GMC Holding tank cleaning

B

bruce herrin

New member
Feb 22, 1999
18
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Some time ago I read a story about a waitress cleaning a coffe pot with
ice. This person partialy filled his holding tank, added several bags of
ice through his toliet. then went for a ride on a country road(or most
any road in Northwest PA), drained his tank. Said it worked for him.

If I have made any mistakes here, be kind, I'm new at this.

Bruce Herrin
'77 Palm Beach
 
Hi Bruce:

Glad you joined in. It's not hard. You "done good".

I have heard of using ice to clean a coffee pot previously, too. Never
heard what the principal was behind doing so??

Paul Bartz

From: Bruce Herrin
Sent: 2/22/99 10:46 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: GMC Holding tank cleaning

Some time ago I read a story about a waitress cleaning a coffe pot with
ice. This person partialy filled his holding tank, added several bags of
ice through his toliet. then went for a ride on a country road(or most
any road in Northwest PA), drained his tank. Said it worked for him.
 
Thanks Bruce...
I've got that pearl of yours filed away

Hi Paul...
> I have heard of using ice to clean a coffee pot previously, too. Never
> heard what the principal was behind doing so??

I have heard the same coffee pot story before also. I have even seen
it being done (almost in secret) by the owner of a little coffee shop
nearby. I asked what the principal was as well. She looked at me kind
of funny and said "Don't Know". I tried again and just asked "WHY?" She
said, "Oh... We don't have water."

I suspected it had something to do with temp affecting the viscosity of
the coffee oils... (That by the way is the dangerous part Bruce,
starting a myth) [g]

- --
Regards,
John 74 Glacier near Washington, DC.
 
On Mon, 22 Feb 1999 22:46:39 -0500 Bruce Herrin
writes:
>Some time ago I read a story about a waitress cleaning a coffe pot
>with
>ice. This person partialy filled his holding tank, added several bags
>of
>ice through his toliet. then went for a ride on a country road(or
>most
>any road in Northwest PA), drained his tank. Said it worked for him.
>
>If I have made any mistakes here, be kind, I'm new at this.
>
>Bruce Herrin
>'77 Palm Beach
>

Good suggestion, Bruce. Another thought. Throw a box of baking soda down
after the ice. The ice make sure of good contact for the baking soda. We
put this combo in our garbagr disposal from time-to-time.

Welcome, Bruce!

David Lee Greenberg
Boston Homes, Inc
1220 US Highway 1, Suite B
North Palm Beach, FL 33408
T:561-776-1414 F:561-776-1788
 
JR,
there should be no 'arm'.
The sending units are electrical, at least they are on the holding tank on
mine.

Same for fresh water, which is why a teaspoon of baking soda gets added to
the tank once in a while to help thne water to conduct. (Not necessary on
sewer tank).

Heinz

>What do these ice chunks do to a sending unit arm and seal?
>Take care........JR
>
>
 
Guess I lucked out... no sending units rattling around :-)

Just out of curiosity, JR, what years & models are your coaches?

There seem to be various little changes between factory coaches and
Transmode models and as I still don't know who finished mine I'm always on
the lookout for variations from original as a pre-emptive thought on future
replacements.

Heinz
'76 Transmode

- ----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 1999 10:24 AM
Subject: Re: GMC: GMC Holding tank cleaning

>Heinz, I have the original style sending units in both coaches. These
senders
>have a float attached by an arm to a rod. This portion is inside the tanks
and
>would be susceptible to damage by ice chunks. There is also a flexible boot
>type seal that prevents the liquids from leaking into the pot. which is
>mounted outside the tank, that may be damaged. These components may be
>sturdier than I think but it also may depend on the size of the iceberg and
>the rate at which it is traveling.
>Just a thought, Take care..............JR
>
>
 
I think that your senders are 'non-factory' as my Transmode had factory
Water and Waste tanks with the Arm type senders. I am going to the
electronic type you have with my new Ardemco tanks.

>Guess I lucked out... no sending units rattling around :-)
>
>Just out of curiosity, JR, what years & models are your coaches?
>
>There seem to be various little changes between factory coaches and
>Transmode models and as I still don't know who finished mine I'm always on
>the lookout for variations from original as a pre-emptive thought on future
>replacements.
>
>Heinz
>'76 Transmode
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From:
>To:
>Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 1999 10:24 AM
>Subject: Re: GMC: GMC Holding tank cleaning
>
>
>>Heinz, I have the original style sending units in both coaches. These
>senders
>>have a float attached by an arm to a rod. This portion is inside the tanks
>and
>>would be susceptible to damage by ice chunks. There is also a flexible boot
>>type seal that prevents the liquids from leaking into the pot. which is
>>mounted outside the tank, that may be damaged. These components may be
>>sturdier than I think but it also may depend on the size of the iceberg and
>>the rate at which it is traveling.
>>Just a thought, Take care..............JR
>>
>>
>
 
Not so with either of mine. there is an arm that controls a potentiometer
in both the water tank and balckwater tank..

>JR,
>there should be no 'arm'.
>The sending units are electrical, at least they are on the holding tank on
>mine.
>
>Same for fresh water, which is why a teaspoon of baking soda gets added to
>the tank once in a while to help thne water to conduct. (Not necessary on
>sewer tank).
>
>Heinz
>
>
>>What do these ice chunks do to a sending unit arm and seal?
>>Take care........JR
>>
>>
>
>
>
Tom & Marg Warner
Vernon Center NY
1976 palmbeach
 
All you guys talk about sticking stuff down the toilet. The toilet in our '76 Palm
Beach is the recirculating type. As far as I know you can't see down into the
holding tank or stick anything down there with that type of commode. What do you
do in that case to clean out the tank?

Richard Waters, '76 Palm Beach, Troy, MI
- -------------

> In a message dated 2/23/99 6:41:26 PM Eastern Standard Time,

>
> > I would hope they will make my arm move again cause my sending unit feature
> > is inop. BTW, if I make my own cleaning wand as previously posted, and am
> > facing aft whilst looking at the head, may I assume that the sending unit
> > "arm" is dead ahead in the tank? (In other words, is the sending unit at
> the
> > back of the tank?).
>
> Hello Larry!
>
> >From the center line of the 3" slide valve outlet, my sending unit is 6" +/-
> and to the toilet inlet it is 19"+/- The diagonal from the center line of the
> sending unit to the center of the toilet inlet is 16"+/-. These dimensions
> are toward the passenger side. In other words I would assume a wand installed
> through the toilet is going to be at least 12" away from the sending unit
> float. My coach is a 75 Palm Beach side wet bath. By the way there are
> holding tank wands you can purchase, some even have a sprayers that spin.
> Adohen Scott
> Nehoda (Odds and Ends site)
 
You never heard of a recirculating toilet? It's essentially a bucket that holds
up to 7 gals of sewage. It gets it name from the fact that you run a pump to sent
the stuff through a screen. You prime it with the holding tank deodorant. It was
offered as an option and is supposed to help with water conservation. You're
supposed to be able to go farther between dumps. I don't really like it much, but
it came with the coach.

Richard Waters

> In a message dated 2/23/99 9:47:02 PM Eastern Standard Time,

>
> > All you guys talk about sticking stuff down the toilet. The toilet in our
> '76
> > Palm
> > Beach is the recirculating type. As far as I know you can't see down into
> > the
> > holding tank or stick anything down there with that type of commode. What
> > do you
> > do in that case to clean out the tank?
> >
> > Richard Waters, '76 Palm Beach, Troy, MI
>
> Hi Richard!
>
> Good question, I have never seen a recirculating toilet.
>
> Adohen Scott
> Nehoda (Odds and Ends site)
 
Lanier...

> YEAH, and I bought a new one from Cinnabar @ $100 +/- and it don't work
> either. Another $ mistake. Lanier

Does it work, just hooked up and holding it in your hand, bypassing the
wiring from the tank to the monitor panel?

- --
Regards,
John 74 Glacier near Washington, DC.
 
Yes it is basically an electric "Slop Jar". That is why I don't really
like it. But it was an option for the GMC at some point in time.

Our 1976 owner's manual states "The optional recirculating toilet
operates by recirculating a chemical solution. The advantage is that you
are conserving water when flushing and also by not adding volume to your
holding tank. The toilet operates on 12-volt DC."

Are we the only ones that have a recirculating toilet?

Richard Waters
1976 Palm Beach
Troy, MI

- ------

> In a message dated 2/23/99 10:32:32 PM Central Standard Time,

>
>
 
When we're ready to dump we just pull out a dump handle (kind of like what you do
when you dump the holding tank) at the base of the toilet. You know when you're
ready to dump when you can see stuff in the toilet or there is a sight tube on the
front. They call it a prism indicator and it shows the level of the crap.

It's not as bad as it sounds. Never the less we are going to get rid of it after
I get an aux vacuum system, figure out what kind of oil filters and oil to buy,
whether I can make my own ice cubes for cleaning the holding tank, where to get
an ARB Locking Differential.....etc. etc. etc. :)

Richard Waters

> In a message dated 2/23/99 11:32:43 PM Eastern Standard Time,

>
> > You never heard of a recirculating toilet?
> Hi Richard!
>
> I heard of them, just never have seen one. I looked in a RV catalogue after I
> sent the e-mail to see what one looked like. How does the thing then dump
> into the holding tank?
>
> Adohen Scott
> Nehoda (Odds and Ends site)
 
Richard Waters, '76 Palm Beach, Troy, MI asks how do you clean it with a
recirculating toilet?

First you need to remove the recirculating toilet. It not hard, disconnect
the water and electrical sources, remove the two side skirts and loosen the
toilet hold-down bolts. It lifts right out. Next, separate the seat from the
toilet holding bowl.

Go to K-mart or Target and get a 20 gal Rubbermaid or similar plastic tub,
laundry basket, etc., something large enough to soak the recirculating
toilet. Next, pour in a strong solution of the Green bio-degradable holding
tank solution into the tub and fill it with water. Sink the holding bowl
into the tub and let it soak for a couple of days.

You'll be amazed as to the crud 20 years will provide. Mine was so bad it
needed a double soaking. Get a good toilet brush and green scrub pad and
clean it. You can order new gaskets from Camper World.

As for the holding tank itself. once you remove the recirculating toilet,
you can soak the tank using a strong solution as discussed above. There are
also a number of high pressure sprayers which you can rent from Home Depot,
or local equipment rental store. (Mine was cracked and I replaced it with a
new tank from ARDEMCO.)

Hope this helps.

Mike & Dolores' 77 Palm Beach
 
Mike & Dolores:

This job sure sounds like fun! My wife hates the idea of using someone else's
23 year old toilet. It doesn't bother me as much, but then I do most of my
business with it standing up.

This might get her to go on more trips with me. We should have done this last
Summer when we bought the coach.

Thanks for the info:

Richard Waters
- ----

> Richard Waters, '76 Palm Beach, Troy, MI asks how do you clean it with a
> recirculating toilet?
>
> First you need to remove the recirculating toilet. It not hard, disconnect
> the water and electrical sources, remove the two side skirts and loosen the
> toilet hold-down bolts.
>
> As for the holding tank itself. once you remove the recirculating toilet,
> you can soak the tank using a strong solution as discussed above. There are
> also a number of high pressure sprayers which you can rent from Home Depot,
> or local equipment rental store. (Mine was cracked and I replaced it with a
> new tank from ARDEMCO.)
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Mike & Dolores' 77 Palm Beach
 
I had no idea what I would be in for when I bought the beast. But I
don't feel alone anymore! This GMC net is the best thing I've come
across in a long time.

Richard Waters
76 Palm Beach
..

> Snip... it after
> >I get an aux vacuum system, figure out what kind of oil filters and
> >oil to buy,
> >whether I can make my own ice cubes for cleaning the holding tank,
> >where to get
> >an ARB Locking Differential.....etc. etc. etc. :)
> >
> >Richard Waters
> >Wecome to the club, Richard.
>
> Don't forget Alcoa wheels (when they are available again), 366 final
> drive gears, and the A 10 monitoring system, etc, etc, etc!
>
> David Lee Greenberg
> Boston Homes, Inc
> 1220 US Highway 1, Suite B
> North Palm Beach, FL 33408
> T:561-776-1414 F:561-776-1788
 
Snip... it after
>I get an aux vacuum system, figure out what kind of oil filters and
>oil to buy,
>whether I can make my own ice cubes for cleaning the holding tank,
>where to get
>an ARB Locking Differential.....etc. etc. etc. :)
>
>Richard Waters
>Wecome to the club, Richard.

Don't forget Alcoa wheels (when they are available again), 366 final
drive gears, and the A 10 monitoring system, etc, etc, etc!

David Lee Greenberg
Boston Homes, Inc
1220 US Highway 1, Suite B
North Palm Beach, FL 33408
T:561-776-1414 F:561-776-1788
 
Can't resist, which do you drive the other 4 days of the week :-)

Sorry about that [g].

Heinz

Seriously though... I'm going to have to make some "Black List" coffee stops
on my next jaunt and do some comparisons and soak up new project ideas ( as
if I need them :-)

- -----------------

>
>
>Heinz, I have a 73 Sequoia and two 76 Eleganzas.
>Take care, travel safely..........JR
>
>
 
From: Jrslaten [mailto:Jrslaten]
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 1999 3:43 PM
Subject: Re: GMC: GMC Holding tank cleaning

next year after I join the ranks of the non-working.

You mean it takes you a year of practice to retire?????

Everyone needs two or three to give our lovely wives something to talk
about.

Don't you mean "to look after your own best interests"???

Paul Bartz
 
I am seriously thinking about adding one to mine.

>Yes it is basically an electric "Slop Jar". That is why I don't really
>like it. But it was an option for the GMC at some point in time.
>
>Our 1976 owner's manual states "The optional recirculating toilet
>operates by recirculating a chemical solution. The advantage is that you
>are conserving water when flushing and also by not adding volume to your
>holding tank. The toilet operates on 12-volt DC."
>
>Are we the only ones that have a recirculating toilet?
>
>Richard Waters
>1976 Palm Beach
>Troy, MI
>
>------
>

>
>> In a message dated 2/23/99 10:32:32 PM Central Standard Time,

>>
>>
 
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