Sewer Odors

[Redrider007]

My Bighorn is a 2015 and over the last few trips we have had an increasing server odor from the toilet. We have used various chemicals in the toilet to no avail. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? We just got home from a trip so I have yet to look into it closely.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Have you check the vents on the roof? Perhaps something is blocking the vent from working properly??

 

[mlpeloquin]

Does the toilet have water in it? If so then it maybe the Studor or admittance valve. It is located under the bathroom sink and you should have one under the kitchen island. As the water goes down the drain it creates a suctions and the valve opens to let air in and the water down the pipe. The gray water smells worse than the black. You can get them at Lowe's or The Home Depot. Don't get the cheep one. It uses a piece of rubber to cover the opening not a spring and they fail within a year. You can remove the Studor valve and plug the top of the pipe with a rag to see if the smell goes away and then replace it. But we just replaced ours and have not had a problem since. To find it just follow the drain pipe coming out of the sink and look up. It maybe the cheep black one, but Heartland at the national rally was installing the better ones when we toured the factory. We had the ceep black ones in our Big Horn.
The $29.99 one is the one you want.
http://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=studor+valve
Home Depot $17.99
http://www.homedepot.com/s/studor%20valve?NCNI-5
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=studor&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=7004974345&hvqmt=p&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5er26hetpb_p

 

[Carleen]

My Bighorn is a 2015 and over the last few trips we have had an increasing server odor from the toilet. We have used various chemicals in the toilet to no avail. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? We just got home from a trip so I have yet to look into it closely.

Someone suggested earlier on a different post to try the GEO method for cleaning tanks. It is odd that you are getting such a bad odor. The only time I have experienced that is in high winds- something to do with tank pressure and wind forcing into the vents. I would agree that checking your vents to make sure you don't have anything blocking them is a good idea. The next venture would be to check for cracked or damaged tanks/lines by looking through the underbelly or through the basement (depending where they are located).

Here is a link to the GEO method-
https://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/

 

[rxbristol]

Go on your roof, remove the vent covers, seal around the vent tube and the roof so there is no gap for odors to come back down into the RV and *poof*, your odor problems, barring a cracked or poorly positioned pipe, will go away--guaranteed.

Now, here's my personal opinion, you don't need fancy chemicals in the toilet. There is no black tank treatment in the world that will make the tank smell good--I've tried them all. I now just use a cheap liquid laundry detergent to act as a surfactant. I use a clear section on the slinky to monitor what comes out and the laundry detergent along with plenty of water helps breakdown waste better than anything else.

 

[JohnD]

My Bighorn is a 2015 and over the last few trips we have had an increasing server odor from the toilet. We have used various chemicals in the toilet to no avail. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? We just got home from a trip so I have yet to look into it closely.

Do you leave the black tank drain valve open to the sewer drain?

Best to let the tank fill up, then dump it when needed while camping.

 

[Buster537]

Does the toilet have water in it? If so then it maybe the Studor or admittance valve. It is located under the bathroom sink and you should have one under the kitchen island. As the water goes down the drain it creates a suctions and the valve opens to let air in and the water down the pipe. The gray water smells worse than the black. You can get them at Lowe's or The Home Depot. Don't get the cheep one. It uses a piece of rubber to cover the opening not a spring and they fail within a year. You can remove the Studor valve and plug the top of the pipe with a rag to see if the smell goes away and then replace it. But we just replaced ours and have not had a problem since. To find it just follow the drain pipe coming out of the sink and look up. It maybe the cheep black one, but Heartland at the national rally was installing the better ones when we toured the factory. We had the ceep black ones in our Big Horn.
The $29.99 one is the one you want.
http://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=studor+valve
Home Depot $17.99
http://www.homedepot.com/s/studor%20valve?NCNI-5
Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=studor&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=7004974345&hvqmt=p&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_5er26hetpb_p

x2 on check valve, Studor, or auto-vent look under the sinks. We have had to change 2 of ours; and do not get the cheap ones, pay the $30.

 

[Redrider007]

Since these valves are under the sinks I am guessing they only effect the grey water tanks? My problem is without question the black tank. Or does the bath vent connect with the toilet vent?

 

[mlpeloquin]

That is what I thought. Black water doesn't stink half as bad as the gray. The open/leaking Studor valve will be hard to find. It may still be working intermittently. Opened the cabinet and could not smell anything. It did leak and I thought it had to be the toilet. If there is water in the toilet, go into your service bay. You will have to unscrew the wall in your pass through storage. A good time to add hinges and latches for easy access. Look at the bottom of the toilet to make sure it is not leaking. It most likely will not be. Go on the roof and fill every gap with the roof tank vents with caulking. You have to unscrew the fastener and pull the caps off to get to the pipe going through the roof. If the smell does not go away, it is the Studor valve under the sink. This is not a hard problem to solve. If you want to shot gun it, replace the Studor valve and do the caulking.

 

[Buster537]

If it's the Auto-Vent/Studor valve leaking you will think it's black tank, but not. It's like the dead skunk in the middle of the road stinking to high heaven.

 

[Redrider007]

I will look into it! We only got the smell when we flushed the toilet so the gases are definitely coming from there!

 

[JohnD]

I will look into it! We only got the smell when we flushed the toilet so the gases are definitely coming from there!

As I asked earlier . . . do you leave your tank drain open and hooked up to the ground drain?

This can cause the fumes to come in to the trailer.

 

[Redrider007]

No-I never leave any drains open while camping.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Does it do it without the A/C on??

 

[mlpeloquin]

For no smell gray water and the best black tank treatment I found is Happy Camper. You can use any home septic tank approved toilet paper. That being said I still think it is the Studor valve. I have never had a smell, Happy Camper or not, come up when flushing unless the sewer gate valve was open. It takes positive pressure to do that.

 

[Redrider007]

Does it do it without the A/C on??

100% of the time-I just replaced the stupor vales-I guess Ill know in a month or so when I use it again.

 

[Lococoin]

Check to make sure that you actually have a roof vent. I have been trying to figure out my odor smell from my front bathroom. Turns out they have the pipe in the wall but someone at the factory didn't put it through the roof. So now I get to measure a million times to make sure I drill a hole in the roof in the proper spot, and run the pipe further up the wall through the roof. You should have two vents for the front bathroom. One for the sink and shower and one for the toilet. Have a quick peak to make sure you actually have two vents up there.

 

[Birchwood]

Check to make sure the propane is off on your kitchen stove when not in use.Its the same type of smell.

 

[Dclaws54]

I have the same problem with mine, It only does it with the main AC on . And the toilet vent tube comes out right next to it. Have already added new vent cap that brings the pipe completely above the roof. I do believe it has to be the AC sucking outside air into the trailer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cookie]

I have the same problem with mine, It only does it with the main AC on . And the toilet vent tube comes out right next to it. Have already added new vent cap that brings the pipe completely above the roof. I do believe it has to be the AC sucking outside air into the trailer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Be sure to caulk and seal around the vent pipe. You will need to remove the new vent cap to the roof line where the vent pipe exits.

Peace
Dave