Holding Tank Odor

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Jim, did the floor under the toilet look as though it had ever leaked?
How does it smell dry?
How does it smell if you spray it with distilled water?
I'm thinking of what Jon said, and about what happened to Warren.
If the area around the toilet is dry though before the test and after the test I do not think saturated wood is the villain. If it were I think there would be an odor all the time even when the toilet were not in use. I don't think you said there was an odor all the time.

You could test the vent by ingesting an "controlled odor" into the toilet that would not be confused with the usual toilet odor (such as citronella, bleach or vinegar etc) and see if you still thought the vent were working as properly as you believe.

You could fit a vacuum cleaner and pull a suction on the vent and test the toilet the regular way and see if there were still an odor. Make a very loose, imperfect connection to that vacuum, or you may get an effect you don't need

You also neglected to say if this condition just started, or that you have had it all along.

JIM

[tdelorme]

Jim, did the floor under the toilet look as though it had ever leaked?
How does it smell dry?
How does it smell if you spray it with distilled water?
I'm thinking of what Jon said, and about what happened to Warren.
If the area around the toilet is dry though before the test and after the test I do not think saturated wood is the villain. If it were I think there would be an odor all the time even when the toilet were not in use. I don't think you said there was an odor all the time.

You could test the vent by ingesting an "controlled odor" into the toilet that would not be confused with the usual toilet odor (such as citronella, bleach or vinegar etc) and see if you still thought the vent were working as properly as you believe.

You could fit a vacuum cleaner and pull a suction on the vent and test the toilet the regular way and see if there were still an odor. Make a very loose, imperfect connection to that vacuum, or you may get an effect you don't need

You also neglected to say if this condition just started, or that you have had it all along.

JIM

Jim, that is a well thought out solution to the problem.

You do understand that you will very soon loose the ability to think clearly and logically. The moment you hit the starter of your own coach, rational thinking becomes something from your past. Others can do it for you, but when it comes to the Chaloupka Bus, your ole brain is just gonna quit. Just giving you a heads up ole buddy so you can get Jon's number in your speed dial.

[jimshoen]

Jim, The wood part of the floor did not smell when I removed the toilet, however I did put two coats of clear laquer on the wood to seal it.
Jon, I have no idea what you said. What is the best way to test the vent line? The vent line runs straight up through the roof. I know where it is.
What if I dumped the black tank, hooked up the wet dry on the roof to the vent cap, and left the cap off the sewer drain connection and the black water valve open?

[truk4u]

Jim,

I also have bench tested the Microphor after rebuilding in my 97 Marathon. The little line that gets a squirt of water each time you flush is sort of a mini P-trap designed into the Microphor and sounds like yours is working as you described.

On my Marathon, there were several plastic valves in various places in the PVC vent pipes that were designed to allow air to be pulled into the pipe. I don't remember what they were called, but if one is bad and stuck open, you will get some stink. I had one under the galley sink and don't remember where the others were located.

Jeep, jump in here, I don't remember the name of the valves!!!

[flyu2there]

Jim, The wood part of the floor did not smell when I removed the toilet, however I did put two coats of clear laquer on the wood to seal it.
Jon, I have no idea what you said. What is the best way to test the vent line? The vent line runs straight up through the roof. I know where it is.
What if I dumped the black tank, hooked up the wet dry on the roof to the vent cap, and left the cap off the sewer drain connection and the black water valve open?

Jim,

Dump a gallon or two of Clorox down the toilet. Go have a beer so the initial blush of bleach aroma goes away, then......close up the bus and turn on the vent fan near the toilet. Hope like hell that you do not smell the bleach which would indicate some sort of compromise in the vent pipe between the holding tank and the roof....like in the wall. Should that check out, get up on the roof and give the vent the sniff test......carefully run a snake down there in case there are any unwanted guests in the vent pipe. That should be the fix.....

BTW if the vent pipe is cracked, broken, slightly un-glued that can be fxed with pipe lining.

[LarryB]

Jim, do you have the odor with or without the exhault fan running?

Larry

[garyde]

Hi Jim. When Plumbers install new drains and vents on bldgs, they do a test. They take a hose up to the roof, plug all of the drain outlets and fill the system with water. This is to verify they have no leaks and a closed system. This is typically a 24 hour test.

[flyu2there]

Hi Jim. When Plumbers install new drains and vents on bldgs, they do a test. They take a hose up to the roof, plug all of the drain outlets and fill the system with water. This is to verify they have no leaks and a closed system. This is typically a 24 hour test.

I wouldn't be doing that as a form of troubleshooting in a bus....could get really costly in a New York Minute.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jim,

What I am saying is essentially each fixture drain pipe (toilet, sink, shower, washer) needs a vent (a pipe) that is dry (does not carry waste) and goes to the roof where it allows odors to vent to the outside.

The vent Truk is talking about is called an air admittance valve, and it also functions as a vent, but only allows air to enter, but not escape. Its purpose is to allow waste to flow from a sink drain and instead of pulling a siphon to drain the P trap it will admit air to break the siphon.

If you can introduce the odor such as chlorox to the tank from a port in your tanks OUTSIDE the house so no odor is in the house portion at all like Jim has suggested, and you do not smell that odor in the house the problem does not lie with your venting or plumbing system. Jim had some good ideas.

Don't vacuum the vent however. The vent system is closed via the water in the traps and vacuuming will just pulll the water from the traps breaking the seal. Have you considered seeing if an unused trap is dry, such as at the washer? If the device is not used often, the trap dries out and then odors have a clear path to the inside of the coach.

[rfoster]

Once upon a time in 1990 I purchased a Gulf Stream Motor Home off the showroom floor of Bankston Motor Homes in Huntsville, Al. This was before quality control programs existed. The motorhome immediately had odors and thru much grief and aggravation we finally traced down the odor to the air admittance valve under the sink. It was defective in that the rubber flange flapper was not sealing properly.. So if you have one of those valves - put the old sniff test up close and personal and you should be able to confirm it is working properly.

Good Luck