Black Water Tank

Gliden07 · 03-20-2016, 07:17 PM

Since I am a Newbie at this I have a question about cleaning the Black Water tank. I have a power washer and was thinking this would be GREAT to clean any residue from the bottom of the tank. Is this safe or will I damage the tank and or the sensors?? The power washer is a less expensive unit that won't remove paint etc.. I mainly used it to clean the engine on my motorcycle.

I realized after I posted this it should have gone in the maintenance area. So if the mods want to move it please do so. Sorry about that!

Gene · 03-20-2016, 07:59 PM

I would think the pressure washer would only point straight down .... and splash straight up

I use one of those plastic wands with a cap on the end and 4 holes on the side of the end cap. They all have little plastic shut off valves. DO NOT TRUST the plastic shutoff. (don't ask how I know

) I add a brass shutoff between the hose and wand.

Mellow Yellow · 03-21-2016, 04:07 AM

Ditto on what Gene says. We have one. But get some Happy Camper and give it a good dose for the extreme measure, then use it time to time. Flush paper when you have to (#2), trash if you can (#1) (sorry, it is just that black tank discussion can get very frank !!). Always add some water and Happy Camper and let it slosh on trips. Never EVER leave the gate open at full hook-up places. Fill the tanks and let the black tank go and then the grey.Make use of full hook up places and fill and flush it out whenever you can find the time.

mainah · 03-21-2016, 06:16 AM

Buy a couple of bags of ice dump them in the toilet with a few gallons of water go for a ride wait until the ice melts and dump the black tank.

Wannabes · 03-21-2016, 10:32 AM

Not that we've ever tried it, but I would think that the power washer would be a BAD thing to use with the black tank. As Gene notes, splashing would be an issue (ecchhh), and the pressure probably would not be good for the tank components.

DW is the black tank cleaning wizard. We had a bit of an odor issue with our 2363 not too long after we purchased it. Lisa did the research (much of it here on the Sunline site), and ended up using Happy Campers Extreme for an initial treatment. That stuff is absolutely amazing. She used the regular Happy Camper at the conclusion of each outing for about a year and a half; now we use it a few times a season.

Ditto on what Mainah says about using ice in the tank. Until it melts, it really helps to break up anything that's clinging onto the tank walls.

The best thing we did was to purchase a Camco holding tank rinser with gate valve. Here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Camco-39062-Fl...+flush+fitting

This widget is worth its weight in gold. It allows us to back-flush the tanks after we dump them, using the non-potable water supply that's found at nearly all dump stations. All you need to get is a spare water hose (we keep a 50' one that we use only for this purpose) and you're good to go. The Camco lets you flush the tank and then also the drain hose, which is nice.

Keeping 5-10 gallons of water in the black tank to slosh around while in transit is also a good practice.

Relie · 03-21-2016, 01:28 PM

This all sounds great but, my problem is that I'm on a permanent site. I use a dumper (wagon). This works out great but, always looking for a better way.

Dave

Mellow Yellow · 03-21-2016, 04:11 PM

Oh, here's another good hint. Keep your almost empty laundry detergent jugs (you know... like Tide). Before a trip fill them with water. They seal nice and tight. Keep in the shower. Use it on the trip if you need to use the camper toilet (HANDIEST thing ever instead of looking for one on the road !) Flush with that good soapy water. You can refill for return trip and they will likely still be a little soapy. Or cart them to the campground recycling bin if you don't need 'em all.

Relie · 03-21-2016, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mellow Yellow

Oh, here's another good hint. Keep your almost empty laundry detergent jugs (you know... like Tide). Before a trip fill them with water. They seal nice and tight. Keep in the shower. Use it on the trip if you need to use the camper toilet (HANDIEST thing ever instead of looking for one on the road !) Flush with that good soapy water. You can refill for return trip and they will likely still be a little soapy. Or cart them to the campground recycling bin if you don't need 'em all.

Ok,but what do most of you seasonal people do?

Mellow Yellow · 03-22-2016, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relie

Ok,but what do most of you seasonal people do?

Dave, I don't really know as I know nothing about seasonal site. If you want to keep the tank fresh I'd use Happy Camper. It is great stuff. Hopefully someone will have a good answer for you !