Black Tank Off-Gassing -- Pls Help

[Houndmamas]

Hey everyone -- it's the newbie going cross-country in her new trailer....So, we left NY at the beginning of July, staying in a different campground each night as we crossed the States, arriving in CA last Thursday.....As we set up in the campground two nights ago, we noticed a sewage smell in the air -- couldn't figure out, at first, if it was coming from the sewer hook-up at the site or from our trailer....But when we left that site and headed out to the next one I noticed that the smell still persisted when we stopped on the way for gas....Now we are at the next site (which has no sewer hook-up, only electric & water) and the smell is still very noticeable (even with the lines closed)....It is worse when you stand around the back of the trailer where the black and grey water tanks are located....Can anyone tell me what would cause such off-gassing and give me some guidance on what might fix the problem???....

 

[Rene T]

1st, are you sure it’s not propane?

 

[John From Detroit]

Many RVers leave the gray tank valve open when hooked up to sewer...
ON my rig when it got "Stinky" outside..> I'd forgot to close the Gray Valve.
Every time I'd forgot to close the gray valve.

As for the black tank, Flush well with water Forget chemicals..

THe Gray tank is the stinkier of the two.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

As Rene mentioned, it could be some other odor - there are several things that give off a similar aroma. Propane can smell like that once diffused a bit, so can battery gas (sulfur dioxide) from a failing or overcharged battery. And the gray tank often smells worse than the black (rotten food odors).

After checking other sources, I'd start by filling and flushing the gray & black tanks at the next site with a sewer hook-up. Better yet, fill both tanks and add a septic treatment enzyme product (RidX, Roebic K57 or K47, Green Gobbler), then let if sit & digest for 3 days before dumping and flushing. That should clean out any accumulated goo and paper residue.

 

[SeilerBird]

We would be better prepared to make suggestions if we had a bit more information about you rig:

A Plea To Those Asking For Assistance

All too often, someone asks for help with some truck/trailer/appliance/motorhome, etc. but seems to try to keep their typing to a minimum, and being stingy with details needed to aid in troubleshooting. Folks please remember that we can't see what you see, we often know little or nothing about...

www.rvforum.net