Sewer smell in camper

[jmaguire]

I noticed a sewer smell near our kitchen this weekend. The tank sensor did show that the tank was full, so we had stopped using it until we could unload it. I was just wondering if we smelled it because we had overfilled it. Also if anyone knows we have 2 grey tanks in our camper. I am assuming that the rear tank is for the kitchen sink only and the foward tank takes care of the shower and bath sink. Our stats show we have 80 gallons of grey storage. I guess it is 2-40 gallon tanks.

 

[kakampers]

Yep...you should have two separate grey tanks. As for the smell, we had a similar issue occasionally. We installed one of those rotating, siphoning, vents that work with the wind on the vent stack for the kitchen grey tank...worked great, no more smell. The kitchen grey tank actually smells worse than the black...go figure

 

[Pulltab]

Also, were you running the fantastic fan when the smell appeared and if so I would assume you did not have a window open. The fan will quickly pull from the tank if it can not get good air flow from a window. FYI

 

[jmaguire]

It was breezy outside when we smelled it. I bet that was it. Again, I had the tank full because we were leaving in the morning and I was too cheap to pay to have my tanks dumped when I was going to get it for free in the morning. I also will get some of those vent stacks. Seems like a no brainer there.

 

[lhetsler]

Air admittance valve

You probably have an air admittance valve under the cupboard by the sink or the next cupboard over that has gone bad. I had the same smell. I covered that valve up with a plastic bag and rubber band, no more smell. I think I will remove this valve because the pipe with the valve in it goes up to the roof air vent, so I think I can do without this valve. If you check, it looks like a straight pipe going up at a perpendicular to the drain pipe and has slots in it. After covering it I camped for 8 days and the tanks were really full and still no smell.

 

[cookie]

jamguire, the valve that lhetsler is refering to is called a Studder Valve. They can be purchased at any home building center, in the plumbing department. You should be able to change it with a channel lock. I would advise replaceing it rather than eliminating it. It's there for a reason. To allow your sink to drain properly.

Peace
Dave

 

[Oldlthrneck]

Yep...you should have two separate grey tanks. As for the smell, we had a similar issue occasionally. We installed one of those rotating, siphoning, vents that work with the wind on the vent stack for the kitchen grey tank...worked great, no more smell. The kitchen grey tank actually smells worse than the black...go figure

The bad smell from the kitchen tank is because there is not a sink disposal in these rigs and there are little bits of food that get in the tank and start to decompose. I have been trying to deoderize it with Happy Camper. I usually close the valve, run some hot water in, then fill the sink and mix in the happy camper. Dump that into the tank and let it sit for a bit. That usually works for awhile. Even being contientious about using the sink screen in the drain, small peices will still get in there.
Fred

 

[jmaguire]

My rig does have a studder valve. We always called them in-line vents. There is not a vent going through the roof so the in-line is needed. I dumped 1/2 gallon of bleach into my tank this morning to help kill anything in there and filled the tank up. I will drain in after about an hour or so. Don't kbow if this will do anything about the smell or not, but worth a try. I also didn't notice the smell when the tank was less than full. Is there any maint. tips on taking care of the grey tanks?

 

[cookie]

jmaquire, some people use a mixture of Dawn dishwashing detergent or laundry detergent and Calgon to keep things clean. I think Katkens has a secret recipe for that. The promise of a couple of beers should get it out of him. Once he coughs it up retract your promise.

Peace
Dave

 

[katkens]

It taint a secret we follow the Geo Method , we use cheap laundry detergent that Kathy says smells pretty and calgon. The main thing is rinse your tanks good when dumping and always add 4-5 gal. of water along with your soap/calgon , my black tank is never dry except in the winter. The sink grey tank , just keep a few gal. of water and calgon , we seldom add soap since some gets and stays in that tank and DW uses bleach to clean sink stains and that is enough to kill bacteria. The only difference from what I do from the Geo Method is I seldom add bleach to black tank. We have used this for many years and never have had smells and tanks / sensors stay clean as can be. Heres a link to the Geo Method
http://cbruni.googlepages.com/ works for us and many friends swear by it also.....Kenny