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Old 05-11-2011, 11:23 PM   #1
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Stinky!

All,

Almost every time we take our MH anywhere we get a very bad sewer smell after about half an hour. We usually travel with one roof vent open.

The toilet always has a little water in it so I don't think the smell is coming from there. Additionally, we have a washer/dryer combo, a shower and two sinks. I give them all the nose test and nothing stands out.

The only other thing that I can think of is the sewer vent on the roof.

Does anyone have a similar problem and how have you dealt with it?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Steve & Cathy
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Old 05-11-2011, 11:33 PM   #2
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Hello

Heres the Problem Most Black tanks Are never completely cleaned and over time will vent improperly Also the grey tank can put off a awful smell

Sometimes when you open a vent you can create a vaccum efffect and it will draw in the air from the sewer vent smell can come from toilet if the sewer vent is clogged it can do this.


I would start by treating the waste tank with waste water treatment and flush it with fresh water several times i would also fill the gray tank several times as well, typically you can hire someone to do this,

In oregon we call him the poop doctor lol the rv poop doctor and yes it says it on his work van ive seen him and heard he can fix any waste problem just dont have his number.. good luck dont forget to make sure the vent is not blocked up with dried up toilet paper this happens


rv tech for 10 years
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Old 05-11-2011, 11:59 PM   #3
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I may not be an expert in this but over the years I have had several occasions where there were bad odors in my RV. First thought would be if you are traveling when this happens that the open vent is causing a vacuum which may be drawing fumes through one of your vacume breakers. You will probably have at least one or two under the sinks. On my last motorhome they did not extend the vent pipe high enough and it was venting into the ceiling rather than out the roof. On my present motorhome I have a macerator pump and the 3 inch hose was porous allowing odors to enter the bottom of my motorhome.
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Old 05-12-2011, 01:51 AM   #4
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I had the same problem, so I decided I would install the black water vent cap that has the ability to rotate with the wind and evacuate the gasses in a proactive manner. When I removed the old vent cap, I discovered the vent was plugged at the top from a wasp nest. No doubt this was a factor. I have found though that the new vent cap system works so well, that I haven't had to use "smell be gone" chemicals since. I highly recommend checking them out.
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Old 05-12-2011, 04:59 AM   #5
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The black water tank vent refered to above is a "Cyclone" vent. Available at Camping World or online for less than $20.00. It works! It will solve your problem as we had the same problem until we installed one. Takes about 10 minites to install.
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Old 05-12-2011, 05:12 AM   #6
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Also check your washer drain ,make sure there is water in the p trap, I had an issue with my last coach with that. I also put Calgon water softener in my grey tank after flushing. Keeps everything flowing.
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Old 05-12-2011, 05:25 AM   #7
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I used the 360 Vent. I love it as there are no moving parts to ware out. Besides it works beautifully, no more odors as we drive. http3://360productsnorthamerica.com/site/
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Old 05-12-2011, 05:28 AM   #8
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I have to agreed with BJSheldon, I had the same problem, removed the original stack vents and installed two cyclone vents. What a different.
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Old 05-12-2011, 06:09 AM   #9
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Thanks for all the great responses. Looks like a trip to camping world is on the list and a check of all the p traps.

I checked out the 360 product on line and that one looks intriguing.

Thanks for the great ideas.
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Old 05-12-2011, 06:24 AM   #10
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I had the same problem, so I decided I would install the black water vent cap that has the ability to rotate with the wind and evacuate the gasses in a proactive manner. When I removed the old vent cap, I discovered the vent was plugged at the top from a wasp nest. No doubt this was a factor. I have found though that the new vent cap system works so well, that I haven't had to use "smell be gone" chemicals since. I highly recommend checking them out.
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Old 05-13-2011, 12:42 PM   #11
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While all the explainations above seem logical and are probably correct, consider this. I last year, had what we thought were sewer gas smells, couldnt shake them for anything. we flushed, cleaned flushed and cleaned many times trying to get it out but to no avail..finally one day out on the road, i dropped a screwdriver while walking into the RV, bent down to pick it up and low and behold, the smell was the strongest right there, it was a leaky battery in the battery compartment. changed battery, smell gone!
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Old 05-13-2011, 12:56 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayAre View Post
While all the explainations above seem logical and are probably correct, consider this. I last year, had what we thought were sewer gas smells, couldnt shake them for anything. we flushed, cleaned flushed and cleaned many times trying to get it out but to no avail..finally one day out on the road, i dropped a screwdriver while walking into the RV, bent down to pick it up and low and behold, the smell was the strongest right there, it was a leaky battery in the battery compartment. changed battery, smell gone!
Thank you for the different point of view.
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Old 05-13-2011, 10:59 PM   #13
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Hmmm ... I never heard the OP say he has the problem when parked ... only when traveling WITH ONE ROOF VENT OPEN. The first thing I would do, before trying to fix a sewer vent problem that may not exist, is to try driving somewhere WITHOUT a roof vent open. Then, if there's no smell, voila, you've fixed your problem! If not, then you can proceed to try the other fixes suggested here.
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Old 05-13-2011, 11:25 PM   #14
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I always close the roof vents when traveling and have the vent or heat or ac on from the dash which will pressurize the cabin slightly and push odors out and never have had any sewer smell
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