Grey Tank Question

[teachergal]

I have a 2011 PW Plateau and I have it for exactly 2 weeks so it's still very new! One thing I have noticed is that according to the monitor panel the black tank fills up, the fresh water tank empties, but the grey tank never gets full.

I dumped on my way back from FL then went 5 days (of using it) before I dumped again - the black tank was registering 2/3 full, the fresh water was empty (and my last toilet flush caused the pump to strain and work hard to get the last drop out...timed it just right!), yet the grey tank was only registering a 1/3 full.

I did drain the lines by opening the low point drains, but that didn't let *that* much water out.

When I dumped there was clearly water in the tank and it took about the same amount of time to drain as the black tank so I'm guessing it was close to the same amount.

My theory is that the sensor in the grey tank is broken. This is basically a brand new RV, but it's possible for it to fail. Could there be another theory that I should be aware of?

[booster]

Originally Posted by teachergal

I have a 2011 PW Plateau and I have it for exactly 2 weeks so it's still very new! One thing I have noticed is that according to the monitor panel the black tank fills up, the fresh water tank empties, but the grey tank never gets full.

I dumped on my way back from FL then went 5 days (of using it) before I dumped again - the black tank was registering 2/3 full, the fresh water was empty (and my last toilet flush caused the pump to strain and work hard to get the last drop out...timed it just right!), yet the grey tank was only registering a 1/3 full.

I did drain the lines by opening the low point drains, but that didn't let *that* much water out.

When I dumped there was clearly water in the tank and it took about the same amount of time to drain as the black tank so I'm guessing it was close to the same amount.

My theory is that the sensor in the grey tank is broken. This is basically a brand new RV, but it's possible for it to fail. Could there be another theory that I should be aware of?

Grey tanks are usually much larger than the black tanks. You should be able to figure how much it had in it by subtracting the black tank capacity from the fresh tank capacity. You can then see how full it was by comparing that number to the grey tank capacity.

30 fresh minus 12 black equals 18 gallons in the grey tank, which is 35 gallons. The gauge reading 1/3 would be correct as the next light won't come on until it is 2/3 full and it is only a touch over 1/2 full.

[TinyoneRV]

I fill the gray and black tanks to the brim with fresh water before dumping in order to flush them out. I've found both tanks will hold quite a bit of water after the full light comes on. For the gray tank I filled until the water just started to come out of the shower drain; for the black tank I just looked in the toilet to see when the tank was full. The guage lights are not very accurate but seem to be biased in favor or our not overfilling the waste tanks.

[teachergal]

I was actually trying to get as full as I could just to see how long I could go before I was totally full! I ran out of water before I filled up!

I was kinda also wondering about the fact that most of the shower water goes down the toilet, so ends up in the black tank. I've been pretty "water savvy" during my showers and not using much, but I'm suspicious that more water goes down the toilet than into the grey tank. Does anyone do anything to guard against that in "wet baths"? I have found some ways to change how I shower that results in less water down the toilet, maybe that's the trick!

[Catlover]

We've only used our Roadtrek once so far. We dumped the tanks at the campground but how do we know when they are empty? I did not detect any change in the sound of the macerator and when I checked the lights inside the RV it didn't show a change in the level of the tanks.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by teachergal

..........................I was kinda also wondering about the fact that most of the shower water goes down the toilet, so ends up in the black tank. I've been pretty "water savvy" during my showers and not using much, but I'm suspicious that more water goes down the toilet than into the grey tank. Does anyone do anything to guard against that in "wet baths"? I have found some ways to change how I shower that results in less water down the toilet, maybe that's the trick!

I think that the toilet seat should be down with these wet bathrooms in Class B's when showering. That would keep water out of the toilet/black tank. Someone correct me if this is not the way to use it.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by Catlover

We've only used our Roadtrek once so far. We dumped the tanks at the campground but how do we know when they are empty? I did not detect any change in the sound of the macerator and when I checked the lights inside the RV it didn't show a change in the level of the tanks.

Tanks sensors often do not give correct readings. Soap, grease, waste, toilet paper etc. will stick to the sensors and cause them to show full or nearly full even after you have emptied the tank. Sometimes, an hour or so after dumping, the sensors will report the levels correctly again. Periodically flushing out your waste tanks will help keep the sensors clean. Fill with water and empty a few times.

With a macerator, usually the sound change will let you know the tank is empty. You can always peak and see if anything is coming out of the hose. That might take two people if one has to hold the macerator button. Some people have changed the push button or put a hold down on it so they can step away to check things.

[Flashman]

Well also bear in mind that if you're drinking bottled water, sodas, coffee or pop bought at drivethru's etc, that your black tank will fill faster than your fresh tank empties.

Also I have heard some can be set up to flush with gray water rather than fresh. Hence the gray migrates to black.

[AmCruiser]

I have a 99 American Cruiser which has a combined grey and black water tank. The level monitor lights haved been stuck at 2/3 full ever since we bought it in June. I just bought a set of Holst Miracle Probes and a Camco in-tank flushing nozzle but haven't installed them yet - hopefully this weekend. Hopefully that will cure the inacurate tank level monitor.