Are those black tank cleaning wands worth it?

[DatacomGuy]

You know the kind.. $15-20, attach to a hose.. I'm assuming used through the toilet to clean the black tank.

Worth it? Any better techniques to keeping the blank tank clean?

[uncle_t]

a bit of talk here about dragging a hose thru your coach. anyone besides me have a bathroom window?

[mlts22]

I wish more black water tanks had a way to access them. One European motorhome I looked at had 8 inch circular access panels that one could turn, then go at the black and gray tanks with a scraper and a wet/dry vac to get anything and everything out.

[NorCal_Dan]

Complete waste of money...better to use lots of water and dump when full. I use Happy Camper or bio chemicals once or twice a year to keep my sensors reading correctly. You just add the chemicals after emptying the tank, use until full, and dump as normal.

[Carb_Cleaner]

Apparently, on occasion, I have too much time on my hands.
It works pretty good for our straight-shot-to-the-tank toilet. At the least, it makes me feel better about the process, somehow.
The cheaper, red rubber plungers may work better than the fancy unit I used. Besides enlarging the hole for the wand, I had to cut the lower portion off of it to permit a closer proximity to the hole while rinsing.

[atreis]

My trailer came with one and I've never used it. My sensors on black and gray stopped working the first year I had the trailer, but I've found they're not really necessary. (When freshwater is empty, it's time to empty the gray too. Black we've never even come close to filling.)

I do pop the rocks out of my tires though. Gives me something to do after work. 🙂

[carp65]

We are full-timers and have always used the rotating wand purchased at
Camp World. To me, this does the best job in cleaning a black tank. A small
amount of cheap laundry soap after cleaning also helps.

[Bucky_Badger]

dodge guy wrote:

TyroneandGladys wrote:

Fresno Tundra Driver wrote:
Are they worth it? Yes,for people with OCD. For everyone else just always use plenty of water and you'll be ok.

X2

Nothing to do with OCD! everything to do with proper maintenance! OCD would be coming home from a trip and popping the little rocks out of your tire treads!

So true dodge guy

[Bumpyroad]

Gene&Ginny wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
....
Don't tell me you also clean the dead bugs from the radiator?!!! 😉

They are free protein and already precooked to 185 degrees F.

you've gotta get them fresh so they are nice and crispy.
bumpy

[Gene_Ginny]

dodge guy wrote:
....
Don't tell me you also clean the dead bugs from the radiator?!!! 😉

They are free protein and already precooked to 185 degrees F.

[dodge_guy]

Bumpyroad wrote:

dodge guy wrote:


Nothing to do with OCD! everything to do with proper maintenance! OCD would be coming home from a trip and popping the little rocks out of your tire treads!

wait a minute. do you mean that everybody doesn't do this?
bumpy

Don't tell me you also clean the dead bugs from the radiator?!!! 😉

[Bumpyroad]

dodge guy wrote:


Nothing to do with OCD! everything to do with proper maintenance! OCD would be coming home from a trip and popping the little rocks out of your tire treads!

wait a minute. do you mean that everybody doesn't do this?
bumpy

[LarryJM]

CincyGus wrote:
Never used one. Each time I dump, I put about 2-3 gallons of water in the tank, add a cup of the cheapest laundry detergent I can find and a couple caps of Calgon. Let that slosh around on the trip home, leave it in the tank.

Go camping, when we are getting ready to leave (day before, I'll fill black tank to 3/4 full if it is not already. Then on day of leaving as part of my close up duties, I fill the tank till it's almost burping full. Then hook and take to the dump station or dump if we have FHU.

Never had any build up, odor or and my sensors work perfectly after 3.5 seasons. No Wands, No expensive additives and no problems.

Consider yourself lucky since I also use the GEO method with the detergent and Calgon, but still have to use the wand every so often to make sure the sensors stay clean which is a real issue with many TTs as reported here by owners. Also as some one mentioned the wand does a good job of cleaning the area below the slide valve in the toilet down to the top of the tank which can really get nasty over time. Maybe only 3.5 years is not long enough depending on usage to have started encountering some of the issues those of us have had with older TTs.

I can put my wand down and close the toilet valve and let it work w/o attending it 24/7 and can actually see the sensors starting to work at my tank monitor panel so I know the wand is doing something to clean things up better.

Larry

[dodge_guy]

TyroneandGladys wrote:

Fresno Tundra Driver wrote:
Are they worth it? Yes,for people with OCD. For everyone else just always use plenty of water and you'll be ok.

X2

Nothing to do with OCD! everything to do with proper maintenance! OCD would be coming home from a trip and popping the little rocks out of your tire treads!

[CincyGus]

Never used one. Each time I dump, I put about 2-3 gallons of water in the tank, add a cup of the cheapest laundry detergent I can find and a couple caps of Calgon. Let that slosh around on the trip home, leave it in the tank.

Go camping, when we are getting ready to leave (day before, I'll fill black tank to 3/4 full if it is not already. Then on day of leaving as part of my close up duties, I fill the tank till it's almost burping full. Then hook and take to the dump station or dump if we have FHU.

Never had any build up, odor or and my sensors work perfectly after 3.5 seasons. No Wands, No expensive additives and no problems.