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black tank oder

Yahoo Message Number: 88524
I have a 99 Allure, after sitting a few days, when we get in motion we get sewer oder. i installed a swivel venturi vent that is suppose to suck the oder out the vent, didn't work. Anyone have this problem, I've never had this with a coach before, thanks in advance for any help

Re: black tank oder

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88528
We had the same problem and after many gyrations of filling the washing machine and shower P traps, and changing the under-sink vents and the vents on top of the coach, it turned out to be the seal between the toilet and floor. After a few attempts on that seal I finally purchased a toilet wax "donate" at Lowes which fixed the problem two years ago.

Larry, 03 Allure 30856

Re: black tank oder

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88530
We've found that all windows and vents must be closed tightly before you flush the toilet and enough water has to be in the bowl.
As other have mentioned, water in all the drains, or it could be the anti-siphon trap vent device under the kitchen or bathroom sink. http://www.rvdoctor.com/2011/06/rv-waste-system-plumbing-odors-under.html
Another problem is the washer-dryer combo. If you haven't used it lately, the trap dries out. Add some water to the washer and spin out.

Lonny & Diane
'04 Allure #31065

Re: black tank oder

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88535
When we purchased our original 98 Allure it was supplied with ECO-SAV, which works very effectively at controlling odors from black and grey water tanks. ( Its available from Carr Industries.) It comes in two forms, dry and wet. I use the dry with the holding tanks. But every once in a while I use a little bit of liquid for the shower and kitchen sink P-traps. One issue you must look into is the p-traps leaking or drying out allow odors to penetrate the coach. What's great about ECO-SAV is after you add the prescribed amount for your size holding tanks, then the more water you add the more effective it becomes. Remember if you have a gravity toilet the water level must be higher than the solid waste level in the tank, that's why they say add water. In my case I have a Marine toilet with a P-trap, so its no big issue. But the grey water with the three sinks can be an issue and as the kitchen sink doesn't have a vent pipe so periodic treatment is required.
All that being said if you have a slide room leaks are more prone to happen at junctions in the waste water pipes, so check those locations for seepage.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731

Re: black tank oder

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88544
Quote from: pplrry"

> I have a 99 Allure, after sitting a few days, when we get in motion we get sewer oder. i installed a swivel venturi vent that is suppose to suck the oder out the vent, didn't work. Anyone have this problem, I've never had this with a coach before, thanks in advance for any help >
We had sewer like that also and found out it was comming from a dry p-trap in the washer dryer. ran the unit for a short time , drained the water , no more oder.
Bill , cc11266

Re: black tank oder

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88552
Common on our Coachs, Make sure the holes are plugged in the china bowel toilet! Use Silicome sealer to plug or do what I did replace the rubber seal with the Non vent hole type under china bowel, A Good RV Supply store can help as a friend told me there. Also even plugged still get oder when traveling, Try to dump before travel will help, Also did the venturi thing! CC Owners say this is common on our builds! Ken 99 Allure 30356

Re: black tank oder

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95832
We will open our bathroom window about a half inch when going down the road and it helps equalize the cabin pressure and removes the odor. We also have vent caps on the roof of the coach. I see that others use RID X in their black water tanks and say that eliminates the odor. Hope this helps you out.

Re: black tank oder

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95835
We have tried all the vents, these work. Install on EVERYpipe on the roof.
You must use Rid-X to develop a bacteria culture. Rinse both tanks. Add Rid-x to both tanks, drive the motorhome around to get the solution on all the walls. Leave it a couple days if possible, dump and now add the Rid-X to both tanks. NEVER use a chemical again. We finally switched over four years ago and the odor is no longer an issue.
I forgot, dissolve some Rid-x and pour into the sink, the shower drain and the bathroom. I use the powder Rid-x from Wal Mart very inexpensive.

Stan-Inspire 2005
51406

Re: black tank oder

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95852
Rid-X is not mandatroy, we have holding tanks not septic tanks, Rid-X has seemed to help clean up a mess especially when it can be left in the tank for extended period like 30 or more days. Once our tank was cleaned up we started the GEO method with nothing but laundry soap and Calgon water softner powder.
The idea behind the softner is it makes the water "wetter" and makes the sides of the tank "slippery", think of what your skin feels like when you shower in soft water.
We only add soap and softner about every 4th or 5th dump or last dump before going home for a few weeks. One key for those that are not fulltiming never leave tank empty and allow it to dry always leave water in the tank when it will sit for a while. My less than precise method is to count to 10 with the flush running and then walk over to the shutoff and turn the water off. Depending on how far the faucet is this puts 5-10 gallons in the tank to slosh around keep things wet.

Ray

They say wine improves with age! As I enter my golden years, I say age improves with wine! The Born Loser

Re: black tank oder

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95854
Ray,

I cannot change what has been successful, But I like the idea of putting water softener in the mix. Many years ago I taught Photography we we used that stuff called film !! The final step before placing in the drier was to run the film thru a product called photo flo. This was a wetting agent that made water wetter. You could see the water just run off the film without leaving any streaks.
I will add the wetting agent to my process. ------ Thank You -- Always good to improve on methods to make are RVing more fun.

Stan--51406
2005 Inspire

Re: black tank oder

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95857
BTW the Rid-X will not hurt the system in any way, just not really required on ongoing basis. Probably not a bad idea though for people that do not regularly use their coach. The other one is many things to do with our rolling homes have more than one way to accomplish a task and you pick what works for you the only exception should be something that can enganger you or the people around you.

Ray

They say wine improves with age! As I enter my golden years, I say age improves with wine! The Born Loser

Re: black tank oder

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95861
Ray wrote: "...GEO method with nothing but laundry soap and Calgon water softner powder."
Ray, where do you get powdered Calgon? Most Walmarts have it in liquid, which is more expensive. I haven't seen powdered in several years.
As a point of interest, we've used nothing but GEO method for 12 years and no one holds their nose when they see us coming.

Thanks,

Jim Barber, CO
'87 LTD #4223

Re: black tank oder

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95862
I must have missed an explanation as to what GEO is, and sure would appreciate learning what it is. Thanks!

Mary Frederick
06 Inspire 51784

Re: black tank oder

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95863
We have had the box of cagon for a while, goes a long way. One other I didn't mention earlier is when using powder I use a large pan filled with hot water to dissolve the powder, doesn't help much if laying on bottom of tank still in powder form!

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"jrbarber7@... [Country-Coach-Owners]" wrote:

Ray wrote: "...GEO method with nothing but laundry soap and Calgon water softner powder."
Ray, where do you get powdered Calgon? Most Walmarts have it in liquid, which is more expensive. I haven't seen powdered in several years.
As a point of interest, we've used nothing but GEO method for 12 years and no one holds their nose when they see us coming.

Thanks,

Jim Barber, CO
'87 LTD #4223

Re: black tank oder

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95866
Mary here is a link to a description of the GEO method, I don't use the bleach and haven't had a problem. Good bacteria will dissolve stuff too and the bleach kills everything. After bleach is flushed out is good time for Rid-X to get good bacteria going again.

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"Mary Frederick maryf@... [Country-Coach-Owners]" wrote:

I must have missed an explanation as to what GEO is, and sure would appreciate learning what it is. Thanks!

Mary Frederick
06 Inspire 51784

Re: black tank oder

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 95867
Oops forgot link
http://www.ehow.com/way_5945730_homemade-rv-holding-tank-treatment.html

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Ray & Cheryl wrote:

Mary here is a link to a description of the GEO method, I don't use the bleach and haven't had a problem. Good bacteria will dissolve stuff too and the bleach kills everything. After bleach is flushed out is good time for Rid-X to get good bacteria going again.

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