Black tank odor

[Marv]

Has anyone experienced periodic odor from their bulk water tank?
After flushing and adding chemicals and water periodically we get a very foul odor when flushing.

Any comments. Thsnks

[Grumpy]

Sounds like tank is not completely empty.

[SkyBound]

You also have to be careful that your bathroom fan is not running while you flush (especially with the door closed) because the draw will suck odor up from the tank into the bathroom.

You are probably due for a good thorough cleaning as well. Get a clear elbow fitting and hook that onto your sewer port, followed by the sewer hose. You can monitor the water colour as you clean to make sure it runs clear.

Use a flushing wand and spray down the inside of the tank with particular attention to the walls. Use a ton of water. Fill the tank with clean water and let it sit for a while to loosen up solids if you think that's a problem.

Treat your tank with things like chemical packets meant for black tanks, baking soda, fabric softener, etc.

I personally always leave 5gal of water in the tank along with 2 chemical packets and a good splash of cheap fabric softener. I also do extremely thorough cleanings throughout the season and I haven't had an issue with odor. I hope this helps.

[oldmanAZ]

We've experienced brief whiffs of odor that I believe comes from the black tank vent stack and then down through the bathroom ceiling vent. It's annoying, but, thankfully, doesn't last long.

It's been too infrequent to track down, but I do know it is not related to flushing the toilet. As yet I can't say for sure if it is only when the ceiling vent is open. But our ceiling vents are virtually always open unless heating or cooling the trailer.

[Camper_bob]

Careful with tank chems and fabric softener. One time I thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone and dumped my tank chems (liquid, orange, can't remember the name, but it's pretty common), and my fabric softener in the toilet together. The tank chems turned the fabric softener into a cottage cheese consistency. It was gross, and I'm sure the fabric softener was rendered useless at that point.

I'd say the best defense against odors is to keep the tank as "clean" as you can get it, use plenty of water, and consider the "geo" method. I worked up what I called "sewer juice" based on some of the recipes I had read, and it worked well while I used it. It just got to be too much of a PITA to mix it all up every time, so I started going with the orange stuff. It doesn't work quite as well, but it's okay most of the time. I only get an occasional whiff from the vent stack, and we're WELL trained on turning the fan off before we flush.

ETA: It could be from your CG. If their sewer venting is not right, and you have one of your valves open (like when emptying the black tank or leaving the gray valve open at a full hookup site) the sewer system could be venting through your trailer.

[KennyG]

I have one of these installed on my Jayco Designer's black tank vent:

Lil' Stanker In-Line DoubleSpeed TM
Compartment-Mounted Holding Tank Deodorizer Fan
"Puts Holding Tank Odors In Their Place: OUTDOORS!"

Rather than trying to explain it, I've included a link that gives a very detailed description and picture.


Lil' Stanker In-Line Deodorizer Fans

What I will say is it works!

[sennister]

Originally Posted by KennyG

I have one of these installed on my Jayco Designer's black tank vent:

Lil' Stanker In-Line DoubleSpeed TM
Compartment-Mounted Holding Tank Deodorizer Fan
"Puts Holding Tank Odors In Their Place: OUTDOORS!"

Rather than trying to explain it, I've included a link that gives a very detailed description and picture.


Lil' Stanker In-Line Deodorizer Fans

What I will say is it works!

Interesting but I don't know how I would install something like this short of ripping apart a wall. None of my vents are located anywhere that are accessible.

[KennyG]

Originally Posted by sennister

Interesting but I don't know how I would install something like this short of ripping apart a wall. None of my vents are located anywhere that are accessible.

I had the same problem. I actually mounted mine on the vent pipe as it comes out the roof. I removed the vent pipe cap and trimmed the vent pipe allowing just enough to attach (glue) the Lil Stanker. I then applied the vent cap on the top of the Lil Stanker. The assembly is not very high, much lower than the AC cover so no problems there. The actual Lil Stanker is quite compact and the assembly is all weatherproof. As for wiring I followed what another person had done in an article I read and ran the wiring down the vent and into the trailer; but I'm sure there are other ways to route the wiring. In my case this was easiest. The actual install was easy; but just a bit of patience and perserverance to fish the wires out of the vent. To do this I found a spot in the rv where the vent could be accessed and drilled a small hole into the vent. Made a "U" bend on a piece of mechanics wire and fished the electrical wires out of the vent. Siliconed around the wires and plugged the hole. This access point in the vent allowed me only enough room to bring the wires through; but not enough room to actually have mounted the vent inside the trailer. I made the 12v connection to the hot side of one of my 12v lighting switches since the currant draw on this Lil stanker is minimal. This was the easiest way to bring the wiring into the RV from the roof and as I said in my earlier post it works great. I can hold my toilet open as long as I want and never any foul odour escaping into the rv. It's always switched on to "low" so when 12v is powered up on the trailer I don't have to remember to switch it on. There is no noise or vibration and very minimal power draw. Don't even know it's even on except for the red "LED" on the switch. Hope this helps!

[norty1]

I have used these.
Cyclone Sewer Vent, Black - Camco 40597 - Sewer Accessories - Camping World