Black water sensor not working

[Bob Denman]

I think that he's finished with his 221 volt re-wire...

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1512661684

[Bduck100]

And this is the result of a question about Blackwater tank monitor!!?? Lot's of information combined humor and fun.

[Bob Denman]

That's probably mostly my fault...
My Mom used to say that if you dropped me into a plot of maple tree saplings that were 10 feet tall: I'd never get out!
Each time I got my arm hooked around a tree: it'd just send me off in another direction!

[Thor34e]

You can use a bore scope about 50 bucks look down poop pipe

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[Bduck100]

Good idea, I have a 6ft shoot from pot to tank. Would need a long scope. Too bad tanks are black and not opaque like fresh water tanks.

[Bduck100]

Anyone have ideas for about now many days a 40gl Blackwater tank will last being conservative with use. I was hoping for 8-10days. May not be realistic.

[Thor34e]

Lol borescope has light and you can use it for many other rv problems

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[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Bduck100

Good idea, I have a 6ft shoot from pot to tank. Would need a long scope. Too bad tanks are black and not opaque like fresh water tanks.

My own opinion, is that I would NEVER want to be able to see what's sloshing around in one of them: black in just fine...

[Thor34e]

Don't put no toilet paper down in tank none.I did this never had any problems with level indicator again

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[Thor34e]

I also installed tank flush system in my tanks .Do this and every thing can be done from water station

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[blw2]

My suggestion...some day when you are in a full hook-up site so that you can freely dump without holding up the line...fill up your tank.

I have the same pipe entry into the tank and can't look down. A bad thing, but also very good!
Anyway, I found that:

1) you can hear when the tank is getting close

2) when the level gets even higher or maybe reaches the bottom of the pipe, the flushes will start burping and gurgling rather than flowing smooth. I suspect this happens when the path form the toilet pipe to the tank vent to the roof gets blocked...and not when the level gets all the way up into the flush pipe... but that's just a guess.

3) you can tell in the lav sink draining too

4) that I have quite a few flushes remaining when this happens

....so, as long as I'm not too far away form a dump station, I don't sweat it too much. We have warning

back to my suggestion to try it..... that is so that you can get a feel for the warnings and how much room you have in the tank.

[Bduck100]

GREAT information. Will listen for these signs. My plan was as you suggested to fill the tank to capacity before dumping to get a better idea of the residual capacity after sensor reads full

[Thor34e]

Also when your hooked up don't do a continuous drain leave vales open the whirlpool effect pulls sediment off bottom hence cleaner tank

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[knucklehead]

I was told by a Thor C.S. rep to use about a cup of Dawn dish soap. Fill about 3/4 full and add 5 lb. Of ice, then drive around some curving roads and stop, starts for a while. Dump and refill with fresh water and do it again. If the sensors are not too far gone, this should help. Need to do this I would think at least once or twice a season. Good luck, Robert Trice

[Bduck100]

Thanks I have done this in the past and it worked. I would suggest that Thor install reliable sensors or have opaque tanks. This is a significant part of the camping experience and you would think Thor would be interested in their product owners having good experiences.

[knucklehead]

Me too. Guess those wheels turn slow. Hope you have success with this matter....

[Hooligan2]

Siesta also has the "chute" to the black tank. Tank will fill all the way into the toilet bowl without a leak so you can use that method to judge when the tank is full. [Don't get distracted]
Agree with blw2, I only open the drain valves to dump, dump black (and usually partial rinse) then gray tank. Best to have tanks about 3/4+ full prior to dump.
Another consideration with leaving valves open, things in the sewer then have access to your tanks. Worse I've had is sewer flies (not easy to get rid of) but I'm sure there are more exciting things in there..

[Bduck100]

Thanks all, great information and suggestions.

[Bduck100]

Update on Blackwater sensor. Once the tank was more full the sensor began to register. At 3/4 full I filled to capacity and learned 3 things. 1. The tank was about 2/3 full. I put about 15 additional gallons before visually seeing a full tank. 2. The vanity empties into the Blackwater tank as evidenced by gurgling at the vanity when the Blackwater tank was full. 3. The tank does gurgle or burp when almost full. My tank capacity is closer to 35gal rather than the 30 that is on the specs information. This is most likely because of the additional capacity in the shoot from the pot to the tank. It looks like it would hold about 5gal. As suggested I filled to capacity with dawn detergent to help clean the sensors and tank. It's clear now that I can stay remote for 12 to 14 days before reaching capacity in this 2014 Thor 33sw super C.