Holding tank odor & chemical use

[sightseers]

We have a 29 ft 2008 Sightseer and just got back from our first long trip. During the trip noticed a serious holding tank odor when we had the front windows open. It was also noticeable in the bathroom. Tried different combination's of vents and window openings to reduce odor. It was most noticeable after going through a series of dips and was present even with empty tanks. When stopped, there was no odor. An RV service center suggested that paper may have clogged the vent and I tried pouring water down to no avail. Also suggested a wind vane vent cover. Has any one had similar experience?

On a related topic, I switched to a citric based tank chemical and notice that black tank has some solid waste even after dumping. Try to use lots of water, but maybe not enough (?). I read about using water softener and tried adding some in with the tank chemicals. What is the recommended chemical and how do I get rid of the solids in the tank?

[Stone Man]

When I got my first rv a 5th wheel I got it from some people that where full time rv folks. When I went to the 5th wheel the first time no odor It was like my home. So I ask what was the trick. This is what they told me and what I do. I do not use tank chemical I think it is as bad as what goes it. I use soap that you use in the washer at home if you like that use it in the black tank. I use two small cups and put about 5 gal of water to start. as you move it cleans the tank and takers care of the paper. I have used it for 15 years now. works for me. I use potpouri in the rv to.

[RVDude]

I use no additive whatsoever in either tank and have never had an odor and I full time too.

[Pubtym]

http://www.camco.net/Menu.cfm?SupCat...ProductId=2548

If you don't have one of these..please consider it...it works and probably will solve 99 percent of odor problem. For the other one percent..frequently silicon spray lube your toilet valve so it slides completely closed. Valve partial opening (1/16 inch) allows reverse air flow of stinky air into the coach.

Good luck and best wishes for fresher air..

[sgb]

We have 2 bathrooms in the MH. We never buy or add any kind of chemicals in the tanks (this is what we have been advised to do by experienced RVers). We make sure that there is always plenty of water in the toilets when we travel, or store the MH for a few weeks. May be we've just been lucky !

[becks]

We also use no chemicals in our tanks, just plenty of water. Never have any oder.

[skigramp]

We use no chemicals. We use lots of water when we use the toilet.

After dumping I immediately put about 5 gallons of water in the black tank so that the solids and paper do not build up in one spot. I add the water either by using my backflush ... or by filling the toilet bowl three or four times and flushing.

About once a month just before we are going to travel I dump a cup of Calgon Water Softner and a cup of laundry detergent into each of the holding tanks ...

When I arrive I dump ... this cleans the tanks (and hopefully the sensors)

[DAN L]

Originally Posted by sightseers

We have a 29 ft 2008 Sightseer and just got back from our first long trip. During the trip noticed a serious holding tank odor when we had the front windows open. It was also noticeable in the bathroom. Tried different combination's of vents and window openings to reduce odor. It was most noticeable after going through a series of dips and was present even with empty tanks. When stopped, there was no odor. An RV service center suggested that paper may have clogged the vent and I tried pouring water down to no avail. Also suggested a wind vane vent cover. Has any one had similar experience?

On a related topic, I switched to a citric based tank chemical and notice that black tank has some solid waste even after dumping. Try to use lots of water, but maybe not enough (?). I read about using water softener and tried adding some in with the tank chemicals. What is the recommended chemical and how do I get rid of the solids in the tank?

i add one capful of liquid calgon water softener from wally world every time after i dump and flush the black tank. i flush the black tank 2 or 3 times.
i add 12. oz of bleach to the gray tank every time about 5 minutes before i dump the gray tank to help sanitize the stinky slinky.

[W8RLM]

I'd suggest one other possibility. We had a similar problem and found that the vent pipe became disconnected from the holding tank. The entire compartment where the holding tanks are located had to be disassembled, cleaned and sanitized, and then reassembled.

On my Journey, on the side opposite the water and sewer hookups, there is a panel that can be removed. It will give you access to the holding tanks, and you can check to see if your vent lines are attached.

Good Luck

W8RLM - Bob

[Ron Postma]

There also could be a vent issue. We had the same problem so I decided to change the vent caps. When I took them off the vent pipes were way too long and were sealed off by the caps. I cut them down and installed turbo vent caps. Now no problem at all. I sometime use happy camper.

[donaldr]

We have 2006 Sightseer with exactly the same problems with bathroom and coach odors with front windows open. To be frank have not solved problem yet but here is what I have done.

The short temporary solution is to seal the bottom of the bathroom door with a cloth when moving and slightly open the roof vent. This has stopped the coach odor but, as I said, has not solved the problem.

I have installed an electrical fan on the roof vent that does not solve the problem. Originally I installed a vaned venturi on the roof vent but that did not work eigher. I also removed the toilet to check the seal. The toilet sets on the vertical sewer pipe and is sealed with a simple large rubber o-ring. If the sewer pipe is slightly too low there can be a problem. I used construction sealer to be sure the seal was good but even after that work we still have that odor problem while moving.

My next step is to look at the vent pipe connection to the black tank. Also, I am going to completely take apart the toilet pedestal and verify that there are no leaks in the piping system. (My theory is that there has to be a leak in the black piping/tank system somewhere that as air is sucked out through the front window while driving, air from the black water system is sucked out.)

One other problem that I found with the Sightseer, at least the 2006, is that we seem to be getting a very subtle odor in the coach even when the coach is sitting and sitting for a long period of time. I believe I found the problem is that under the kitchen sink behind the vertical wooden panel that you see when you open the access doors under the sink is a hole in the floor with water and sewer pipes (If you pull out the two drawers on the side of the kitchen sink cabinet you can see the hole.) The hole is cut through to the basement into the vault that contains the sewer dump pipes and the plastic dump hoses you store for dumping. There seems to be a constant odor coming from that vault directly up under the sink and into the kitchen area and into the bathroom through the wall vent at floor level in the bathroom (we did not have caps on the sewer dump pipes and there were "spills" and that odor leaked "upstairs").

I stuffed cloth in the hole and then sprayed construction expansion foam into the hole in sections, that I let dry, until the entire hole was filled and sealed air tight. (If plumbing repairs are required at a later date, the foam can be cut out with a knife.)

The bottom line is that the slight constant sewer odor that we had, even while not moving is now gone. This is an engineering error in the Sightseer design, in my opinion.

I will repost when I finish further investigation of the toilet system.

[Ed-Sommers]

Last summer I had an odor problem for the first time in 8 years of full timing.

What I finally realized was that I had been using a lot more bleach because I recently added a clothes washer to the rig, and my habit of rinsing the black tank with the gray water was messing up the natural goings on in the black tank.

I stopped rinsing the black tank all together, and let nature do its thing, and have had no problems with odor since.

Ed

[Always-RVing]

I recently talked to an RV MH owner who said the MH required enlarged black tank (and loooked like grey tank) roof vents. No problems since.