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There IS hope for your non-functioning tank sensors!

blangen
Explorer
Explorer
Quite often, really, someone wants to know how to make their holding tank sensors work correctly and the answer is usually "Give it up, it's a losing battle". Well, it's not.

Travel Jon Holding Tank Cleaner actually works!

My tank sensors have NEVER read correctly. I saw this at Camping World and thought I'd give it a try. Now, mind you, I didn't follow the directions and use one to two ounces. I poured a good six or eight ounces (maybe 10... lol) at the beginning of each tank (after dumping) and added a couple gallons of water. It took three or four tanks on the grey and four or five tanks on the black but my sensors now read better than they ever have. My grey actually shows empty. My black still shows one light at the bottom after the dump but, again, it has never worked that well. I expect to be all good before I finish this gallon of product.

So... Don't give up on your tank sensors. There is hope!
36 REPLIES 36

my_toys
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for posting blangen. Always nice to hear about a product that works.
2014 Jayco Jayflight Swift 264BH
2008 Nissan Pathfinder


Nancy-USAF Veteran; Dear Hubby Joe-USAF Retired

Why do we have to push 1 for English?

pegdiver
Explorer
Explorer
We use Pine Sol on the way home after a long trip. Get home and dump. Seems to work cleaning out all the stuff the tank gets on the walls. Now we have a flush system, it doesn't get so dirty so we will see if the Pine Sol is needed. Smells better too when it is sitting for a few months if we have to work on things.
2012 Winnebago Adventurer 37F with 2012 Jeep Liberty toad.
Old - 1999 32' Adventurer (no slides) with Grand Vitara toad (105,000 miles!)
Pride 3 wheel mobility scooter
Only 3 states to go in the USA, Camped in most of Canada and 4 states in Mexico too!

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
blangen wrote:
So... Don't give up on your tank sensors. There is hope!


Sensors don't work for one simple reason - the probes themselves intrude into the tank, over time clog with sludge, and complete an unintended circuit path between the probes - so the obvious solution is to use sensors that don't intrude into the tank. :S Unfortunately most recreational vehicle manufacturers take the easy and cheapest route, ergo the reason that almost all of us end up with tank monitors that "sorta, kinda work", but not really. :M Personally, I gave up long ago and no longer care as it's easy to determine anyway just how full or empty the fresh, grey, and black water tanks may be at any given time. I know what our fresh water consumption is and therefore how much grey water we're going to generate and based on that find a daily FW fill and daily GW offload keeps us up and running just fine. With only two of us camping we can easily camp at least a couple of weeks without any concern about the black tank filling but in the unlikely event it does I can always macerate and offload the contents into portable containers with my FloJet Macerator. In their infinite wisdom Coachmen mounted the tank monitor panel in our current Freedom Express where it can't be seen anyway when the slide is retracted :S ... pretty useless considering I often don't even bother extending the slide when I'm camping on my own. Hard to imagine any of these designers actually use the products they build. :R
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

paulcardoza
Explorer
Explorer
We were overdue for another black tank thread! :R
Paul & Sandra
Plymouth, MA
2014 Heartland Cyclone 4100 King

Cloud_Dancer
Explorer II
Explorer II
WELL, I like everything that should work to work. Thanks
Too bad that my Newmar roof didn't,....just thought I'd throw that in because after 13 years I'm still smarting.
Willie & Betty Sue
Miko & Sparky
2003 41 ft Dutch Star Diesel Pusher/Spartan
Floorplan 4010
Blazer toad & Ranger bassboat

WeBeFulltimers
Explorer
Explorer
Lantley wrote:
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Sounds like a lot of OCD and waste of water

Toilet burps......dump
Shower/sink start draining slower...dump
Water pump goes 'burrrrrrrrrrup'..........tank empty add water

Otherwise if you use your Rig then you know how long you can go and when it's time to dump. No need for chemicals, high water use, monitors etc.
Waste holding tanks.......hold it/dump it repeat.


Biscuit I'm with you. I never use my tank monitor. I don't know if my sensors work or not. Once I become familiar with my rig I find no use/need for the sensors.
I see the tank monitor as a gimmick for newbies to give them peace of mind to know their rig will not blow from poo if they over fill there tanks.
Initially the tank monitor maybe beneficial but in time you'll know when it's time to dump without checking the monitor panel.
I try to avoid using chemicals unless absolutely necessary. I don't consider tank sensors necessary.


I'm in total agreement with you both!
2012 Ford F-350 PSD SRW ** CURT Q24 ** 2018.5 MONTANA 3791RD

tvman44
Explorer
Explorer
I used to not use any chemicals in my tanks and slowly my sensors all quit working properly. Since I started using RID-X RV ( it is a liquid) my sensors started working again. I put abt. 1 gallon of water & 3 oz. RID-X in the tank and after dumping and quick rinse my sensors work. ๐Ÿ™‚
Papa Bob
1* 2008 Brookside by Sunnybrook 32'
1* 2002 F250 Super Duty 7.3L PSD
Husky 16K hitch, Tekonsha P3,
Firestone Ride Rite Air Springs, Trailair Equa-Flex, Champion C46540
"A bad day camping is better than a good day at work!"

2012Coleman
Explorer II
Explorer II
6.7 tow rig wrote:
A wand down the tank will blast the sensors clean. Mine work perfectly after three years. I use it every trip.
X2. Works faster, is less expensive. I like my tank sensors - they seem pretty accurate keeping them clean this way. The water starts coming up through the bathtub drain shortly after he gray tank starts showing full.
Experience without good judgment is worthless; good judgment without experience is still good judgment!

2018 RAM 3500 Big Horn CTD
2018 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS

FunnyCamper
Explorer II
Explorer II
no sensor worries here.
ours don't read correctly on black.
we don't care. I will say--do we need to dump? hubby says, how many days has it been? that is all we need, we know our limit on our black from our use and how many days. that is all we do now, we don't fight the stupid sensor tho we tried in the old days ๐Ÿ™‚

rockhillmanor
Explorer
Explorer
I must be the lone ranger, my sensors work perfectly and have been for the past 7 years.

Blue chems in the black. One quart of lemon cleaner in the gray once a week.
And a good TP that breaks down easily.

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

Bigdog
Explorer
Explorer
I also don't trust my sensors, even though they seem to kinda work. I leave the black tank,40 gallons, closed if we are camping for several days, but leave the grey tank open till the night before I am going to dump the black. I have found that the more stuff in the black tank, the better it dumps,then I flush it and then dump the grey and that flushes the dump hose. I do put TST green in the black tank every time I dump it and have done that with both my TTs and now the MH.
I jut might put some Pine Sol down the tanks and add some water before traveling on the next trip.
Pine sol's great for a lot of things and one of them was a hangover. In the A.F. we had latrine duty on Sunday PM and would turn the showers on hot and throw a couple of bottles of Pine sol all around and then hose it all down with hot water. Did a great job of cleaning everything, including your head.
GO COUGARS
2001 Tradewinds 7390 LTC
330 Cat Turbo Freightliner Chassis
2011 Jeep Liberty(toad)

'88 Mustang 5 Spd 5.0L GT convertible (not Toad)

Hideout17
Explorer
Explorer
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Sounds like a lot of OCD and waste of water

Toilet burps......dump
Shower/sink start draining slower...dump
Water pump goes 'burrrrrrrrrrup'..........tank empty add water

Otherwise if you use your Rig then you know how long you can go and when it's time to dump. No need for chemicals, high water use, monitors etc.
Waste holding tanks.......hold it/dump it repeat.


I do same thing. My black tank sensors are ok my Grey ones read 1/3 full when empty. I usually leave Grey open but now have shut them to keep tanks clean.

rv2go
Explorer
Explorer
blangen wrote:
Oasisbob wrote:
My guages lie like politicians with equal outcome. What chemicals are in this tank treatment? Magnetic,radioactive? What? How does it work chemically speaking. Anyone know? Encouraging post. Thanks


From the gallon container: Alkyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride

This is also the chemicals in Pine Sol.
Winnebago Journey
TN Lic. RV 2 GO
Jeep Cherokee 4x4
I'm here #4335
Blog

Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Explorer III
blangen wrote:
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Sounds like a lot of OCD and waste of water

Toilet burps......dump
Shower/sink start draining slower...dump
Water pump goes 'burrrrrrrrrrup'..........tank empty add water

Otherwise if you use your Rig then you know how long you can go and when it's time to dump. No need for chemicals, high water use, monitors etc.
Waste holding tanks.......hold it/dump it repeat.


If you sit in a place where you can dump on a moments notice, you're right. I need to coincide my dumps with appropriate places and times in the course of my travels. Sensors help with the timing so the "burp" doesn't make the need so immediate.


Rarely sat in place for more than a week

Dump at end of week prior to traveling....done
Is it time for your medication or mine?


2007 DODGE 3500 QC SRW 5.9L CTD In-Bed 'quiet gen'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
US NAVY------USS Decatur DDG31

Lantley
Nomad
Nomad
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Sounds like a lot of OCD and waste of water

Toilet burps......dump
Shower/sink start draining slower...dump
Water pump goes 'burrrrrrrrrrup'..........tank empty add water

Otherwise if you use your Rig then you know how long you can go and when it's time to dump. No need for chemicals, high water use, monitors etc.
Waste holding tanks.......hold it/dump it repeat.


Biscuit I'm with you. I never use my tank monitor. I don't know if my sensors work or not. Once I become familiar with my rig I find no use/need for the sensors.
I see the tank monitor as a gimmick for newbies to give them peace of mind to know their rig will not blow from poo if they over fill there tanks.
Initially the tank monitor maybe beneficial but in time you'll know when it's time to dump without checking the monitor panel.
I try to avoid using chemicals unless absolutely necessary. I don't consider tank sensors necessary.
19'Duramax w/hips, 2022 Alliance Paradigm 390MP >BD3,r,22" Blackstone
r,RV760 w/BC20,Glow Steps, Enduraplas25,Pedego
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