2018 Airstream Interstate Toilet clog

[carpenc]

My toilet is clogged and I have tried everything: hot water, soap, over the counter de clogging. Any suggestions? I am visiting my mom and staying in an RV park in Orlando Florida area and none of the RV plumbers will touch the problem because the Interstate as a macerator! Help!

[Protagonist]

Points of clarification, if I may ask…

Is it actually the toilet that's clogged, or the blackwater tank?

If it's the toilet that's clogged, is the blackwater tank full? If the tank is full, there's nowhere for the water in the toilet to go.

If the toilet is clogged but the blackwater tank is not full, does the toilet dump valve work when you press on the the foot pedal? If the valve doesn't work, then that needs to be fixed first, and you'll want to take it to a repair shop.

If the blackwater tank is full, does the blackwater tank's dump valve work when you press the switch and hold it? You have to hold the switch until the motor that works the valve opens it all the way. You should be able to hear the motor turning as it pulls the wire that opens the dump valve. Only opening the valve partway can prevent solids from exiting the black tank.

If the dump valve doesn't work (you don't hear the motor turning when you press the switch), most likely you've blown a fuse.

If the dump valve works, does the macerator pump work when you flip its switch?

If the macerator pump doesn't work, one possibility is that you've blown a fuse.

The other possibility is that someone flushed something that the macerator pump can't chew up and spit out, and the pump is jammed. If you crawl underneath the van and find the macerator pump, you'll see what looks like a large screw head in one end. That is actually the pump's shaft. Using a large screwdriver, you should be able to turn that shaft back and forth to free up whatever is jamming the pump.

If replacing fuses and/or manually cranking the macerator pump using a screwdriver on the shaft don't work to clear the clog, also check the discharge hose. Unreel it all the way and open the valve on the end of the hose, and examine the hose for clogs. If the hose is clogged (or the valve is closed), then there's nowhere for the pump to pump to.

If everything up to this point seems to be working but nothing is coming out, then you're faced with the nasty, smelly, and wet job of unbolting the macerator pump, disconnecting it from the discharge lines, and taking it apart. Let an RV repair shop fix it. Preferably an Airstream dealer since your 2018 Interstate is still under warranty, but any RV repair shop should be able to fix it. Macerator pumps are really nothing special. They're just ordinary impeller pumps with a grinder built in to break up solids.

But try everything else I listed before you take it to the shop. It's important to learn how things work on a motorhome, and to be able to fix at least minor problems on your own. Every problem is a learning experience, and when it's all over you'll have a funny story to tell around the campfire somewhere down the road.

As for the "RV plumbers" who refuse to work on a macerator pump, whoever they are, I wouldn't trust them. I personally don't know of any RV repair shop that specializes in just RV plumbing; and anyone who specializes in RV plumbing who won't handle macerator pumps is not an RV plumbing specialist I would trust.

[carpenc]

Thanks for all of the info. The dump valve and macerator appear to be working. I hooked everything up and material came through the hose when I opened the black tank and the grey tank. I was hoping that would do it but it didn’t. I still have a bunch of gross water in the toilet. I turned the water off and have kept the toilet pedal down for 4 hours and the water level has not gone down. Nothing foreign would be in the toilet since I am the only user. At a total loss here. The black and grey tank sensors haven’t worked for weeks but I faithfully empty after 4 or 5 days camping. I bought a flexible snake and was going to try that thru the toilet bowl in the am. BTW the plumbers said they wouldn’t do the job because the macerator is in the way . I guess they snake from the tank up. Finally, the one thing that was odd: when I pressed the button to open the black tank the button light didn’t come on but like I said, material did come out. In addition to trying the flexible snake thru the toilet bowl I was going to try flushing the black tank. Any other suggestions?

[Protagonist]

My guess is that you blew a fuse on the black tank dump valve, since the LED light on the switch doesn't light to tell you the valve is open. Which means that the valve isn't actually opening. Did you HEAR the motor moving the valve when you pressed the switch? You didn't say. Check the fuse before you do ANYTHING else, and then retry the black tank dump valve switch.

If you hear the motor turning but the switch never lights up to tell you the valve is open, then there might be a disconnect between the motor and the valve, so that the motor runs but the valve doesn't open.

SOME liquid will come out even if the valve doesn't open, IF there was liquid trapped in the flexible hose in between the black tank and the macerator pump. Crawl underneath and look at the arrangement. You'll see that there is enough hose to hold over a gallon of water in between the tank and the pump, liquid that COULD come through the pump even if the valve remains closed.

DO NOT use a snake to try to clear a clog in your dump system! It's not at all like your home waste plumbing. You could damage the seal on the black tank valve or even punch a hole right through the flexible hose in between the black tank and the macerator pump. That's even assuming that you can manage to steer the hose through a 17-gallon waste tank to actually get it to go through the dump valve and to the macerator pump. Imagine trying to use a plumber's snake to clear a home septic tank instead of a pipe; using a snake to clear your Interstate's waste system pretty much the same thing on a smaller scale, and just as likely to be completely ineffective.

The flexible hose feeding the macerator pump is a 3" slinky (plastic hose with a spiral wire embedded in it to keep its shape). It can be disconnected from the pump if necessary (there's just a clamp and/or a glob of sealant holding it in place). There is a "Y" fitting in the line so that hoses from the black and gray tanks can both feed the macerator pump. The other ends can be disconnected from the black tank and gray tank and the whole hose removed and replaced if necessary. With the black tank dump hose removed (or at least disconnected at either end) between the tank and the pump you will be able to see with your own eyes if the black tank dump valve and gray tank dump valve are working and if the hose is clogged. But if the valves ARE working, you're in for a whole cascade of dirty water all over when the valve opens, so hook up your external shower first and be ready to hose yourself down.

Since the flexible hoses between the tanks and the pump are removable, there is no need to use a plumber's snake to clear them. Pop off one end (or both ends), and look to see if it's clear. It probably is.

[InterBlog]

2018 Interstate... under warranty. When did it ship to the OP? It can't be that old. I would be inclined to have an authorized Airstream servicer look at it, just in case it was something Airstream did during the build (such as accidentally leaving an obstruction in the black tank) that took a while to manifest and cause problems. That's assuming that it's not a fuse issue.

[Lily&Me]

Ditto...if replacing the fuse doesn’t work, get thee to a dealership, have them diagnose and rectify and help you understand how to avoid in the future.

Maggie

[Mollysdad]

There's a large Airstream dealer in Orlando.
NE of downtown on Fairbanks. E of I-4.

860 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

rvone.com

[John Millner]

Note sure if this helps but occasionally when I pushed the switch to open the black water valve it didn’t open all the way. My RV dealer told me that sometimes you need to keep the Interatate’s engine running to make sure it has enough battery power to operate. Low and behold the switch worked. If that doesn’t work then you can get under the vehicle and turn the switch manually.
Good luck!

[carpenc]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

There's a large Airstream dealer in Orlando.
NE of downtown on Fairbanks. E of I-4.

Thanks @Mollysdad ! i am here now! Couldn’t risk hurting anything.

[darsea]

i have seen signs on marine macerator toilets

If you can't eat it you can't flush it

[carpenc]

Thanks everyone for the help. In hopes of helping someone else down the road here’s the gory story of what happened. Because This is my first RV I was flushing with short spurts. That meant that tissue etc was getting stuck under the disk that opens for flushing. Things got hard and that is why the disk wasn’t moving enough to flush anymore. Gross but true. I am just thankful it wasn’t equipment related! Live and learn.