Blocked waste water outlet on our T6

[kaf2546]

I posted back at start of year a blocked drain, can't find post right now but debris had found its way up the outlet (deep snow/mud). Think I closed waste valve and disconnected downstream of the valve and overflow connection and blew down with Vango Air beam pump (it was a perfect fit) and it cleared a big lump of stuff, result! Hopefully your block is in same place and therefore a DIY job.

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[andrew bazeley]

I hate to say it, but this has happened to me several times over the 12 years I've had my Cali (usually after the winter standstill), and the only way I've ever quickly and successfully cleared it is to lie down under the van, pull the outlet pipe out a bit and suck hard on it! Horrible, but it works every time!

 

[Roger Boeken]

I always let Some clean water and fluïd for porta Potti toilet waste tank in the cali waste water tank. It prevents blockage and bad smell. I use Solbio a biological product. So far never had problems.

 

[andywa119]

The outlet from the waste water tank on our Cali T6, or the opening into it, is blocked. The lack of flow in the outlet pipe has been building up for a while. Even when bought nearly new, 3.5 years ago, the flow wasn’t that fast but adequate taking about 5 or 6 mins to empty. Coming out of lockdown I wanted to see how it was and put about 18 litres of water through the basin into the tank. Its trickle is so slow, and no more than drips, so that over the last 24 hours a washing up basin (whose base is 225 x 275 mm) has only filled by 3.5 cms.

I’ve gently pushed a thin flexible plastic coated net curtain support wire up the tube from below to see if I could locate and clear the blockage. The first time after meeting some slight resistance at a couple of points (as if there might have been a slight bend or whatever) I got it as far as c95cm up the outlet tube. But nothing dislodged or improvement of any kind. I tried again later but at 42 cm the wire hit hard and solid edged resistance (ie not sludge or whatever). A second attempt gets to the same resistance point and no further.



Has anyone had experience of this and what is the best way to deal with it?

I have always cleared this with a hose pipe from an external house tap held against the external drain hose from the waste. The pressure quickly sorts it. A tip to stop it blocking is dont throw waste down and leave drain tap open regardless. We wipe all dishes with a kitchen towel before they go near the sink. If you do your weekly laundry in the sink or throw your left over curry sauce down then that is not very considerate to others on the site, but if avoid that and you are using no more waste water than a camper then the grass will be fine (and certainly better than a ground sheet or disposable bbq)

 

[SusiBus]

I hate to say it, but this has happened to me several times over the 12 years I've had my Cali (usually after the winter standstill), and the only way I've ever quickly and successfully cleared it is to lie down under the van, pull the outlet pipe out a bit and suck hard on it! Horrible, but it works every time!

Please DON'T try this at home!
It sounds like a way of potentially catching something quite horrible.

 

[Jodalo]

Please DON'T try this at home!
It sounds like a way of potentially catching something quite horrible.

I learned my lesson the hard way, when in my late teens siphoned some petrol from my dad’s car with a larger diameter tube than it should have been. Whilst sucking hard the petrol shot up the tube and I swallowed about a cupful. I can still remember burping petrol fumes for hours afterwards. Still I suppose petrol is preferable to waste tank gunk!

 

[Baldrick]

Glad it’s all sorted. I read somewhere on the forum that after emptying the tank periodically pour a big bottle of cheap coke in, leave it overnight then drive around to slosh it about before emptying then rinsing through

 

[J3ne]

Glad you've got this sorted. In a rental van overseas we ran out of washing up liquid with 2 days to go. A couple of days of using biological clothes powder to wash dishes and driving around and there was suddenly a flood of waste water. Improved the handling of the van too - we must have had a half full tank all holiday.

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[Nic Bowman]

Last night I put baking powder and vinegar into the tank preceded and followed by pouring in a kettle of nearly boiling water into the tank. I later applied a hose into the sink to add about ten litres to try and flush out any loosened gunge.

No immediate effect and to my dismay I later realised I had succeeded in clogging it all up yet further, as by morning nothing had come out at all.

I have now acquired a coil wire but that ran up the bottom pipe with no resistance so no blockage had moved down there, so still in the tank or valve.

A drive from Reading to Oxford this morning restored the discharge but only to one drip per second.

I haven’t as yet found access to an aqua-vac.

I realise that this problem has built up over a long period and will be harder to put right as a result. Fairly early on I remember thinking the discharge flow was slow and was sometimes conscious of how long it took at emptying points on sites when others were waiting. This led to sometimes discharging while driving on country roads etc and trying to put as little waste water in the tank as possible. For instance, I have a larger washing up bowl which I would empty into a discharge point on site, or if wild camping throw into a hedge or whatever. And then periods of non use would have allowed gunge to harden considerably. This was even longer this year as we have had lockdown on top of winter. So yet more hardening of deposits.

Thank you everybody for your continuing help and interest. I‘ll see what the dealer can open up tomorrow morning
Robin

Hi Robin. I have fixed mine. The answer. Under the left hand cupboard remove the round panel, find the overflow hose, going vertically from the T. Use a clamp to block this hose. Leave the valve open them using a hose push water up the outlet under the van. This forces water back through the valve, the bypass being closed by the clamp. Took a few goes but works. Nic

 

[5i1ver8ack]

I have always cleared this with a hose pipe from an external house tap held against the external drain hose from the waste. The pressure quickly sorts it.

An old thread resurrection to be sure. But this method worked for me today! Thank you.

 

[andrew bazeley]

I hate to say it, but this has happened to me several times over the 12 years I've had my Cali (usually after the winter standstill), and the only way I've ever quickly and successfully cleared it is to lie down under the van, pull the outlet pipe out a bit and suck hard on it! Horrible, but it works every time!

Yep - that works! Actually blowing hard rather than sucking sometimes works.

 

[fili villanueva]

Just landed here because I have the same problem with a second hand Ocean we got a few days ago. Waste water tank is not totally blocked, but drains very slowly. Who knows what may have gone down that sink.
Have tried pouring almost boiling vinegar. Nothing. Also some plunger. Nothing. I also tried with a coil, but as mentioned earlier, you seem to hit the T. It came out completely clean.
When the tank is full of water, the weight of the water makes it drain faster, but then the last few litres come out as a tiny trickle and takes ages until everything is out.
With all I have tried, I believe the tank is fairly clean now, so I think the next step will be opening the lateral circular lead mentioned earlier and see if something can be done through that hole, perhaps using a mirror I can push the coil downwards. Thanks all for all the tips.

 

[Wesel]

Wastewater emptying is always slow on the T6s. It's been like that since day one for us.

 

[fili villanueva]

Really? Then this is yet another aspect of involution in comparison to my 25 year old T4 Cali, that I just sold because of the bloody access regulations we have in Barcelona.

 

[fili villanueva]

In any case, I've managed to have a look at something, but had limited time. I have removed the lateral lid, and have been able to take a pic of the inside. I don't see anything, and the tank is pretty clean and does not smell. Then I have tried to remove the braces around the valve, but although I have been able to loosen the three braces, the actual valve is locked, and I had to stop there, as I could not separate any of the pipes from the valve, so I have mounted everything back again as it was.
In case someone is curious, below is the picture through the lateral hole, pointing towards the left, where the blockage would be. It doesn't look like the coil would be of any use from that side either. My next move I think it's going to be putting a hose through the end and create pressure using my hand around, as some of you have mentioned, but cannot get that set up easily, so this will have to wait a few days.

 

[fili villanueva]

I've given it two more rounds of plunger, including a 60km trip with the liquid in the tank. I cannot see any improvement. I've decided to shoot a video, this way others can tell if the drainage is normal, or I do have a problem (apart from keep comparing everything with my previous T4 Cali). For the first half a minute it drains at an acceptable volume, but then a tiny trickle runs for a very long time.

 

[andyinluton]

Looks fine to me. The last bit always takes a bit longer.

 

[WelshGas]

I've given it two more rounds of plunger, including a 60km trip with the liquid in the tank. I cannot see any improvement. I've decided to shoot a video, this way others can tell if the drainage is normal, or I do have a problem (apart from keep comparing everything with my previous T4 Cali). For the first half a minute it drains at an acceptable volume, but then a tiny trickle runs for a very long time.

Normal. Because of the design the tank will drain fastest if the vehicle is slightly nose up and L side up.
Using a plunger will have very little effect as their is an overflow pipe from the top of the tank connected downstream from the tap used to empty the tank.
Likewise, any blockage within the tap or post tap will not be dislodged by filling tank with cleaning solution if the tap is closed.

 

[Paulro]

I once broke down on a hill with an off side drive shaft issue and when the truck came to collect the van it was loaded onto the truck and lifted from the front so the front was much much higher than the rear. Waste from the sink came pouring out. So maybe try to free on a steep hill?

 

[Beeechke1]

I've given it two more rounds of plunger, including a 60km trip with the liquid in the tank. I cannot see any improvement. I've decided to shoot a video, this way others can tell if the drainage is normal, or I do have a problem (apart from keep comparing everything with my previous T4 Cali). For the first half a minute it drains at an acceptable volume, but then a tiny trickle runs for a very long time.

Yes looks normal to me, my T5.1 is much the same doubt the design has changed much to your T6

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I agree. Normal.

Mine got blocked up with just kids spitting toothpaste down it. Now banned! I presume it’s the pipe immediately under the plug hole that was clogged. Had to use full drain cleaner in the end. The hardcore acid type stuff. All the the pipes are normal plumbing plastic so resistant to boiling water and drain cleaner. It got a lot better after that.

It’s never what you could call fast!

 

[Resfeber]

Also normal for my van. Just wish I could p*e as fast.
Regarding the tank image yours looks really clean. I have had the large access cover off mine and it is very greased up.
Tried all sorts of cleaners including washing soda and filling with 70deg C water.
I have no problem with blockages but after about 3 or 4 days there is a strong drain odour in the van from the sink unless the plug is kept in.
Think I will try the porta loo deodorant chemical routine suggested by Roger Boeken #53 above

 

[andyinluton]

I have no problem with blockages but after about 3 or 4 days there is a strong drain odour in the van from the sink unless the plug is kept in.
Think I will try the porta loo deodorant chemical routine suggested by Roger Boeken #53 above

I chuck a bit of washing powder down the plughole if it's getting a bit whiffy, works just as well in the porta loo as well.
Dishwasher powder is just as good.

Make sure its followed with some water & leave it in the tank when you next go for a drive to slosh it all around properly.

 

[fili villanueva]

Thanks all for the replies. I think I can conclude that I don't have a problem with the drainage, and I hope the video helps others in the future.
With regards to those tanks with dirt, in case it helps, in the two T4 Californias I have had, for one reason or another, I had to dismount the entire kitchen/sink/fridge cupboard completely in order to get to the waste water tank and repair it. On both occasions, what I did to clean the tanks was to pour 4 or 5 litres of bleach (the one that you can use to potabilise water), and filled the rest of the tank with water, left it for 24 hours, and emptied it. This removed all the dirt and left them completely clean. Before taking the picture above, I did the same on the Ocean. The only difference is that this time I was not able to see how dirty it was before doing it, but with the T4s, I remember the tanks were pretty filthy, and the bleach left them perfectly clean. In the fresh water tank I always did the same, more or less once a year, to keep it clean, as I drink water from it.

 

[Cali Phillip]

Make sure that the outlet tap is opened and fire some water up the
outlet pipe with one of these.
View attachment 62933

works well