This is long, I apoligize in advance. :)I am still very new to camping in a TT with a holding tank and that lack of knowledge has led to a plugged black tank. I have read a dozen or so threads on this and other boards and watched quite a few utube videos but I am still seeking a 'silver bullet' to fix the problem. The tank was not emptied enough and or we didn't have enough water in there, either way I have the dreaded poo pyramid. I have filled the tank with water and enzymes, let it sit for several days and then took it in too town to dump it. It drained the liquid I put in there, but when I refilled it at the dump station( through the toilet) it only took a few gallons and then filled. At that point it will not drain anymore. I brought it home and started calling service centers. The closest is 90 miles one way and they are estimating $400 to clear the clog. I'm in a rural section of AZ and there are little to no choices available. The closest dump station is 10 miles away. The black tank pipe exits the middle of the tank and is about 3 feet from the cap to the tank, with a 90* elbow, so I don't think a flush king will help, too far away to get any psi up into the tank. And, they don't sell any in town. Any suggestions?Thanks

Have you tried this? Tried and true. Yes I did and this solved it for good. Sometimes stuff gets stuck down there. Reach your arm down the hole as far as you can. When down to the max feel around for anything chunky. Grab it and squeeze it between your fingers until it gets smaller then dump some water in it (After you pull your arm out of coarse}. Do this once a month for regular maintenance. Wash your hands before cooking. I do have a self help video available. Hope this helps.

We bought a used TT once and the previous owners didn't do things correctly and it piled up. I took a regular flexible garden hose and put it down the toilet. Opened the outside drain at a dump station and kept running the water until it cleared out the problem. Had a plumber buddy who used his drain camera so I knew it was cleaned out.

I prefer to clean the clog from the bottom. Of course by doing it this way, when it un-clogs here comes everything. I use a bucket at the outside drain and use a wire to work the solids that have been soaking in plenty of water. Once the flow starts, I close the drain and hook up the hose. Water will eventually loosen the pyramid.

If it were me, I would get an old harden hose, fish it down the toilet at the dump station and rinse it out. I would then throw away the hose. This will work. You will get hosed (no pun intende) if you pay a service center to do this.

If nothing else works, you can use liquid drano. Our owners manual says to use it. It has to be the version that does not attack metal and NEVER dump it into an on-site septic disposal system. After you've put in into the tank, you need to tow it around a bit to agitate it before dumping. We had a hopelessly plugged black tank last year and used it. Looking down the toilet after, the bottom of the tank was spotless. Highly recommended for stubborn pyramids...The trick is lots of water before use, lots of water during use and lots of water when dumping (fill tank up) and don't head home until it's really clean inside. There's many different dimensions and configurations of tanks and some are just harder to get flushed out, like what we have now. On our first TT we never had any problems dumping and flushing the tank.Sounds like you don't have an in-tank flusher. You can get a Tornado flusher that you can install on the side of the tank if you have access. You can also put a wand that goes into the toilet and attaches to a hose. Can't hurt to try a Hydroflush elbow and even if it doesn't work, they're good for inspecting what's coming out to see if solids and TP have stopped draining out.

Black water problems | Good Sam Community

352
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
Have you tried this? Tried and true.

Yes I did and this solved it for good. Sometimes stuff gets stuck down there. Reach your arm down the hole as far as you can. When down to the max feel around for anything chunky. Grab it and squeeze it between your fingers until it gets smaller then dump some water in it (After you pull your arm out of coarse}. Do this once a month for regular maintenance. Wash your hands before cooking. I do have a self help video available. Hope this helps.
blackeyed1
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
We bought a used TT once and the previous owners didn't do things correctly and it piled up. I took a regular flexible garden hose and put it down the toilet. Opened the outside drain at a dump station and kept running the water until it cleared out the problem. Had a plumber buddy who used his drain camera so I knew it was cleaned out.
korbe
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
I prefer to clean the clog from the bottom. Of course by doing it this way, when it un-clogs here comes everything. I use a bucket at the outside drain and use a wire to work the solids that have been soaking in plenty of water. Once the flow starts, I close the drain and hook up the hose. Water will eventually loosen the pyramid.
therink
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
If it were me, I would get an old harden hose, fish it down the toilet at the dump station and rinse it out. I would then throw away the hose. This will work. You will get hosed (no pun intende) if you pay a service center to do this.
myredracer
Explorer II
Nov 29, 2014
If nothing else works, you can use liquid drano. Our owners manual says to use it. It has to be the version that does not attack metal and NEVER dump it into an on-site septic disposal system. After you've put in into the tank, you need to tow it around a bit to agitate it before dumping.

We had a hopelessly plugged black tank last year and used it. Looking down the toilet after, the bottom of the tank was spotless. Highly recommended for stubborn pyramids...

The trick is lots of water before use, lots of water during use and lots of water when dumping (fill tank up) and don't head home until it's really clean inside. There's many different dimensions and configurations of tanks and some are just harder to get flushed out, like what we have now. On our first TT we never had any problems dumping and flushing the tank.

Sounds like you don't have an in-tank flusher. You can get a Tornado flusher that you can install on the side of the tank if you have access. You can also put a wand that goes into the toilet and attaches to a hose. Can't hurt to try a Hydroflush elbow and even if it doesn't work, they're good for inspecting what's coming out to see if solids and TP have stopped draining out.
HappyKayakers
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
Try getting about a 4 ft length of 1/2 inch PVC. Ram it down through the toilet until the pyramid is broken up. It could take a while.
Tvov
Explorer II
Nov 29, 2014
You could try using a regular plumbing snake, both from the outside and also down the toilet. Obviously it could get messy working from the outside.

Actually, at this point, probably whatever you do is going to get messy!

Do you have a regular plumber that you use? And/or a septic pumping service? I would think they would have ideas on how to do, or could do it for you.
WRsowbug
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
At the point you are with this problem, I think I would go with
Myredracers method and not drain. Then use HappyKayakers method.
Mabe not Ram but push and stir. Then drain.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Nov 29, 2014
curly5759 wrote:
Snip...
The black tank pipe exits the middle of the tank and is about 3 feet from the cap to the tank, with a 90* elbow, so I don't think a flush king will help, too far away to get any psi up into the tank. And, they don't sell any in town. Any suggestions?
Thanks

The Flush King does not depend on squirting the water up into the tank like the Hydro-flush does. It closes off the drain, which allows you to build water pressure up to forcefully back flush the tank no matter how far away it is from the water source or if there is a bend in the drain line leading to the tank.

The Hydro-flush will not work in that type of situation and depends on a straight shot into the tank to work. Also, once the water level in the tank has enough pressure to overcome the water coming out of the hose then it stops working and just flows down the drain. The Flush King does not have this limitation because it has a valve to close off the drain.

I would give the Flush King a try - even if you have to order it online. It might solve your problem.
Barney
nomad297
Explorer
Nov 29, 2014
BarneyS wrote:
curly5759 wrote:
Snip...
The black tank pipe exits the middle of the tank and is about 3 feet from the cap to the tank, with a 90* elbow, so I don't think a flush king will help, too far away to get any psi up into the tank. And, they don't sell any in town. Any suggestions?
Thanks

The Flush King does not depend on squirting the water up into the tank like the Hydro-flush does. It closes off the drain, which allows you to build water pressure up to forcefully back flush the tank no matter how far away it is from the water source or if there is a bend in the drain line leading to the tank.

The Hydro-flush will not work in that type of situation and depends on a straight shot into the tank to work. Also, once the water level in the tank has enough pressure to overcome the water coming out of the hose then it stops working and just flows down the drain. The Flush King does not have this limitation because it has a valve to close off the drain.

I would give the Flush King a try - even if you have to order it online. It might solve your problem.
Barney

The Flush King will not do what you are saying it will do. They are nothing but snake oil and a waste of money.

Bruce

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