Bad smell in entrance area - Montana Owners Club

Mel · 08-18-2011, 02:21 PM

We have a 2009 Montana 3400. On a couple of occasions we have a very bad smell in the entrance kitchen area.

I have cleaned and treated all the black and grey tanks. Everything seems right. We have checked out washer/dryer which is in the closet by the door. We do not notice the smell in the storage compartment.

I suspected it was the kitchen grey water tank, but can find nothing to verify that.

I attended a seminar at the Redmond Rally that said there was an air vent under the kitchen sink that sometimes get blocked and causes this type of smell, but I can't find any air vent.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bill-N-Donna · 08-18-2011, 02:34 PM

Could it be coming from the drain line in the washer drain area? If you have one hooked up it could be back feeding a smell from a sewer line if you are hooked up to a sewer. If you don’t have a washer make certain the plug is installed into the drain line so it wouldn’t allow any smell to back feed from that area. They make a cover that clamps over the drain hose and also clamps onto the drain line. Again I’m not sure where your smell is coming from but that might be a place to look.

awaywego · 08-18-2011, 02:35 PM

Mel,
I do not know if this will help but when we has the 3280RL (reverse of 3400) we would get a tank odor inside the door, especially when we had the the Fantastic fan running.
We had the traps and so forth but we were getting the order.
I found that if I placed a block or rock under the sewer hose so water stayed in it we did not get the smell. I think the fumes were coming from the sewer through the hose and into the trailer but never could figure why.
You may want to try this to see if that is your problem.
Good luck

richfaa · 08-18-2011, 05:33 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Mel

We have a 2009 Montana 3400. On a couple of occasions we have a very bad smell in the entrance kitchen area.

I have cleaned and treated all the black and grey tanks. Everything seems right. We have checked out washer/dryer which is in the closet by the door. We do not notice the smell in the storage compartment.

I suspected it was the kitchen grey water tank, but can find nothing to verify that.

I attended a seminar at the Redmond Rally that said there was an air vent under the kitchen sink that sometimes get blocked and causes this type of smell, but I can't find any air vent.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It is not a vent it is a check valve that can be defective.

Mel · 08-18-2011, 05:44 PM

What is the check value and where is it?
Thanks

sfish · 08-18-2011, 06:11 PM

We had a similar issue and we bought happy camper based on feedback from the forum. The link is www.5starhappycamper.com We havent had any issues this year and its been real warm in Minnesota this summer.I hope this will help.

Steve

snfexpress · 08-18-2011, 06:52 PM

I also recommend 5star Happy Camper, but in our first 3400, the vent pipe for one of the tanks that is in the hall wall where the switches are was not properly connected to the roof vent - they didn't fit it right and part of the coupler was not glued or connected. When this was corrected, we no longer had an issue. The wall is easily dismantled with care.

bw2 · 08-19-2011, 01:40 AM

As another option, we have a 3400 with the water connections in the closet for a washer/dryer. We do not have a w/d but we will get a foul smell on an occasion. We open the valves on those connections and run some water out through a hose into a bucket. The odor is then gone. I cannot tell you why or how the smell happens or gets into the unit, but it has solved our issue. We are in Hilton Head at present and when we arrived we had the odor. Did the above and it was gone. Good luck!

richfaa · 08-19-2011, 03:23 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Mel

What is the check value and where is it?
Thanks

Keystone calls that part(the valve) a check valve and the part number is...100829.' At least it was in our 2006 3400. On ours it was in the upper right hand side when you open the plastic cover on the inside wall of the counter.

rono · 08-20-2011, 03:05 PM

snfexpress, Your description of your problem sounds just like our problem on our '06 3500. We get a strong order from the black tank when flushing the toilet. I have read about the vent pipe problem, but you are the first one to tell us where is it located. I put one of those vent caps with a solar powered fan to help the black tank 'breath'. I'll bet our problem is coming from the vent pipe in the wall. I wonder if it is the same as your 3400? I'll see about taking the paneling off. Wish me luck.
Ron

Ozz · 08-21-2011, 02:33 AM

This type of a vent is used when the sink is located in a place (like and Island in our RV's) that has no way to run a vent pipe to the roof. They allow drains to work by sucking air when draining, then the flex rubber diaphragm re-seats sealing the vent. Certain negative pressure conditions will un-seat the rubber seal, allowing sewer gas to visit you inn the trailer. As long as it is working correctly and the trailer is not under negative pressure (exhaust fans) it works well.

Pay no attention to the 'Leaks here' in the photo.

Ozz · 08-21-2011, 03:06 AM

Here are photo's of mine:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Jimsue1...eat=directlink

**Rondo** · 08-21-2011, 03:19 AM

Mel-- Maybe it's those fish you caught two weeks ago and put in the cabinet before you headed back to catch more!

Just had to do it!

richfaa · 08-21-2011, 04:45 AM

Thats it OZZ.I posted the part number a few post up. It is easy on and easy off.

Ozz · 08-21-2011, 05:41 AM

Does anyone know if the shower has one of these vents? I have never been back in there, and don't remember if the roof has a vent stack on that side, don't think it does.
Every drain should have a vent.

jimcol · 08-21-2011, 08:57 AM

Ozz, I was just on my roof a couple of weeks ago installing a second a/c. There is a vent in that area but now that I think about it I think it is more in line with the lavatory sink. Unit isn't here so I can't verify. I would think with the size of the drain and associated piping in the bottom of the shower a vent would not be required. If it were a tub holding water a vent would certainly be desireable to speed up the draining of the tub. The vent that has been described in this post is often refered to as "quick vent", and are available at Lowe's and Home Depot's. Jim

Ozz · 08-21-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by jimcol

Ozz, I was just on my roof a couple of weeks ago installing a second a/c. There is a vent in that area but now that I think about it I think it is more in line with the lavatory sink. Unit isn't here so I can't verify. I would think with the size of the drain and associated piping in the bottom of the shower a vent would not be required. If it were a tub holding water a vent would certainly be desireable to speed up the draining of the tub. The vent that has been described in this post is often refered to as "quick vent", and are available at Lowe's and Home Depot's. Jim

Thanks, Jim
I looked in the basement, the drain ties into a y- then goes up, but I can't tell if it is the 'quick vent' or goes up. I think there is just that one vent on the roof.
This is right above the bath sink:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Jimsue13/CamcoSewerVentCapReplacementACRepair?authuser=0&au thkey=Gv1sRgCInlus2N7Z3ISA&feat=directlink

rono · 08-22-2011, 03:33 PM

I opened the wall panel and located the vent pipe. Vent pipe was solid and seemed to be secure with no movement up, down or sideways. Still have problem.

Ozz · 08-22-2011, 04:46 PM

Are all 3 tanks empty? I have heard that the smell is bad when one of the 3 tanks are almost full.

sreigle · 08-24-2011, 05:32 AM

Jim, our 3400 is nearly identical to yours. A couple of years ago some low tree branches on a four mile drive took out the vent covers, the little round ones. Two of them I had to replace. So I know there are at least two of those little vents up there. What I don't know is what they're connected to. One is probably the black tank. The other one may just be an attic vent or something.

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