Black water problems

[curly5759]

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

[myredracer]

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.

[therink]

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.

[korbe]

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.

[blackeyed1]

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.

[352]

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.