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ernie1's avatar
ernie1
Explorer
May 05, 2013

Campa Chem by Thetford

Do not use this product! It damaged my newish blackwater drain valve shortly after using this product. The valve started leaking and not holding it's seal the very first time I used it and things got progressively worse because I didn't realize this stuff was the source of my problem. When I got back from the last rv trip, I pulled the drain valve and took it apart as much as I could and found a buildup of the Campa Chem material around the slide area and it appeared undissolved. After thorough rinsing of the valve, the Campa Chem substance still did not dissolve and appeared gritty. So I did a test of this stuff and soaked it in a very large container of water overnight and found that it still did not dissolve.

I called Thetford and found out that the material is silicon dioxide! SAND! That's why my dump valves have taken dumps in the past. The sand acts as an abrasive and tears up the seals and slides. I understand that silica is put into products as an anti clumping material but silicon dioxide or sand is a recipe for failure if used in holding tanks with dump valves. Do not buy nor use this stuff which I got from Walmart.

9 Replies

  • I've been using 2 oz of Rid-X in both the black and gray tanks for the past 10 years.
    No smell, no problems.
    It works for me, is less expensive and it does not add a deodorant smell. (IMO, some products sold for deodorizing RV black tanks smell worse than the black tank content)!
  • I understand that they do not add the sand to the liquid form which I believe is called Aqua Chem which I'll try next.
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    I disagree that the Campa Kem caused the OP's problem. We've used it for 9 years with zero problems and have certainly not duplicated the OP's problem. IMO, all the chems are simply deodorizers.
  • Actually I didn't say that I'd added water to the holding tank in my original post but there was actually water added.
  • I'm using the dry packets and add it to the holding tanks after about 1 1/2 gallons of water is added to the 10 gallon black water tank. Read my original message again where I said I'd added a lot of water to some Campa Chem and the next day all that was left was granular undissolved sand. Just thought I'd post this to help some of you who didn't know about this product's contents. The rest of you, try my experiment and see for yourself.
  • Campa Chem has been around for YEARS! I seriously doubt that that is what damaged your valves. I've been using the dry and liquid for over 20 years now without any problems.

    Sounds to me like you were NOT putting water in your tank AFTER you dumped and then throwing the packets down there in a dry tank.

    After you dump you have to put at least a couple of gallons of water in the tank BEFORE using it and BEFORE adding any chems and more importantly if you use dry and/or packets and so that when you use it there IS water in the tank.

    Packets/dry chems can't dissolve without water. And it is also the movement of the water when you are driving that helps dissolve them
    I think there are many RV'ers that do not add water after they dump.
  • Are you using the liquid or powdered form of the product? I have been using the liquid for 8+ years and have never had a problem with it.
  • Sorry to hear about your problems. I have been using that very same product continually since April 2005 without any issues. I strongly recommend it to all my camping friends. By the way, I am a full timer and that means 8 years without any issues. My friends who use it have never complained about any problems.


    Additional information added at 5:44 PM
    I use the sealed individual packets. I think they come 10 in a bag that I buy at Walmart.