Gray shower tank issue

[Superkropp]

Hey all,

I have a 2018 Alpine 3800FK. I have found that my plumbing was done wrong at the factory and my shower drains into my black tank instead of the gray tank. Keystone tells me it should not do this (DUH!!!). Anyone else have this problem??? Has anyone tried to fix it themselves???

[hankpage]

Are the dump handles just labeled wrong???? What is going into the two gray tanks???????? If you are under warranty you should not have to pay for repair!!!!

[Badbart56]

The stickers are reversed on mine too.

[Tbos]

Make sure you have a clear adapter on you hose and check the valves. The labels on my Alpine were wrong too.

[Superkropp]

No, there not marked wrong. I do have a clear tube. I was finding my black tank was filling up in two days. I drained both gray and black completly. My wife took an extra long shower one day, and I looked at my tank monitors and found the black was full. When I pulled the lever, nothing but clear water came out of the black tank. I tested two more times with the same results. Keystone has already told me it was plumbed incorrectly. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue or heard of it.

SuperK.

[hankpage]

If nothing but clear water came out it is not likely it is your black tank. Some waste will remain and should be seen. Again, If Keystone admits the problem they should repair it under warranty. Your post is not clear .... You do have one black tank and two gray tanks???? I have never seen a tank monitor that was reliable. Do you get clear water out of the other TWO tanks????

[chuckster57]

I’ve seen I a few times on other brands, and we have been paid under warranty to fix it.

[jsmith948]

Empty all of your tanks.

Run/pour water down the shower drain(2 or 3 gals)

Go out and pull one dump valve at a time until you observe water coming out - take your time - sometimes it takes a few seconds for the water to reach the clear elbow. When you determine which dump valve dumped the water, label that valve "grey"- close all the valves.

Now run/pour water down the galley sink (again, 2 or 3 gals)

Go out and pull the remaining two dump valves - one at a time - allow time for the water to get there. When you have determined which of the 2 remaining valves dumped the galley tank, label that valve "Galley"-close the valves.

Now run/flush 2 or 3 gals of water through the toilet. Pull the third, unidentified valve to confirm that it is draining the black tank.

These valves are often mis-labeled. If the shower is draining into the black tank as you suggest, then what is filling the grey tank - just the bathroom sink?

[Tbos]

Unfortunately it sounds like a trip to the dealer for warranty work is in order. Do all the testing you can to make sure they know you know what you are talking about. Hope it goes well for you.

[mtofell]

Any mention of looking at the tank monitors to confirm a suspicion scares me. Do some actual testing rather than relying on the sensors which are well known to be inaccurate. I know anything is possible but plumbing a shower into the black tank is REALLY unlikely. The person putting the pipes together likely wouldn't even have the parts available.

[flybouy]

If you have 3 tanks try this... Flush toilet with odor treatment (will turn water blue) run water in shower and add a small bottle of red food coloring. Run clear water in whatever 3 rd tank feeds from. Now connect clear drain pipe and start pulling handles noting what color exits when each dump valve is opened.

[34kw]

I wonder at 2 pages of posts and no one answers the question. Instead he gets suggestions on how to test what he already knows.

[AZ Attitude]

Originally Posted by Badbart56

The stickers are reversed on mine too.

Stickers were reversed on mine as well.... spend well over 50K on something and quality control is a joke

[Pull Toy]

While testing, a couple of bottles of cheap Food Coloring from the local Dollar Store goes a long way.... No harm, no foul! (Pun intended!) LOL

I'm guessing the labels are wrong.

Good Luck,

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by 34kw

I wonder at 2 pages of posts and no one answers the question. Instead he gets suggestions on how to test what he already knows.

Hmmmmm....that's easy. Superkropp, take it back to the dealer and have them check it and confirm with Keystone.

There you go, mischief managed. [emoji41]

[bubbubouy]

Originally Posted by Superkropp

Hey all,

I have a 2018 Alpine 3800FK. I have found that my plumbing was done wrong at the factory and my shower drains into my black tank instead of the gray tank. Keystone tells me it should not do this (DUH!!!). Anyone else have this problem??? Has anyone tried to fix it themselves???

Superkropp, my new Impact 351 had the same problem as your camper. To fix this I pushed the valve pulls back through the holes and moved them to the label that matched the tank. This also gave me a chance to make the cable on the tank pulls nice and smooth with big loops and no sharp corners.

For the level monitor I had to get the wire diagram and cut the two wires for those two tanks and wire back up so the lights matched the tank being checked.

Yes, I could have taken it back to the dealer but l do nicer work.

Hope this helps you!

[ChuckS]

On our 2014 3010RE Alpine the bathroom sink drains into the black tank.. gray tank 1 is plumbed to shower.. gray tank 2 is plumbed to island kitchen sink and washer drain.

I’m ok with bathroom draining into black tank...puts a bit of water in it to help with solids... I would not like shower being plumbed into black tank...

[BobMcC]

I have friend with a 2018 Alpine as well, his valve pull labels were reversed.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by bubbubouy

Superkropp, my new Impact 351 had the same problem as your camper. To fix this I pushed the valve pulls back through the holes and moved them to the label that matched the tank. This also gave me a chance to make the cable on the tank pulls nice and smooth with big loops and no sharp corners.

For the level monitor I had to get the wire diagram and cut the two wires for those two tanks and wire back up so the lights matched the tank being checked.

Yes, I could have taken it back to the dealer but l do nicer work.

Hope this helps you!

That's using the ole' noggin!
If you own a rv & aren't mechanically inclined enough to do this sort of thing then may want to rethink rv ownership as there will ALWAYS be something to repair/replace/redo & if you can't it will be parked at a dealership far more than you'll ever be using it.

[jayhart]

On any RV I've ever had, the gray water tank valve is a smaller valve: approximately a 1 1/2' valve and the Black water tank drain is 2" or larger. Typically the Black water tank's valve is larger for obvious reasons.


Maybe this will help differentiate between the two.