Black tank sensor question

[Mike0392]

Hi again;
New 19 Classic 33. Full timing here in Texas working on the ship channel. Yesterday I dumped the black tank sensor reading 79% no flow, bummer. Bought one of those 45* sewer hose hose hook up fire hose water jet gizmo and got poop and paper out and good flow YAY. Flushed till everything comes out clear. Added in a clear 45* permanent so I can see what’s going on when I dump. Ok I use rv digest it dump some in the bowl 4 flushes of water to give the bugs something to swim in. Before I started this I checked the levels 0. 5 flushes on this macerator and it reads 75% again!! YOU KILLING ME!!!!!

What’s the answer here??

[Rich W]

What brand of monitor do you have? We have a 2006 with the Micropulse and it's far from being very accurate. Fresh water sensor isn't even recognized anymore. Black sensor worked sporadically, then quit. Grey tank sensor is the only one that works.

On ours, the sensor is on just below the belly pan on the black pipe coming from the bathroom. Ours has stopped working and I am going to replace it when I check the wiring (phone wire) with a tester.

You can remove the sensor when the tank is empty and clean. Unplug the phone wire connector and just unscrew the sensor. Be careful about the inside facing sensor, carefully make sure it's clean. The Micropulse works on pressure. A replacement is around $50.

[Adventure.AS]

Was this your first dump? Have you used your black tank flush fitting on the side of the trailer? What type of paper are you using. Non-RV tp often mounds up and solidifies.

[Mike0392]

No been living in it since late January

[Mike0392]

Rv paper but the 2019 Classic 33 has a macerator toilet

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by Mike0392

Rv paper but the 2019 Classic 33 has a macerator toilet

I guess the advantage of the gravity toilet is the ability to do a visual inspection.

Are you on full hook up? If so do you leave the black waste valve closed until time to dump?

[Tim A.]

With a 2019 Airstream, I believe you have the SeeLevel tank monitoring system. If so, the sensors are on the outside of the tank and are much less likely to be influenced by factors other than the liquid level in the tank. You are surely still on warranty, so Airstream (or your dealer) should be able to help. A phone call to Garnet Instuments (https://www.garnetinstruments.com/rv-shop/), the manufacturer of the SeeLevel system, might help. You could also check the troubleshooting instructions in the SeeLevel documentation that came with your trailer.

Tim

[turk123]

I had this same thing happen to me with our 2019 Classic. The sensors are on the outside so layers of (XXXX) are on the inside walls. I thoroughly used the inner spin washer with no avail.

With help from members here, we started using one capful of liquid laundry detergent and one capful of liquid water softener (Calgone / Walmart) in the black tank instead of sanitizer. Fill it up and drive it to your next stop. After the second dump using this, the sensor became cleared and began to work. We have stayed with this mixture and have never had a problem again. No chemical smell and works perfectly!

[CruizinDux]

Just finished coast to coast trip and discovered to my dismay that the Calgon at Walley's gets scarse to not available as you move EB. I usually add a capful + some happy camper only because i stillll have som HC left.

I also use calgon + a squirt of dish soap to the grey. I like the idea of Cal + laund det. For BW/GW

As for the sensors and i've had 1 microplulse replaced ( dealer said they were closing) and have for now decided to ignore the readings. The FW is fairly accurate but do the visual on the BW and opt for a 2 or 4 day schedule for the gw dependent on the # of shower chits issued.

I've had an empty gs reading that i know has 4 showers in it, then dump it and it shows 75%. Time for some target practice.


Almost every time I dump the gw at departure since i use FW in the tail to adjust TW, and add'nl gw just complicates my math. Looking fwd to the above recommendation to clean sensors.
Bob