BillHoughton
West of the Mississippi
Full Member
Joined: 03/25/2015
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
I bought one of those tank cleaning wands - Valterra brand in this case - for spraying cr*p off the side of the waste water tanks and, in particular, off the sensors, which are reporting creative water levels. The package recommends using it when the tank's just been emptied, but definitely when it's empty. I wondering: how much water do they typically discharge for a tank cleaning? I realize the answer is, "depends on how long you use it," but I'm wondering if there's a typical/average sort of amount. I'd rather not have to go dump the tank again (at $20 each time) just for cleaning the tank.
|
corvettekent
Marysville, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 09/21/2014
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
3 to 5 gallons per minute of use is what you would get out of your water hose but with a spray nozzle on the end it might be half of that. I would think that you could drain the tank into a 5-gallon bucket when you are done cleaning the tank, then dump the bucket into the toilet in your house.
2022 Silverado 3500 High Country CC/LB, SRW, L5P. B&W Companion Hitch with pucks. Hadley air horns.
2004 32' Carriage 5th wheel. 860 watts of solar MPPT, two SOK 206 ah LiFePO4 batteries. Samlex 2,000 watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter.
|
wildtoad
Blythewood, SC
Senior Member
Joined: 06/05/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Or wait to use it when you next stay at a full hook up site.
Tom Wilds
Blythewood, SC
2016 Newmar Baystar Sport 3004
2015 Jeep Wrangler 2dr HT
|
Lwiddis
Southern California :(
Senior Member
Joined: 08/12/2016
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
What’s the reason for wanting squeaky clean waste tanks? And those sensors aren’t that accurate clean, dirty or in between.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
|
TxGearhead
Texas
Senior Member
Joined: 04/17/2016
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
After you use it stick your finger down the toilet and measure how far up your finger the water is. Then ask another neighbor if you can rinse their tank. Then ask a neighbor if you can clean their tank and do the same thing. Average the 3 readings. Then lick your finger dry and go back to your camper and have a very strong drink.
2018 Ram 3500 CC LB DRW 4X4 Cummins Aisin Laramie Pearl White
2018 Landmark Oshkosh
2008 Bigfoot 25C9.4
2014 NauticStar 21 ShallowBay 150HP Yamaha
2016 GoDevil 18X44 35HP Surface Drive
|
|
|
Ed_Gee
Central Oregon coast
Senior Member
Joined: 01/14/2015
View Profile
Offline
|
Just stick the wand into a 5 gallon bucket and time how long it takes to fill to 2 gallons or maybe 3 gallons. Then do not exceed that time when cleaning the tank. It is a good idea to always leave a couple gallons in the black tank after draining ... if for no other reason it keeps the slide valve gasket lubricated.
Ed - on the Central Oregon coast
2018 Winnebago Fuse 23A
Scion xA toad
|
stallsmi
Northern Alabama
Full Member
Joined: 08/30/2012
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
TxGearhead wrote:After you use it stick your finger down the toilet and measure how far up your finger the water is. Then ask another neighbor if you can rinse their tank. Then ask a neighbor if you can clean their tank and do the same thing. Average the 3 readings. Then lick your finger dry and go back to your camper and have a very strong drink.
This type of response isn't helpful and causes people to leave this forum. Snarky at best.
|
valhalla360
No paticular place.
Senior Member
Joined: 08/19/2009
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
wildtoad wrote:Or wait to use it when you next stay at a full hook up site.
Or if the dump station isn't busy (don't hold up the line), use it at the dump station and immediately drain it.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV
|
Sandia Man
Rio Rancho, NM
Senior Member
Joined: 08/09/2008
View Profile
|
We have always used tank wand after dumping on past RVs we have owned, although it would be once every fourth or fifth trip out. We did it mostly to keep tank sensors working properly and to prevent residual debris from hardening on side walls, we found dumping and refilling tank a couple of times still left lots of waste behind.
Since it only took a couple of minutes to use wand on those occasions (at home or full hookup sites) maybe 5 gallons or so of water usually does the trick. Last couple of RVs we have owned had built in flush kits on black tank, they do work to a degree but using a tank wand will net the best results if tank really needs a deep rinsing.
|
SJ-Chris
San Jose, Ca
Senior Member
Joined: 09/24/2017
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
If you start with an empty black tank, and then used the tank wand for a couple minutes, it should only leave a couple gallons behind. Not a big deal and you can probably live with it for the start of your next trip. As mentioned, you can time how long you use it on your tank, then take it outside with a 5 gallon bucket and run it in a 5 gallon bucket for the same amount of time and you will have your answer.
I used to have to use the tank wand to keep my sensors accurate (...I get annoyed when the tank is empty and it reads 1/3 or 2/3 full). I also sometime let family/friends use my RVs and I don't want them to wonder about the tank status (...or I don't want to wonder when they return the RV). I always hated getting out the tank wand plus hose, feeding it through a window and through the bedroom and to the bathroom (and then back out after it was used in the toilet/black tank). Messy and inconvenient. I solved this problem and made tank cleaning 10x easier and faster....I added a Tornado Tank Flush. Total cost was less than $50. Here is a link to the DIY project I did. Now when I dump I just spend 2 minutes at the dumping station using the flush with the black valve open and I can see tons more waste get cleared out after it was emptied once. It also keeps my sensors clean.
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30315748.cfm
Hope that helps!
Chris
San Jose, CA
Own two 2015 Thor Majestic 28a Class C RVs
|
|
|
