Greetings fellow Rv'ers, 1Fanman here with a question, can one of you tell me how to clean my holding tank sensors, I have used every available product and haven,t had any luck, sometimes my grey tank will show everything from empty to half full, etc after I drain it and the black tank is the same. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks and smooth roads to each. 1Fanman.

Well, false readings are normal and to be expected. If you don't have them, then is definitely something not right! :BSome tanks are easy to dump and flush and some aren't because they come in many different shapes/configurations and dimensions and the outlet can be on the side, end or bottom. We've had both extremes and currently have the difficult type because it is too shallow compared to it's width & length. There is the Horst Miracle Probe that may or may not help. The Horst probes really helped on a previous TT but did almost nothing in our current TT. Another thing that can happen is that the factory sometimes installs the button sensors in incorrect elevations and they won't read right no matter what. For more a lot more $$ you can get the SeeLevel sensors that go on the outside of a tank. If you have an enclosed underbelly, changing sensors is not a simple job tho.Preventive measures will help for the black tank - 3-5 gallons of water before use, fill tank to near full before dumping and flush/rinse as best you can before heading off. A built-in flusher works well for us (can be retro-fitted). A Valterra backflush elbow worked great on a previous TT but does nothing for our current one. If the toilet pipe drops straight down to the tank, a wand type flusher will help.If you have a really plugged up tank or it's walls are coated with slime and short-circuiting the sensors, the best method of all for cleaning is Liquid Drano (or equiv.). Our owners manual actually says to use it. It needs to be the type that doesn't not attack metal and do NOT dump it into a private on-site septic system. We've used it 2 or 3 times and it is amazingly clean afterwards. Sadly, it doesn't take long for false readings to come back. :M

Dutch_12078 wrote:I found the best solution for us years ago, was to replace the existing "screws through the tank wall" monitor system with an external capacitance sensor system. I like the "SeeLevel II" series that uses the existing wiring. With normal tank flushes, we've never had a misreading tank level. I also like that the SeeLevel II display reads in percentages instead of the inaccurate "Empty, 1/3, 2/3, Full" displays common on OEM and KIB systems.I just installed the SeeLevel II as well after first trying several ways of cleaning things. So far I'm pretty happy with these new sensors and they were quite easy to install.

Your RV tanks can be cleaned using a variety of tools, such as a tank cleaning wand. This solution is specifically designed to clean the sensors in RV black water tanks. It cleans your tanks on all sides in a circular motion by spouting water at high pressure.

I don't think there really any good way. Stuff stick to them and that's whats causing the miss-readings. I have found the best way to keep them working is to dump all your tanks completely. Then add a 3-5 gallons of water and a bit of Dawn Dishwashing liquid (stronger is OK). Then take it for a good drive, or travel to your next destination.The sloshing of water will pound against the sensors beating off anything that's stuck to them. The Dawn will help clean the tank and the sensor too.Beyond this, there's really not much else that can be done. You can try different chemicals in your tank, but it's the sloshing while on the road that works the best.

I found the best solution for us years ago, was to replace the existing "screws through the tank wall" monitor system with an external capacitance sensor system. I like the "SeeLevel II" series that uses the existing wiring. With normal tank flushes, we've never had a misreading tank level. I also like that the SeeLevel II display reads in percentages instead of the inaccurate "Empty, 1/3, 2/3, Full" displays common on OEM and KIB systems.

Cleaning Holding Tank Sensors | Good Sam Community

SCClockDr
Explorer
May 14, 2016
1fanman wrote:
Greetings fellow Rv'ers, 1Fanman here with a question, can one of you tell me how to clean my holding tank sensors, I have used every available product and haven,t had any luck, sometimes my grey tank will show everything from empty to half full, etc after I drain it and the black tank is the same. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks and smooth roads to each. 1Fanman.

As mentioned already I use the Geo method I also installed the Seelevel II system. If your thru tank sensors are gunked up, try this.
On the morning of departure do a complete dump & flush.
Add 10-15 gallons of water to the black tank. At the camp store or the first convenience store seen purchase 4 or 5 bags of ice.
Drop them on the pavement to break the ice up.
Dump the ice down the john.
Drive away. At your destination dump again. The black tank should read correct.

For the gray tank 10- 50 gal a quarter bottle of dawn. Dump at your destination. This method not as quite as successful as the ice.
Jerart1982
Explorer II
Jan 26, 2024
I usually put a couple bags of ice and some water in my toilet tank just before heading to my next stop and let it slosh around seems to do a good job
opnspaces
Navigator II
Jan 26, 2024
I used to worry about cleaning out the black tank many years ago. Then one day I just realized it's a poop tank and it will never be clean so why bother. After many more y4ears with the same tank I can say that the sensors seem to have the same amount of erroneous readings as when I tried to clean it. Also I don[t use chemicals and do not have any odor problems. That being said I always found this guy on youtube to be interesting as he debunks many black tank beliefs or myths.
Link
Stan1357
Explorer
Jan 27, 2024
Close the tank. 5 gallon bucket. Fill it a. Outlet time and pour it in the toilet. Then dunno the tank in the septic. Just happened to me last week.
Stan1357
Explorer
Jan 27, 2024
Close tanks. Fill a 5 gallon bucket. Pour into the black holding tank. Open black tank to septic. Fill again. Dump bucket in toilet. One more time. It just happened to me last week not works

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