Holding Tank Woes

I'm standing at my counter a customer walks in and heads for the toilet chemical display.  They stand there for a few moments, then come to the counter and ask, "Do you know anything about RV toilets? My holding tank won't drain!"  That's one of the most common problems with new campers and one of the easiest to avoid. Lots of folks, new to the camping lifestyle, are not taught how their new camper works or, due to the large amount of info they are given at one time, they forget some of it. The problem is you cannot leave the black tank open if it is being used. When you do this, all the liquids drain off and leave any solid materials directly under the toilet. Your home toilet can flush with up to three or four gallons of water.  An RV toilet flushes with three to four cups of water.  It does not have the volume to carry anything away. So remember, the more water you flush with the better it will drain. That aside, the black water holding tank is still plugged. There are several ways to attack this, none of them very pleasant. The first would be to try a wand.  The wand is a device that hooks to a water hose and is inserted into the toilet neck and down into the tank. It sprays high pressure water to the side to break up any piles of solid material, and with the added water volume everything is carried down and out. Another way to try is to use a hydro flush type of device.  This hooks to the tank drain and shoots water up the drain pipe, again to add water and try to loosen the clog and flush it away . In the end the secret is to keep the black holding tank valve closed until there is proper volume to carry everything out.  If you are done camping and the tank is only 1/4 full, add four or five gallons before dumping.  The more water the better it dumps. A little side note, we are just talking about the black or sewer tank.  The grey tank can remain open.  All it holds is old sink and shower water. This water can be used to help keep the sewer hose and drain clean, but you will have to wait for another article on this! If this does happen and you need some advice or help I've got two phones on my counter and one on my desk, call 772 288 2221 and ask for RV GARY. Travel Safe and Often