I hooked up the Flush King to clean out our black water tank, turned on the garden hose, then started doing something else. This was a big mistake! I forgot about filling the black water tank! I ran down to the camper and turned off the water, but too late, the damage was done. But I am a little puzzled about what happened.I found the black water tank laying on the ground under the camper. It had separated from the toilet flange fitting and broke the metal holding straps. However, there was no liquid INSIDE the camper. Apparently the toilet valve held. The black water tank has two openings in its top: one larger for the toilet and one smaller for the vent line. I do not understand why no water escaped though the vent, unless it was plugged. I'll be checking it out this weekend when I have time to work on it.Both openings in the tank have/had rubber grommets into which the ABS plastic pipe fit. Black ABS cement was used to seal these fittings.No fittings were damaged, so I will reassemble everything and replace the straps. Questions: How should I prepare the plastic pipe and rubber grommet for the cement? Does the cement require any kind of activator / primer to be applied to the fittings?Thanks.

I think an important question is why did the straps fail. Are they going to fail again the next time the tank becomes full?

Make sure to use stronger straps or double them up. You'd think they would be designed to hold up to twice the weight of the tank filled to capacity.

I'm not certain about the root cause of the strap failure. Was it the weight of the water or was it the weight plus the water pressure that built up combined that caused the failure? If I find a blockage in the vent then I'd say the latter.

The rubber grommets normally do not use any adhesive. They normally have grease to insert the pipe and then it is friction tight to prevent leaks.When the tank bulged from excess water the straps failed. Use something better then strapping. I have seen U-strut used and angle iron.

enblethen wrote:The rubber grommets normally do not use any adhesive. They normally have grease to insert the pipe and then it is friction tight to prevent leaks.When the tank bulged from excess water the straps failed. Use something better then strapping. I have seen U-strut used and angle iron.X2, I would also use bolts and nylock nuts to hold the channel or uni-strut in place instead of screws. JMO

Blew Out Black Water Tank Jayco 23B | Good Sam Community

LEMII
Explorer
Oct 08, 2015
Lynnmor wrote:
You must find out if the vent is completely open. Sometimes the vent pipe drops down and rests on the bottom of the tank. Also check if there is scrap from the cutout a inside. If the tank was overfilled, it should have poured onto the roof. Sure, check the straps, but nothing will hold a blocked tank.

My thoughts exactly. I hope to be able to check into this today or tomorrow. I'll post what I find.

Any ideas as to where I could find galvanized metal straps of the right gauge, width, and length?
Lynnmor
Explorer
Oct 07, 2015
You must find out if the vent is completely open. Sometimes the vent pipe drops down and rests on the bottom of the tank. Also check if there is scrap from the cutout a inside. If the tank was overfilled, it should have poured onto the roof. Sure, check the straps, but nothing will hold a blocked tank.
pitch
Explorer II
Oct 07, 2015
Strapping will hold the tank just fine. Just not with those idiotic staples the factory uses.
enblethen
Nomad
Oct 07, 2015
There was a previous posting on the U-strut but I could not find it. Will search more!
LEMII
Explorer
Oct 07, 2015
BTPO1 wrote:
enblethen wrote:
The rubber grommets normally do not use any adhesive. They normally have grease to insert the pipe and then it is friction tight to prevent leaks.
When the tank bulged from excess water the straps failed. Use something better then strapping. I have seen U-strut used and angle iron.

X2, I would also use bolts and nylock nuts to hold the channel or uni-strut in place instead of screws. JMO

Any pics I could reference?
BTPO1
Explorer
Oct 07, 2015
enblethen wrote:
The rubber grommets normally do not use any adhesive. They normally have grease to insert the pipe and then it is friction tight to prevent leaks.
When the tank bulged from excess water the straps failed. Use something better then strapping. I have seen U-strut used and angle iron.

X2, I would also use bolts and nylock nuts to hold the channel or uni-strut in place instead of screws. JMO
enblethen
Nomad
Oct 07, 2015
The rubber grommets normally do not use any adhesive. They normally have grease to insert the pipe and then it is friction tight to prevent leaks.
When the tank bulged from excess water the straps failed. Use something better then strapping. I have seen U-strut used and angle iron.
LEMII
Explorer
Oct 07, 2015
I'm not certain about the root cause of the strap failure. Was it the weight of the water or was it the weight plus the water pressure that built up combined that caused the failure? If I find a blockage in the vent then I'd say the latter.
bovellois
Explorer
Oct 07, 2015
Make sure to use stronger straps or double them up. You'd think they would be designed to hold up to twice the weight of the tank filled to capacity.
CarnationSailor
Nomad
Oct 07, 2015
I think an important question is why did the straps fail. Are they going to fail again the next time the tank becomes full?

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Blew Out Black Water Tank Jayco 23B

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