bad toilet odor permeating entire camper

[don2003hd]

Hi folks,
I am a new camper owner who has purchased a 2010 montana 38'.
I made the mistake of not opening the black water valve when using the black water tank flush with a city water hose connected to it. Needless to say the tank ruptured and had to be replaced. Fortunately the tank was nearly empty of waste but the smell was horrible anyway.
Recently, I had the tank pumped and the operator left the pump running for a long period of time while taking a phone call.He did make a comment about turning it off before it sucked the tank together.
Presently, after less than a week of sitting with waste in it, I get a horrible toilet smell throughout the entire trailer even with using rv toilet tank treatment in large quantities.I also leave the bathroom vent open but does not seem to reduce the odor.
Could the tank be cracked and the smell coming through the cold air intake through the floor?
Thanks for any info you may have. Don

[WeBeFulltime]

Check your black tank vent pipe. Sounds like it may be clogged.

[stengels]

Is your open vent also a running fan? If so, it will pull every bit of odor out of the tank whenever flushed. If you don't have a good water seal in the bowl, it will constantly pull the odor from the tank.

[richfaa]

Recently, I had the tank pumped and the operator left the pump running for a long period of time while taking a phone call.He did make a comment about turning it off before it sucked the tank together"........ he probably did just that and pulled the inlet pipe out of the tank. On the rare occasion that we need our tank pumped at a rally we will not allow the vendor to do that kind of pump unless he has the proper equipment to do it. Always ask and always watch.

[rohrmann]

All the tanks, fresh water and all the waste tanks are open systems. They all have vents, so as long as the vents are not plugged up solid, you could pump all day long without damaging a tank. If there were no vents, when traveling through varying elevations, every rig would have broken tanks, so there should be no worry about the tank cracked from extended pumping. It is very possible that the odor being experienced is not from the black tank, but maybe from the gray tank. It might be a good idea to treat the gray tank through a couple of fill and drain cycles. We had an odor problem last year when we were away from the rig more than normal. I treated the gray tank with Odorlos and the odor was gone.

[waynemoore]

If you are plumbed for a washer the odor can very well be coming from there. If that is the case cap the drain. I have seen this many a times.

[don2003hd]

Thanks for all the responses.It's nice to have all this experience available so readily.
---I do not leave the vent fan in the bathroom on. I do leave it cracked a few inches for airflow.
The smell doesn't seem to be in the bathroom as much as in the living room area. This is why I believe there may be an external leak allowing smell entry through the fresh air inlet under the stairs.
---Good point mentioned about the grey water tanks but I thought the water in the pea traps would prevent off gassing.I leave the gray water drain open so no water is being stored in the tanks. It runs through a hose down the hill into the woods.
I will do as you suggested concerning flushing the tanks with an odor blocker.
---Black tank vent- I inspected the old tank that was removed and there was no vent on the tank itself. there was the large pipe coming into the tank from the commode and a flush fitting at the front end of the tank. The new tank was the same as the old one.
---Inlet pipe.- I will inspect the inlet pipe to see if any movement has taken place.
Thanks again for the info folks.

[rohrmann]

If the odor is in the living room, it could very well be coming from the kitchen sink, or even a failed vent to the galley tank. Some of these rigs don't have a vent stack coming from the galley tank, and instead use a special valve above the drain from the sink, and those have been known to fail and create the situation you are having.

[richfaa]

How is the black tank vented???

[sapest]

^^^^^^^^^^
There is a vent somewhere.
When you find it, check the connection at the tank. Ours failed at that point, and we had odour in the LR, just as you describe.
-Steve

[kdeiss]

The galley tank may have a Studer Valve under the sink!

[psomers]

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

How is the black tank vented???

It is vented through the roof of RV. There is a black pipe that goes from black tank to roof and has a cap on top. About a 4" cap. Shower tank is usually vented through roof also but kitchen is usually vented under sink with special vent. Think one under sink maybe one way valve.

[PackerFan]

We sometimes get odors in the Living Room from the Galley Tank. Is the vent for the kitchen sink, which is under the counter, the Studer Valve and if so how do I check to see if it's bad? Does it have to be completely replaced?

[DQDick]

There's a spring valve in there and most of them can be taken apart and sometimes freed up so they snap shut again, but they are usually easy to replace unless they're in a bad place to get at. I've cleaned them and also replaced them at the store. Haven't had to do it in the rig yet.

[stungjoe]

My 2008 3600RE has a trash can slide in the kitchen area. Inside that area is a black vertical pipe with a cap on it. That cap had become loose was letting "that smell" out. Might be worth a check to see if your model has that pipe as well.

[washley1]

One thing no one has commented on, and I may be way off base, but the OP stated that they leave the grey tank drain valve open to the sewer. Could that not allow sewer odors to travel back up into the grey tank and then onto the kitchen area? That is a common enough mistake with black water tanks by virgin RV'rs, so it is possible. I know traps should stop the odors from passing, but who's to say it's impossible? Worth a try...

[rohrmann]

If the traps in the system are working properly, that is, enough water to prevent the sewer gas from passing the trap, then, the gas will only pass through the tank and out the roof vent, which is very noticeable when walking around an RV park. For the gas to get into the living area of these rigs, there has to be a leak in the plumbing from a break or component failure. The galley tank, at times, can be much worse for odor than the black tank, especially if there is no tank treatment used. It's all the food particles that start rotting inside the tank, so it's probably a good idea to treat that tank the same as the black tank.

[washley1]

I use something called Elemonate that is designed for the grey tank and seems to take care of business with a lemon smell.