Gray tank sensors false reading

xdr

Hello all! 

We are back on the road again and headed to Colorado with the family.

I was cleaning and prepping for the trip yesterday. First I used the Camco swivel nozzle to clean the black tank then filled both tanks and added happy camper to clean it overnight. When I dumped the tanks, the black tank ran clear and the sensors read empty. The gray tank drained much slower and when I read the sensors it is still registering partial fill. When I was emptying the tanks, I left the gray tank valve open for about 5 min as I added Happy Camper to the black tank, so it should be completely empty. 

We have taken only a few showers and we never let anything go down our kitchen sink. But the kitchen does drain slowly as well. 

I wish I could get the swivel nozzle to spray out the gray tank but obviously can’t. Any suggestions for 1- why the gray tank and kitchen sink would drain slowly and 2- how to clean the gray tank sensors? 

Thank you all! 

Mary 

Michigan_Mike

I get an occasional erroneous read on my gray tank too.  I don’t know what would cause it but nonetheless it isn’t a big deal if you’re completely emptying the tank.  I suppose you could empty the tank, open the valve up and feed a garden hose in there with one of them small fire hose looking nozzles on the end and let er rip?  I periodically drop in a small amount of the happy camper powder into my gray tank on occasion as it is enzyme based and should perform similarly in the gray as it does in the black tank.  As for slow sink drainage you probably have the bladder style drain under the sink too and it won’t drain as quickly as your sink drain at home as the bladder opens and closes via water pressure.  I’d still use the monitor when traveling and am betting that when it’s nearing the full mark it’s time to dump the gray tank.  

MuttonChops

xdr said:
. . . gray tank drained much slower and when I read the sensors it is still registering partial fill.

No comment on the gray tank draining slower beyond fast/slow is subjective and gray tank holds a lot more volume (gallons) than the black.

The KIB style, sensor in tank, level monitors are known to be highly unreliable. Water film, grease, whatever on the side of the tank can cause false reading.  If the monitor seems to work some days but not others that's more normal than abnormal.  If you get the same false reading every time you use your T@B then it might be worth having the sensors and circuit board tested.

There are ways to reduce how frequently you get false readings

First,  have the tank (black or gray) at least 75% full when you dump it.  I just add water to the tanks before dumping so I can still dump as frequently as my access to dump stations allows.  Having the tanks near full / full will provide a good rush of water draining which helps to flush out tank wall contamination.

Second, every once in a while add a standard anti-grease detergent and or enzyme based holding tank digestant treatment to the gray tank. Drive around a bit with tank 75%+ full then dump.

Both of the above are methods to help keep the tank side walls between the internal probes free of contamination that "looks like water" to the sensors.

Disclaimer:
      My yr-2018 has the SeaLevel Monitors so my experience using KIB Monitor is
      from my recreational boating days.