Grey water overflow?

Rancher Rob · 08-25-2019, 05:03 PM

Is there a grey water tank overflow pipe somewhere?
We kept running our clothes washer trying to re-create the water leak we experienced inside only to find a funky smell inside the MH the next day. Finally found the funky water dripping off the tank overtop of the Aquahot area so we dumped the gray tank in our back yard. Do we have a new leak with that now too or is there an over flow up there somewhere that just didn't get lead down and out underneath?

**bclemens** · 08-25-2019, 06:01 PM

There is no gray water overflow, but if you overfill it enough, it will find a way out...somewhere, never a good thing. I have seen the drain line get kinked on the washer...it could crack that if left long enough...but not sure if the leak is in the same area.

I recall you saying a leak, but I can't remember what it was...I thought you said it was the black tank vacuum breaker?

bubbles · 08-25-2019, 09:59 PM

Typically the overflow for the gray tank is the shower drain as it is typically at the lowest point of gray water tank input. Although, some installs incorporate an inline non backflow type trap.

bratbros · 08-26-2019, 10:13 AM

Bob,
I had a similar issue on my Isata 5. The grey tank vent pulled out of the tank when the top of the tank buckled a little bit. There is a rubber grommet in the top of the tank that the pipe fits into and when the top of the tank gets pulled down the pipe pulls out leaving a place for the water to escape. It's an easy fix once you can get to it.

This may or may not be the problem but what I did to isolate it was to drain the black tank and fill the grey tank with water. Then go drive around a little and see if there is water showing up anywhere.

Hope it's an easy fix for you! Washington State rocks! Even if you are on the west side.....

**bclemens** · 08-26-2019, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bratbros

Bob,
I had a similar issue on my Isata 5. The grey tank vent pulled out of the tank when the top of the tank buckled a little bit. There is a rubber grommet in the top of the tank that the pipe fits into and when the top of the tank gets pulled down the pipe pulls out leaving a place for the water to escape. It's an easy fix once you can get to it.

This may or may not be the problem but what I did to isolate it was to drain the black tank and fill the grey tank with water. Then go drive around a little and see if there is water showing up anywhere.

Hope it's an easy fix for you! Washington State rocks! Even if you are on the west side.....

We never had that issue with the DX3 tanks...it was only on the tank we used on the 5 series.

Rancher Rob · 08-28-2019, 11:06 PM

So any good tips for trying to figure out where it was leaking?
Do I just re-overfill the grey water tank with a little radioactive dye in it like the HVAC guys have?
Or maybe an infra-red camera will show where the leak is.

The only place I saw it was dripping off the tank into the basement storage cabinet below.

The whole cabin reeked though. The smell is gone now that I drained the grey water tank, thankfully.

**bclemens** · 08-29-2019, 08:20 AM

1. I would not overfill the gray tank. Especially if that is the only way to get it to leak.
2. If you cannot find the source and can't get it to leak on demand, then I would say keep it from over-filling and let the dealer handle it.

Rancher Rob · 08-29-2019, 04:17 PM

Roger, Wilco

Rancher Rob · 03-05-2020, 11:51 PM

Well Appleway RV fixed one leak they said they found (in an area where I wasn't aware of any leak under the bunk beds) but it still seems to over flow up behind the clothes washer and drips out the plumbing/wiring hole in the ceiling of the wet bay compartment.

Also, weirdly, I can fill both the kitchen sink and bathroom sink and shower until the water backs up in each. But how can the sinks, being hire than the shower drain, hold water that high?

BC, should I just take it to another dealer? B. Young RV is near by. I'm not up for another 14 hour round trip to Appleway.

dalford · 03-06-2020, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rancher Rob

Well Appleway RV fixed one leak they said they found (in an area where I wasn't aware of any leak under the bunk beds) but it still seems to over flow up behind the clothes washer and drips out the plumbing/wiring hole in the ceiling of the wet bay compartment.

Also, weirdly, I can fill both the kitchen sink and bathroom sink and shower until the water backs up in each. But how can the sinks, being hire than the shower drain, hold water that high?

BC, should I just take it to another dealer? B. Young RV is near by. I'm not up for another 14 hour round trip to Appleway.

Some showers do not have a typical J trap. They have a special one way trap that allows water to flow out but not in. This keeps the tank odor out also. I don’t remember the name for these traps so perhaps another member will chime in..

rockfordroo · 03-06-2020, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalford

Some showers do not have a typical J trap. They have a special one way trap that allows water to flow out but not in. This keeps the tank odor out also. I don’t remember the name for these traps so perhaps another member will chime in..

Waterless P-trap - HepvO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxW3uzMalKE

Reverse_snowbird · 03-06-2020, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rancher Rob

Also, weirdly, I can fill both the kitchen sink and bathroom sink and shower until the water backs up in each. But how can the sinks, being hire than the shower drain, hold water that high?

Is it possible that the sink in the bathroom drains into the black tank? Ours does and it helps flush out the black water tank because adding water though our toilet would take forever.
As to the kitchen sink, I have no clue. There must be some type of one way drain on that shower.

**bclemens** · 03-06-2020, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rancher Rob

Well Appleway RV fixed one leak they said they found (in an area where I wasn't aware of any leak under the bunk beds) but it still seems to over flow up behind the clothes washer and drips out the plumbing/wiring hole in the ceiling of the wet bay compartment.

Also, weirdly, I can fill both the kitchen sink and bathroom sink and shower until the water backs up in each. But how can the sinks, being hire than the shower drain, hold water that high?

BC, should I just take it to another dealer? B. Young RV is near by. I'm not up for another 14 hour round trip to Appleway.

I'm not exactly sure what is going on...are you overfilling everything to try and load the entire system? Did no one pull the washer and dryer to check for a leak there?

To add what others have said, the shower we typically use a HEPVO valve instead of a regular P-trap.

Lastly, as we have said from the start, you can take this wherever you want. Originally you stated that you like to make your own repairs and we said we would gladly send whatever parts you needed. Then you asked about using your mobile tech and if we would reimburse, we said yes to that as well. We tried to get into B Young but I was told you were not confident in their ability to help you which is the only reason we sent you to Appleway beause I knew the owner and we get 99.9% positive feedback from customers there.

My original notes said that you could not "recreate the leak" that you said you had from the first trip. So what exactly are you doing to re-create the leak now?

rockfordroo · 03-06-2020, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rancher Rob

Also, weirdly, I can fill both the kitchen sink and bathroom sink and shower until the water backs up in each. But how can the sinks, being hire than the shower drain, hold water that high?

The HepvO is really more like a check valve than a P-trap. Watch the video I posted above, if you haven't already.

So I can easily see why water isn't backing up into the shower.

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