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Old 08-04-2014, 06:09 AM   #1
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Wisconsin
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2014 Sabre Black Tank Venting into Heat Duct Work !!!

Just upgraded from our Rockwood to a new Sabre 35 QSIK. Love the layout and look of the camper. As with any new camper, there are a bunch of minor issues we are working through and fixing as we go, (shower drain leak, loose items, missing fasteners, etc), and a couple of larger problems we are going to have fixed under warranty at the end of the season. (A/C ducting, fridge fan noise, slide out adjustment, etc.).

That being said, last weekend we developed an awful sewer smell during the night that actually woke the kids up and made them sick. Doing some investigating, the smell is coming from the heat duct work. I pulled the vent covers off and looked in there with a mirror (past the mountains of sawdust!) to find two 3" diameter holes going through the duck work between the kitchen and the bunk room. Underneath the camper, I can't see the hole because there is a large black tank in the way. We do some measuring and find out we can cut the bottom out of one of the cabinets to get access. Apparently Sabre cut holes through the floor and heat duckwork for the black tank vent (luckily this balck tank is only used for the outdoor kitchen sink) before they install the tank. Then they forgot to install the connecting pipe to vent it through the roof, so the tank vents into the duct work! WOW! I'm glad I found this before anyone got really sick or anything blew up!

I'm going to call my dealer as soon as they open, but with camping 3 of the next 4 weekends, I think I'm on my own to come up with a temporary or permanant fix. For now, I taped off the ductwork to keep the fumes out of the camper and the pipe is open venting into the underbelly of the camper.

My questions...

How many vent pipes stick out the top of a 35 QSIK? I have one sewer loooking vent over the bath, and 2 other unusual ones, one over the master bed room, and one over the bunk room, neither over a wall where a sewer vent would be contained. This camper has four waste tanks. My Rockwood had three tanks and three vents.

Can I cap this tank to seal it up, or does it have to vent?

Thank you for reading to the end of this post, any help would be much appreciated.
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Old 08-04-2014, 06:41 AM   #2
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Should have one vent per tank going through the roof. 1 for the black (toilet) tank, and 1 for each gray water tank.

First time I've ever seen the issue you have. However I'm not surprised.
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Old 08-04-2014, 06:42 AM   #3
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Just reread, yes, you have to have a vent for that tank.
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John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-7 / Little John-5 / Iva-1
Full Timing Again, Rev B
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat CC LB PSD
2015 SOB TT - With OC's Awning Poles (#8)
At least in Heaven, RVs will be perfect, and I won't have to keep fixing them.
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Old 08-05-2014, 08:03 PM   #4
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I can PM you a phone number to Sabre service and warranty. Just let me know.
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Old 08-05-2014, 09:41 PM   #5
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I have a vent issue in my outside kitchen on my 36qbok also. Gary grigsby said to just cap the vent and leave the dump valve open, untill u can get it fixed under warranry. I just duck taped mine up.
Our vent was dumping into the bunkhouse wardrobe. Took about a month before I noticed a smell and a couple weekends to figure out the issue.
Good luck!
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Old 08-06-2014, 08:46 PM   #6
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Just got back from Wagner's RV in Suamico, WI. I took my camper there Monday night and picked it up Wednesday. They removed a panel off the wall and ran a vent pipe straight up through the roof like Sabre was supposed to do. Did an excellent job! And got my camper back to me in 2 days! I would highly recommend these guys for purchase and service!
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Old 09-24-2014, 12:52 PM   #7
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Well, I hoped this thread could die, but that's not to be. Our camper still has a sewer smell, it just took a while to develop.

It seems to be the worst in the pass through storage and the bathroom area.

I started troubleshooting by running water down each drain with the dumps closed. This should tell me if all the tanks are sealed up. The bathtub filled with water -good, the outdoor kitchen sink fills with water - good, but the kitchen sink never gets full - bad!. Water starts filling the underbelly and eventually running out of the back of the camper. If water can leak out, so can the obnoxious smell. Something was missed or not sealed with gray tank #2.

Back to the dealer, 75 miles away, for more warranty work...
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