Community Forums

WRP · 09-04-2018, 05:44 PM

I have a 2017 Jayco motor home . We get an awful smell from our black tank . We use Blue Power. We flush tank out every time we dump and that awful smell comes back in a day or 2 .
Any ideas. Thank you

BFlinn181 · 09-04-2018, 06:23 PM

Is the smell inside the RV or outside? If inside, check under the sinks for an AAV (cheater valve) that is supposed to prevent odors from coming back up the drain and maintaining the water in the P-trap. These AAV do fail and easy to replace. You'll find the valve screwed into a verticle pipe the 'T's off the drain after the P-trap. They can be found at any home improvement or plumbing supply store.

4gone · 09-04-2018, 07:08 PM

In my previous coaches I never had an issue with odor getting into the unit. With the new Minnie Winnie I find that if I am running the vent fan in the bathroom or the Fantastic vent in the bedroom it is enough to pull the odor up out of the tank whenever we flush. Did a test to see if it stopped when I wasn't running fans and we got no odor. If I started the fan and flushed we had the odor.

WRP · 09-04-2018, 08:41 PM

I have the odor all the time. After tank is treated And flushed . Maybe check valve needs attention.

BFlinn181 · 09-04-2018, 09:10 PM

Make sure the toilet bowl retains a bit of water and the seal doesn't leak. In addition, I'd look and make sure all openings between the living quarters and the wet bay are sealed up. Expanding spray foam might help fill some gaps around pipes. As a previous post said, any vent fans, roof vents, open windows, can create negative pressure in the RV and draw air (and odors) from the wet bay. Your black tank shouldn't smell at all on the outside, you may have a bad connection between the tank and the vent that runs up to the roof.

The odor of the grey tank, the one that would be coming in a faulty AAV, can be as bad as the black tank from soap scum and food bits that go down the sink. I'd deodorize that tank in addition to your black tank.

4gone · 09-05-2018, 03:47 AM

I second the water in the toilet. Also make sure the vent on the roof isn't plugged.

NYBobbo · 09-05-2018, 06:00 AM

I've found "happy camper" to work well in the tank for both odor and breaking down solids.

In addition I have "shark fin" vent toppers, they rotate with wind and pull the odors out.

The only time I smelled anything it was the LP regulator leaking

luvlabs · 09-05-2018, 11:03 AM

Unless your toilet doesn't hold water or you are running the bathroom exhaust fan when flushing the toilet, it is not your black tank. Most likely, as Bob Flinn said, it's your grey tank AAV valves. AAV (air admittance valves) allow your sinks to drain smoothly without going blub, blub, blub. However, RV manufacturers seem to use the worst ones available to them. Look under your sinks for the AAV valves and replace with new ones (Lowes and Home Depot are good sources).

You might also want to dump some of your black tank chemicals down the sink drain to help keep down some of the gray tank smells as well.

NormD · 09-05-2018, 08:37 PM

My 2001 Winnebago Brave did not have the vent pipe sealed to the black water tank, so there was odor when driving, especially with a window open. A quanty of sealant dumped down the hole around the vent pipe cured the problem

elite wa · 09-09-2018, 10:24 PM

I have found that some of the chemical tank stuff causes more odor as the waste breaks down. I found an organic one that works better. Also added a cyclone vent and that has helped a lot

1doodadd · 09-09-2018, 10:29 PM

I have the same problem when I run the whole house fan in the coach. It comes when the P trap for the washer is dry and not making the seal between the coach and tank. Also in my shower I have a sealing drain that I have to activate too also seal between the coach and the tank. when I have the two sealed problem solved

BFlinn181 · 09-09-2018, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1doodadd

I have the same problem when I run the whole house fan in the coach. It comes when the P trap for the washer is dry and not making the seal between the coach and tank. Also in my shower I have a sealing drain that I have to activate too also seal between the coach and the tank. when I have the two sealed problem solved

If you're not using your washer very often, the water can slosh out or evaporate from the laundry P-Trap. If you don't have a washer, put a PVC end cap on the drain. You don't have to glue it, it will fit snuggly enough without glue.

THenne1713 · 09-10-2018, 11:05 PM

Have read of a couple of potential causes: 1) vent FAN running when flushed; 2) Tank VENT VALVE (when equipped, usually under sink??) is defective (should only SUCK air into tank, when defective, can leak stinky into space); 3) Roof Vent PIPE (when equipped) not properly anchored, weight of pipe pushes down on tank top and top of pipe drops down, is now loose in wall, venting INSIDE. Hope this helps

keymastr · 09-12-2018, 01:40 PM

My black tank vent stack on the roof is only a couple feet from the bathroom vent so when the wind comes from that direction it pulls the smelly air right in the vent. Solved that issue with a MaxxFan which pushes the air out the vent much better than the wimpy factory unit. Much quieter too.