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Old 08-25-2016, 03:39 PM   #1
Clintatwork
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Black water tank level gauge

Having trouble with my black tank level reading. Fresh, galley and grey are working fine. Black still showed 1/3 when emptied, then after I towed it out to campground tonight it shows 2/3 full. Does it just use a float switch? Maybe has something tangled in the actuator arm? Any help would be appreciated!
 
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Old 08-25-2016, 04:05 PM   #2
MARK A
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Mine does the same thing. it seems to settle down and fairly accurate after a few hours sitting still.

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Old 08-25-2016, 04:16 PM   #3
Clintatwork
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This thing was still showing a third full after sitting empty for a week at home. I might rent one of those long flexible camera things and stick it down the stool to look around.
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Old 08-25-2016, 05:17 PM   #4
rohrmann
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There is no float in any of these tanks. They use electric sensors that are "supposed" to sense tank levels, but once you put anything other than clean water in any of them, their days are numbered, and you will be better off just getting used to how many days you can go between drains. The toilet will burp at you when it has gone beyond the drain interval, and the gray tanks will show they are full by backing up into a sink or in the shower/tub when that tank is full. It is generally a waste of time and money to do anything with these.
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Old 08-25-2016, 05:30 PM   #5
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Most of us just ignore them and learn when they are full. For the two of us, we dump every two weeks. If you want black tank monitors that consistantly work, IMHO you need to add the outside the tank monitors.
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Old 08-25-2016, 05:54 PM   #6
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Clint you will never get an accurate reading on your black tank guage. The sensors are probes that go into the tank and once some of the "yucky stuff"which includes toilet paper get on them it is nearly impossible to ever get them to read correctly again. The only way you will ever get an accurate reading is if you install some of the other type of sensors that sense the level from the outside of the tank. How they work is beyond me but supposedly they do work. They do make them and from what I understand the wiring for those to the tank sensors now can be used on them also but don't quote me on that. You'll just have to live with bad sensors on the black tank and kind of program yourself to dump the tank every 5 days or so. Also hopefully you are not leaving the valve open for the water to drain out. This is a really bad idea since the dreaded "Pyramid" will form and then you've got REAL problems. I use Happy Camper in all three of my tanks and it seems to break down the solids in the black tank well and removes the soap scum I the two grey water tanks. I normally put some Cascade dishwashing powder with Dawn and also about a couple capfuls of Calgon liquid water softener along with about 5 gallons of water in the black tank after dumping and heading back to the storage area. This seems to clean the tank pretty well and when I get to the next campground I add some water to the tank and then dump it and rinse it out well after set up.
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Old 08-25-2016, 06:01 PM   #7
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If it is any consolation, since buying our first trailer in 1970 before the wife was old enough to have a drink, we have never had a black tank sensor that lasted more than a few weeks.
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Old 08-25-2016, 06:17 PM   #8
Clintatwork
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Thank you so much for the info. It's an older unit, 2004, and we've had it since April of this year and it just started acting up. I'm not gonna worry about it. The info about the "burp" is very helpful.
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