Grey water tank release broke off in my hand

[Jeannie3293]

Hi, my name is jeannie Help! I have a 2017 Keystone Cougar bunkhouse and I live in a rv park. My gallery grey tank was backing up in the sink, so I went to dump it and it didnt come out. I called the dealership and the guy told my to pour bleach down the drain and let it sit overnight. So I did that and it was still clogged, this morning I poured hot water in the drain and waited a little while and when i went to go try to dump it, the pull valve broke off in my hand. I'm panicking a little, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry it’s not under better circumstances, let’s see if we. Any get your tank empty. Exactly what “broke off”?

Do you know what style of dump valves you have? Rod or cable actuated? Rod actuated is easiest as the threads probably came apart. If it’s cable actuated it’s a bit trickier.

[notanlines]

Looks like it might be time for either 'mobile tech' or a handy individual in the park. I'd like to put the 'pour bleach down the drain' guy on the hot seat for a few minutes.

[gearhead]

Not sure what he thought the bleach would do to a clog.
Describe to us what you are seeing.
What do you have that you pulled off?

[flybouy]

How long have you had the camper and what's the model number? How did you determine it was clogged VS the tank being full (did the idiot lights tell you?).

The dump valve handles typically have less than 5" of travel. If you pull or push on them with great force they can bend the rod, break the handle or pull the handle/extension rod out as that tube is only thin aluminum with very shallow threads.

I've never seen a bottle of bleach that lists "unclogging drains" as one of it's attributes. Typically if a sink drain is clogged it's obstructed at the "P" trap or hepvo valve directly under it. They make long plastic strips with "teeth" to run down the drain or you simply put a bucket under it and remove the trap and clean out the obstruction.

[dutchmensport]

It sounds like you have 2 issues going on. Correct me if I'm wrong, that's OK.

First, it sounds like you pulled the handle on the grey tank valve to dump the tank and when you did, the handle broke. Now assuming, just the handle broke (the plastic part), it an easy fix. You can simply unscrew the remaining shaft and replace it with a new one, sold at any RV parts store, any RV dealership, or places like Camping World.

If the handle and shaft both came off in your hand, then all you need to do is screw the shaft back on. These unscrew over time. If the actual valve is hidden under the under covering of your camper, you may need to cut a hole in the material to access the valve to find the opposite threaded stub to reattach.

However, if the valve itself actually broke, there is only one fix, and that is to replace it, which might require you hiring someone to do that.

If the system is a pull cable and the cable broke or snapped loose at the valve, then you'll most likely need to hire someone for help.


Second, it sounds like your sink is clogged. As stated above, bleach is not going to do anything. You need to know if your tank is full, dumping could take care of your problem.

If it truly is clogged, my guess is, the pipes are filled with grease and sludge. Caustic chemicals may, or may not work. Draino is caustic. Your RV pipes will not be hurt by using products like Draino, but you run a bigger risk of the Draino burning your skin or touching other materials in your camper that could cause damage.

What works better and safer is to use an emzine drain opener, found at any Lowe's or Home Depot type store. Once the emzines start eating the grease and sludge, they will clean out the pipes completely, without damaging anything, including your skin or anything else. FYI, Rid-X for septic tanks will not work in drains. It takes much too long.

About your drains, you should never wash greasy items in your RV sink, as the grease will easily build up and cause clogs. We always wipe everything with grease on it with paper towels first, then throw the paper towels away. .... always! without fail.

And because paper towels are so danged expensive, we switched to shop towels years ago, mainly because i do a lot of wood crafting and I use shop towels for varnish and stuff like that. Shop towels work great in the kitchen and are a LOT cheaper than Bounty, etc.

click here (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scott-Professional-Heavy-Duty-Shop-Towels-3X-Stronger-when-Wet-60-Sheets-1-Ct/19853253)

or a bigger box (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Scott-Professional-Multi-Purpose-Shop-Towels-in-a-Box-200-Sheets/16816120)

Wall Mart sells them and are a bit cheaper than Lowes. And yes, we use them for cooking too, like draining bacon grease, and wiping things down.

Good luck, and hope you can figure out your problem.

[Roscommon48]

Jeannie...we're curious.....what did you do?

[Jeannie3293]

I just live with my pups and grow veggies!

[Jeannie3293]

Thank you, yes I did just figure out that it can screw in again lol. As far as the clog, I appreciate the advice about the enzyme cleaner, I'm definitely going to do that !

[travelin texans]

Are you sure you only have 1grey tank? These manufacturers are very good at hiding the drain valves. Possibly you have a tank for your kitchen sink that's full not the drain plugged. Have you looked closely underneath for another handle or a spot where the other pull handle has possibly fallen off