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Topic ClosedBlack Tank Sensor Problem
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3ofUs View Drop Down
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Joined: 12 Jul 2014
Location: TN
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Posts: 99 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Black Tank Sensor Problem
    Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 7:38am
After another week of camping, we dump the black tank and it still registers 3/4 full. There is nothing in the tank. So is this a tissue on sensor again??? I'm ready to bag bathroom tissue. We just got it cleared two weeks ago when warranty work was performed on Black Tank Flush. I've made sure plenty of water was in bowl before dropping paper in and I don't try to flush dry paper. This use to happen frequently in a motor home we owned. Any suggestions? I guess at some point it will free itself. Just curious if this is a common problem.
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Joined: 10 Jun 2009
Location: Owosso MI
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Posts: 704 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 7:43am
This is a common problem. Mine hardly ever reads right. 
.: Mark & Beth :: Silverado 5.3L :: 2018 rPod 180 :.
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CharlieM View Drop Down
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Joined: 23 Nov 2012
Location: N. Colorado
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Posts: 1797 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 8:15am
The factory installed  tank monitor using internal probes will never work. The solutions are: totally disregard the monitor or replace it with something like  the SeeLevel system using external measuring pads. They work very well. 
Charlie
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OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
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Joined: 13 Jan 2012
Location: Lyndonville, VT
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Posts: 4518 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 8:15am
Have you tried a bag or two of ice cube into the black tank then take it for a ride up and down a bumpy road, that should bounce around and brush up against the side enough to clear the problem.
Leo & Melissa Bachand
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2010 Rpod 171
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Joined: 12 Jul 2014
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Posts: 99 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 10:33am
I think my husband will use the wand he bought from Camping World and spray down in the tank and see if that releases it. Glad we came home yesterday. It's pouring rain today.
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Joined: 21 Apr 2014
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Posts: 438 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 11:56am
I wish the black and grey tanks were translucent like the fresh water tank..would be much more reliable to simply kneel down outside and glance at them now and then.
 I have owned RVs where the toilet dropped straight into the tank, was simple to just look down the hole to see how full.
2014 179
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Posts: 99 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 12:04pm
Yes, Budward, we had motor homes like that.
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Joined: 29 Jul 2009
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 1:28pm
Yup, the black tank sensors usually don't work within days or weeks.  The gray tank tends to still work, and the fresh water tank sensors.  The battery indicator is trash from the start for multiple reasons.

I rely on seeing water with my own eyes.  When the water starts backing up into the shower pan, I've waited too long to dump it (only an issue when boondocking since you can leave that tank open when you have hookups).  When I see water starting to fill the tube when I flush the toilet, I have 1-2 more flushes before it is at the max.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 60 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Aug 2014 at 11:16am
When I had my previous trailer I made a blackwater cocktail for my tank by gently (afraid they might chip or scor the toilet) dropping ice cubes down the toilet occasionally and when I was about 20 miles from a dump site.
I believe the problem is caused by toilet paper sloshing around, getting hung up on the sensors and drying in storage. By putting ice cubes in the tank, they will emoulsify (sp) the t.p. and also bump into the sensors keeping them cleaner. 
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Posts: 63 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2014 at 11:32pm
I almost always double flush the black tank, if there is a line then I do a single flush on the black tank. My sensors still work correctly for now...
2014 rPod 178
2014 Toyota Tundra 5.7
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