Black tank pressure with smell

[esmoglo]

So we have used our 2016 Primetime Crusader 296BHS for over 18 days this summer and have spent approximately 32 days on board with only minor auto leveling issues and it’s been great. We are camping this week and noticed as you flush the toilet we get bubbles as the water is going into the tank with a smell that comes from the tank (seems like gas). Sometimes it bubbles so much a bit of water will go on the toilet seat.

I always flush the tank using a clear elbow to verify the tank is clean with black tank flush connection, always use tank treatment & RV TP so my question is where is the pressure build coming form?

Should I check the roof vents? How do you clear them is the question I have no idea? What else would cause this am I missing something simple? This is a new 5er so we are the first ones to use this coach.

[DSurette]

We had the same problem on a trip earlier this summer. It turned out that instead of a poop pyramid we had a poop crater. I think it was caused by not refilling the tank enough after dumping it. I would run the flush for a while after dumping but it probably did only a little more than fill the drain lines. I could look in and see the bottom of the tank and there was water in it even after draining. I guess there was a ring of waste which had built up. I solved the problem by adding a half cup of dishwashing detergent, a cup of 20 Mule Team Borax and plenty of water to the empty tank. We drove about 150 miles the next day and got a couple of bags of ice cubes at WalMart and dumped them in the tank. Then we drove about another 150 miles to a campsite. I filled the tank and drained it. There was a lot more than water that came out. But it solved the problem. Needless to say, I add a lot more water now after draining the black tank.


Good luck with your problem. I hope the fix is as simple as mine was.

[nomad297]

It sounds like your vent may be stuck too far down into the tank. Does the toilet flush fine at first, then start to do its burping thing after a few uses?

Bruce

[esmoglo]

Originally Posted by DSurette

We had the same problem on a trip earlier this summer. It turned out that instead of a poop pyramid we had a poop crater. I think it was caused by not refilling the tank enough after dumping it. I would run the flush for a while after dumping but it probably did only a little more than fill the drain lines. I could look in and see the bottom of the tank and there was water in it even after draining. I guess there was a ring of waste which had built up. I solved the problem by adding a half cup of dishwashing detergent, a cup of 20 Mule Team Borax and plenty of water to the empty tank. We drove about 150 miles the next day and got a couple of bags of ice cubes at WalMart and dumped them in the tank. Then we drove about another 150 miles to a campsite. I filled the tank and drained it. There was a lot more than water that came out. But it solved the problem. Needless to say, I add a lot more water now after draining the black tank.


Good luck with your problem. I hope the fix is as simple as mine was.

Ok I will give your method a try and see if it works. Side note it did get a little better but not a 100% this weekend while camping I flushed the tank quite a few times. Unit is back at storage but I added 10 gals of water and a cup of dish washing soap for now. We have a 200 mile trim coming up in a few weeks will add the ice and more water and borax and let it do it's magic.

[esmoglo]

Originally Posted by nomad297

It sounds like your vent may be stuck too far down into the tank. Does the toilet flush fine at first, then start to do its burping thing after a few uses?

Bruce

Yes it flushes just fine never had any issues just the bubbles and smell when you flush.

[Thurman]

After I bought the 2025 Coachmen unit I started having problems with the toilet not flushing as well as the toilet in the former camper. Or should I say the build-up was more noticeable. The former camper never gave me a problem as far as the toilet. As DSurette noted there could be a number of thing causing your problem. At home I mashed the pedal to open the toilet and peered down into the cavity with a flashlight and noticed that the tank was very shallow and still had stuff in it after dumping at the last camping. The old unit's tank appeared to be a foot or so deep but this one appears to be maybe six inches. I made me a homemade macerator out of an old garbage disposal to clean out the tanks and was really surprised at the amount of stuff in there although I dumped and rinsed at the last campsite. I have a place to dump into my septic tank at home so I could run all the water I needed to do this. It took, honestly, at least sic tank full of water, using the "water wand" stuck down into the toilet to get good clean water coming from the black tank. Then to my surprise cleaning the grey tank wasn't much easier. I wasn't completely satisfied with the homemade pump as the discharge volume over a 30 foot or so run was weak. I did buy the Flo-Jet macerator pump and it sure works better. I use a clear 90 degree elbow between the dump pipe and the Flo-Jet so I can see what comes out. NO, it's not pretty but necessary to assure a clean tank. I just went out last Thursday (today's Sun.) to wash the tanks out just because I had time and thought of it. I filled the black tank using the backwash on the Flo-Jet until the level in the tank looked to be about half-full. When I started draining the tank I couldn't believe all the live, white, little crawly critters coming from the tank. Lesson learned: DO NOT leave a tank thinking that it is empty. There can be enough rancid water in the tank to sustain some form of live vermin growth. I cleaned each tank until I had clean running water coming from them then put and estimated five (5) gallons of water into the grey and black tanks. Then I added some liquid insecticide and one pouch of dish washing stuff. Yes, I need to get more of the correct tank additive for sure. I happened to remember one story a camper told me a few years ago where he took his camper home, he cleaned out the black tank with the squiggle tank wand and drained off what he could on the ground at home which was his normal thing. Later he went in the camper for something and the mosquitoes ate him up. He found that the pedal had stuck on the toilet, the slide thingy was open and he had one of the largest mosquito crops in his area in his black tank.

[Stormrider151]

I use my black tank flush at home with my Flojet and the sewer clean out. I noticed mosquito larvae as well. The only way I can figure they get in is through the vent on top of the trailer. It quite a surprise to see that coming out of the black tank.

[Thurman]

ER, UH, not mosquito larvae, more like fly larvae and I hate those things.

[Stormrider151]

These were not maggots. It was definitely mosquitoes.