Neither Black nor Grey Tanks Emptying

[Bruce Harper]

Good morning. We are very new to the RV life and we are currently on our second trip. This morning when I went outside to empty the black tank and then the grey tanks nothing came out of the line. Nothing came out when I pulled the black lever and nothing came out when I pulled the grey tank levers. In addition, this morning prior to taking a shower and my wife taking a shower the grey tank sensor for the bathroom showed almost 2/3 full. After showers it showed 1/3 full. The kitchen sensor is doing the same thing.
Any advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[Gold Country Livin']

Good morning. We are very new to the RV life and we are currently on our second trip. This morning when I went outside to empty the black tank and then the grey tanks nothing came out of the line. Nothing came out when I pulled the black lever and nothing came out when I pulled the grey tank levers. In addition, this morning prior to taking a shower and my wife taking a shower the grey tank sensor for the bathroom showed almost 2/3 full. After showers it showed 1/3 full. The kitchen sensor is doing the same thing.
Any advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Well, back to basics first. You said you are new to this and only second trip out. Has it ever worked and ever been dumped before? Do you have a clear elbow to see if the waste is leaving the trailer. Is it cold outside and or is the dump pipe clogged or frozen,....or kinked? Try moving the gate cables in and out to see if there is tension or friction on the valve or is it super easy, like broken off? Behind the Nautilus panel, maybe loose? Start there and somebody else might have a few pointers.

[Bruce Harper]

Thank you for your response. On our first trip we dumped regularly and it emptied fine. We do have a clear elbow at the end of our sewage line. We are in Orange Beach, AL so the weather is rather warm. The dump line is supported by the brackets to provide a gradual downward slope. There are no kinks in the line.

[Da Breeze]

Might be a dumb question, but has your dealer installed a Valterra waste gate on your dump line ??
It would look like another handle to pull installed to where you attach the sewer line ?
You may have closed it unknowingly when you first dumped the tanks ?

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[Bruce Harper]

There is not another waste gate valve to pull. This is such an odd predicament because everything worked fine Wednesday and Thursday (yesterday).

[Gold Country Livin']

There is not another waste gate valve to pull. This is such an odd predicament because everything worked fine Wednesday and Thursday (yesterday).

Well, this is not the issue but do not rely on wall sensors, period. If you said you used the showers, toilet, etc. then you did. I need to think about this a moment. I am doubt that the entire plumbing system fell out of the bottom! Is it possible that there is not enough waste water to create the large flow "woosh" as it goes out, and it actually already left the tank slower than if it was full? Maybe you did nor hear it. Again, do not believe the sensors, might have foreign particles on it. Maybe you are empty?

[Houndbb]

Well, this is not the issue but do not rely on wall sensors, period. If you said you used the showers, toilet, etc. then you did. I need to think about this a moment. I am doubt that the entire plumbing system fell out of the bottom! Is it possible that there is not enough waste water to create the large flow "woosh" as it goes out, and it actually already left the tank slower than if it was full? Maybe you did nor hear it. Again, do not believe the sensors, might have foreign particles on it. Maybe you are empty?

^^^^! Good call. Just re-read post #5 , dumped Weds, Thurs, AND today. That would mean a trickle each day, especially if you are trying to conserve water. Most people don’t dump that often, especially when on a sewer hookup. The owners manual suggests you flush for 15 seconds (that’s excessive). It really doesn’t sound like you have a problem, but to test for blockage from construction debris, you might try putting 10-20 gallons in the black tank and see if you get better flow (or wait 3-4 days before dumping again). You can tell when your tanks are getting full-the water going down sounds differently. Also, there are many threads here about solutions for holding tank problems: dumping, avoiding odors, cleaning, etc.
Good luck, and as one wise owner on here said-“use lots of water-water is your friend”.
N

[Bruce Harper]

The levers are pulling with the same amount of tension. Nothing has changed there.

[Gold Country Livin']

The levers are pulling with the same amount of tension. Nothing has changed there.

Also, it is recommended to wait until tanks are more somewhat full in order to create the "explosion" and push contents out. Never want to let solids dribble out because then the tanks do not clean as well.

[Beam57]

Also, it is recommended to wait until tanks are more somewhat full in order to create the "explosion" and push contents out. Never want to let solids dribble out because then the tanks do not clean as well.

Two things in my experience: Don't believe the indicators, they are not reliable. Secondly, empty tanks when they are full, or near full as possible. For us, I just do it every three of four days.