Black Tank Overflow!

Skins44 · 06-09-2020, 05:48 AM

apologies in advance for the long post...I am hoping that i dodged a cannonball last weekend. On my 20th camper trip (i should know better by now), i arrived to our spot distracted with a bad thunderstorm, kids, family etc. In rushing to set-up, i connected the water hose to the black tank rinse

I did not realize it until I saw black tank "water" pouring over the roof of my camper through the roof vent. I rushed and shut the water off. Frantic, i went to the bathroom and noticed the tiolet 3/4 filled with black tank "water". I attempted to flush and that is where things really took a turn for the worse....the pressure build up put about 3-4 gallons on me and the bathroom. Yup. I then dumped the black tank and started cleaning...for hours. Inside my vent, floors, walls etc.

There was a very small amount of water inside the chloroplast (spelling ?) under belly, however i believe that was gravity from the bathroom that led the water down my heat vent. I drilled a few small holes in the underbelly and it dripped out for a bit and now appears dry. I filled the black tank with water, flushed the toilet and there does not appear to be any leaking. I can easily press on the underbelly with no resistance (liquid)

My questions(s)...anything else i should check? Do you think i dodged a bullet with this one and there is no collateral damage as a result?

**chuckster57** · 06-09-2020, 06:42 AM

I think you’ll be ok. We had a lot porter that did the same thing.

Skins44 · 06-09-2020, 07:11 AM

I hope so Chuck, thanks. Did it happen in your rig?

Carrottop · 06-09-2020, 07:36 AM

It happened in our rig last fall. I was flushing the system for the winter and got distracted while it was filling and noticed it coming out of the roof vent and a little in the trailer. After dumping the system and flushing it. The wife and I disinfected the entire trailer with antibacterial cleaner we got from a friend that works in a hospital. No issues with the system or trailer this spring. You should be ok.

travelin texans · 06-09-2020, 07:56 AM

I will guarantee you are not the 1st to do this & you won't be the last!!!
The biggest lessons to learn here are ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION & absolutely positively DO NOT flush the toilet until you've drained the pressure off!
BTDT!

Skins44 · 06-09-2020, 08:08 AM

LOL, yup! After the initial shock at what happened i was really pissed at myself for having done something that stupid. To be honest, that was the hardest part to overcome. Live and Learn!

**chuckster57** · 06-09-2020, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skins44

I hope so Chuck, thanks. Did it happen in your rig?

No, it was a customers motorhome, in for some service. We used the porter/detail person for small tasks.

ChuckS · 06-10-2020, 05:20 AM

Such a bummer this happened to you. This is another example of why I don’t and never have used the “built in” black tank flush on any RV I’ve owned.. plastic plug screwed Into that fitting so I can’t accidentally connect water hose ...

I only use valtera clear adapter with its own gate valve and flush black and gray tanks using this... never pan issue.

Skins44 · 06-10-2020, 05:26 AM

now that the underbelly is dry, i would like to spray some type of anti-bacterial/odor neutrilizer into the belly. There is no smell in the camper, however if i take out my heater vent in the floor of the bathroom, i can smell a bit of an odor from the bowels of the camper (not the heat vent conduit). Perhaps it will dissipate over time, just don't want it to get worse.

Any suggestions?

Brentw · 06-10-2020, 05:45 AM

If it doesn't go away shortly, I would be concerned that it is not really dry in there. But you can mix up a batch of spray nine or an anti mildew product in a pressured garden sprayer, you can get into a lot of areas with minimal intrusion.

Skins44 · 06-10-2020, 06:31 AM

thanks Brent. It's already dry and has remained dry. It just has an odor now from when it was damp as would my bathroom floor and walls if i did not thoroughly bleach them. Not sure if that smell was something that would just go away over time, or if i could accelerate the process. It just happened last weekend.

cavediver · 06-12-2020, 10:47 AM

Must be the season, I almost did the same thing yesterday. Caught it as it tried to come through the toilet. Still didn't help the sensors, still read two thirds after two flushes.

Cbrez · 06-12-2020, 01:10 PM

I put a 90 deg brass fitting in the fresh water inlet and then attached a quick connect hose fitting. Not only is it very quick to connect and disconnect, but it’s the only place the drinking water hose can connect to without removing the fitting.

LHaven · 06-14-2020, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skins44

thanks Brent. It's already dry and has remained dry. It just has an odor now from when it was damp as would my bathroom floor and walls if i did not thoroughly bleach them. Not sure if that smell was something that would just go away over time, or if i could accelerate the process. It just happened last weekend.

It's summer in Arizona. Humidity here was 3% yesterday. Spend a few weeks. Whatever is causing your order should powder up and blow away.

Tatanka Ob Waci · 06-14-2020, 09:20 AM

You're lucky it came out the top. That happened to us when we first got our Raptor and I blew up the black water tank. Now that was a mess!

tubacjohn · 06-14-2020, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skins44

apologies in advance for the long post...I am hoping that i dodged a cannonball last weekend. On my 20th camper trip (i should know better by now), i arrived to our spot distracted with a bad thunderstorm, kids, family etc. In rushing to set-up, i connected the water hose to the black tank rinse

I did not realize it until I saw black tank "water" pouring over the roof of my camper through the roof vent. I rushed and shut the water off. Frantic, i went to the bathroom and noticed the tiolet 3/4 filled with black tank "water". I attempted to flush and that is where things really took a turn for the worse....the pressure build up put about 3-4 gallons on me and the bathroom. Yup. I then dumped the black tank and started cleaning...for hours. Inside my vent, floors, walls etc.

There was a very small amount of water inside the chloroplast (spelling ?) under belly, however i believe that was gravity from the bathroom that led the water down my heat vent. I drilled a few small holes in the underbelly and it dripped out for a bit and now appears dry. I filled the black tank with water, flushed the toilet and there does not appear to be any leaking. I can easily press on the underbelly with no resistance (liquid)

My questions(s)...anything else i should check? Do you think i dodged a bullet with this one and there is no collateral damage as a result?

Check the furnace hoses. if you have furnace floor vents in bathroom, could have filled with water. Drain them and then over heat the trailer to dry everything out. Might have to drop one side of the coroplast to let it drain and dry. Put an electric heater a d blow hot air through the place until you are sure that it is all dried out

donajohn · 06-14-2020, 05:16 PM

I have a very loud, obnoxious alarm on my phone. I set it for 5 minutes when I'm flushing the black tank (5 min @ 3 gal/minute). Never fails. My brain is conditioned to PANIC when I hear the alarm. Then I quickly pull the dump lever.

Works every time...almost. One exception is when I didn't empty the tank first and it was almost full already. Best laid plans. Thankfully, didn't spew out the vent onto the roof, and didn't overflow the toilet. Sure smelled up the underbelly, though.
Ahhh, the joys of RV ownership.

jimborokz · 06-15-2020, 09:39 AM

I do all my flushing with the drain valve open. If it's closed, once the water fills anywhere near the tornado nozzle any flushing is diminished. All the solids you want to get out are on the floor of the black tank. As I watch it in the clear section I will see the flow stop for a bit as solids flow toward the tank exit and form a dam. Then all of a sudden I'll get a rush of water. Once it's running clear I will close the valve momentarily to let some water build in the tank and then open again. I never leave that valve closed for more than 30 seconds. Both 5er's I have had had a label at the black tank flush connection that said to only flush with the valve open. I figured they knew something I didn't. Now I know what that is.

The other thing I have done is put an elbow and inline water filter at the city water connection with a quick connect on the inlet side of the filter. Only one place to hook that water line now. I put the filter there in the convenience center cause we winter camp and I don't want it to freeze out at the spigot.

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