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Old 03-11-2021, 09:52 PM   #1
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THOR #22495
Black tank clogs

We bought a brand new Thor Windsport 29M and have a serious issue with the black tank clogging all the time. If the RV sits level during camping, the solids fall into the black tank onto a ledge, they promptly back up and clog the toilet...which then burps "stuff" all over. Ultimately, I have to scour my campsite to find a stick to push the poo off the ledge into the tank! Thor is not willing to help us fix this problem.

I have seen other people on this forum with the same problem but no one has responded with how they fixed the problem. Is anyone out there who has had this problem and fixed it?? Using more water will help but is not an optimal solution as we like to dry camp a lot.

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Old 03-11-2021, 10:03 PM   #2
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Most RV Toilets require lots of water to functon properly. My rule of thumb is one bowl for #1 and two full bowls for #2 if you want to be sure to flush all solid waste towards the bottom of the tank and optimal performance.

If you are concerned with using that much water, then your only other real option is to install a macerator toilet.
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Old 03-11-2021, 10:08 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Judge View Post
Most RV Toilets require lots of water. My rule of thumb is one bowl for #1 and two full bowls for #2 if you want to be sure to flush all solid waste towards the bottom of the tank and optimal performance.

If you are concerned with using that much water, then your only other real option is to install a macerator toilet.


The corollary is never buy a coach with the toilet on the left (passenger's/co-pilots) side.
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Old 03-11-2021, 10:38 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Beau388 View Post


The corollary is never buy a coach with the toilet on the left (passenger's/co-pilots) side.
All three of our last motorhomes had the toilet on the passenger's side and we never, ever, had a problem.

These were Forest River, Thor and Entegra.
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Old 03-11-2021, 10:55 PM   #5
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Water is your friend; and poop's enemy...
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Old 03-11-2021, 11:06 PM   #6
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I have the same floor plan and don't have this issue. I learned along the way that RVs with toilets on the curb side need extra water with the flush. Daily, I dump a pitcher of water down the commode.
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Old 03-11-2021, 11:28 PM   #7
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Crazy on a new rig!

You invest in flex wand and blast down toilet yet?

my front tank in our 2020 hurricane would act like backing up. blasted it few time. Finally with snake cam I found web of PVC glue. Got that out, blasted it some more and filled the tank up 3 times 3/4 full via toilet and drove rig shaking it up.

Works good now.

I have tried everything to get my sensors on both blacks to work right!

RV living baby! Where you get to play with your dookie twice!



Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheryllinmc View Post
We bought a brand new Thor Windsport 29M and have a serious issue with the black tank clogging all the time. If the RV sits level during camping, the solids fall into the black tank onto a ledge, they promptly back up and clog the toilet...which then burps "stuff" all over. Ultimately, I have to scour my campsite to find a stick to push the poo off the ledge into the tank! Thor is not willing to help us fix this problem.

I have seen other people on this forum with the same problem but no one has responded with how they fixed the problem. Is anyone out there who has had this problem and fixed it?? Using more water will help but is not an optimal solution as we like to dry camp a lot.
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Old 03-11-2021, 11:42 PM   #8
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This are some other tricks we use to help keep the black tank and sensors as clean as possible.

After dumping and breaking camp we add some Calgon Water Softenor (almost impossible to find now since COVID hit) and Dawn along with a couple gallons of water. The Calgon makes the tank and sensor surfaces slick so nothing sticks to them. This mixture sloshes around while we drive home.

I also have the San-T-Flush system and I will fill the black tank with water at least once after dumping.... and sometimes twice.... to remove all solids from the tank. I can tell from my clear elbow I have installed on my hose. Some people will think I am wasting water but sorry.... I want a black tank that works properly and does not smell.

We have not had an issue with our black tank on two coaches doing both of the above procedures.
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Old 03-11-2021, 11:46 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Judge View Post
This are some other tricks we use to help keep the black tank and sensors as clean as possible.

After dumping and breaking camp we add some Calgon Water Softenor (almost impossible to find now since COVID hit) and Dawn along with a couple gallons of water. The Calgon makes the tank and sensor surfaces slick so nothing sticks to them. This mixture sloshes around while we drive home.

I also have the San-T-Flush system and I will fill the black tank with water at least once after dumping.... and sometimes twice.... to remove all solids from the tank. I can tell from my clear elbow I have installed on my hose. Some people will think I am wasting water but sorry.... I want a black tank that works properly and does not smell.

We have not had an issue with our black tank on two coaches doing both of the above procedures.
I pretty much do the same except I often fill and dump the black tank with fresh water 3 or 4 times. I found that solids still hang around after 2 flushes with fresh water.
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Old 03-12-2021, 12:10 AM   #10
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Hey Judge!

Tried everything! We have 2 black tanks and ran by FireFly!!!

Fill 3/4's on both with H20, drive to base dump 11 miles away, bounce all around, dump on base, fill both 3/4's back up, do the return run, dump at compound!

stick blaster down both, up exterior pipes!

all kinds of chemicals to Ice!

we have no stank, boss lady feeds it enzymes every dump.

Again, I have fire fly!

I would go take pic, but bedroom slide is getting all new everything! Free!




Quote:
Originally Posted by Judge View Post
This are some other tricks we use to help keep the black tank and sensors as clean as possible.

After dumping and breaking camp we add some Calgon Water Softenor (almost impossible to find now since COVID hit) and Dawn along with a couple gallons of water. The Calgon makes the tank and sensor surfaces slick so nothing sticks to them. This mixture sloshes around while we drive home.

I also have the San-T-Flush system and I will fill the black tank with water at least once after dumping.... and sometimes twice.... to remove all solids from the tank. I can tell from my clear elbow I have installed on my hose. Some people will think I am wasting water but sorry.... I want a black tank that works properly and does not smell.

We have not had an issue with our black tank on two coaches doing both of the above procedures.
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Old 03-12-2021, 12:24 AM   #11
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The day before dump / departure, we fill the black tanks 3/4 full of water which is usually from our fresh water tank. The better half likes a full tank of OUR water before leaving home.
This allows me to empty a lot of water when finished camping.
This also turns the black tanks to almost all liquid before dumping.
I have seen with our visitors that we can accumulate an imitation waste mountain because they feel the need to conserve water.
Water is your friend when it comes to black tanks and being clean.
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Old 03-12-2021, 02:49 AM   #12
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So this may be way off but we had the misfortune of having one of the rigs that when they cut the hole in the black tank they unfortunately didn’t retrieve the disk. Needless to say this would slosh around and then block the exit. It would allow enough water out to create a nice solid mound. 💩.
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Old 03-12-2021, 01:08 PM   #13
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What not to do; when you've got a clog...

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Old 03-12-2021, 05:29 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheryllinmc View Post
We bought a brand new Thor Windsport 29M and have a serious issue with the black tank clogging all the time. If the RV sits level during camping, the solids fall into the black tank onto a ledge, they promptly back up and clog the toilet...which then burps "stuff" all over. Ultimately, I have to scour my campsite to find a stick to push the poo off the ledge into the tank! Thor is not willing to help us fix this problem.

I have seen other people on this forum with the same problem but no one has responded with how they fixed the problem. Is anyone out there who has had this problem and fixed it?? Using more water will help but is not an optimal solution as we like to dry camp a lot.
I have the same coach and I hate to tell you this but you have to use more water. Its the only thing we have found to work. Alternatively you could try and not flush your tp. We had some ok results with this. Also, we started dumping 5 gallons in from the toilet after we dump to clean off that ledge.

Its a horrible setup, but by using more water it works.
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Old 03-13-2021, 03:06 AM   #15
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This very thing happened on our 2019 windstorm 29M. When you open the compartment where the black tank is located you will see the engineering error. They're probably still laughing. The poop drops onto a low ledge instead of dropping into the tank, so you have to use more water to get it to drop into the main body. And guess what, the clean out you connect your garden house to, to spray out the tank does not reach this portion so it will stay there and harden if you don't take your hose and spray it clean from the top side of the toilet. So, when boon docking you use your precious water faster and fill the black tank faster.
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Old 03-16-2021, 07:03 PM   #16
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We have a 2011 that we borrowed from my husband's parents. I use a combination of bloomed yeast, borax, dawn and some aerobic digester microbes. Not only is our tank unclogged but the sensors started working again. Also add a couple of gallons of water after you dump the tank. It gives the floaties something to float in instead of sticking ot the bottom.
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Old 03-16-2021, 07:41 PM   #17
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Welcome to the Forum, and please tell us more about that mixture!
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Old 03-16-2021, 08:13 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Mulerider View Post
This very thing happened on our 2019 windstorm 29M. When you open the compartment where the black tank is located you will see the engineering error. They're probably still laughing. The poop drops onto a low ledge instead of dropping into the tank, so you have to use more water to get it to drop into the main body. And guess what, the clean out you connect your garden house to, to spray out the tank does not reach this portion so it will stay there and harden if you don't take your hose and spray it clean from the top side of the toilet. So, when boon docking you use your precious water faster and fill the black tank faster.


You can buy an aftermarket tank flusher for just a few dollars. You could just install one on the side of the “shelf”.
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Old 03-16-2021, 09:57 PM   #19
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Welcome to the Forum, and please tell us more about that mixture!
I can't promise that this will work for everyone but, since October 2020, we've been full time RV'ers and this works for us. YMMV.

It's a multiday process. Never takes more than a few minutes on any one day.
For us, tank dump day is generally Sunday.
Sunday (post dumping) - 2 gal of water with 1/2 cup of Borax (mix well since it's powered and you want it all to dissolve. great time to scrub out the toilet bowl since borax is great at cleaning, softens the water and helps break surface tension)

Monday - Flush one of these pods https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I follow that by taking 1 packet of yeast (from the baking aisle) with a pinch of sugar dissolved in a cup full of warm water to make them activate. Once the yeast get all bubbly, into the toilet and down it goes. Yeast feeds the beneficial bacteria that I just added.

NOTE: The composition of septic bacteria products is different and usually involves anaerobic bacteria which, as a rule, makes a big stink. I try to foster aerobic (and less stinky) bacteria in my tanks.

Tuesday - 1/4 C of Dawn and 1 gal of water (helps break surface tension and get rid of greasy residue - also a chance to scrub out the toilet bowl)

Wed-Thurs-Fri-Sat drive around or crank up the music and have a dance party while cleaning the rest of the RV to agitate the tanks

I have found that this method keeps them from stinking even though the Dawn soap is the only scented product on the list. It seems to keep both the black and grey water tanks clean and odor free. The grey tanks have a modified schedule and plan. We generally treat the grey tanks once a month (not weekly) and only use enough water to dissolve the borax and dawn soap. We rotate which drain (kitchen, bath sink, shower) gets the pod.

When we got the RV, the sensors had quit working and we had a definite poo pyramid going. Our in-laws had repeatedly pulled into RV parks and just kept the valves open (which is a no-no) followed by parking the RV for extended periods of time with sludge in the tank (another no-no). So it's so different from the OP's problem with the ledge. It's taken a few months, but this seems to have started to resolve the issues we were seeing. The sensors are working again and we're only dumping once a week vs dumping every 3 days or so.

Using the tank washers doesn't hurt either. Some RV parks will rent you the tank rinse wands . I haven't used them but I've talked to several people who swear by them for cleaning out that list bit of sludge.
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Old 03-16-2021, 10:30 PM   #20
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We have a 2011 that we borrowed from my husband's parents. I use a combination of bloomed yeast, borax, dawn and some aerobic digester microbes. Not only is our tank unclogged but the sensors started working again. Also add a couple of gallons of water after you dump the tank. It gives the floaties something to float in instead of sticking ot the bottom.
I am no chemist, but I read on the 'net:
Borax kills mold and inhibits mold growth. Borax also kills germs and bacteria. It is a disinfectant, biocide, insecticide, pesticide, herbicide and fungicide.

So I am wondering if borax would kill the microbes (typ. bacteria) and/or the yeast (fungus) you are adding?
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