Community Forums

David2 · 06-11-2015, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockintom

David, You are getting some different information here. Briefly, the black and grey tanks have vents and they on the roof. Since the tank is new I hoping that you haven't damaged it (unlikely). And as mentioned in a previous post here, the first place for the water to overflow in the rig is the shower drain. Let's hope the shower overflowed onto the floor and down into the belly.

My suggestion is to open up the basement doors and put a fan in the basement and let it run with the utility doors open for a day or two. The belly material is designed to be porous and will dry out (no poop since it is grey water and clean at that since new tank). Then pray! That's it. Use your grey tank as normal and keep a watch for water dripping from the belly as it nears a full tank. If it does, you've split the seam or have a crack near the top of the tank (based on my experience with Excel grey tank water leaks). I'm a betting man and if the tank was installed correctly and all, you're OK. Otherwise then it's tank time again. I'm feeling strong in your favor! I would not be so optimistic if your tank had whiskers on it.

Bottom line is don't get too excited yet and start taking apart for inspection. Just dry out as I've outlined and wait and see.

Rob....I'm confused on the AAVs valve statement. They are located on the sinks and allow air to flow in, not water out. Water rises in the shower drain first before either of sinks. rockin'

I found no water on the kitchen or bathroom floors unfortunately
BTW, what is the procedure for removing the underbelly fabric?
Thanks to everyone for their replies!

rockintom · 06-11-2015, 12:48 PM

Oh my David....I'm trying my best to be optimistic here.....but based on what you just said....mmmmm.....not looking good. rockin'

Rob17 · 06-11-2015, 01:08 PM

Yep, in addition if you haven't found any water in the basement the problem is probably at the tank. The tank may be cracked our you don't have a good seal where the vent pipe meets the tank.

Like Tom said, I would just operate normally and don't let the tank fill. If no more water leaks you can probably live with it.

Hikerdogs · 06-11-2015, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David2

I found no water on the kitchen or bathroom floors unfortunately
BTW, what is the procedure for removing the underbelly fabric?
Thanks to everyone for their replies!

If the tank is new it's more likely the water is seeping out where the fill tube enters the tank rather than a cracked tank. I'm not sure how yours is held in place. Some manufacturers glue theirs into a fitting on the tank. Others use compression fitting like the ones used on the shower and sink drains. If it's the latter style you could just have a loose fitting.

Tony Lee · 06-11-2015, 01:55 PM

I wouldn't get too drastic with ripping the RV apart just yet. All too often the vent pipes are just shoved down through a hole cut in the top of the tank and then more or less sealed. Same goes for the inlet pipes so it is quite likely there might be a bit of a leak if the tank gets filled to the top. Even if they use proper seal rubbers or even glue, it isn't impossible that there is a bit of leakage

Filling the grey tank should not cause damage to the tank. If that were the case every fresh, grey and black tank in just about every RV would be damaged.

Unless your shower has a back-flow preventer (which some do), the shower usually overflows on to the floor.

rockintom · 06-11-2015, 05:20 PM

David, As with anything on the internet, please be cautious of taking the comments of all the folks that make statement about your condition. Many folks mean well, but their comments may be on RVs in general and NOT Excel specific. They have a right to their opinions, too.

I have a hard time understanding how the water can come up to the sink drain first if the sink drain is 3 foot higher than the shower drain. You can hear the P-traps gurgling in the bathroom and kitchen sink but the water actually comes out the shower drain first on all the Excels I'm familiar with.

To get the belly blanket off on the Excel is quite easy. Reinstalling it is a bit tougher. Especially on the first one, it takes 2-3 folks and stretching of the material and someone to do the reinstalling of the screws. And lots of thick pink insulation (moist and heavy at this point!) to deal with. Some of the Excel dealers that do the blanket job on a daily basis have made tools to assist in the job of reinstalling of the blanket. Just sayin'

Bottom line....you don't want to do it unless you HAVE to. Goes back to my original comment of "lets wait and see". Excitement of the mishap needs to subside a bit. Nothing gained by getting in a hurry in my opinion. Let the blanket dry as mentioned and we'll reevaluate in a few days. Or as I say.....let's have a glass of wine! rockin'

65bill · 06-11-2015, 06:15 PM

Ihad the same trouble. I took the underbelly off, took the insulation out and left fans blow on it. I filled up the tanks with water and nothing leaked out. The only thing I found under there is the tube that came from the water heater was laying in the insulation but I could find no leaks where the water came out of it. So far all is well.

Geo-Col · 06-13-2015, 03:46 PM

David,
Hate this for you. I just climbed out from under my 2014IKE repairing my grey tank. It cracked while we were setting still, water did not back up into shower, just cracked the side of the tank!!!! Excel did not know how to install tanks, very frustrated. Used Plasti-mend to repair. I added 4 more straps and filled tank to test. Only time will tell if ok.
George

Gordon Dewald · 06-13-2015, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David2

Actually, it's been my experience with the 31ike that the gray water backs
up into the sink before the shower. I found no water in the shower or on the bath floor or kitchen floor, just water leaking from the underbelly. That's my concern.

I would follow rockins advice for the short term. Watch to see if you can repeat the leaking without over filling the tank. If it does not leak again you are golden. If it does leak then it would be time to do the work to fix it.

I would set it up where you filled the tank to 2/3+ full and left it sit for a couple days to see if it leaks.

It may be advantageous to start dumping at 2/3 full if you think it may be cracked.

Could be the connection on the top of the tank to the roof vent was not totally sealed.

rockintom · 06-13-2015, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Could be the connection on the top of the tank to the roof vent was not totally sealed.

Gordon, if the vent or grey drain into the tank not being sealed....that is visible from inside the utility/electrical center. Not nec to do any thing under the rig. Where those pipes enter the utility floor the cut out is like 6" X 6" and easy to see things. One of the first and easiest checks. rockin'

Mike and Cha · 06-13-2015, 04:42 PM

Unless you had a faulty tank to begin with there is no way what you did cracked the tank. There is simply not enough pressure to do so and as mentioned the water will rise to the level of least resistance, usually that is the shower drain, if not it could have went up the vent tubes which exit through the roof, or like Gordon said you could just have a bad connection at the vent tube/holding tank connection. Try what people have been recommending before tearing everything apart.

TexasTwoStep · 06-14-2015, 06:57 AM

As usual, Tom is right on. I don't know how Excel produced so many rvs and never managed to get the tank issue resolved. Anyway, if your problem is not at the vent stack outlet or valve outlet then I suspect it is a crack on the top next to the flange on the long side. That seems to be a weak spot and where the crack on my unit was located. This means that the tank has to be totally full for the leak to show up.
I guess the external straps and internal straps that are visible at the service panel are still intact? You'd think the straps would have kept this from happening if properly installed.
You know, the crack described above would be hard to discern on a visual inspection. It's possible the tank was damaged prior to installation.

Route 66 · 06-14-2015, 01:48 PM

All members are welcome to post in all forums here at iRV2.

If you don't like their comments, then ignore them.

You may not chastise them or tell them not to post in a certain forum.

iRV2 is inclusive, not exclusive.

Thanks!

drfife · 06-14-2015, 02:22 PM

If the comment is incorrect to the OP's question, how should we respond?

If they wanted generic responses they would have asked the question in the generic forum topics. But they had a brand specific question and they posted in a specific owners forum.

I am not trying to be a smart a or condescending, I really want Admin's opinion on how to respond to false, inaccurate comments to questions.