SENSORS

[luvmydogs]

In a 23 ft travel trailer for about 6 months and the black water and grey water sensors are stuck at 2/3 for the last month. We tried some of the granular stuff from camping world but didnt do a thing. Any ideas of how to get sensors working again? Seems strange to us that both are stuck on the same reading when they are different tanks. Anywhere else I should look for a malfunction?? HELP!

[Huntindog]

luvmydogs wrote:
I will admit we usually always use the campground bathrooms, especially for solids. It's those middle of the night trips that we dont, but other than that we dont use our bathroom. We dump it after about 4-5 days and ALWAYS put the stuff in that breaks everything down with a gallon of water. We use one little plastic bottle per dump, I believe we get them at Walmart. On the sink, we never put grease or anything else down the drain. I'm mystified how the grey water sensors can clog as the most of what ever goes down that is water with Dawn in it. I think for the most part the way these things are made, your set up for them to fail.

The treatments that break stuff down require time to be effective. 4- 5 days isn't really enough time. Thae bacteria that you put in the tank is really just a "starter" dose. It then multiplies and over time gets stronger and stronger as the bacteria numbers increase. Most of my trips are in the two week range.


On edit: I do not think Walmart sells the Bacteria based treatments. Most treatments are actually sort of preservative types. Their primary function is to reduce the smell.

I am not aware of ANY Bacteria based treatments that come in little single dose bottles.

[luvmydogs]

I will admit we usually always use the campground bathrooms, especially for solids. It's those middle of the night trips that we dont, but other than that we dont use our bathroom. We dump it after about 4-5 days and ALWAYS put the stuff in that breaks everything down with a gallon of water. We use one little plastic bottle per dump, I believe we get them at Walmart. On the sink, we never put grease or anything else down the drain. I'm mystified how the grey water sensors can clog as the most of what ever goes down that is water with Dawn in it. I think for the most part the way these things are made, your set up for them to fail.

[Huntindog]

My sensors have always worked well. Over 17 years and two TTs (TT before that was too old for sensors) I have not had any issues.
But, I do not use my TT the way most here do. I always boondock in remote locations and do not dump until I get home. I also use bacteria/emzyme treatments that basically disolves the black solids.
That and many miles of rough roads mixes up the tank contents really good. I do use a clear attachment that allows me to see what is coming out of the tank.

Most here use campgrounds, and dump there before returning home.
Those tanks will have stuff in them that isn't disolved. Knowing how the sensors function.... That WILL cause problems.

[marcsbigfoot20b]

Just had to do a black tank repair at the spin weld to toilet down pipe.....so I had cleaned/dumped the tank about 10 times. Before final install of toilet I put a mirror down there and could see (in my case) the sensors. They still had toilet paper mache on them and they had never given me problems. One of those wands with a hole squirting water out with a hose was the trick. Visually clean as a whistle afterwards.

Wand was like $12

[ksg5000]

Every few years I will use a bottle of septic tank cleaner and top off the tanks with water. I let it sit for a week or two and it seems to do a good job at dissolving everything in the tank. Probably takes longer if you try this in cold weather.

Old butt wand usually works on Black water tank - and using dawn will help with grease on gray water tank. Most of use tend to ignore the sensors.

[Janss]

x2. The thrill of getting your sensors working again is short-lived. Can't tell you how many times I've had that temporary high in the last 25 years!

[myredracer]

enblethen wrote:
I would not use Drano. It could damage the seals.
I buy the cheap dish soap from places like Dollar Tree. I use about a cup.

Folks might think that but Liquid Drano is safe for metal and plastic. I don't think KZ would have instructions to use it if it could even remotely cause damage. We've used it once or twice a year for 5 seasons now with no issues. Sure gets the tank back to factory fresh, factory clean! 🙂 However, it sure doesn't take long before the sensors are all gummed up again. 😞

[luvmydogs]

Dawn sounds good thanks, we'll try that!

[DutchmenSport]

Drain your tanks, add about 10 gallons of water to each one. Add about 1/4 cup of Dawn dishwash liquid and go for a good drive over some bumpy and curvey roads with lots of stops and starts. All that sloshing around in the tanks will clean the sensors and remove anything stuck on them. Then when returning home, drain the tanks immediately. First, you'll be surprised at how much "gunk" will come out, second, your sensors will probably start working right again.

[enblethen]

I would not use Drano. It could damage the seals.
I buy the cheap dish soap from places like Dollar Tree. I use about a cup.

[luvmydogs]

Thank you all or your info, got a good laugh from most and found out that the general consensus is, sensors dont work. lol lol I will try to Liquid Drano and the dish soap, guessing Dawn might be best. Sure wish they wouldt make these things so dang cheap!!! Thank you all.

[Old-Biscuit]

I haven't even paid any attention to ours for over 8 years.

After 6 months you should have a good idea when each tank is getting full

Just remember:
When toilet 'Burps' ---time to dump black tank
When sink/shower starts to drain slower---time to dump grey tank(s)

And if using pump.....when it goes 'burrrrrrrrrrrrr' ----time to refill fresh water tank

[myredracer]

If you don't get false readings, then something is really wrong, lol... There's many thousands of posts on this topic if you do a search- plenty of reading enjoyment! Slime covers the tank walls and short-circuits the sensor surfaces. Not the easiest or quickest of jobs to clean them.

First, make sure to add a few gallons before each use of the tank after dumping, don't skimp on water with each use (esp. no.2) and fill the tank to or near full before dumping. Sometimes it helps to do a second or third filling of the tank to flush more stuff out. After finishing dumping, use a rinsing method of your choice - built-in rinser, back flush elbow or down the tank wand. Don't rush the rinsing process. I let our in-tank rinser run for something like 15-20 minutes when breaking camp and attending to the other chores.

Then everyone has their own choice of tank chemicals. Some use the "geo method" to clean sensors (google it for details). There are some commercial cleaners (Thetford, etc.) but needs to be warm out. Our owners manual says to use Liquid Drano. I do that once or twice a year but the sensors stop working properly shortly afterwards. With any cleaning chemical products, you need to drive around to make the contents slosh around but not possible if set up on a site for a long period.

Most simply keep tabs on the number of days the black tank has been in use and/or peer down the toilet. Horst Miracle probes are an option and easy to install if you have access to the tanks. We installed them on a previous TT and they worked great but on our current TT don't help at all. (Depends on your particular tank configuration.) The only reliable sensors are the SeeLevel ones that are external.

[the_bear_II]

The sensors are unreliable. There are some aftermarket sensors that folks have tried with some success.

I've learned how long we can go without dumping based on the number of people we have with us on a trip or if it's just my wife and I. There have been a couple of times where my guess has been wrong. I carry a blue boy tank for just that reason so I can dump off some and give us another day or so before having to dump.

Be sure to train guests on how to use the sinks, shower and toilet so you can extend the length of time before needing to dump. Too much running water will fill the tanks quickly.