Must Haves for New to RV World (Chemicals)
I will immediately plead ignorance here and apologize in advance for the layman type questioning. Please do not assume I have not done research as I have done plenty; however, just wanted the input fr...
Forum Discussion
Lynn, has the snow melted Pa. way yet? :)
Pre-treatment tank chemicals don't help much. The enzyme ones that supposedly help to digest the contents won't help much because the contents aren't in the tank long enough. The toilet is only open to the tank for a second or two while you flush it and the odor is pretty insignificant. If it smells a lot, there's something wrong like a plugged vent pipe or it has dropped down into the tank.
For chemicals for cleaning out the tank after dumping, there's mild to aggressive to choose from. I'd suggest waiting to see how well your tank empties and flushes and what the level sensors indicate. A short flush with a wand down the tank, built-in flusher or back-flush elbow may be all you need. Tanks come in a lot of different shapes and configurations and outlet pipe locations. Some are easy to dump and flush and some are not, so some take more work and use of chemicals to clean them.
Some use the Geo method (google the term). There are commercial RV tank chemicals (Thetford or Camco?) for cleaning but needs to be above a certain temp to work (65-70 IIRC). In the very worst of cases, Liquid Drano can be used.
It's a good idea to put in 3-5 gallons of water before using the black tank so solids won't stick to the bottom or create a "pyramid of p**". Ensure the tank is well flushed/cleaned before you head home or to the next destination and it helps to have maybe a gallon of water or so in tank before heading off.
Note that faulty tank sensor readings are normal and to be expected so don't rely on them.
Pre-treatment tank chemicals don't help much. The enzyme ones that supposedly help to digest the contents won't help much because the contents aren't in the tank long enough. The toilet is only open to the tank for a second or two while you flush it and the odor is pretty insignificant. If it smells a lot, there's something wrong like a plugged vent pipe or it has dropped down into the tank.
For chemicals for cleaning out the tank after dumping, there's mild to aggressive to choose from. I'd suggest waiting to see how well your tank empties and flushes and what the level sensors indicate. A short flush with a wand down the tank, built-in flusher or back-flush elbow may be all you need. Tanks come in a lot of different shapes and configurations and outlet pipe locations. Some are easy to dump and flush and some are not, so some take more work and use of chemicals to clean them.
Some use the Geo method (google the term). There are commercial RV tank chemicals (Thetford or Camco?) for cleaning but needs to be above a certain temp to work (65-70 IIRC). In the very worst of cases, Liquid Drano can be used.
It's a good idea to put in 3-5 gallons of water before using the black tank so solids won't stick to the bottom or create a "pyramid of p**". Ensure the tank is well flushed/cleaned before you head home or to the next destination and it helps to have maybe a gallon of water or so in tank before heading off.
Note that faulty tank sensor readings are normal and to be expected so don't rely on them.
