Black tank flush

rhyno

Can you only do a black tank flush when the dump valve is open? We drained the tanks at the campground and the 1/3 sensor needs to be cleaned - but the facilities did not have a working water faucet. I thought about giving it a spray at home but wasn't sure if you can do it without draining at the same time. 

[Deleted User]

Yes it has to be open. It will fill up the black tank and flood out into shower and then onto floor.  I guess you could do a short cleaning with it closed being careful not to fill the black tank.

Denny16

I always start the flush with the dump valve closed, and after a few minutes or so, open it up and dump.  I repeat this several times, until the water running out is clear.  So a quick flush with the valve closed a home is fine.  As previously mentioned, be careful not to over fill the tank.  :#
cheers

bergger

I use the black tank flush in the same manner as Denny16.  I run it for a couple of minutes with the dump valve closed then open the dump valve to let the water drain out while the flush is still operating.  This allows for a good gush of water to carry out any additional detritus and with the flush still operating as it drains hopefully keep anything from sticking to the sensors.  You have 12 gallons of black tank so running the flush for a couple of minutes with the dump valve closed will not cause any problems.  Just don't walk away and forget about it running!

Horigan

TabbyShack said:

Yes it has to be open. It will fill up the black tank and flood out into shower and then onto floor.  I guess you could do a short cleaning with it closed being careful not to fill the black tank.

Actually, a grey water tank overfill would flow up the shower drain, not a black water tank overfill.  

[Deleted User]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I didn't mean it would come up the shower drain. I meant it would come up the toilet and onto shower floor that way.

Denny16

Yes, that could be messy, :#  depending on what was left in the black tank.  Easy to clean up however, just was the mess down the shower drain with the shower hose…
cheers

rhyno

Thanks all, for the tips. I was hoping to avoid having to dump the black tank at home but I'll get my bucket...

bergger

Does your home have a waste pipe cleanout?  Many homes do.  Ours is on the side of the house and I just connect to that and dump if needed.  

Mickerly

I use a paper cup with the bottom cut out to hold the toilet valve open. There is no space in the 320 for a helper.

rhyno

bergger said:

Does your home have a waste pipe cleanout?  Many homes do.  Ours is on the side of the house and I just connect to that and dump if needed.  

Unfortunately, our cleanout is not easy to access. Our home is 110 years old and the cleanout is a few feet off the ground in the basement. If we had macerator I could run a hose into that, but I'm thinking the only option is to dump buckets down one of the toilets. 

bergger

That sounds like your best option.  We got lucky with our 135 year old house in that when they redid part of the main waste line they installed a cleanout in the yard right by our 20 amp outlet and water spigot.  Perfect for the T@b.