Black tank guage not reading right - Montana Owners Club

Montana_2005 · 10-11-2005, 02:57 AM

Says it's 2/3 full... and I know from the volume of the dump that isn't right!!!!
What's going on, and how do we cure it?
Greetings from rainy Charlotte!!!

patodonn · 10-11-2005, 03:26 AM

Basically, the indicating system doesn't work on most rigs. Not specific to the Montana's, don't work worth a hoot in any RV, especially the black water tank. Lots of discussion on it here in the Forum..Do a "Search" in the Forum for "indicating system" or "Black tank indications", etc.

I haven't looked at my black tank level indicator, except to verify that it still is wrong, for 2 years. In general, we dump the tank once every 7-10 days, depending on usage. As it approaches "full", it sounds different when you flush it. You can also see the level during that process.

Check the Search results.

Best,

CountryGuy · 10-11-2005, 04:00 AM

Agree 1000% with patodonn!!

Nice summary of the facts!

Montana_2005 · 10-11-2005, 11:18 AM

Soooo.... what you're telling me is......
Play it by ear???
Chuckle!
I was worried I broke something already... Thanks Guys!

montanared · 10-11-2005, 11:27 AM

A while back someone mentioned putting Calgon Water Softner in the black water tank. I did and my lights show empty after dumping. Like others, it never showed empty before I tried the Calgon trick. Also works for grey and galley tanks.

Calgon may be tough to find, but I got mine at WalMart.

Searchers · 10-11-2005, 11:55 AM

It doesn't have to be Calgon brand. I used White King brand and it did the trick.

Montana_2005 · 10-11-2005, 03:06 PM

I got Borax....... hope that works some... but we aren't moving for about three more months....

ols1932 · 10-11-2005, 03:20 PM

We don't worry about it. We just dump every 10 days whether it needs it or not. We've gone as long as 16 days without dumping. My wife puts toilet paper in the waste basket (she uses 2X as much as I do). I think you get the picture.

Montana_4221 · 10-11-2005, 05:07 PM

I had a problem with our 3295 showing 1/3 full on the black tank after the second time out with it. It stayed that way for several more trips until we were at a campground with considerable pressure on the water hose at the dump station. Used the tank flush for a good while and was amazed at the amount of tissue that came out. Reads empty now. We also use water softner in the tank and a little bit of detergent too. Like someone else said, the problem is not specific to Montana. My opinion is the black tank takes a good bit of maintenance. Good luck.

Fordzilla · 10-11-2005, 06:54 PM

We try to leave a small amount of water inthe black tank after we have flushed it for a while and then drive to the next destination with it sloshing around. In our case it is home and wherever we camp the following weekend. But it slosshes around enough to get everything washed off the sides and when we arrive at the next stop, the first thing I do is hook up the flush and open up the drain valves. Let her run for 10 minutes and the lights all read MT.

richfaa · 10-12-2005, 03:11 AM

We have NEVER had a problem with the indicators not working or reading correctly on any of our campers. We have a dump station here at the house so we can dump and clean much better and we have always used calgon in the tanks.There is always the possibility that something has gone wrong in the wiring or the indicator..However..in just about EVERY case the problem is due to tissue build up on the sensors. Normal dumping will NOT do the proper job over time you will get a buildup. A good cleaning will likely solve the problem....

OntMont · 10-12-2005, 04:15 AM

I pretty much agree with everything that has been said. One other thing that I have found helpful is one of those clear plastic fittings that you put between your outlet connection and hose. This allows you to see when the tank is flushed clear. It takes a lot longer than I used to allow to get all the TP residue out of the tank. I give it an extra long flush (an hour or so) whenever I get the chance.

richfaa · 10-12-2005, 04:46 AM

what ontmont said about the clear plastic fitting is a must have..However..since we can flush here in our driveway and time is not a factor we can tell you that even after the water is clear out of the black tank it is NOT good enough..We use one of those wands that you feed down the toilet and sprays in a 360 arc.You would not believe the stuff that will come out even after a good flush/back flush. If all you can do is dump at campgrounds and have no way to spend a couple of hours flushing you are going to have problems.Use the calgon or other water softener from the start, that will help.We also use a SMALL amount of rid-x and let it slosh around while traveling..The black tank is a HIGH maint area....

Montana_3768 · 10-12-2005, 07:46 AM

I've used Borax as a cleaning agent in my unit. We usually dump before leaving the camp ground - don't want to carry the extra weight all the way home - and then I add about three gallons of water with 1 cup of borax before traveling home. When I get home, I go the nearest Flying J and dump out the three gallons and use the flush hose a second time. Seems to work pretty well. We can usually go about 8-10 days without any problems.

CountryGuy · 10-12-2005, 07:54 AM

Been said before, the more water you can use in the toilet per flush, the better. Likewise, the less TP you can use per flush, the better.

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