Black Water Holding Tanks - Montana Owners Club

hazmic · 01-03-2007, 01:29 PM

I have seen some posts about the holding water tanks cracking. For those that had this problem,I was wondering if they were using chemicals in the tank and if they were,if that was the factor that made the tanks crack. I do not use any chemicals in the tanks and never had any problems in the last 35 years. I realize that the new tanks are not what they use to be.

Hazmic

Okie Guy · 01-03-2007, 03:08 PM

Thanks for bringing this up. I have not heard of such a thing until your post but want to hear more. The last thing I want to have to clean up is an underbelly full of black water from the holding tank.

dsprik · 01-03-2007, 07:08 PM

Hazmic, are you talking about the black tank or the fresh water holding tank? I have had problems with my fresh water tank, but not my black tank...

HamRad · 01-03-2007, 07:40 PM

The cracks that I've seen discussed here on the MOC for the most part are referring to actual stress fractures. Mine occurred on my gray tank. The break was located where the outlet pipe is connected to the tank. Apparently just not put together properly the first time or just too much stress and it cracked. After some corrective patch work it has worked just fine. We do not use chemicals in our tanks.

HamRad

hazmic · 01-04-2007, 03:20 AM

Iwas talking about Black and Gray tanks. The reason I asked this to see if there is any conection.

dsprik · 01-04-2007, 05:27 AM

I was just outside talking to an Montana owner neighbor of mine (he is not a MOC member - yet). He was just asking about his black tank splitting. It is a 2004 3380. He said that he talked to Keystone and they, of course, would not cover any of the work as it was way out of warranty. It cost him just a little over $1,000 to have it replaced. They have to cut all the lines/plumbing, cut a brace, then push it backwards and then drop it down. That was his black tank. He read an article in Trailer Lfe a few months ago about this and they claimed there was a problem with them being put together wrong. Don't know if this procedure was fixed or not?

Yep, that extended warranty looks better and better all the time...

carlson · 01-04-2007, 03:25 PM

I had the dreaded black tank problem.
I believe that most of the problems are at the outlet of the tank.
The tank is supported from the top and hangs.
I believe the weight of 8+ pounds per gallon and a full tank is distorting the tank but not the PVC fitting installed into the tank.
What you get is a leak and a S_____y situation.
Ask yourself why the water tank is made out of heavy plastic supported on the bottom of the tank and the waste tanks are lighter plastic and support from the top??
The next unit, when I do the inspection, I plan on filling all the tanks full and inspect

VanMan · 01-05-2007, 02:06 AM

I had the crack at the opening on my galley tank. It was easily fixed with the plumber's putty. It's a stick of resin with a core of hardener. You cut off the amount needed, knead it to the point it's thoroughly mixed and then apply it to a clean (maybe even lightly sanded) surface. It works well (took me several applications to get it plugged - I'll know how better next time) and can even be molded to create gussets and/or bosses to add strength. Someone on here built an angle iron frame and maybe someone else put wood slats under the tank (like the old slats under a bed) to support the weight. Chemicals were not the problem, but rather the weight of the contents, the design of the tank around the opening, the attachment method of the tank (or lack of one) and the bouncing of the tank and piping during travel.

315RLS · 01-05-2007, 02:43 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by hazmic

I have seen some posts about the holding water tanks cracking. For those that had this problem,I was wondering if they were using chemicals in the tank and if they were,if that was the factor that made the tanks crack. I do not use any chemicals in the tanks and never had any problems in the last 35 years. I realize that the new tanks are not what they use to be.

Hazmic

We had our black tank break at the neck which seems to be the most common place for that tank to break. I don't think it had anything to do with chemicals but did with the cheap quality tanks keystone uses. They don't cost much to replace $125+/- for the tank but its an ugly business to deal with and appears to be far to common a problem with the keystone line of products.

hazmic · 01-05-2007, 04:29 PM

Thanks everyone for the response. I was just wondering when I was cleaning my tank. We are in Texas for the winter and try to flush it every 5-7 days. I do not use chemicals and flush the quite well. I have my own dump station at home so cleaning is not a problem. I usually dump the gray water tanks at the camp ground but dump the black water tank at home or the next campground the same day. Hopefully my tank will not have problems[knock on wood]. I like the saying that some one posted summer iowans,winter texans.

VanMan · 01-06-2007, 03:21 AM

Sometime when you have some extra time and a litle extra $$$, you may want to crawl under there and check out what we are all talking about. The "neck" at the opening that goes to the dump valve is not reinforced in any way - just molded in or glued in and is the same thickness as the rest of the tank. You may want to get some of that putty from Home Depot or Lowes, knead it, roll it into a long snake, and wrap it around the neck to build up the thickness. Rough up the surface a little first with sandpaper and clean with alcohol. You have a good bit of time to work with it before it "kicks off" and starts to harden. If you really care what it looks like, it can be smoothed up with a little water on your hand similar to caulk. I think if someone were to do ALL their tanks like this BEFORE a leak appears, then they wouldn't be trying to fix a problem later - especially the BLACK tank !! Of course I haven't done that either - too much football & basketball to watch !!

hazmic · 01-06-2007, 08:26 AM

Some thing to do next spring-summer when checking the wiring out. When I remove the self taping I will replace then with 1/4 in bolts and washers. Thanks for the info.

louiebobo · 01-13-2007, 07:35 AM

I've had the galley grey water tank replaced because of a crack on the top of the tank due to a hydraulic cable pinched between the tank and hold straps. Had the shower bath sink worked on because it would overflow into the belly to the 5th wheel because the inlets were leaking. That fix never worked so I have to watch how much I store in the tank. Bad when you are dry camping. If black water tank gets to full, it sinks the 5er up. Think maybe the vent line is plugged or vent end is too far inside the tank.

But you know I still love my Monty and would buy another.

louiebobo · 01-13-2007, 07:41 AM

Does anyone know exactly where the black water vent line is located on the roof. I do have a vent line that runs up the the refer vent and would like to know what vent that is for. My Monty is a 3575RL.

Thanks - David

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