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08-20-2020, 11:30 AM
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#21
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Georgia
Posts: 14
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I've used the GEO method for many years. Find the instructions here:
https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/
The only thing I add is to add a couple of gallons of water with softener and soap when I'm traveling.
PS Bleach is your friend in killing bacteria that causes odors.
I use the sensors to indicate if i'm over half full; Keep your black and gray water gates closed and empty both tanks using the GEO method.
Any soap or liquid soap works although Dawn is the best at cutting grease and oil crud.
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08-20-2020, 01:30 PM
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#22
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Qualicum Beach
Posts: 555
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Quote:
Originally Posted by raylinkz
I've used the GEO method for many years. Find the instructions here:
https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/
The only thing I add is to add a couple of gallons of water with softener and soap when I'm traveling.
PS Bleach is your friend in killing bacteria that causes odors.
I use the sensors to indicate if i'm over half full; Keep your black and gray water gates closed and empty both tanks using the GEO method.
Any soap or liquid soap works although Dawn is the best at cutting grease and oil crud.
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And the bleach will kill the beneficial bacteria in the septic system many parks are connected to. Reading your article is very enlightening especially the part where you advocate lying to the property owner about what chemicals you are using on their property.
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08-20-2020, 02:35 PM
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#23
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Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Sioux Falls
Posts: 37
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TST probe cleaner
__________________
2020 Raptor 423
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08-20-2020, 03:22 PM
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#24
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Georgia
Posts: 14
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Sarcasm not necessary
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonofcy
And the bleach will kill the beneficial bacteria in the septic system many parks are connected to. Reading your article is very enlightening especially the part where you advocate lying to the property owner about what chemicals you are using on their property.
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First, a short time spent studying the chemistry of bleach will educate one to the short half life when diluted in water or even just left to the atmosphere...
Finally, No harm, no foul for those of us who have been on a septic tank most or our married life, just celebrated 52 years, and use bleach in our clothes washer per instructions on the bleach bottle.
I also dump my RV tanks into my septic tank at my home. My current septic tank was being used when I purchased my home and I fully intended to have it pumped but didn't follow up for almost 18 years. The tank pumped out find and according to the plumber had a very healthy sludge with no problems indicated.
Nowhere in my post do I indicate that I 'lie' about what chemicals I use, because I don't.. I have never been asked what chemicals I use in my tanks, and if I did, I can assure you that I would not lie.
PS my county drinking water supply can contain up to 4 ppm of chlorine for disinfection purposes. (per the annual report)
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09-19-2020, 10:39 PM
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#25
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Gone Traveling
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Fredericksburg
Posts: 12
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I accidentally read an article in which they instruct to do Geo method. I followed the instructions and had success with them
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01-26-2021, 07:24 PM
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#26
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Coates
Steps to clean the sensor of gray tanks
Step 1: Close the valve of your gray tank.
Step 2: Fill your gray tank with water (You can fill the water at the highest level of the sensor to remove entire debris.
Step 3: Glug 20 or more ounces of dish soap down the kitchen sink line. You can see it foaming back out of the shower lines or the sink and it is okay. The enzymes of grease-eating will run through the pipes to remove grease.
Step 4: Keep this work overnight during your sleep.
Step 5: In the next day, open the valve of a gray tank and dump it.
Step 6: Fill and dump your tank a few times to rinse it completely. You can repeat this process until the sensor is restored.
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Step #7: Forget steps 1-6, waste of time, energy, $$, don't pay attention to the useless sensors, learn the sounds & signals given when nearing full.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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01-27-2021, 07:48 AM
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#27
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 687
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What sounds and signals Danny? Do you put an ear to the shower drain as water is ran elsewhere???
__________________
Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
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01-27-2021, 09:56 AM
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#28
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skids
What sounds and signals Danny? Do you put an ear to the shower drain as water is ran elsewhere???
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You won't have listen for the shower, you'll be ankle deep at the most inopportune time when it let's you know. The kitchen, if separate from the bath, unless you wash lots of dishes, will usually be the slowest to fill & will last til the black is full.
As for the toilet, it has a very distinctive burp or gurgle when it's nearing full.
All of which is more useful than the sensors.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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01-27-2021, 01:55 PM
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#29
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Indiana
Posts: 2,666
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Do the same thing for your grey tank(s) as you do for the black. Add some water, some soap, and go for a drive. The sloshing will clean the sensors.
__________________
2019 Montana High Country 375FL
2014 Chevy Duramax HD 6.6 - 3500 Diesel Dully Long bed Crew Cab
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02-01-2021, 02:42 AM
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#30
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Little City
Posts: 36
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Has anyone tried using a septic tank additive like Rid-ex in a full grey tank to clean sensors. Adding it to a full tank and allowing it to sit for several days would seem to be a simple solution. What am I missing?
__________________
Ed & Chris Moore
Keystone Challenger 31RBL
Ram 3500
Little City, Ok
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02-01-2021, 05:02 AM
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#31
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Newport
Posts: 215
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Happy Campers!!!!!!!
__________________
2021 Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 32BHS 5th Wheel
2022 F-450SD, Lariat Ultimate, CC, 4WD, FX4, Rapid Red, Curt A16/R24 Slider
Upgraded: 2020 F-250SD, XLT Pre, CC, SWB, 4WD, FX4, HCTP, 6.7 PSD, 3.55 e-lock, Blue Jeans Metallic
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02-01-2021, 05:04 AM
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#32
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Newport
Posts: 215
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scout179
Has anyone tried using a septic tank additive like Rid-ex in a full grey tank to clean sensors. Adding it to a full tank and allowing it to sit for several days would seem to be a simple solution. What am I missing?
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Ridex is anaerobic bacteria. I would not expect it to work well in a grey tank unless you leave it undisturbed for a month.
__________________
2021 Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 32BHS 5th Wheel
2022 F-450SD, Lariat Ultimate, CC, 4WD, FX4, Rapid Red, Curt A16/R24 Slider
Upgraded: 2020 F-250SD, XLT Pre, CC, SWB, 4WD, FX4, HCTP, 6.7 PSD, 3.55 e-lock, Blue Jeans Metallic
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02-01-2021, 06:59 AM
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#33
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Site Team
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,846
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brantel
Ridex is anaerobic bacteria. I would not expect it to work well in a grey tank unless you leave it undisturbed for a month.
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Even then, I wouldn't expect much in the way of results. Anaerobic bacteria are "living creatures" that need food to grow and reproduce. There's lots of "food in a black tank" but bacteria trying to find food in a gray tank is like a human trying to find the "oasis in the desert"... There's just not enough food in most gray tanks for Rid-X to survive.
__________________
John
2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
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02-01-2021, 08:29 AM
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#34
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Little City
Posts: 36
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I understand the thinking. If there is something on the sensor in that tank, would it not be more subject to "attack" by the bacteria? I don't really care if it survives. I just want the sensors cleaned.
__________________
Ed & Chris Moore
Keystone Challenger 31RBL
Ram 3500
Little City, Ok
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02-01-2021, 08:56 AM
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#35
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Site Team
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,846
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scout179
I understand the thinking. If there is something on the sensor in that tank, would it not be more subject to "attack" by the bacteria? I don't really care if it survives. I just want the sensors cleaned.
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IMHO, for what it's worth, there's not enough organic material in most gray tanks to allow the bacteria to multiply in sufficient numbers to "attach the crud on the sensors"... It's like using 2 ounces of varnish to waterproof the side of a house. There's just "not enough stuff" on the brush to cover the area... Same with Rid-X in a gray tank. There's just not enough "stuff" to feed the masses to create enough "hungry bacteria offspring" to make a significant difference... If you can't get the bacteria colony populated, you can't get the population big enough to consume what little crud is on the sensors.
I'd strongly suspect that the "full gray tank with a box of Rix-X in it" would sour and turn rank from dead bacteria (starved to death) as mold takes over the "wet scum" and makes an even more rank problem.
If you want to "experiment with cleaning the sensors" I'd suggest buying a bottle of "holding tank sensor cleaner" that's designed for the job, or, you might try a cup or so of "automatic dishwasher detergent" (NOT DAWN LIQUID DISH SOAP). Pour it into the sink, follow with several gallons of hot water, fill the gray tank about half full and tow the trailer several hundred miles. Dishwasher gel and powder, have aluminum oxide (acts like sand paper) along with other chemicals, that act to dissolve solid, cooked on waste. That would be much more beneficial than relying on a black tank bacteria to work where it's not intended to work.
The stuff that adheres to your gray tank sensors is much different than a black tank sensor "stuff". What's designed to work in a S&B septic tank "that never gets emptied" can't/won't do the same thing in a RV black tank (where it has food) but is emptied every 3 or 4 days and can't work in a RV gray tank where the bacteria die from lack of food.
__________________
John
2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
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02-02-2021, 10:26 AM
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#36
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Little City
Posts: 36
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I believe your conclusions are probably accurate.
Thank you for being so precise and in depth.
__________________
Ed & Chris Moore
Keystone Challenger 31RBL
Ram 3500
Little City, Ok
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03-13-2021, 07:36 PM
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#37
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Panama City
Posts: 75
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Has anyone used Cascade dishwasher pods for the black and/or grey water tanks for cleaning. I am thinking of filling 1/2 to 3/4 full and adding 2 pods per tank. Driving a hour or so and let soak over night. Thoughts and comments please.
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03-13-2021, 07:37 PM
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#38
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Newport
Posts: 215
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Preyou
Has anyone used Cascade dishwasher pods for the black and/or grey water tanks for cleaning. I am thinking of filling 1/2 to 3/4 full and adding 2 pods per tank. Driving a hour or so and let soak over night. Thoughts and comments please.
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Just get some happy campers!
__________________
2021 Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 32BHS 5th Wheel
2022 F-450SD, Lariat Ultimate, CC, 4WD, FX4, Rapid Red, Curt A16/R24 Slider
Upgraded: 2020 F-250SD, XLT Pre, CC, SWB, 4WD, FX4, HCTP, 6.7 PSD, 3.55 e-lock, Blue Jeans Metallic
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