Burping toilet... - Montana Owners Club

rldriver · 05-31-2007, 01:34 PM

Not sure what is going on but my toilet started burping when flushed. Empty or close to full tank, trailer all open up with no fan running. When I fill the bowl with water and when flushing I get a lot of air coming up from the tank that will splash the water around and a litle over the bowl. Just started last night so I drained the tank thinking that was the problem, but it still continues.

Is there a check valve in the vertical vent line? In the Big Sky the pipe is unaccessible in the bathroom wall. Has any one had a similar problem? Any ideas?

Thanks for any help.
Dick

sreigle · 05-31-2007, 02:13 PM

Dick, that splashback is how I know it's time to dump our tank. But that doesn't help your situation.

We had this same problem awhile back. It turned out we had a buildup of tissue in the tank, below the toilet. Building the "dreaded pyramid" in other words. If left to continue building it will eventually block the toilet from putting anything into the tank. I'm assuming this is your problem when I say that.

You can try pouring a bag or two of ice cubes down the toilet and then driving around awhile. You need to have some water in the tank so the ice cubes move around and knock down the pyramid.

We had to get some Tissue Digester. Camping World has it as do many RV dealers. If you go this route, follow the directions precisely. One tip our dealer gave me that is not mentioned on the package is to mix it in HOT water. Or as warm as you can get it. This stuff is enzyme based, so the warmer it is the more actively it attacks the tissue. Follow the directions and it should free things up for you.

There may be some other potential cause and maybe someone else can fill you in on those. But this is what we had to deal with and the tissue digester worked. Now we carry a spare bottle of that digester. Just in case.

richfaa · 05-31-2007, 03:24 PM

saw this problem in a fellow campers unit a while back. They had used a lot of TP and not enough water when flushing. There was a wad of TP stuck in the down pipe.Had them snake it out (would not do it for them) it worked..

sreigle · 05-31-2007, 03:50 PM

I've seen people stick a hose down the toilet and blow the paper out of the pipe, too. Snaking or blowing the pipe might be worth a try before resorting to tissue digester.

racer · 05-31-2007, 04:01 PM

go up on top to the vent for stool and run a garden hose down and turn water your vent is pluged from paper had this happen to me a yr ago holp this help? racer

EagleRunner · 05-31-2007, 04:02 PM

rldriver,
You might also want to check your vent to make sure there has not been a nest built in it. Means a trip to the roof! Could be you might have little to no venting of the tank and that is building up back pressure in the tank when you flush.

Good luck in finding your problem.

Ozz · 05-31-2007, 04:53 PM

Also, run the flush water for a long count after initial flush. I triple flush with a full bowl of water.
Good luck with this.

ols1932 · 05-31-2007, 05:03 PM

You've probably done everything you could. Twice we had similar experiences. We had dumped our tank and in one day the toilet was burping and I could see refuse in the pipe. I suspected something stuck in the pipe so I got my flexible wand out and shoved it down through the toilet into the pipe. Sure enough there was a buildup in the pipe. That's when we discovered that my wife was using her "extra" toilet paper and throwing it in the toilet with very little water. She now disposes of this toilet paper in a waste basket. Serves two purposes: relieves clogging and helps to not fill the black water tank as fast. You'd be surprised what a difference it makes.

Orv

snfexpress · 06-01-2007, 05:21 PM

RV Digest-It, found at many RV suppliers, worked for us, along with 2 trips of ice cubes. Went from about 8 days to 3 days back to 8 days before having to dump the black tank. Also, we now use plenty of water when flushing.

rldriver · 06-01-2007, 06:59 PM

Thanks all, it cleared itself today but I did go ahead and flush the tank 4 or 5 times. I assume it was just a build up of solids. Any idea of what the depth of the black tank is?

sreigle · 06-02-2007, 03:04 AM

None of the tanks are very deep. No deeper than the frame and that is 10 inches. I've seen them in the factory tours and when the bellypan on ours was partially dropped.

rldriver · 06-02-2007, 05:23 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

None of the tanks are very deep. No deeper than the frame and that is 10 inches. I've seen them in the factory tours and when the bellypan on ours was partially dropped.

Thanks Steve, very interesting, this leads me to the conclusion that as we didn't have time to build up a pile that deep there must have been a blocking in the pipe. It did block the drain so when I held down the flush I could see the water filling up the drain pipe. Clean now so back to enjoying the great out doors.
Thanks again,
Dick

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