First Trip & Grey Water Issue

[bike_addict]

Had a great first trip this weekend at Double Lake Rec Area in Coldspring, TX. We had a blast and the AS did not disappoint. We thoroughly enjoyed having the trailer and it solidified our choice to go with an Airstream. And I do have to admit that I garnered some enjoyment from watching everyone’s heads turn as we drove through the park to our spot.

This was an organizational trip for us. Since we keep it in storage and not at the house we hadn’t had the chance to get everything organized prior so most everything was just in bags or boxes in the trailer before we got there. But I think we got most of it taken care of and put away now.

And got lucky and met a fellow airforums member. EXTIGER had his 30’ Classic setup a few spots down. We had a great time meeting him and his wife and got to tour his trailer. I really liked the wood in there. He also came to my rescue with an o-ring seal to get my fresh water to stop leaking. I had given up and was turning it off when we didn’t need it. Also got some good tips and tricks. EXTIGER thanks again for you help.

I did run into an issue with my grey tank on Saturday evening. I have a call in to the dealer to see what they say. But I figured I’d see if anyone has any ideas. I was checking my status lights throughout the trip to try and get a grip on our usage and how long a tank will hold us over. When I checked it Saturday afternoon we were still below ¼ tank on the grey tank. After washing dinner dishes Kerry happened to look in the shower and noticed a lot of standing water. I checked the status light and it was all of a sudden showing red for the grey tank. There was no way we put that much water in it in a matter of a couple hours. So as I paced and wondered what to do we noticed that the water level was slowly dropping. So we waited. The shower slowly drained and as it did the status light changed slowly from red to orange to yellow and back to green. And once again we had about a ¼ tank full in the grey tank. So we showered and no water backed up so we went to bed.

Next day after doing dishes and brushing teeth and everything we noticed that the shower had water in it again and again the status light was red. And the water was draining extremely slowly and the status light very slowly changed to orange. There was still water in it when we were hitched up and ready to go so we drove over to an open site with septic and I hooked up and dumped. After sanitizing the system and flushing multiple full tanks last week I have an idea of how long it takes to flush a full grey tank and this wasn’t nearly a full tank. Maybe ½. The dump did clear out my shower and reset my status light.And it flowed fast, it wasn't trickling like the water was still slowly draining into the tank. It flushed.


And sidenote when I was sanitizing the system I had no problems. I would fill my fresh tank full and run all the faucets until it emptied into my grey tank and no back ups.

So any ideas? Backing up in the shower to me makes me think a clog in the line before the tank but why would the status lights play along? If the clog was before the tank then the tank wouldn’t know any difference would it? It would still show green.

[InsideOut]

I would check your vent. If it is blocked with leaves or debris or for some other reason not able to release the air in your tank, it can cause the tank to fill too slow and water to back up in the lines and into your shower (low point). Sometimes the vent line can be too low in the tank for the air to escape also.

Shari

[dznf0g]

It does sound like a vent issue, but since yours is brand new, I'd doubt leaves and stuff plugging the vent. I have heard of the vent pipe slipping down into the tank to the point of the bottom of the vent pipe being below the water level. This causes slow draining that you are experiencing. Look up top and see if you can see the top end of the vent pipe under the vent cap on the roof.

It may not have been glued properly or maybe just cut too long. But you say you had no issue while sanitizing??????

[bike_addict]

No problem sanitizing. I filled and emptied the fresh water tank to the grey four times and noticed no problems.

[dznf0g]

I suppose it is possible there could've been some production waste material left in the tank which could've gotten lodged into the vent pipe. Or like Shari says, something is blocking the top of the vent. Go up top and look. Take off the vent cover and use a pole and see if the pipe is clear all the waw down to the tank floor.

[Silver Goose]

This is a good one and a perfect reason to have the dealer earn his warranty dollars. I also sense two things going on that don't appear related at the moment. Whenever you find out what was going on, please let us know.

The 1st problem you describe sounds like a restriction in the drain line between the sink and shower before it enters the tank. As InsideOut suggested this could be the vent pipe was cut too long and extends into the tank, or it could be something partially blocking the drain pipe. Since the shower pan is the low point before the tank, the water backs up there first then gradually lowers as it overcomes the restriction.

The gauge has me stumped and your symptom defies how I thought it worked. I assume you have the MicroPulse monitor... There is a single pressure sensor for each tank. For the GW and BW tanks it is mounted either very low on the side of the tank or in the pipe leading to the dump valve. It is calibrated to the installation so as to know the static pressure on the sensor when the tank is empty and again when full. The display represents the various pressures on the sensor between E and F. A backup in the drain line entering the tank should not effect the pressure of the water in the tank.

A light just came on! I think InsideOut nailed it... If the vent pipe going to the roof either extends far enough down into the tank so that it is submerged or is significantly blocked (mud daubers), the tank would assume the pressure of the water level in the shower pan until the air bleeds out of the tank somehow and the pressures equalizes to the true weight of the water in the tank after the shower drains down. That would explain the strange behavior of the gauge. If the vent slipped down enroute to you're campsite, that also answers why you didn't see the problem during your sanitization procedure..

[bike_addict]

Got an appt at the dealer for tomorrow. I'll get the ladder out tonight and see if I see something. Will post updates as I get them. Thanks.

[Alumaholic]

*Don't assume you moniter is calibrated until you calibrate it yourself.
Since you purchased a new Airstream, you will find calibration instructions in the stack of stuff your dealer gave you.

This advice is offered in addition to the very good advice already offered by InsideOut and the others.

I like your systematic, logical approach to a frustrating situation without turning it into a rant against Airstream. Every new RV is likely to have one or two issues like this.

Happy Trails!

[extiger]

Thanks for the shout out! BIKE _ADDICT recriprocated and we got to tour their very neat and new 25' It is always a treat to camp with other AS owners and swap stories/advice.

Double Lake is a very nice campground, but until the drought is over, they may want to rename it No Lake!

[bike_addict]

It was definitely a great weekend. Can't let a little drainage issue kill a good weekend.

I really like Double Lake. Here's some pics. Notice that the park was nearly full and yet you see no other trailers in my pics. I love the trees between each trailer. The space across the road from us was one of the few empty ones.

The bottom one is my son enjoying the hammock with my wife.

[bike_addict]

Well no word from the dealer. Dropped it off yesterday. Was suppose to hear a diagnosis today but no luck. Hopefully tomorrow.

[bike_addict]

Called the service guy because I haven't heard anything and got the run around. I don’t know what the heck is going on. Actually I think they haven’t even looked at it yet and he’s just feeding me B.S. Just tell me that you haven’t gotten to it yet. Instead he tells me that he just got through “talking to his manager about it and they’re going through the steps to eliminate the possible problem. They had to check to make sure the right toilet paper was used.” Then I stopped him and asked him why he was worried about toilet paper, the problem is the grey tank. Has nothing to do with the black tank. I asked if they’d checked the roof vent for the grey tank to see if it’s slipped or if it’s blocked and he said no. Told him that seems like the logical first place to me to look. I was frustrated with him. He was just trying to put me off and telling me not to worry about it, he’d take care of it. Told him I didn’t understand why we were even having a conversation about toilet paper. He apologized and admitted he was new to the industry and didn’t understand it much. SO he had been just feeding me crap to try and make me happy. If it was closer I’d drive by and see if it’s even moved from where I dropped it off.

He said he’d get with the tech and get back with me. I asked him when I can expect to hear back and first he said by the end of the day and then he added "or tomorrow". I’m resisting the urge to call the service manager. But I’m trying to give him the chance to get it right. I'm beginning to understand why so many of you drive them to home office.

[Fly at Night]

Yes, don't let a tank ruin the memory of your first trip.

I had some issues with my AS after two months of driveway camping. Hauled it back for work, and finally went on my shakedown cruise last week. As far as I can tell, everything worked perfectly.

I hope I never have an issue that would necessitate a trip to Jackson Center because I'm so far away. I am a bit envious of those close to the factory.

Wouldn't it be nice if JC sent a "flying squad" of specialists to every long-distance dealership once a year. We would be informed of their attendance dates, and could take our beloved trailers there....or even just meet them and have a talk.

[Fly at Night]

BTW....this is the first I've heard of calibrating the systems' monitor. I never calibrated anything - not even sure what you mean by that - but as far as I can tell, the system worked well. After three days of showering, dishes, hand washing, the grey tank light went from green to orange. The drains worked well too.

So, I emptied the tank. Went back into the trailer and it was green again.

After hearing of the problems, I was so happy to see a green light. Maybe the dealer calibrated it? I dunno....but as they say, "if ain't broke, don't try to fix it."

Sometimes I wonder if my "higher power" knew a nincompoop was buying a trailer, so he made sure I got a good one.

[bike_addict]

Just talked to the service guy and still no answer. Supposedly the tech has been checking the sensor and it seems fine. I asked him if they'd checked the vent pipe and he said yes. Whether I believe him or not is a different story. So they're going to put water through it on Monday.

How have they had the trailer since Tuesday on a water drainage issue and they still haven't put water through it yet??

Said his tech is planning on calling an engineer at Airstream on Monday. Why would he already be planning on calling Airstream for help if he hasn't even run water through it yet??

I'm trying to keep my cool with the guy but this is really getting frustrated. So now I'm looking at Monday at the earliest before we have a diagnosis then they still have to fix it.

[Alumaholic]

The quick, easy way to determine if the vent pipe is blocked is to take the cap off and run water in though the vent pipe from the top. If water from a garden hose runs freely and fills up the gray water holding tank, it is not a vent pipe issue.

If this is mentioned in an ealier post, I overlooked it.

[Aage]

Alumaholic,

This will certainly check for blockages in the vent pipe, such as leaves or a dead bird, but what if the drain pipe slipped during manufacture, and is submerged in the water in the tank?

In the first case,water will flow out and over the top of the roof vent, but will it in the second case? I say that because I am wondering if it will still simply flow into the tank, albeit slowly...

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by Alumaholic

The quick, easy way to determine if the vent pipe is blocked is to take the cap off and run water in though the vent pipe from the top. If water from a garden hose runs "freely" and fills up the gray water holding tank, it is not a vent pipe issue .

Aage is correct, of course.
A blocked vent, whether blocked by debris in the pipe or blocked by direct contact with the bottom of the holding tank, will be evinced by an overflowing vent pipe. An immersed vent pipe will allow water to flow, albeit less freely; at about the same rate that the shower pan drains methinks.

[Wingeezer]

I'll watch this thread with interest ! Ever since we got our trailer (used) a few years ago, I found the gray water tank filling very fast compared to our last (smaller) trailer -non AS.

Even trying carefully to minimize water use, we don't seem to be able to make our gray tank last more that maybe 3 days (just 2 of us. "navy showers" etc.)

Luckily we don't camp without sewer connection often, and I've come up with a couple of ideas to extend our stay a bit when we do;

- plastic dishpans in the sink so we can dump dishwater down the toilet.

- trailer drain cap with a hose connector and a 5 gallon collapsible "water bag" so we can dump some gray water without having to carry a "Blue Boy."


I've never thought about the possibility of a slipped vent tube and it has me wondering - that darn shower seems to back up way too soon!

Brian.

[bike_addict]

Alright, I'm ready for a good start to my week. Here's to hoping for a good call from the dealer today telling me that they'll have her ready to go in a day or two. I really want to hook up and head out of town this weekend.