipe with cap on one end & hose fitting & valve on other end. On the cap end drill two 1/4" holes on the side of the cap 180 degrees apart so water comes out to each side at high pressure. I made mine about 30 years ago & it works. Walmart sells one but it doesn't work that well.

when you add the ice, do not use excessive water in the tank, if you do all the ice will do is bob around in the water. put a little bit of water in so that the ice can slide around and slam into the walls.
for the grey tank, I would think water softener and detergent would be about as good as anything.
bumpy

Ranger Smith wrote:
If that does not work they say a bag of ice generally will.. I replaced mine with the Horst sensors. No more issues.

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here's a video on the Horst Sensors:
Horst Sensor
Happy trails,

If that does not work they say a bag of ice generally will.. I replaced mine with the Horst sensors. No more issues.