black water vent - Montana Owners Club

Doug and Anita · 02-13-2009, 02:33 AM

How is the blackwater vent sealed to the tank. I am getting a bad odor in the basement and also inside when we run the heater. Is this something that can be repaired without removing the tank?

stiles watson · 02-13-2009, 02:55 AM

That certainly isn't normal. From your post, it sounds like you have a leak of some sort and your return air to the furnace is pulling fumes into your heater. Some others will come along who may have had tank leaks to describe what the did and how they did it.

Dean A Van Peursem · 02-13-2009, 04:00 PM

We had a similar smell prior to learning we had a cracked black tank. Our crack was above the outlet fitting for the black tank. I was able to find the leak by filling the tank nearly full through the commode. Then it poured out alongside the outlet fitting and on to the underbelly. We had to have the black tank replaced at a dealer, out of warranty, for about $750 out of pocket. Not saying that you have the same thing but filling the black tank with clear water and then looking for leaks might be worth the effort. Might also want to check if the valve in the vent pipe is still working. In our 3400RL it is behind a panel in the pantry.

melnjoy · 02-13-2009, 04:21 PM

We just had the same problem, but with the gray tank.
It was a crack at the bottom of the tank et the drain. We had a new tank installed and all is well.
Mel

Dean A Van Peursem · 02-13-2009, 05:02 PM

Mel,

Good to hear from you again. Isn't it amazing how many Montana owners have had tank failures? "Sum ting is wong" I have wondered if it is more of a Montana factory tank mounting issue rather than defective tanks being caused by road vibration on the outlet pipes back to the tanks. We never travel with any of our tanks anywhere close to full. In fact we always empty all tanks just before we start, except maybe 5 gallons in the black tank for possible use on the road. Too many Montana owners have had these failures.

PS: Are you in Yuma, AZ? We are in Apache Junction, AZ

richfaa · 02-14-2009, 02:39 AM

Everything is sealed to the black tank(at least in my 06 3400). Ours also failed and was replaced at a cost of 729.00 all but 50.00 covered by my service contract, AKA extended Warranty. The tank manufacturer recommends strapping...there is none. You do not indicate the model of your unit but you need to drop the underbelly in the area of the black tank....and....get out of the way....

Delaine and Lindy · 02-14-2009, 03:07 AM

Just a thought but have you checked the vent pipe to see if its stopped up. There sure is a lot of problems with some black tanks?? Good Luck. GBY....

melnjoy · 02-14-2009, 05:48 AM

The guy that changed our tank said this happens a no matter what brand you might have. The problem is the pipe are stressed at the tank before the glue has had a chance to cure.
Same price as Rich $50.00 out of pocket pluss I had to pay shipping.

Yes we are still in Yuma. If you get this way please let us Know.Would be great to see you again.
Mel

Dean A Van Peursem · 02-14-2009, 02:29 PM

We are still ahead financially by not buying an extended warranty. Time will tell however. :-) It sure would be interesting to find out from the extended warranty companies what their past exposure has been by manufacturer and/or model. Haven't compared like models vs manufacturer rates for extended warranties. I'm sure the extended warranty companies have the data but guard it very carefully. We need an organization/magazine like "Consumer Reports" in the RV industry. That would shake things up real quick and be tremendously helpfull to future purchasers. Remember when the Korean KIA auto brand was rated so lowly? Look at it now? It can be done.

Doug and Anita · 02-21-2009, 11:11 AM

Well there was no leak in the tank but I discovered that the vent pipe was just barely in the fitting to the tank and the fumes were released into the basement and drawn into the return air when we run the heater. I cut the vent pipe in the basement and installed a rubber coupling with clamps and extended the pipe down to the tank like it should have been in the first place. Problem was solved. We now have no odor whatsoever. Thanks for the help!

HamRad · 02-21-2009, 12:22 PM

Doug and Anita,

You didn't happen to take any pictures did you? Did you access from the bottom? Or did you go in through the floor?

HamRad

bsmeaton · 02-21-2009, 12:39 PM

Yeppers, everything HamRad just asked? I've been wondering how you get to it to check it. I had thought you had to drop the whole tank so I never could figure out how you hooked up anything on top.

Doug and Anita · 03-10-2009, 04:53 PM

The vent pipe went right through the basement to the tank. It was an easy fix to cut the pipe and push it down about an 1 1/2" and tie it back together with a rubber coupling and 2 clamps. I also caulked the pipe where it went into the tank as an extra precaution. We no longer have any odor. It could all be done in the basement. We did have a black tank failure last year that was replaced under a warranty and it appears that the service tech did not properly install the vent to the new tank which caused the problem.

bsmeaton · 03-10-2009, 04:55 PM

Thanks for the update Doug - and sorry about the shoddy repair originally.

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