black tank smell-tried everything

[awwall]

Just curious...were they able to glue the vent without dropping the tank?

[Timex]

Excuse me for getting in on this.

My question is what would be the distance from the floor to the bottom of the black tank? After pulling my toilet, I could almost touch it, couldn't be more than 8 inches from the floor. Does it slope off in a different direction from the hole?

Mine too has an odor like the op's. Maybe not as bad and yes I do have the vent fan going and it subsides after closing the toilet trap door. Haven't been up top yet to examine the roof vent. Does the fin shaped vent caps help in any way? Or is it more trouble than it's worth?

[BCrawford]

My vent was not glued at the tank. There appears to be a slip joint at the tank and the vent has a large screw at the roof end to hold it in place. You have to pul the cap off and remove the sealant to get at that screw.

I measured 5" from the bottom of the toilet to the bottom of the tank. Service people tell there is a 1/2" of toilet sticking into the tank. That is a 40 gal tank. If your is larger it might be deeper. The bottom of the tank is just above the bottom of the frame rails. Before the second guy arrived to help yesterday the first secrvice guy opened up the enclosed underbelly, thinking they would have to drop the tank, and the tanks, both GW and BW do not have any significant slope that I could see lying on the ground beside the TT.

The fin shaped vent cap that swivels in the wind was suggested by the dealer before I took the existing cap off and measured. He claims the owner of the dealership has one on his motorhome and claims it is great ( of course).

One way to check if the vent is too deep in the tank is to force air down the vent when the tank is stinking and have some one listen with the the toilet valve open. Highly recommend that the tank be flushed and filled with water before doing this. Mine bubbled when showing 1/3 full which is about right for the 1 1/2" clearance I had.

Good luck

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by BCrawford

My vent was not glued at the tank. There appears to be a slip joint at the tank and the vent has a large screw at the roof end to hold it in place. You have to pul the cap off and remove the sealant to get at that screw.

I measured 5" from the bottom of the toilet to the bottom of the tank. Service people tell there is a 1/2" of toilet sticking into the tank. That is a 40 gal tank. If your is larger it might be deeper. The bottom of the tank is just above the bottom of the frame rails. Before the second guy arrived to help yesterday the first secrvice guy opened up the enclosed underbelly, thinking they would have to drop the tank, and the tanks, both GW and BW do not have any significant slope that I could see lying on the ground beside the TT.

The fin shaped vent cap that swivels in the wind was suggested by the dealer before I took the existing cap off and measured. He claims the owner of the dealership has one on his motorhome and claims it is great ( of course).

One way to check if the vent is too deep in the tank is to force air down the vent when the tank is stinking and have some one listen with the the toilet valve open. Highly recommend that the tank be flushed and filled with water before doing this. Mine bubbled when showing 1/3 full which is about right for the 1 1/2" clearance I had.

Good luck

Bc ,
Since the black water system is a "closed" system ...... unless the toilet lever is pushed allowing the air to circulate the fan at the top of the vent pipe is worthless.
The fan can only draw fumes/air when toilet is flushed .

[crasher]

I was having some stinky issues over the summer. First I thought it was just the heat, so I thought my chems weren't up to the task. So I tried different ones, but problem not fixed.

I usually dump once a week. My routine is to dump, then attach a hose to the flusher thingy and let that run for 5-10 mins with the valve open. Well, I got the idea to close the valve while the flusher was running. Watched the guage inside until I was sure the tank was full, then opened the valve.

Stink problem solved. Must of had some crud stuck on the top of the tank or something, but after I did this, smells like petunias again.

[Timex]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I was having some stinky issues over the summer. First I thought it was just the heat, so I thought my chems weren't up to the task. So I tried different ones, but problem not fixed.

I usually dump once a week. My routine is to dump, then attach a hose to the flusher thingy and let that run for 5-10 mins with the valve open. Well, I got the idea to close the valve while the flusher was running. Watched the guage inside until I was sure the tank was full, then opened the valve.

Stink problem solved. Must of had some crud stuck on the top of the tank or something, but after I did this, smells like petunias again.

AGAIN??!!!

[Timex]

Here's another question. How far up in the roof vent does the pipe need to be? Will try to post some pics. What do you fellars say?

[BCrawford]

I finally got a chance to get back to the trailer and it appears that the raising of the vent pipe did the trick.

To f1100turbo: yes the system is closed but the vent prevents the built up of foul gasses inside the tank. When the vent pipe was too long, those gasses would not release and it actually would build pressure inside the tank. Then when you opened the flush valve, you get a bubble of malodorous gas venting inside the trailer. Not at all pleasant.

Timex: The vent pipe extends about 1.5" above the roof of the trailer but that is not a good indicator of where the bottom of the pipe is. In my case it was at 1.5 before they pulled it up and then cut it of so ot is still at 1.5 inches.

It appears my issue is resolved.

The sweet smell of success.

[Timex]

I haven't tested what I have done yet but here are some pics. Will try things out in a couple weeks.

[BillT]

What it sounds like to me Is the vent pipe is to close to the Vent Cap It sounds like it is almost touching. Putting a cyclone vent on top should stop the smell You have to remove the vent cap to install If you lose your smell then it would tell me the pipe was to close to the cap and not letting the system vent right . The pipe should be appox 1/2" above the base where the pipe comes thought the base. Check the pipe height first If needed just cut it off and replace the cap. Hopes this help you