Question
My toilet holding tank is backed up. I turned the water off. I put chemicals in it, it’s still stopped up. Is there another lever beyond the valve?
Submitted via email
Answer
I would suggest purchasing a small plumbers “snake” and see if you can go down the toilet and possibly find the drain tube? It’s a long shot but much cleaner than the other option which is to go from the outside valve and up. If you get a long enough snake, you can leave the hose connected and go up through the hose, past the valve and to the clogged area.
Typically there is not another valve other than what is at the bayonet. Another issue might be the valve is not opening, just the handle moving, especially if it’s a cable handle/valve.
Hope this helps,
David Solberg
Related:
Proper RV Toilet Maintenance
Troubleshooting An RV Toilet
Quick Tips For Better RV Toilet Operation
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Soooooo we have a Monaco Windsor and we thought we were supposed to leave valve open when connected to sewage. Newbies (can you tell) Now our tank is showing full but we don't see where it's draining into sewage system. Any recommendations on what to do?
I recently had this same issue and tried every suggestion out there, snaking it, spraying from the toilet side and many others that ended up costing me hundreds of dollars in devices and chemicals. My tank was full and unusable. I was desperate for a solution, and I purchased a small electric pump ($100.00) from Harbor Freight and pumped the tank out from the top side, not a pleasant job. At this point I went to Campers World and purchased a devise ($ 60.00) that connected to my wastewater pipe. This devise allowed me to connect to both the RV wastewater drainpipe, my city water via a hose connection and attach my waste pipe going septic tank to the device on the low side. The devise came with a built-in valve that allowed me to stop the flow of wastewater to the sewer line and create a seal to allow the city water pressure to build against the clog at the black water tank. At that point I closed both of my gray water tanks and opened the black water tank. Turned the water on and cleared the clog back away from the drainpipe at the black tank. My wife watched the toilet to make sure I did not overfill the holding tank. After filling the black water holding tank to near overflow, I turned the water supply off, opened the valve and let the tank empty. I did this several times a day over the next several days to ensure all waste that had attached itself to the holding tank was loosened and expelled. My efforts prior to this point were many and all were very unpleasant and unsuccessful. I am very pleased to say that this method was the least unpleasant and most effective. But, in my opinion your best bet is to clean regularly, use RV tissue, a good chemical to help dissolve the paper and matter and make sure you keep several gallons of clean water in your black tank after each time you empty it. I learned the hard way, but I am a newbie to RVing. Hope this helps.
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