De-winterizing gone bad, calling all Raptor owners

[cobiker]

So the Raptor is new to us, this spring, but we're not new to rv's. But what happened today in trying to de-winterize the raptor really didn't go as designed. What I thought was the fresh water hose connection, on the outside of the rig, right next to the cargo hatch with the control pane, not labeled, really was the black water flush for the front bath. To say the least, trying to put 120 gals into a 40 gal tank really doesn't work too well. So the top of the black tank split along the side and front. Thank god it was empty.

So things are cleaned up, and a new tank on order. So the Keystone owners manual is really of little help, so I've attached a pic of the panel we have and would like help to understanding what position the levers need to be in so I can finish filling the fresh water to complete the sanitation process. I was able to put about 10 gals of clorinated water (1/4 cup to 1 gal) into the fresh water tank thru the vent pipe.

Appreciate any help. - Scott

[ptooti]

your clorine ratio is a little heavy they say 1/4 cup to every 15 gallons here is a vid that may help you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0CsGjobAL0

[thiswebs4u]

I think the top one is the city water, I just did this and made sure it was setup for fill. I do have the Fuzion 427 but same setup. The docs suck. Now I have to figure out how to get the pump to work.

[rsl]

Bottom port is black tank flush, middle is city water connection, and top is for a piece of hose to connect so you can use your onboard pump to pump the pink stuff in.

The top and bottom levers appear correct, the middle should be in the horizontal position , the way it is now when city water is hooked up it will fill the fresh water tank

[notanlines]

Can I question the circumstances a little further? You ran city water in through the black tank flush and filled the 40 gallon tank and then what? Any reason the water didn't simply run up the vent to the roof?

[cobiker]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Can I question the circumstances a little further? You ran city water in through the black tank flush and filled the 40 gallon tank and then what? Any reason the water didn't simply run up the vent to the roof?

Jim, Then the top of the tank split open and water then was flowing started flowing out of the bottom of that covered space. Had to unbolt the covering that's on the bottom of the frame. I was surprised at how much water it actually supported without breaking.

That would have been nice if it would have simply climbed up the tank vent to the roof.

[pitman44]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Can I question the circumstances a little further? You ran city water in through the black tank flush and filled the 40 gallon tank and then what? Any reason the water didn't simply run up the vent to the roof?

Perhaps the tank can't hold the pressure required to push the water out the vent? If the pipe is 10' vertical, it'd be 4# or so. When we leak test a 275 gal metal fuel oil tank we only put about 2# of air pressure on it.

[cobiker]

Originally Posted by rsl

Bottom port is black tank flush, middle is city water connection, and top is for a piece of hose to connect so you can use your onboard pump to pump the pink stuff in.

The top and bottom levers appear correct, the middle should be in the horizontal position , the way it is now when city water is hooked up it will fill the fresh water tank

RSL, This is what I want to do currently to complete the fill of the fresh water tank to sanitize the water lines.

Should I have the By-Pass for HW tank on as to avoid filling it at this time?

[flybouy]

I agree, the tank should not have failed. Maybe the vent pipe is shoved in and bottomed out. In this age of phone pictures I don't understand why people don't take pics and label the pics for each setting. I often times use my phone to take a pic of something before taking it apart so I know what goes where. Helps offset the CRS issue

[ptooti]

just a question to ponder it says on my unit that running the blackwater flush without having dump valve open can force unsanitary water backward into the system?

[notanlines]

Ptooti, i’d Like to have someone explain that to me.

[armyav8r58d]

Originally Posted by notanlines

Ptooti, i’d Like to have someone explain that to me.

So, last year we went to a 3 day food truck festival. We spent way too much time and money at the taco trucks, and on day two one of my kids decided to get some sort of stomach bug. Anyway, we get packed to leave and I mention that I have to flush the black water tank before we leave, and that was about the 3rd thing on my list to do. Well my wife decided to take it upon herself to start the flush while I was away taking care of our boat. When I returned, it was pure chaos. The valve was closed, flush was on full blast and what appeared to be a chocolate fountain was blasting out of the vent tube on the roof. Inside, my daughter decided to see what the strange noise was in the toilet and stepped on the toilet pedal to look inside. Her nickname is now "The Brown Noise" due to the sounds she was heard making while trying to simultaneously scream, gag, vomit, and run.

It was everywhere.

So, during the cleanup, I noticed a few things. The tank stayed intact however, I did have to remove the plastic and insulation from the bottom to clean out the "sludge" around the tank (and I'm still really not sure where that came from). The only backup into the system was when the pressure was released when the toilet opened up, and the previously mentioned fountain.

Cleanup of the "poopcastrophy" consisted of pulling my rig to some grass in my backyard, a ladder, a pressure washer with a diluted bleach wash, a Tyvex suit, gloves, and every curse word I could think of in 4 hours. I replaced a few things, but other than that, she's back in service and ready to head out this weekend to start our season.

My wife has vowed to NEVER take it upon herself to help out with ANYTHING unless I ask and give explicit instructions.

[notanlines]

Army, that is one story I’ll think about for a long time. And very well written. And I for one plan to learn by your family’s mistake! And thank you for your service from a Marine Corps family!

[Triplecee]

On my previous 2010 Mountaineer I had the same problem with lack of written instructions as to how the external control panel features should be used so I took a series of photos and reworked them to identify what each of the ports and switches did. Then I set them for different operation - e.g. winterizing, normal operation, black water tank flushing, etc.

The pictures helped my aging memory and it was smooth sailing (RVing, actually) after that. I did the same for my new 2018 High Country.

I found much of the Keystone Owners Manual to be too general and not instructive for what my particular RV's configuration required.

I offered the photos and explanations to the dealership that I bought from in 2010 but don't know whether they used them or not.

Wouldn't it be nice if Keystone would publish a manual specific to your make of RV with a few pictures to illustrate how things should be set and used? They basically leave it up to the dealer to tell you how things work but six to nine months after that I had forgotten what was said in the one-time demonstration.

By the way, I also undid a handful of screws and took photos of the back side of the control panel so I could get an idea of what connections went where. It was easy to do up again.

The fuse panel was my next photo project (it's handy to have photoshop-like software to edit and add text to photos). The handwritten identification on the panel was illegible in some cases so I added printed text and now it's very clear as to what fuse controls what circuits.

I'm no deep thinker. It's pretty simple stuff.

[mhbell]

Back about 7 or 8 years ago we pulled into a RV park that we stay at in Texas. I had a new to me 5th wheel a Jayco Designer that I bought used. The Fresh water and Flush inlets were not marked and where close together on the side of the RV. I got distracted by some friends in the park. and hooked the hose up to the Flusher instead of the Fresh water inlet. Walked over to chat with friends when I heard my wife yell. When I got back over to the rig my wife said we have a water leak and I turned off the water. When I investigated the black tank had broken through the bottom of the protective cover and was lying on the ground with brown sludge running out. brown specks all over the roof and around the area. The tank had swelled and bent the metal rails on the frame that holds the tank in. and when it fell it broke all of the plumbing pipes for the sewer. It took me 3 days to repair the pipes, put the tank in place and seal up the bottom. I had a commercial company come and clean around the 5th wheel and pressure wash the roof and sides. Lucky nothing got inside. What a mess to clean up and repair. I bought some red finger nail polish and painted red all around the Flusher inlet fitting.
Mel

[ptooti]

It's not funny at the time ..... but my sides are hurting and I can hardly see while writing this, Thankyou for sharing this experience I'm sorry your daughter had to go through that! and hopefully she recovers from such an experience and is able to laugh..... you are stronger than me I would have just burned it lol good story with a good moral ..... Sh!t happens

Originally Posted by armyav8r58d

So, last year we went to a 3 day food truck festival. We spent way too much time and money at the taco trucks, and on day two one of my kids decided to get some sort of stomach bug. Anyway, we get packed to leave and I mention that I have to flush the black water tank before we leave, and that was about the 3rd thing on my list to do. Well my wife decided to take it upon herself to start the flush while I was away taking care of our boat. When I returned, it was pure chaos. The valve was closed, flush was on full blast and what appeared to be a chocolate fountain was blasting out of the vent tube on the roof. Inside, my daughter decided to see what the strange noise was in the toilet and stepped on the toilet pedal to look inside. Her nickname is now "The Brown Noise" due to the sounds she was heard making while trying to simultaneously scream, gag, vomit, and run.

It was everywhere.

So, during the cleanup, I noticed a few things. The tank stayed intact however, I did have to remove the plastic and insulation from the bottom to clean out the "sludge" around the tank (and I'm still really not sure where that came from). The only backup into the system was when the pressure was released when the toilet opened up, and the previously mentioned fountain.

Cleanup of the "poopcastrophy" consisted of pulling my rig to some grass in my backyard, a ladder, a pressure washer with a diluted bleach wash, a Tyvex suit, gloves, and every curse word I could think of in 4 hours. I replaced a few things, but other than that, she's back in service and ready to head out this weekend to start our season.

My wife has vowed to NEVER take it upon herself to help out with ANYTHING unless I ask and give explicit instructions.

[Rich332ts]

Did the same thing but thank goodness it didn't damage the the black tank . I probably put about 30 gallons in before I realized it.

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by ptooti

just a question to ponder it says on my unit that running the blackwater flush without having dump valve open can force unsanitary water backward into the system?

Originally Posted by notanlines

Ptooti, i’d Like to have someone explain that to me.

Wouldn't that just mean the unsanitary water could be forced up into the toilet bowl, or since some people’s showers are plumbed to the black tank (if I remember correctly) the shower drain could back up into the shower pan?

[notanlines]

I do see the shower side of that given situation. (Wouldn’t it be hell if the shower drained into the black tank! We’d have to dump every day) but I guess I don’t see the path it would take to get into the fresh water system. Most commonly it runs out on the roof.

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by ptooti

just a question to ponder it says on my unit that running the blackwater flush without having dump valve open can force unsanitary water backward into the system?

As in the toilet or other least point of resistance. Toilet, out into the system floor. Vent, out onto the system roof and sides. Reversed backflow valve, into the system fresh water system.