Mystery clog

[westcoastas]

Hi there. I'm hoping I can get some help for a clog. I run my kitchen sink with the gray water valve closed, and the water comes up the shower drain within about 15 seconds. I found my cleanout in the gray water pipe and pushed air down the air vent up at the top with my shop vac and it spit out air out of the cleanout. When the gray water valve is open, kitchen sink water and shower drain water comes right out. I've snaked the short section of pipe between the flapper and the gray tank and it appears to be clear. My gray water sensor, for what it's worth, says my gray tank is empty.

I would appreciate any ideas. Thank you.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Sounds like your gray water tank is plugged up with gunk. Grab a gallon of industrial drain cleaner at Lowes or Home Depot and let it sit overnight. Be sure to read the label and get stuff that will not eat your plastic pipes. If that doesn't do the job, you will have to snake the tank. Not fun.

Bob

[westcoastas]

Thanks Uncle Bob!

[xrvr]

Thats normal. Runthe water slower. I dont know if there is a fix.

[westcoastas]

But 's never happened before. It sucks 'cuz I'm trying to get out to Moab and boondock.

[Protagonist]

Actually, it sounds like the gray tank VENT is clogged. In order for water to run into the tank, air has to run out of the tank. If air can't get out through the vent pipe, it has to get out through the P-traps— or through an open tank drain valve. And for air to get out through the P-traps, it has to push water out of the P-traps first.

[westcoastas]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Actually, it sounds like the gray tank VENT is clogged. In order for water to run into the tank, air has to run out of the tank. If air can't get out through the vent pipe, it has to get out through the P-traps— or through an open tank drain valve. And for air to get out through the P-traps, it has to push water out of the P-traps first.

Hi Protagonist! I'm not familiar with the P-traps. Where are they located? As I said, the air vent riser appears to be clear. Are those tank vents different from the riser I found? The riser I found was about 10" upstream from the cleanout and runs up through my closet. It appears to be upstream from the gray tank.

[Tsunami-v2]

There should be vent traps under your kitchen and bath sinks. This link might be helpful.

http://www.loveyourrv.com/bad-smell-coming-rv-sink/

[westcoastas]

Thanks Tsunami! I don't recall seeing such a device under the sink but I will look again. Maybe I missed it.

[Tsunami-v2]

Supposedly, when you take the vent cap off and shake it, if it makes a noise, it's still good. From my experience when my AS was just a couple months old, I had the one for the bathroom sink fail. It was allowing vent gas into the bathroom. The tech at the AS factory, on the second day, replaced it, even though it made a clicking noise the day before when he shook it. It works fine now.

These vents are mainly used in homes with sinks located in kitchen islands

[A W Warn]

The way the plumbing is laid out in a 2005 28' Safari, the shower drain connects to the 1 1/2" sewer main just before it drops into the tank. If the drain from the kitchen sink is running into the shower, it means the sewer main is blocked beyond the shower.
If you want to try blowing with the vacuum cleaner you will need to plug up the kitchen sink drains and the roof vent, while blowing into the shower drain. The air admittance valve should hold air pressure.

If blowing does not work I suggest:
* - really hot water might melt grease buildup inside the pipe. Or a clog remover like liquid plumber poured into the shower drain will cut through grease/hair buildup.

or
* - Find the clean out that is hidden inside the cabinets and run a snake through it into the gray tank. Snaking from the outside will not remove the clog.

There are two vents, an air admittance valve under the sink and a vent through the roof. Both come off of the main between the shower and the kitchen sink. You can rule out a stopped up vent because either of these is sufficient to allow proper drainage from the shower.

FYI:
There is a schematic drawing of the sewer piping on sheet F-27 in your manual.
The kitchen sink and shower go into the gray tank.
The bath sink and the toilet go into the black tank.

[westcoastas]

Thank you all! Everybody was right on the money. Avionstream - you were right, I just never noticed. I hired a maintenance guy and he cut a bit out of the shower drain so we could get a snake down. He was able to snake all the lines through the cleanout and the kitchen sink; he also snaked through the gray water valve back through to the tank. What I never noticed before and was unaware of such a thing was the air admittance valve beneath the sink; it was way in the back and I just never noticed it because I never had a reason to look hard enough. My technician snaked that vent too.

So now when my gray water valve is shut, I run my kitchen sink water and I can see a bit of water rise up in the shower drain. But when I shut off the water, the water in the shower drain quickly drops down into the gray tank.

I found a drip from my city water inlet - the plastic piece had distorted a bit after 12 years and water was dripping out past the gasket. The entire city water inlet piece has been ordered from my Airstream dealer and will replace the old one. I feel we are now good to go boondocking, so a BIG THANK YOU to responders; what a great resource you've been.

Oh, and another FYI. My Progressive insurance policy recently dropped my agreed value of my 2005 International from $36,500 (at the time of purchase back in 2014 in southern California) to $12,500. I called my agent, Miller Insurance out of Oregon and they recommended I call Mark Koch at Automotive Appraisal Service (800.495.2525). While stuck just outside Bryce Canyon NP, I was able to fill out an online form and submitted it back along with photographs, along with some noted similar sell prices on the market today; the fee was $300. Their appraisal came back at $39,800. Time will tell what Progressive will come back with but it sure is good to know the value of Airstreams holds up incredibly well...at least in the eyes of a third party.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by westcoastas

....

Oh, and another FYI. My Progressive insurance policy recently dropped my agreed value of my 2005 International from $36,500 (at the time of purchase back in 2014 in southern California) to $12,500. I called my agent, Miller Insurance out of Oregon and they recommended I call Mark Koch at Automotive Appraisal Service (800.495.2525). While stuck just outside Bryce Canyon NP, I was able to fill out an online form and submitted it back along with photographs, along with some noted similar sell prices on the market today; the fee was $300. Their appraisal came back at $39,800. Time will tell what Progressive will come back with but it sure is good to know the value of Airstreams holds up incredibly well...at least in the eyes of a third party.

Hi

All of the companies that do a "high value" policy like to see an appraisal done every so often. How often varies a bit from company to company. Their (obvious) concern is something like a rubber roof RV that could easily deteriorate quite a bit in a few years. The rules get written to cover "everybody".

Bob

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Actually, it sounds like the gray tank VENT is clogged. In order for water to run into the tank, air has to run out of the tank. If air can't get out through the vent pipe, it has to get out through the P-traps— or through an open tank drain valve. And for air to get out through the P-traps, it has to push water out of the P-traps first.

Ditto.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Thats normal. Runthe water slower. I dont know if there is a fix.

Originally Posted by westcoastas

But 's never happened before. It sucks 'cuz I'm trying to get out to Moab and boondock.

Been 'normal' for our '03 Classic since new. Only happens when draining a full sink.

DW got one of those plastic drain strainers to slow the flow....

Bob