Black water oder

[Bettiand Bill]

Every time we flush the toilet on out 2008 Montana 3075 we get a sewer order from the vent. Depending on which way the wind is blowing the smell will come into the camper through the vents or across the outside sitting area. We use Campa-Chem in the tank. We have never had this problem with our other campers. Has anyone had this problem, or ideas? Thanks

[BB_TX]

We have an '07 3075RL and have never had that odor problem whether I have put in the tank additives or not. Don't remember ever smelling it once, let alone regularly.
I would expect some small amount of fumes to be pushed out the vent each time you flush as it is displaced by that amount of water. But not so much as it would be that noticeable. Don't even have a guess, good or otherwise.

[Roamingusa]

quote:Originally posted by Bettiand Bill

Every time we flush the toilet on out 2008 Montana 3075 we get a sewer order from the vent. Depending on which way the wind is blowing the smell will come into the camper through the vents or across the outside sitting area. We use Campa-Chem in the tank. We have never had this problem with our other campers. Has anyone had this problem, or ideas? Thanks

The only time we notice the odor is when we have our vent open in the commode room and the fantastic fan in the kitchen running. We do not use chemicals.

[randye]

BettiandBill Their may be an obstrution in the pipe going to the roof as a vent. If that is a little plugged the odors won't escape as well. Hope this helps.

[ols1932]

I can't smell (used ZiCam once and it took away my smell) but my wife says that the only time she smells anything is when I dump the black water tank. She says it comes in through an open window. We do use Snow Fresh, Dawn Dish Soap, and Calgon water softener in the tank.

Orv

[HamRad]

Bettiand Bill,
Some folks have reported good results with the rotating vent caps. Apparently they swivel with the wind and help draw out any offensive odors.

The other thing to do is to keep a lot of water in the tank. And when you dump make sure you use the tank flusher. When I dump I then flush until I get only clear water. This can sometimes take up to 5 to 10 flushes. Of course you need to have a clear elbow so you can see the effluent exiting the tank.

We use no chemicals of any kind in the black tank not even soap. We have used it this way for going on 6 years and so far it is working well for us. And certainly cheaper than buying the chemicals. Use a lot of water in the black tank. The more water the better the solids will break up. We do not use any particular paper but do try to get one that will dissolve quickly and completely.

Good luck.
HamRad

[RRman]

Wow, 5-10 flushes! No wonder my 2-3 tank refills give me "clear water", but whenever I move and put ice in the tank while on the road I can get "chocolate" at the next dump.
Using the flusher, it takes 6-8 minutes typically to fill the tank more than what was dumped in my experience and I think I spend too much time doing that already...wish it was more effective!

[Art-n-Marge]

6-8 minutes is not enough to backfill the tank. I close the black valve and backfill for 15 to 20 minutes! I have about 46 gallons of black tank and even then using the tornado sprayer it probably doesn't fill it up completely but enough to clean it well. I try to minimize any interruptions while this is going on. DW knows not to interrupt me at that time. It takes about 2-3 times to get the tank clean. If I don't do this the sensors don't read correctly meaning it didn't get clean enough.

Don't forget to use plenty of water when flushing after use. Keep in mind with low flow stickhouse toilets about 1.5 gallons is used during a flush, so beware the tendency to stop the flush after the bowl is emptied. At my PDI, the tech suggested count to 5 for #1 and count to 10 for #2. Seems to work for us.

It would be interesting to hear what others use for their tricks to determine that they are using enough water. How much is enough everyone? Does anyone think that 5 & 10 sound about enough?

[NCFischers]

Art,
I'd go 100 and 200 if I were you just to be safe. Just kidding. The 5 and 10 sound about right to me.
Jim

[RRman]

I've found that my six minutes of filling puts more volume through my clear extension than any dump does, so I assume I am filling the tank above the "waterline", even if not full. Also, by the sound, the last few minutes the sprayer is under water.
Though I suppose logically, at a 2 gallon/minute flow from a hose, 20 minutes is about right for a 46 gallon tank.
I need to assess the flow rate with my gallon bucket next time I camp and determine duration appropriately!
Thanks for the Good idea!