Corkey05
Washington State
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fourmat wrote:my guess is vent is clogged somewhere did you check on the roof is vent clear have seen a few even with a dead rodent in them I think you are on the right track especially if you did not smell anything at the vent Good guess.
After spending a week at a rally we filled our tanks and paper floating on top of the waste water was pushed into the vent pipe, plugging it. It took me FOREVER to figure out what went wrong. We spent a couple of more outings living with the stench until the eureka light came on. All the usual stuff had been check and nothing seemed wrong, but the stench continued.
Running water slowly down the vent pipe softened the paper and unplugged the vent. Made us a couple of VERY happy campers.
Oh, and never trust your black tank monitor, they are notorious for giving a false black tank reading. One minute empty, next minute full, even if you haven't used the tank. The best monitor I know of is to simply look down the hole. You'll know when it's getting full. 
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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The Texan wrote:hershey wrote:
Rid X is a good idea for a potential fix but don't try to add it to the system on a regular basis. And your reason for this comment.. 
Using your later response: "Rid-X is not a chemical, but a good bacteria that digest the waste in a septic tank, which your holding tank is. ".
Your very accurate except in that your holding tank is not a septic tank. Its just a container to hold waste until you can dump into a septic tank or sewer drain.
You don't need to treat your waste because it isn't going to be held long enough to need treatment (unless you go for weeks at a time between dumps)
I won't try to convince anyone of the need or no need to treat their black tank contents; I'll just say we have fulltimed for over 6 years and I still have the two complimentary bottles of tank treatment we received from the dealer when we purchased the MH. I just dump the black tank every two weeks and leave the gray tank open unless we are in transit.
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The Texan
Home: Idaho - Location: Texas
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Sorry, but the holding tank is nothing more than a small septic tank. All a septic tank does is hold the waste and allow it to be digested and turned to a liquid before running out into a leach field. If a person does not dump at least weekly, then Rid-X will perform the same job and turn the solid into a liquid in your holding tank. As full timers, we dump our black tank every 2 or 3 weeks, depending on our location and I see a large difference in the lack of solids when using Rid-X and not using it. I agree, the normal RV holding tank chemicals are a total waste of money and can be very detrimental to waste treatment systems. However, Rid-X and similar products are not detrimental and can do nothing but good for both your system and waste treatment facilities, as the commercial plants use a very similar product in their treatment process.
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sowego
northwest panhandle of Nebraska
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As most others have suggested...there is always a little smell from RV toilets when flushing & when dumping the tanks.
From what you've said...it sounds like blocked roof vents, a leaky toilet seal at the floor or a leak where the toilet line attaches to the black tank. We've installed the type of roof vents taht swivel and allow optimal air flow. Also had a leaky toilet seal at the floor which was not evident except for odors coming back up. If left unchecked a leak in this area will rot out your floor. A small leak may not be evident until it begins to leak out around the edge of the base of the toilet or come up under floor tiles. Once it reaches that stage...you floor is shot! Check the floor under the toilet area from under the coach to be sure you do not have a leak. I know it's difficult to open a side panel and see the floor but...will also allow you to check to be sure there isn't a leak around where the toilet pipe connects to the top of the black tank. We've had a crack in that area and it also will cause odors.
I hope you can resolve your "stinky" issues.
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EndeavorV10
South Elgin, IL
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The Texan wrote:KlipschHead281 wrote:
Great ideas, thanks, will use the hose method when I get the vent cap off. I would prefer not to use any chemicals if possible so hopefully this all works and we can just enjoy the RV soon. Rid-X is not a chemical, but a good bacteria that digest the waste in a septic tank, which your holding tank is.
Agreed, I'm familiar with the product.
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EndeavorV10
South Elgin, IL
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Corkey05 wrote:fourmat wrote:my guess is vent is clogged somewhere did you check on the roof is vent clear have seen a few even with a dead rodent in them I think you are on the right track especially if you did not smell anything at the vent Good guess.
After spending a week at a rally we filled our tanks and paper floating on top of the waste water was pushed into the vent pipe, plugging it. It took me FOREVER to figure out what went wrong. We spent a couple of more outings living with the stench until the eureka light came on. All the usual stuff had been check and nothing seemed wrong, but the stench continued.
Running water slowly down the vent pipe softened the paper and unplugged the vent. Made us a couple of VERY happy campers.
Oh, and never trust your black tank monitor, they are notorious for giving a false black tank reading. One minute empty, next minute full, even if you haven't used the tank. The best monitor I know of is to simply look down the hole. You'll know when it's getting full.
I'm liking the water down the pipe idea more and more. What would have been nice if these monsters were designed for being fixed without having to rip apart the coach should the worst happen.
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EndeavorV10
South Elgin, IL
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sowego wrote:As most others have suggested...there is always a little smell from RV toilets when flushing & when dumping the tanks.
From what you've said...it sounds like blocked roof vents, a leaky toilet seal at the floor or a leak where the toilet line attaches to the black tank. We've installed the type of roof vents taht swivel and allow optimal air flow. Also had a leaky toilet seal at the floor which was not evident except for odors coming back up. If left unchecked a leak in this area will rot out your floor. A small leak may not be evident until it begins to leak out around the edge of the base of the toilet or come up under floor tiles. Once it reaches that stage...you floor is shot! Check the floor under the toilet area from under the coach to be sure you do not have a leak. I know it's difficult to open a side panel and see the floor but...will also allow you to check to be sure there isn't a leak around where the toilet pipe connects to the top of the black tank. We've had a crack in that area and it also will cause odors.
I hope you can resolve your "stinky" issues.
I tried to look under but at 6ft 240lbs I don't fit and I'm not using the leveling jacks to lift her up a bit. I heard someone died when the jacks came down and the RV crushed a man working under his coach.
There has to be a way to get under though to see, I need a severe duty jack.
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Corkey05
Washington State
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Quote:I tried to look under but at 6ft 240lbs I don't fit and I'm not using the leveling jacks to lift her up a bit. I heard someone died when the jacks came down and the RV crushed a man working under his coach.
There has to be a way to get under though to see, I need a severe duty jack.
Grab a few 2X8's or 2X10's, at random lengths. Stack them in a stair-step fashion and drive up on the blocks. Make sure to chock the wheels and crawl under. A lot safer than a jack, but jacks are easier if you have one. Even with a jack (it's hydraulic) you'll need stands to support the weight, so I use blocks. I should add I have mine screwed together so they don't slip on each other.
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EndeavorV10
South Elgin, IL
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Corkey05 wrote:Quote:I tried to look under but at 6ft 240lbs I don't fit and I'm not using the leveling jacks to lift her up a bit. I heard someone died when the jacks came down and the RV crushed a man working under his coach.
There has to be a way to get under though to see, I need a severe duty jack.
Grab a few 2X8's or 2X10's, at random lengths. Stack them in a stair-step fashion and drive up on the blocks. Make sure to chock the wheels and crawl under. A lot safer than a jack, but jacks are easier if you have one. Even with a jack (it's hydraulic) you'll need stands to support the weight, so I use blocks. I should add I have mine screwed together so they don't slip on each other.
Excellent idea, just saw the same thing from another website about how to get your MH up a bit to look and work under it. Will get some wood, already have wheel chocks.
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Lobstah
Northeast
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Ok...I'm putting my money on a different bet. Your black tank has been backflushed to the point where you've almost worn it out at this point.
Is it possible you're dealing with odor from your gray water? Gray water gets NAS-TEE pretty quickly, and you don't have a backflush system in your gray water tank either. Even if your vents are working?...if your traps are empty, that's a direct line into your living space from your gray water tank. This was also discussed on another thread recently. If your vents are working, and your traps are full of water, there should be no odor in the coach, period.
Jim
P.S...is it just me, or is the number of people that either don't read the OP or don't read the responses BEFORE responding amazing?
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