Sewer odor

[Tweedy]

We have a 2011 Big Country 3250TS and just completed our second outing of the summer in it. We are experiencing a strong sewer smell when flushing the toilet. This seems to occur more noticeably when the vent over toilet is open with fan running which is of course the desireable time to use the fan. Without going into additional morbid detail I will only add that this is not just a slight odor. It drives you outside until it clears. I'm quite sure the roof vent isn't plugged because the unit is virtually new and hasn't been under any trees etc.

Is there anyone out there with similar experience and what was done to fix the problem.

 

[Invizatu]

I can only assume that you started out with 3 or 4 gallons of water and a sewer treatment packet / deoderizer? Also the deoderizers will only last about 7 days if it's really hot outside. Dump and flush and then stick some water and a packet in it and see what happens. Let us know.

 

[Invizatu]

When I say dump and flush, I mean the tank itself!

 

[Birchwood]

Check for smell in your basement and undercarrige and if thats clear it means you
probably don't have a leak in your black tank or fittings to the tank.If the smell is
in the bathroom area add lots of water to your tank.Recently we have found a
leak in our black tank that has been causing us problems since the RV was 8 months
old.We got sewer seepage from a small hole in the upper third of our tank.It only
occurred when the tank was full so now we empty it more often.We just received
a new tank from Heartland at a cost of $85 for the tank and $291 for freight.

 

[cookie]

Tweedy, what you are experiencing is normal in your circumstance. If you flush with the fan running, the fan is pulling air from the tank vent right through the black tank. The only thing that can happen is to draw that tank air into your coach. You can change the smell by using a tank deoderizer, but you will still be drawing air up from the tank.

Peace
Dave

 

[Hastey]

I put one of the cyclone vents on top and it really made a difference. We were getting the same thing.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/cyclone-sewer-vent/31992

 

[TandT]

Hastey.
I used one of the Camco cyclone vent toppers too and I couldn't belive how well it worked. I was a little skeptical going in ,but I highly recommend them. Trace

 

[Hastey]

Hastey.
I used one of the Camco cyclone vent toppers too and I couldn't belive how well it worked. I was a little skeptical going in ,but I highly recommend them. Trace

I was skeptical myself, but it works great.

 

[Yellowreef]

Sorry for the basic nature of the question but when troubleshooting you cant assume anything. The tank valve was closed right? Also, did you have plenty of water and deodorizer in the tank? I can only assume that if this only happens when flushing there are no leaks in the venting, so starting from square one.

 

[ihsolutions]

I put one of the cyclone vents on top and it really made a difference. We were getting the same thing.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/cyclone-sewer-vent/31992

I just watched the install video and they recommend SILICONE caulk to seal the area where the vent meet the roof. It's really, really scary how much BAD information is out there on dealing with a rubber roof. And to think, this is from a company that also makes rubber roof patch material!

Having said that, I might give one of these a try, of course using the correct Dicor self leveling lap sealant.

 

[gratton]

What I did when I installed mine was to take the cap off the vent. Then I trimmed the inside of the cap in order to allow me to slide the Cyclone Sewer Vent inside the cap over the pipe. Then used the set screws to secure. I then cut a Dicor patch to size and wrapped that around the tube to fill the gap between the old vent and the new cyclone vent. By doing this I did not take the whole vent off the roof and did not have to deal with making sure I leveled it right.

 

[Lovetocamp]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and new to owning a 5er. My wife and I upgraded from a North Trail TT to a Big Country 3595re and I have never been happier. I, unfortunately, am also having the same problem as the original poster where we have a bad sewer smell everytime the toilet is flushed and it doesn't seem to matter if our bathroom vent is open or closed. I have read a lot the repsonses and am hoping that it might be a combination of not enough water being used and a venting issue. My TT had a 30 gallon black tank and this one has a 45 gallon, but I have not really added any extra water. I am also guessing that since we don't smell it unless we flush then I am assuming that we don't have a leak. I understand that there is a vent for each holding tank. Since we have 3 holding tanks (2 gray and 1 black) I guess we have 3 vents?? Any idea on which vent is the black tank vent? I would like to install a cylcone sewer vent on ours as well to see if it helps with this. Thanks for the suggestions so far and any further help you can offer.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Lovetocamp,

There are several threads about sewer smell and how to locate the vent on the roof..The vent that is right above the toilet is usually the one for the black tank. There have been several ways mentioned on how to make sure it is the one. One of the ways to locate the vent is for you to get on roof,,, have DW hold down flush lever and stick head into toilet and call your name while you listen on the roof at the vents. (Now this is not my suggestion, I just borrowed it.) Now if it does work to locate the vent, please let us know.

This thread also recommends a cyclone vent and I also have one and they do work.

Have fun and use lots of water.

Jim M

 

[JohnDar]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and new to owning a 5er. My wife and I upgraded from a North Trail TT to a Big Country 3595re and I have never been happier. I, unfortunately, am also having the same problem as the original poster where we have a bad sewer smell everytime the toilet is flushed and it doesn't seem to matter if our bathroom vent is open or closed. I have read a lot the repsonses and am hoping that it might be a combination of not enough water being used and a venting issue. My TT had a 30 gallon black tank and this one has a 45 gallon, but I have not really added any extra water. I am also guessing that since we don't smell it unless we flush then I am assuming that we don't have a leak. I understand that there is a vent for each holding tank. Since we have 3 holding tanks (2 gray and 1 black) I guess we have 3 vents?? Any idea on which vent is the black tank vent? I would like to install a cylcone sewer vent on ours as well to see if it helps with this. Thanks for the suggestions so far and any further help you can offer.

Not sure if I fully understand your comment, but if the only water you add after dumping is when you flush a "load," then you don't have enough liquid in the tank to do the job. After dumping and flushing (if you have that ability) the tank, add about 5 gallons of water back into the tank, along with your treatment regimen (chemical, Calgon, whatever).

Jimtoo's suggestion of having the wife put her head in the toilet may result in brain damage to you. Be careful.

 

[Lovetocamp]

Lol. I don't know that I will try that one with the DW although it might be fun just to see her reaction. I am sorry for the confusion about me adding the water. i was referring to the adding of water and chemicals after a flush of the tank. I do not believe that I use 5 gallons of water to add with the chemicals. I would say it's closer to 3 which I imagine would be too little for a 45 gallon black tank. I did, however, research on the site some ways to locate the vent tube so I will try some of those. I am hopefull that my problem will be solved with the addition of the cyclone sewer vent that i am going to purchase in the next day or two (as well as adding a few more gallons of water to the tank). Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[lduguay]

Hey Jim, that was my post.......and yes it did work . I did get suggestion about running a hose up onto the roof, but that was too labor intensive....(I was born lazy and have frequent relapses).

The Cyclone did the job for us for sure. We are just weekender and when leaving CG, I flush, add h2o and deodorizer......no smell when we head out for the next weekend.

Here is the link for those who might be interested in my "solution"......ya might just grin a little too!!

click here

 

[jimtoo]

Yea Lance,, I knew I read it someplace here... that's why I said "I borrowed it". I take you have healed up OK since you poopped the question.

We gotta have a little fun!!!

Jim M

 

[Lovetocamp]

I was able to find my sewer vent on the roof easily (and didn't need the DW's help . I replaced it with the Cyclone sewer vent and added more water to the tank and that seemed to do the trick. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[JohnDar]

We just got back to Camp Gotchurwallet this afternoon after a 10 day absence, and noticed a bit of a smell in the bathroom. Toilet bowl still had water, so I ran the shower a bit to be sure the P-trap hadn't lost it's water. Seemed to take care of the problem.

I get that occasionally with the garden tub at home (which we rarely use). Running a little water down the drain takes care of it.

 

[Hastey]

We just got back to Camp Gotchurwallet this afternoon after a 10 day absence, and noticed a bit of a smell in the bathroom. Toilet bowl still had water, so I ran the shower a bit to be sure the P-trap hadn't lost it's water. Seemed to take care of the problem.

I get that occasionally with the garden tub at home (which we rarely use). Running a little water down the drain takes care of it.

I just took our garden tub out and tiled the area where that waste of space was. LOL