Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > GENERAL DISCUSSIONS > General Discussions about our Montanas
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-30-2013, 12:03 PM   #1
astrungis
Montana Fan
 
astrungis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Green Valley
Posts: 174
M.O.C. #13151
Any 3900FB's out there w/ toilet issue?

Our #1 black tank toilet (master bath) is clogged. The status light shows 'half-full'. Any flush causes the water to rise in the bowl. I tried: 1. Plunger 2. Sink auger 3. Toilet chemical 4. Boiling water 5. Camco power wash wand. Either the gate valve is disconnected from the cable or I have a 'pyramid' issue. Do upstairs toilets have a bend or shelf in them? Tomorrow I am going to CW to buy a clear sewer elbow with the hose attachment on it. I will back wash it to/through the gate valve and see if that works. Uhhhhhggg!
 
__________________
Tony & Sharon Strungis / Green Valley, AZ
2011 Chevy Silverado LTZ HD3500 dually
2019 Montana FB3921
astrungis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2013, 12:43 PM   #2
Icehouse
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Palmer
Posts: 1,526
M.O.C. #7893
Eons and forever ago (2007) we had this happen to our 3650RK and I posted our trials which became a huge post that is now archived. We discovered the Thetford toilet paper we were using does NOT break down despite what anyone says. So, we had a mass of toilet paper that froze in the tank. I don't know what kind of TP you're using but be sure you do the water test (put a piece of TP in a glass and see how fast it breaks down in 15 minutes). Kirkland (Costco) and Angel Soft work really well!
Icehouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2013, 01:57 PM   #3
Rondo
Site Team
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Omaha
Posts: 6,750
M.O.C. #7560
If you have a pyramid you are not using enough water. Even if you are boondocking with your unit you have to use plenty of water to flush even if you have to flush more than once. Don't go by the "status lights" they are notoriously wrong. I don't know about the 3900's plumbing but since you unit is a 2013 I'd be taking it back in to the dealer and find out what is going on. It should still be under warranty so it's their problem BUT they do not like to work on black tank problems I can assure you of that! LOL Have you dumped the tank and heard water going out the tube? IF it is/was full you should hear a pretty loud gush when you pulled that valve to drain the tank. Besides the clear elbow(get the one that has the water line connection on it. You can back flush the lines and even get it to back up into the tanks some which I saw the other week to really work well. I'd also buy a gate valve you can connect to the line where the sewer line is connected. It help tremendously.
Rondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2013, 03:52 PM   #4
richfaa
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: North Ridgeville
Posts: 20,229
M.O.C. #2839
You have got a 2013 3900. That unit was new prototype last September .How could a pyramid form that soon. You have a clog.. Forget the status light they never work. Mine read 1/2 full OEM from the factory. The clear elbow is a good idea to see if anything is coming out. There is something in there jammed up perhaps debris or the gate valve may be broke.
richfaa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2013, 01:15 AM   #5
astrungis
Montana Fan
 
astrungis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Green Valley
Posts: 174
M.O.C. #13151
Unfortunately this wasn't a sudden event. It started last week (we've been traveling for the past month). I thought it was fixed but then it happened again. I'll be working on it again today. This video I attached is a good one about maintaining the toilet tank.



__________________
Tony & Sharon Strungis / Green Valley, AZ
2011 Chevy Silverado LTZ HD3500 dually
2019 Montana FB3921
astrungis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2013, 02:16 PM   #6
Bigboomer
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Livingston
Posts: 1,150
M.O.C. #12333
Really sounds like a lack of water which is not allowing the disolving of the solids. Is it possible you gate value was stuck partially open thus allowing the liquids to drain out and leaving the solids behind?

We don't go by thd gauges, never have, we just wait for the burp and then we know the tank is full and we dump. We then wash it all down with a shot from the gray tanks.

__________________
Les and Sue Young, 2009 Int 4400 LP, 2020 DRV Mobile Suites [/url] https://ramblingrvrat.blogspot.com/2019/11/freedom-from-grid-rambling-rv-rats.html[/url]
Bigboomer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2013, 12:59 AM   #7
astrungis
Montana Fan
 
astrungis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Green Valley
Posts: 174
M.O.C. #13151
Finally! My wife looked on the internet for solutions and came across a person who had to call a mobile RV service to dislodge his toilet. He said the tech used this device:
http://www.amazon.com/Large-Cleaning.../dp/B006ZBA5O4
After buying close to $100 of other items and listening to countless ideas, the one above finally did it (Lowes - $20). The Cobra Drain Cleaning Bladder has a small hole at the end. After turning on the hose very slowly, the bladder grabs the inside of the pipe about 8" down from the bottom of the toilet to prevent water backup. As you increase water pressure, the small hole produces a powerful stream blasting the clog out. Beforehand, I bought one of the clear plastic sewer elbows to view your status. We left it at full blast for at least 15 minutes and stuff was still coming out. Lesson learned: The upstairs bath / toilet has a couple of bends to it leaving it prone to clogging. I use to empty the black tanks every time we left a campsite. No more, for now on we'll use a lot of water for flushes and wait until the black tanks are nearly full when we dump. But most of all, thank you everyone for your help!
__________________
Tony & Sharon Strungis / Green Valley, AZ
2011 Chevy Silverado LTZ HD3500 dually
2019 Montana FB3921
astrungis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2013, 01:55 AM   #8
jimcol
Montana Master
 
jimcol's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Posts: 2,707
M.O.C. #7992
Send a message via AIM to jimcol Send a message via MSN to jimcol
Glad you got your problem solved. I would still empty before pulling out of each campsite. There have been too many reports of tanks cracking and or splitting. Towing with all the waste slushing around in there coupled with the weight of it could lead to premature tank failure. Jim
__________________
2006 3000RK
2009 Ram 2500
jimcol is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2013, 02:22 AM   #9
Mrs. CountryGuy
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: _
Posts: 5,238
M.O.C. #6337
More water. Again and again. Oh. Less paper. Slightly used yellow tinted paper does not go down our toilet. Ever. Trash can it.

Dump. We sometimes will go a day or two when we are running hard. So we are very careful on the water added. But before we dump we add water till full. The dump with lots o water.

More water. Less paper. Repeat.
Mrs. CountryGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
New Big Sky 3900FB HOOK Member News 14 10-06-2013 05:33 AM
Montana 3900FB vibetech1 General Discussions about our Montanas 21 07-30-2013 10:43 AM
toilet flush ball issue salrianna Maintenance 13 07-23-2013 07:14 AM
3900FB swanny Sitting around the Campfire 12 03-04-2013 03:05 PM
3900FB? grayghost03 General Discussions about our Montanas 8 01-04-2013 12:53 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:52 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.