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Old 04-07-2009, 07:16 PM   #1
Stichwerks
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Smell in Basement

OK I am to the end of my ideas. In my 2006 Mountaineer 328RLS I have a tank odor smell in my basement and in the room with the toilet that I can't find where it is coming from. I have looked at all the obvious places. I have checked the vents and caps and there doesn't appear to be any issues. I filled both the grey tank and the black tank till the water was standing in the toilet and sink/shower to check for leaks and it held water and had no leaks. I thought I had the dreaded cracked black tank but the previous test dismissed that idea. When I took the bottom down there was no odor in the bottom of the trailer where the tanks are and there is no evidence of there ever being a leak. I always flush the tanks until they run clear so I don't think it's a residue issue with the tank. P-Traps are all full of water and the toilet is holding water in the bowl. The odor is not noticed in the shower or from the sink. I have had the entire basement and undercarrige opened up so I could look at all the drains and vent pipes when it was full of water and not a drop of water leaked. I am stumped. The toilet is a Sealand 210 and I did have a problem with the ball seal but that has been fixed and holds water. The only thing I didn't change was the seal between the floor and the toilet.

Is there anyone with a different idea than what I have checked.
I am switching my tanks to Happy Campers to try that.

Thanks in advance for all the help.
 
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Old 04-07-2009, 07:34 PM   #2
KTManiac
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Plugged vent tube?

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Old 04-08-2009, 01:57 AM   #3
gpats
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I had the same problem and I put about ten gallons of water in the empty black tank along with some Dawn soap and pulled the rig around town being sure to make lots of turns---it fixed my problem
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Old 04-08-2009, 02:32 AM   #4
ols1932
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My problem like that was a cracked black tank, right at the very top of the tank. The only time it leaked was when the rig was sitting just right. Terrible smell. Methane gas that gave us both headaches. It eventually permeated the entire bottom cover.

Orv
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Old 04-08-2009, 04:46 AM   #5
Stichwerks
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Orv,
I thought when I filled the tanks and the plumbing going all the way to the bowl of the toilet if there was a crack it would force it out that way. I even cut part of the floor around where the plumbing goes into the tank to check the connection to be sure. There is not one drop of water under the belly. The original factory supplied dust and debris is still there.

Also I have tried the agitating the tank with soap and water also and the tanks are spotless so I think. I flush them for much longer than I probably need to. Today I am going to snake the vent again to be sure there is no obstructions. I may also be changing the toilet to flange seal.
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Old 04-08-2009, 02:43 PM   #6
Mudchief
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I had that problem with our other Montana and it was in the black pipe coming from the toilet. It was the connection where the toilet connected to the black pipe. However I would have thought filling the tank until it came up into the toilet would have showed that.
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Old 04-08-2009, 06:19 PM   #7
Stichwerks
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Mudchief,
I think that may be where it is coming from. It was a windy day today and I had the basement doors open and the smell disappeared. I had the front wall of the basement off and stuck my big head in the little space under the toilet and the smell seemed to be coming from the area where the plumbing goes through the floor. I am going to pick up a new flange to toilet seal tomorrow and try that. Was yours a bad flange seal or where the flange attached to the pipe? Also how did you fix it?

Thanks for the insight.
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Old 04-11-2009, 09:56 AM   #8
WorkerB
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Mark,
I had a similar situation. I finally decided to open the belly. Cordless drill 5/16" nut driver. I undid the front four screws and sewage started draining. Not a lot but I moved away.....Quickly. If you prove your trouble into this area you can search black tank and you will get lots of useful info. Best of luck and I hope it turns out to be a simple inexpensive fix.
John
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Old 04-11-2009, 10:24 AM   #9
Exnavydiver
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One other area the odor can come from is if you have the ceiling vent in the toilet room open with or without that fan running and you light off the Fantastic fan in the kitchen without windows open it will over power the tiny fan in the toilet room and draw the vent stack odor back into the rig. Had that happen several times. I now open several windows when a Fantastic fan is on and I leave the bathroom vent closed... Dave
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Old 04-11-2009, 02:02 PM   #10
Stichwerks
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I have replaced the toilet to flange gasket and ran a bead of silicone around the all the drain connections on the outside of the pipe going to the tank and one of the two seems to have stopped the smell. I am betting on the flange gasket as the cause due to the looks of the old one. The great thing is there has never been a smell of anything under the belly. I had dropped the bottom when I filled all the tanks with water to try to find the source. There was never a drop of water in the belly when I did my test. The new Sealand gasket looks alot better in design and the old one just may have dried out. The only troubling thing is that there was no signs of leaking with the water test. I will know more on Monday when I pick up my trailer to go to the Nascar races. Thanks for all the help and advice. I will let you all know when I check it this week. Thanks for the insight on the Fantastic fan, I never thought of that.
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Old 04-11-2009, 02:04 PM   #11
Mudchief
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Mark, it was the flange and I sealed it with RTV.
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