Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > iRV2.com COMMUNITY FORUMS > iRV2.com General Discussion
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 01-02-2022, 03:53 PM   #43
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 678
You may have the wrong type of anode in your heater - verify the type (think it's magnesium not aluminum) because I had the same problem because I used the wrong anode. As soon as I went to the approved metal the issue went away. I am pretty sure it's magnesium you want, but verify with the manufacturer.
PeterFTH is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-02-2022, 03:53 PM   #44
Senior Member
 
Monaco Owners Club
Appalachian Campers
Mid Atlantic Campers
Coastal Campers
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 321
The smell of rotten eggs is hydrogen sulfide given off by dying iron or sulphur bacteria. It would have come in with well water from a campground, or a source of water with the bacteria growing in it. A good example is old cast iron city water piping at the end of the pipeline where flow is minimal and chlorination becomes almost non existent. Once in your plumbing, it can only be removed by superchlorinating everything, and or flushing with a surfactant. If you have a 100 gallon water tank, run it all out. fill a small amount in. 10 to 15 gallons with 2 to 3 gallons of bleach and a few cups of simple green. drive around a bit to mix it all up, then run each faucet, toilet, shower, hot and cold till you smell the bleach. Don't forget your icemaker. Let sit for 8 hours then flush it all out and rinse with clean chlorinated city water. If any is left in the system, it will eventually come back. When you flush, remove the aerators as they may clog with dead iron/sulphur bacteria sloughing off the pipes. Changing the anode as suggested may reduce the smell, but will not eliminate the problem. Aluminum and Magnesium anodes react with the bacteria differently, sometimes accentuating the smell.
richardgood is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:08 PM   #45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Riverside Ca.
Posts: 119
If you get it you will remember it!!
Ugg!! I have always used chlorine through my system when it does occur. In my Coach it requires connecting a fill hose, then pouring it full with chlorine, then adding a water source to push the chlorine into the tank. A messy way to do it for sure, but very effective. Circulate water through entire system in clouding Hot Water heater, let sit over night. Drain system flush all lines clear of chlorine and refill. This has always worked for me!! It has only been necessary about 4-5 times in about 50 years of Rving. They make a tool for just that purpose! I saw one on line.
My plan is to make one the next time I encounter Rotten Eggs. 🤓🤓
Ken L. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:14 PM   #46
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 14
I think you are on the wrong track. Check your batteries. Failing batteries will produce serious H2SO4 odor. I’ve had the problem twice with failing batteries- once with house bank, once with chassis bank.
HardTrvln is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:18 PM   #47
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: NC
Posts: 45
It is iron bacteria which is generally harmless. We have it at our house when we are away for a while. We just flush the hot water heater and lines when we first get home and that gets rid of it. Just run the hot water at each faucet until you no longer get the smell and you should be good to go!
__________________
Moe & Ella
2005 Monaco Signature Cateau IV
Yadkinville, NC
MonacoSig is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:22 PM   #48
Senior Member
 
tmelsonjr's Avatar
 
Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: new orleans
Posts: 103
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisDParise View Post
Drain your hw heater, open faucets and low point drains.
Add hydrogen peroxide, a whole 16 oz bottle if you can or as much as your hw heater will take, then fill hw heater with water and water lines and let it sit overnight.

It's a bacteria odor, hydrogen peroxide kills it.

Rinse once and you should be ok.


2x that had that happen to me and that was the fix
__________________
07 Itasca sunrise
Toad: jeep jk
takecare
tmelsonjr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:28 PM   #49
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1
Try replacing or delete the anode rod in the water heater, they attack those annoying chemical's
schill11 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:31 PM   #50
Senior Member
 
DFord's Avatar
 
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Near St Louis, MO
Posts: 578
BEST PRACTICE is to ALWAYS DRAIN YOUR WATER HEATER BETWEEN USES.
Doing that will go a long way to eliminating bad odors and prolong the life of your water heater.

Here's link to the Installation, Operation and Maintenance Manual for Suburban water heaters.

https://www.rvupgradestore.com/v/vsp...tionManual.pdf


ANODE PROTECTION
The tank in this water heater is protected by a magnesium or aluminum anode to prolong the life of the tank by absorbing the corrosive action of hot water. Under normal use, the anode rod will deteriorate and because of this, we recommend it be replaced yearly.

NOTE: Water with high levels of iron and/or sulfate will increase the rate of deterioration; therefore, more frequent replacement may be required. If anode rod is mostly eaten away, replace it with a new one. (See Figure 12).

To prevent a water leak when replacing the anode rod, a pipe thread sealant approved for potable water (such as Teflon Tape) must be applied to the threads of the anode rod. Proper application of a thread sealant will not interfere with the anode’s tank protection.

Operating the water heater without proper anode protection will decrease tank life and will void your warranty on the tank.

NOTE: Tank is drained by removing anode rod, see the “Draining and Storage Instructions” section of this manual.

To extend anode life, drain water from tank whenever RV is not being used. Avoid any extended time of non-use with water in tank. Also, refer to section on Winterizing
Attached Images
File Type: bmp Anode Protection.bmp (1.53 MB, 19 views)
DFord is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:37 PM   #51
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 5
So I have sanitized my and many other HW tanks over the years. It sounds like you have a filter which makes it an easy process. First drain the hot water tank. Remove the filter and add one cup of bleach to the filter canister and screw that back on. Open a hot water faucet inside somewhere hook up to water source and turn on water let it fill the hot water tank with the bleach water mixture. Let the bleach water sit in the hot water tank for about 15 minutes. After about 15 minutes open all the faucets let that bleach water run through the lines. A few minutes of letting the bleach water run turn everything off during the hot water tank put your filter back in. Turn water source back on let the water run so you don't smell bleach anymore in the lines all set.
Michiganders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:46 PM   #52
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 7
When I added peroxide I unrolled my hose to empty and then filled the hose with peroxide. Hook back up, turn the water back on and open the hot water faucet in the bathroom. This should run the peroxide into the water heater. Let set a day and then drain water heater. Refill and check for smell. You also have on your heater anode rod which is to collect water problems. Either replace, it is a part of your drain plug, or remove completely, as on home water heaters, by just cutting it off completely
1 Auctioneer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:51 PM   #53
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 2
Rotten egg smell in water

I had this problem with hot water going bad in the tank. Suggest you drain the hot water tank and in future run the hot water out when your trip is over. That solved the problem for me
BigAlfa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 04:54 PM   #54
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 28
Blog Entries: 1
Holy rotten eggs

Does your hot water heater have an anode. That happened at my water heater at home. Changed out the anode and everything was fine.
KJJUSIE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 05:10 PM   #55
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 14
Silly question but has anyone considered the possibility of anti-freeze leaking or being left in the HWH. Any amount, once heated, will produce a very nasty rotten egg smell.
Vulcan1500 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2022, 05:21 PM   #56
Senior Member
 
mikebreeze's Avatar
 
Thor Owners Club
Solo Rvers Club
Mid Atlantic Campers
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Manassas, VA
Posts: 755
Drain your hot water tank after every trip. And the next time that you take a trip run the water for a long time. I usually fill the incoming hose with bleach the first time that I go camping in a given year or after I accidently forget to drain the hot water heater and get the rotten egg smell. It gets flushed through your system and will not harm you since it is a small amount. All is usually better afterwards
__________________
2006 Four Winds Majestic 23A
mikebreeze is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Our fresh water smells like rotten eggs TheNKs Entegra Owner's Forum 23 04-29-2021 04:50 PM
Gray tank rotten eggs smell - galley tank - only 2/3 full? pilotchip iRV2.com General Discussion 6 10-04-2020 10:57 AM
Rotten Eggs spritz RV Systems & Appliances 33 07-16-2014 06:21 AM
Onan LP Generator smells like rotten eggs... scottdoz RV Systems & Appliances 9 07-14-2013 08:32 PM
Dang Kids & Eggs Y-Guy Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum 8 05-13-2007 05:50 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:20 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.