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05-26-2015, 09:06 PM
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#1
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4 Rivet Member
2014 27' Flying Cloud
Stowe
, Vermont
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 338
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Black & Gray tank gauges
In our 2014, 27ft., FC, the gauges in the galley that register the amount of fluid in both the black and gray tanks goes from indicating 1/4 tank directly to almost full - rarely any amounts indicated in between the 2 extremes. Any ideas what to do? Anything that can be added to the tanks that could help?
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05-26-2015, 09:32 PM
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#2
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Rivet Master
2012 27' Flying Cloud
W
, New England
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 7,402
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I don't have my manual with me, but there is a process to calibrate the tanks (is your unit a Micropulse or a SeeLevel?). If a Micropulse, they're notoriously bad at this task and like many users, I've learned how to guess usage well enough to only use the system as a backup to my intuition :-)
I did have good luck after the factory calibrated the system for me while doing some other work last year. They can perform ok if calibrated. It's also important to be level...
Good luck!
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05-27-2015, 08:20 AM
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#3
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4 Rivet Member
2001 25' Safari
Ridgefield
, Washington
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 322
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My system has three lights (green, yellow, red) to indicate how closely the holding tanks are to being full. These monitoring systems are consistently inaccurate. The only sure way to know when my tanks are full is to look. When the gray tank is full, water will begin to rise in the bottom of the shower drain. And, I can see directly into the black tank through the drain in the toilet when it's opened. I let the tanks fill to 3/4 or so, then dump. I never let them fill completely, but I let them fill enough to thoroughly flush the tanks when they are emptied. And, I always dump the tanks before hitting the road even if it means adding water to them to ensure a thorough flush of the tank. Adding a bit of valve lubricant seems to help the monitor in the gray tank a bit, but not much. Sorry, not a better answer for you. We dry camp a lot. Our fresh tank capacity is 39 gal, our gray is 39 gal, and our black is 19 gal. Because our fresh water normally goes into both the gray and black tanks, I know that we never have enough water on board to overfill either of those tanks.
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05-27-2015, 09:44 AM
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#4
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Rivet Master
1991 34' Excella
Princeton
, New Jersey
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,070
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The system you will eventually use is sighting down through the toilet for the black tank and when you remain wet in the shower for the gray tank.
Don't try and rethink this issue because thousands before you have with no results.
Luckily it is hard to fill the black tank and when my feet remain wet in the shower I dress go outside and open the gray valve and then open the black valve for a count of 10, close the black valve, close the gray valve and go to bed planning a trip to the dump station for the morning.
Tank management is the best part of camping.
__________________
WBCCI 12156 AIR 3144 WACHUNG TAC NJ6
2004 Excursion 4x4
1991 34 ft. Excella +220,000 miles, new laminated flooring, new upholstery, new 3200 lbs axles
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05-27-2015, 10:19 AM
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#5
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4 Rivet Member
2019 23' International
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 457
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so if I turn off the pump i can step on the toilet lever and peer down into the tank (I only have 1 tank)? my gauge only seems to increment in large steps like 6-10 percent. what do I look for? The bottom of the toilet plastic? Some distance below?
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05-27-2015, 11:16 AM
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#6
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2 Rivet Member
2010 22' Sport
Boise
, Idaho
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 58
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I haven't tried this yet but I'm told that 1 Cup of Calgon Water Softener and 1 Cup Dawn Dishwashing detergent dumped into each tank will keep the sensors clean enough that the gauges will work. We are used to the gauges not working; we know that we have to dump after three nights of boondocking...
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05-27-2015, 11:30 AM
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#7
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4 Rivet Member
2019 23' International
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 457
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a cup of dishwashing detergent? Must be machine detergent? 1 cup of dishwashing liquid would fill the trailer with suds I'm guessing :-)
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05-27-2015, 12:10 PM
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#8
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Rivet Master
2013 25' Flying Cloud
Wheaton
, Illinois
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 649
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Attended a seminar at a rally focusing on black and gray tank cleaning and they had what sounded like sensible approaches.
3 Tips for RV Waste Tank Maintenance from Kleen Tank
Note, I am not endorsing their service, just their tips.
Greg
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05-27-2015, 12:13 PM
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#9
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2 Rivet Member
2005 28' International CCD
Salem
, Virginia
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 58
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"Tank management is the best part of camping" LOL i like that must be an engineer
Bruce Beard installed the sea level system, search for him on here or the facebook airstream groups. Thats my next project
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05-27-2015, 12:48 PM
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#10
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4 Rivet Member
2001 25' Safari
Ridgefield
, Washington
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 322
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leedav
so if I turn off the pump i can step on the toilet lever and peer down into the tank (I only have 1 tank)? my gauge only seems to increment in large steps like 6-10 percent. what do I look for? The bottom of the toilet plastic? Some distance below?
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Yes. If your water pump is off, you can step on the toilet flush pedal and see right down into the black water holding tank through the open toilet valve. Do this once when you know your black tank is empty to see where the bottom of the tank is. If the tank fills to anywhere near the top, it's time to empty it.
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05-27-2015, 03:45 PM
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#11
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Rivet Master
2012 23' FB International
Woodstock
, Ontario
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,423
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HowieE I am impressed by your creativeness. I've used that tactic to flush the Black Tank....and the shower drain is the definitive statement that he Grey Water Tank is full!
Now can anyone tell me where to find instructions on calibration. My tanks are MT and I know they are whistle clean so I would like to reset the levels.
JCW
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05-27-2015, 05:20 PM
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#12
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2 Rivet Member
2015 23' FB Flying Cloud
Sacramento
, California
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 54
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I am a 9 yr TT owner, but just moved up to an AS 23 FC. In learning my new digital tank sensing/cleaning, the manual refers to "auxililary" tank. Do they mean Black or do some models have actual auxiliary tanks?
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05-27-2015, 09:19 PM
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#13
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1 Rivet Member
Currently Looking...
Ojai
, California
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 7
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Buy seelevel 2 gauges. They are mounted on the outside of the tanks, BIG.
And unlike the MicroPlus monitor that came with your new rig, THESE WORK.
Expense, yes but worth it.
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05-28-2015, 05:56 AM
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#14
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4 Rivet Member
2014 27' Flying Cloud
Stowe
, Vermont
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 338
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Longboard6 - The auxiliary tank in AS is the gray water tank. When you empty the tanks on your AS look at the pull levers - one is labeled Main (that's the black tank) the other is labeled Auxiliary (that's the gray tank). Be sure to empty the black tank (Main) first.
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05-28-2015, 06:16 AM
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#15
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4 Rivet Member
houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 403
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__________________
'15 27fb Signature
'12 Chevy 2500HD Gasser
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05-28-2015, 06:19 AM
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#16
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4 Rivet Member
houston
, Texas
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 403
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Why would one not leave the grey open? If we are full hooked, and staying for a while, we leave our grey open.
If in the event we need to flush our black, we close the grey, and turn on all the faucets to fill the grey up enough to wash out the hose after the emptying the black OR we fill the black with water, empty, fill, empty, fill, empty, happy campers powder
__________________
'15 27fb Signature
'12 Chevy 2500HD Gasser
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05-28-2015, 08:40 AM
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#17
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4 Rivet Member
2001 25' Safari
Ridgefield
, Washington
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 322
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Plasma800
Why would one not leave the grey open? If we are full hooked, and staying for a while, we leave our grey open.
If in the event we need to flush our black, we close the grey, and turn on all the faucets to fill the grey up enough to wash out the hose after the emptying the black OR we fill the black with water, empty, fill, empty, fill, empty, happy campers powder
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If you have full hookups with city water, that's an ok strategy but you could end up with some crud residue on the bottom of your gray tank. It also ends up using more water. Most of our camping is dry, without hookups. So, our routine is to let the holding tanks fill before emptying them. And, as others have said, always empty the black tank first.
And, believe it or not our tanks don't develop an odor using this method (chemical additives definitely help). And, of course, our s#!+ doesn't stink.
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08-24-2016, 10:24 AM
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#18
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New Member
Currently Looking...
Currently Looking...
Bakersfield
, California
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 4
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While fishing at June Lake, CA in 2015, my wife was at the full-hookup RV park in our '99 30' limited. I had left with both pull levers closed. Sooooo! She did the morning dishes, then took a shower. All of a sudden, she noticed the shower was starting to overflow. She turned off the shower, got dressed; then grabbed a pan in the kitchen and scurried to the shower and started dipping. She then emptied the pan into the sink in the bathroom. An hour later, she was still dipping and pouring! Fortunately, the overflow was actually minimal; and our Shark vacuumed the spot well. With 105 degrees outside (Bakersfield, CA) when we got home and a call to Stanley Steemer, there was zero damage to the carpet and floor. Now, nobody pays closer attention to our tank levels than her. BTW, the tank capacity guages are worthless.
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08-29-2016, 04:32 AM
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#19
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2 Rivet Member
Goliad
, Texas
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 55
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Seelevel WORK
Quote:
Originally Posted by pknoone
Buy seelevel 2 gauges. They are mounted on the outside of the tanks, BIG.
And unlike the MicroPlus monitor that came with your new rig, THESE WORK.
Expense, yes but worth it.
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That is good to here about seelevel and that is what I am hearing all over the forum. I just ordered a set for fresh and grey (no black, composting toilet) for a rebuild of a '65 Overlander we are doing.
Makes it simple by eliminating holes for new tanks and removes another source of leaks.
__________________
The Frommes
Goliad, Texas
The Birth Place of S. Texas Ranching
WBCCI #6256
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