Holding tank Cleaning

[chuck will]

Greetings from the Central coast of California. If I might, it would be
a good idea to purchase a new end cap that has a hose connection or
drill your old one out and add a hose connection. This allows you to
purge your tank with water pressure up the dump line, through the gate
and into the tank where, hopefully no accumulation has become dried out
and stuck in the tank.

Immediately after dumping the tank I add fresh water and 1/2 cup of pine
sol and re dump it on the trip or at least a few miles down the road.
Inconveinent not really it allows the dog and me to stretch a bit.
This has always kept the tank clean for me. Never, and I mean never
leave your tank with anything in it other than clean water and some pine
sol or other cleaner. Chuck

 

[richard waters]

Interesting! I wonder if I am having problems with my holding tank and
didn't realized it. As a new owner of a '76 Palm Beach with a recalculating
toilet it always seemed like the holding tank was small. I could only dump
the toilet twice (the toilet itself holds about 7 gallons when full). If I
try to dump the toilet for a third time crap will come up in the shower
drain. Not too pleasant! Could it be that I have solids that are still in
the tank, even after I dump?

Also, what does the Pine Sol do?

Thanks,
Richard Waters
'76 Palm Beach
Troy, MI

> Greetings from the Central coast of California. If I might, it would be
> a good idea to purchase a new end cap that has a hose connection or
> drill your old one out and add a hose connection. This allows you to
> purge your tank with water pressure up the dump line, through the gate
> and into the tank where, hopefully no accumulation has become dried out
> and stuck in the tank.
>
> Immediately after dumping the tank I add fresh water and 1/2 cup of pine
> sol and re dump it on the trip or at least a few miles down the road.
> Inconveinent not really it allows the dog and me to stretch a bit.
> This has always kept the tank clean for me. Never, and I mean never
> leave your tank with anything in it other than clean water and some pine
> sol or other cleaner. Chuck

 

[richard waters]

Gee didn't you know about the toilets that are available on the internet. We
really like our recalculating toilet. Saves us time on the paperwork . Guess I
wasn't paying attention to the spell checker on that one!

I never thought I had a problem until I read all the posting on "Holding tank
Cleaning". We just made sure to never dump our toilet more then twice unless
connected to a sewer. So I better consider the fact that there might be solids in
there that need to be removed.

Thanks for the info.

Richard Waters
owner of the only recalculating toilet in Michigan
- ----

>
> > As a new owner of a '76 Palm Beach with a recalculating
> > toilet it always seemed like the holding tank was small. I could only dump
> > the toilet twice (the toilet itself holds about 7 gallons when full).
>
> Richard,
> Is that a Texas Instruments Toilet or a Hewlett Packard? Gives a new
> meaning to the phrase "Garbage in, garbage out." ;-) Sorry, just couldn't
> resist!
>
> Kidding aside, if you can only get ~15 gallons into a holding tank that's
> supposed to hold around 40, something's wrong. I'm a little reluctant to use
> Pine-Sol and similar cleaners, so I'd suggest getting some enzyme-based tank
> additive, filling the tank almost full (maybe 12 gallons in your case) with
> warm water, and leaving it there for a week or so. A few rides on winding or
> stop-and-go roads might help. Then drain and use a flushing wand if possible.
> Repeat as necessary until you get your capacity back.
> In worst case, you may have to either remove the toilet or the dump pipe to
> get in there with mechanical tools, snake, or whatever to break things up.
> (Yecch!)
> I will say that these reports of partly-clogged tanks have made me pay more
> attention to how I treat mine. I will make sure there is always some liquid
> in the tank, and use enzyme additives to keep things percolating.
> Good luck.
>
> Rick Staples
> '75 Eleganza
> Louisville, CO

 

[bartz paul]

Rick:

What enzyme product do you use?

Paul Bartz

From: RickStapls [mailto:RickStapls]
Sent: Monday, February 22, 1999 11:45 AM
Subject: Re: GMC: Holding tank Cleaning

so I'd suggest getting some enzyme-based tank additive's to keep things
percolating.

 

[david l greenberg]

I made my own wand. Nothing fancy. IIRC, it is made of 1/2" schedule 40,
with a male hose fitting on one end and I cemented a cap on the other
end. Then drilled an approx 1/4" hole in the cap, perpendicular to the
pipe which is about 3' long.

I attach, thru quick disconnects, a non drinking water hose, shove the
pipe down thru the commode and let her rip. I use a shut-off at the quick
disconnect so I can control the pressure.

Probably $0.05 worth on such an important topic as this! [g]

David Lee Greenberg
GMC Motorhome Registry
200 MacFarlane Drive
Delray Beach, FL 33483-6829