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Old 09-23-2013, 06:33 PM   #1
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black tank smell is getting into the camper

Hi,

I have a 1700 camper. Recently, the black tank smell is getting into our camper. We first noticed it after we drove down the road, got in the camper and it stunk. Then the smell went away. Drove down the road again, got in the camper and it stunk again. Then the smell went away. Last time it happened the smell did not go away. My husband went to the roof and he said the vent pipe cap had fallen down. He pulled it up and secured it better with the screw. The smell got better but then came back again. Finally he removed the cap and then the smell went away. I asked him if the pipe had fallen down in the tank (as suggested a different time) and he said it looks ok...but he really doesn't know what it should look like. If the pipe fell, would it look obvious? Any suggestions?
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Old 09-24-2013, 07:23 AM   #2
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If your vent pipe has dropped far enough to touch bottom, it would be very obvious from the roof as there is only about 2 inches or so of exposed pipe between the bottom of the cap and the roof usually. If it has only dropped a little, it could get occluded by the liquid in a full tank. It's not very likely that it did drop but always possible.

Now as to the smell in the camper.... Even if you are not venting properly, you should not be smelling that smell in the camper if everything is right. Luckily, black tank plumbing is pretty simple. The most likely culprit is the foam seal between the toilet and the flange. They all get brittle and go bad but are very simple to replace. The next possibility is the seal on the flush mechanism on your toilet but if that is bad, you would notice that water is not staying in the bowl.

If it is not those simple things, then it would be a seal somewhere in the PVC pipes. The flange is screwed right onto a stretch of pipe that is usually straight and short and is in turn screwed into the black tank. The points at which the components are connected are below the floor and usually are fine.

The last possibility is that the vent pipe is leaking gas either where it connects to the black tank or along its length if it is not a single piece of pipe all the way to the roof. It is usually in a wall or behind trim and a cabinet.

It's almost always the foam seal though.
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Old 09-24-2013, 08:15 AM   #3
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Ohhwell, thank you for your assistance. I will check the things that you listed. We replaced the toilet this year so it probably isn't the toilet itself. It might be the seal, like you said.

We spend more time working on this camper then actually camping....arghghghghgh.
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Old 09-24-2013, 08:16 AM   #4
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My T1700 had the same issue but it turn out it had nothing to do with venting I was about to replace the toilet gasket because the water would stay in the toilet so that pretty much meant the seal was good. As I started to remove the bolts holding the toilet down one was quite loose I tightened both and that was the end of the smell. I may at some point just replace the gasket but for right now it's fine.
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Old 09-24-2013, 08:20 AM   #5
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Mainah,

Thanks for the suggestion I will look into that also.

Anita
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