Black tank flush connected to fresh water system?!!

[Wconley]

There are a lot of smart people here with more experience than I have so I’m hoping someone has an answer or suggestion.

We have a 2018 28RBQ International Serenity and have used our trailer on two outings. On the last one I confirmed that my black tank flush system was not working properly with no sound of water going into the tank and no additional water flushing out of the black drain. Tonight I wanted to take some proactive steps to see if I could get the system operating. I first again connected city water to the black tank flush inlet with no result. Then I applied pressurized air to the black tank flush connection hoping to break any clog loose but I still got no sound of air movement.

I then wanted to try to manually flush the tank with a rotating wand while using the pressurized air to hopefully blow out any clog, if that was the problem. An odd thing happened: When I opened the toilet flush pedal water began to flush even though we were not hooked up to city water nor was the pump on. I turned on the bath faucet and got a mixture of water and air. I then opened the kitchen faucet with the same result.

I removed the air pressure and had no water flow from toilet or faucets. I then hooked up city water to the black tank flush and once again got water pressure and flow from the toilet and both sinks. I am left with the conclusion that the black tank flush inlet is connected into the fresh water system and not to the black tank flush nozzles.

I have a previously scheduled appointment with my dealer to diagnose the black tank flush but the earliest they can get me in is the end of November. Along with the inconvenience that I cannot use the black tank flush, I am concerned about the real health considerations of cross contamination between the fresh water system and the black water system. My immediate concern is that my last attempt to flush the black tank was at a dump station from the non-potable water hose provided. I did not run faucets at that time but any contaminated water could migrate into the fresh water system so I believe this to be a serious safety concern that needs to be addressed quickly.

Any ideas what could be going on? Thanks!

[SteveSueMac]

Was your pump on? If not, that wasn’t coming from the FW tank.

There’s some water left in your pipes after you disconnect from city so that could explain how you got some flow when opening valves.

Are you sure you connected the water to the flush and not the city connection?

In my 2012, the only way I can get water in the fresh tank is the fresh tank opening. Unless the 2018 has some feature where you can add to FW from city connection, I don’t think it’s possible to get water to the FW tank otherwise.

[Wayne&Sam]

Are you certain you connected to the flush and not city water on the trailer? The labeling of the two and their proximity to each other doesn't make it intuitive. Even after years of 'streaming, I occasionally find myself confusing the two. But maybe that's just me.

[Wconley]

Well yes, I am an idiot! No excuse. Both our previous trailers had the city water and flush water inlets next to one another. This trailer has the flush inlet farther forward and actually farther away from the black tank. Last night I was so focused on the proximity to the black tank that I hooked my air hose and water hose to the city water inlet. Thankfully I’m home in the driveway so it’s fresh water.

[Bob Peahl]

Congratulations! You are now officially known as a experienced Airstreamer.

Few are brave enough to publish the full scale of their “experiences”. My hat is off to you.

[vintagemotor]

Originally Posted by Wconley

Well yes, I am an idiot! No excuse. Both our previous trailers had the city water and flush water inlets next to one another. This trailer has the flush inlet farther forward and actually farther away from the black tank. Last night I was so focused on the proximity to the black tank that I hooked my air hose and water hose to the city water inlet. Thankfully I’m home in the driveway so it’s fresh water.

You are awesome for informing us of the issue you were having, now you know for sure how it works, no you are NOT an idiot, you are human. Just better at communicating it than most of us on the planet!
I know of several people who did the opposite of what you did, and hooked up city water to the black tank flush thinking it was the correct inlet, and after 4 days of boondocking with a full black tank, you guessed it-poop waterfall out of the bathroom sink eeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuwwwwwww!
Happy Airstreaming!

[TBRich]

You're not an idiot. Nor are not the first of us who has done this ... and, alas, you will not be the last. So don't beat yourself up too much. And kudos for sharing it at your own expense.

[SteveSueMac]

Agreed - the idiot meter is on zero as far as I can see.

I’m in the training field. One of the things I LOVE to see is for someone to learn something by doing the wrong thing - in a low risk situation. No harm no foul for you and you definitely learned something from it. Huge win. It would have been a loss if you kept it to yourself, went to the dealer to sanitize your whole system, lost sleep for weeks worrying whether you were going to be sick, etc.

I’m sure there’s a thread or two in here on big mistakes....read those. Good for learning on someone else’s tuition - a valuable service you’ve provided others who will come across this thread later.

Happy camping!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Ok, back to the original problem - when you hook up to the black water flush, does that work?

Bob

[Wconley]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Ok, back to the original problem - when you hook up to the black water flush, does that work?

Bob

Can’t find the sheepish grin emoticon.... yes, it works! Imagine that? 🐑🐑🐑

Usually im a pretty smart and resourceful guy (for an idiot that is) so it’s a little embarrassing but I did get so focused on the symptom that I lost the big picture. Always good to go back to basics - Did you turn it on?, Is it plugged in?, Is it supposed to do what you want it to do?, Is the danged hose connected to the right inlet?, etc.

Time to wash and wax it. Wish me luck!

[brick1]

I also have a 2018 Serenity 28. My black flush works great ��
BTW, if you have not already figured it out, the bathroom sink drains to the black tank.
Kitchen sink and shower go to grey.
brick

[Tomfeury]

Don't feel bad. I thought I was connected to city water, but mistakenly was connected to the black water flush tank. Duh - the black water tank filled, and the water was forced up the vents until I saw water dripping from the curb side wall above the twin bed in the front of the 27FB.
Duh
It is great to have a forum like this to help commiserate our trouble with!

[kpm]

Originally Posted by Wconley

Well yes, I am an idiot! No excuse. Both our previous trailers had the city water and flush water inlets next to one another. This trailer has the flush inlet farther forward and actually farther away from the black tank. Last night I was so focused on the proximity to the black tank that I hooked my air hose and water hose to the city water inlet. Thankfully I’m home in the driveway so it’s fresh water.

Not at all an idiot. I fault the Airstream labels on those inlets at least in part. On my trailer, the black flush inlet is labeled “Water Inlet Only”! This could be a whole lot clearer, say “Black Flush Inlet”? (To be fair, the shore water is in fact labeled “City Water Inlet” )

[Boogieshoes]

To quote a President, "I feel your pain." When I discovered the mistake, it was by deploying the main awning...just in time for a big stream of brown water to run out of the vent and across the awning. Was one of four rather important fails that day and was only the second worst. Yup, there was a MUCH worse fail. There is simply nothing that can replace experience. Pretty much the same as with raising children; all parents at some point wonder whether their child (especially male ones) will survive into adulthood.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

So now what to do?

I've pondered this each time I've gotten the hoses hooked up wrong. Each time I've vowed to do some sort of labeling that "fixes" the problem. I have yet to come up with a good answer.

The only alternatives I've come up with involve stickers on the side of the trailer and above the hatch that covers all the water stuff. Having labels down at ankle level .... not really an answer.

The fact that (at least on my trailer) both connection points are labeled "water inlet" really doesn't help things much at all. Just had wife out looking at the hookups. Even with coaching she got it backwards ....

So how to fix the root cause? Smiley face sticker over one of them?

(Same basic issue with black and gray tank handles ....)

Bob

[SteveSueMac]

I bought - from someone in the forum and can’t remember who now - an aluminum milled plug that says BLACK TANK on it. Can’t mistake it. If I have a pic I’ll post it. [emoji3]

[rmkrum]

Was user "Mike S." --the period is part of his username.

I do not know if he is still around and/or making the plugs...try a PM.

[CycoMike]

Originally Posted by Wconley

...I hooked my...water hose to the city water inlet.

First time hooking up on my own, I did this in reverse (hooked up city water to flush instead of city water inlet). After a few minutes trying to figure out why I had no water, I realized that the water was hooked up to the “black” inlet rather than the “grey” inlet.

Easy to do, but I bet we won’t do it again!

[guskmg]

Wconely, FWIW, I have been RVing for 48 years in aluminum trailers, long before RV was an "in acronym." I have made all the mistakes you can make three times and I'm still repeating them. It's part of the course of learning, even if inconvenient at times, inattention is the biggest culpret followed by hurry and pure ignorance. Don't fret it's part of the overhead cost of enjoyment. Keep on 'streaming you are not alone. That's why we are here to help and encourage.
guskmg

[SSquared]

To not mix up the water inlets:

You can buy garden hose quick connect adapters at camping world, and probably hardware stores. Buy one pair. Permanently install on your black inlet and back water rinse hose. Then you physically cannot connect then wrong.