Sewage smell

[CaptB]

In the afternoons and early evenings when sun is hot and shining on back of trailer we get a strong sewage odor inside our 2016 25 ft international. The tank was rinsed well before we left. It has had very little use on the trip since we tend to not use it when possible. It has less than 25 % fill and we add recommended bio degraders and deoderizers. It seems as if it is venting directly into the unit during these limited periods. Any ideas as to causes/fixes?

[JMair]

Hi CaptB,
We just bought a 25' and experienced the same problem on our first extended trip out. We are experimenting to solve the issue based on some research. We are installing a 360 RV Vent Cap for the black water tank and plan to use the Bio Geo method for keeping the black water tank clean. Our unit is in service right now for some issues so we can't say yet if these things work. Let me know if you find a resolution!


JMair

[OTRA15]

There have been reports of the black tank vent pipe not being glue on correctly, or being missing altogether!



https://www.google.com/search?q=blac...com&gws_rd=ssl

[thewarden]

I have had very good success with this product when dealing with black tanks that have not had the proper use of a black tank chemical. It won't do anything to assist if your vent is broken away though.

www.tanktechsrx.com

[ShinyPete]

CaptB-

Here's another similar post from a bit ago about this topic. Good info here, my story is @ post #5.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ll-177661.html

Hope this helps.

[OTRA15]

Thanks Pete, FWIW that thread is one of many which appear in the search results linked in Post #3.

CaptB are you still monitoring?

Originally Posted by CaptB

. . .
. . . Any ideas as to causes/fixes?

Good luck,

Peter

FWIW

[polarlyse]

As you can see there are a number of things that may cause the sewage smell but one that I haven't seen mentioned is the seal in the bowl. Throw an eyeball in the bottom of your bowl and you should see a small amount of water there. That water is your seal against sewer gasses entering your living spaces. There's a rubber donut seal there that retains this water. If there's water there, look elsewhere. If it's dry your seal is bad and needs to be replaced.

[CaptB]

Thank you all for feedback.
It is strange since it comes and goes...... Have checked seals and all I can see. Plan to see selling dealer next week and have them check the system.

Again, thanks for help!!!!

[Al and Missy]

If the trailer has a tank flush, there is usually a backflow preventer under the bathroom lavatory. It can vent tank gasses into the inside of the trailer, particularly when a vacuum is pulled on the trailer by a vent fan, and to a lesser degree by the AC unit. My trailer also does it going down the road. Some have solved the problem by replacing the valve with an elbow.

Don't overlook the gray water tank. It can smell really bad. Put some treatment chemical down the shower drain.


Al

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by thewarden

I have had very good success with this product when dealing with black tanks that have not had the proper use of a black tank chemical. It won't do anything to assist if your vent is broken away though.

www.tanktechsrx.com

I bought some of this at Salem and am impressed with the performance. I have also changed my routine to dump on arrival rather than departure. The road motion helps to liquefy everything.


Al

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If both gray and black tanks were flushed to the "clear running water" point before you left and ran down the road dry .... time to look elsewhere. Even if they had clean water in them ... time to look elsewhere. Dead mice smell pretty bad ....

Bob

[thiel]

My black tank vent pipe was missing entirely. Take a look and make sure yours is there....

[BoatBoy]

This is an older post but I thought I would add another option if you have not found a solution. I had a problem with odor in our old bambi 19. It turned out to be coming from the gray tank. It was a bad cheater valve under the kitchen sink. The ones provided by AS are pretty cheap. Quick and easy fix.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by thiel

My black tank vent pipe was missing entirely. Take a look and make sure yours is there....

If you don't know How to find the toilet vent stack, it is super simple. There is one corner of the bath that has a 45° angle that is.about 10" wide. The "wall" is 1/8" wallboard, held in place with brads. Pry it off with your bare hands or a putty knife. If there is NO 2" PVC pipe, well curse then go to any big box hardware store, get one and glue it in. If it turns easily it was never glued in, again get PVC adhesive and fix. If "someone" added a clothes hook, toilet paper roll holder, etc. and used long screws, back them out of the pipe. A double wrap with good duct tape should be a 20 year fix. To successfully hang anything heavy on this wall, use a piece of wood 1 inch thick that is fastened to the sides of the wall (where the brads go into) then screw into that.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

That's not the only wall in a typical trailer / MH that is errr ... a bit thin. The ends of most cabinets are pretty thick, but walls often are not. Command strips are a better bet than screws unless you are very sure of what you are going into.

Bob

[Llittle54]

I had sewer smell in our new used 23 fb. A new vent cap and new cheater cheater valves didn’t help. Dang. After investigating the obvious, certainly sewer smell without finding a solution, the problem turned out to be a leaky propane jet on the cooktop. Ebay had replacements and smell is gone.
The leak was just enough to bubble soap. Very small but constant. The smell was the only warning.

[DBinSD]

Is it possible you have a decaying rodent in a cavity?

[mayco]

The first and simplest thing to check when you're getting a sewer smell inside is that all your p-traps have water in them. So your sinks and shower mainly. If the water has evaporated due to low use then gasses will flow up into the living space. Very common for this to happen. Just pour a few cups of water in all your traps, especially anywhere that gets little or no use.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by mayco

The first and simplest thing to check when you're getting a sewer smell inside is that all your p-traps have water in them. So your sinks and shower mainly. If the water has evaporated due to low use then gasses will flow up into the living space. Very common for this to happen. Just pour a few cups of water in all your traps, especially anywhere that gets little or no use.

Hi

At least on some trailers, the traps are "waterless". There is no S curve magic with a bit of water in it. Instead you have a flapper inline with the drain pipe. If that flapper gets damaged or plugged open .. same thing as having a water based trap dry out.

Bob