More newbie than the last guy.

[Flroamer]

Just sold my house and bought a used 5th wheel 42' Palamino 2018. bath stinks like hell. Sewage smell. Have flushed it and put a half a tub of camper friend stuff in the tank and still stinks. Does anyone know where the vent stack is. what should I look for source?

 

[donn]

Are you sure your not getting the smell from the back and not the gray tank? Also look under the sink for a antisiphon valve. Also if the toilet does not have water in the bowl you can get stink past the seal.

 

[A Traveler]

Run water in the sink and shower. It’s the gray tank and the P-traps are empty.

 

[Flroamer]

Have run water down the sink and shower drains filling traps. This has gone on for the 1st 4 days we are in it. I did pour 10 gals in the toilet and put recommended number of Camper magic I think it is called. Not much smell if you flush pee and barely open the valve and not let it run dry. I will try to get my wife to smell around as we both have had covid and I can't smell much. But I can smell this but not dog poop. go figure. I need to some investigating. I see there has been some other post on this subject. I will read through them. I will repost if I can't solve in it in a different topic. I didin't mean to go all into all this but I has been my first impression and it's large. Ha Ha. I am sure will figure it out. If not you will hear back thanks.

 

[A Traveler]

Do you have a washer/dryer in this RV? If so, run it on a rinse cycle. That trap could be dry, too.

 

[JudyJB]

What did you mean by "not let it run dry." My toilet always has an inch or two of water in it after I flush because some water continues to flow in. This keeps the seal moist and prevents it from drying out. If you have a dry bowl after you flush, then the seal may be dried out and is not keeping odors in the tank like it is supposed to do.

You may need to replace the seal. There should be a tag on the toilet showing the make and model. Some of the newer toilets have a very easy to replace seal that you just pull out from the inside and replace with another one without taking the toilet apart.

Other toilets, like the one i used to have, require that you remove the bowl while leaving the bottom part on the floor and then replacing the seal that way, but you should not take any toilet apart until you know what kind of seal it has and what is involved in replacing it. That's why you need to post the make and model of your toilet.

Not sure what this Camper Magic is, but you should not need chemicals in your tank to keep smell out of your bathroom.

The vent stack should be visible on the top of your rig. It might be clogged, which is preventing smells from going out the stack and backing up in the tank, but the seal is more likely the culprit.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

It could be a vent problem but from personal experience, it could be a "draft" problem too. If the windows are open and the wind is just right, or if you have some ceiling fans turned on venting out, you might be creating enough of a "suction" to create airflow from the toilet with the valve open. It hasn't happened to me often but when it has it's pretty hard to mistake. 99% of the time it's not a problem and if this doesn't describe the conditions when it happens you still need to keep looking, but just offering a state of operation where it could happen with an intact vent system.

There is no solution to this that involves chemical treatment. There is a hardware failure or issue and the only fix is to track it down. Even if you found a magic elixir that turned tank odors into a spring fresh breeze you're still breathing tank air. With a functioning system no chemicals or adjuncts other than water are necessary at all, there is no chemical repair for this problem.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[TXcmpr]

All of the above and replace the air admittance valve on the sink. Look at the plumbing under the sink and you should see the old valve. The stock valves are cheap and don't last long. You can buy them at Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[Flroamer]

holding water in the tank. Going to check the other items today Thanks for all the info.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Having the roof fans on while flushing is a sure fire way to draw air from the tank and whatever comes with it.

I use tank probiotics to help eat the bad stuff away and help keep the tank clean. I add a couple of gallons of water and the recommended amount of probiotic to the tank after a trip and let it sit till the next trip. I use THIS in liquid form, however I will probably buy THIS pod version of the same product next time around.

I owned a Winnebago View motor home, and in many ways, WBO puts a lot of extra thought into their engineering. The go to great lengths to plumb the bathroom sink drain into the BLACK tank to add extra water to it, while everyone else does like my trailer and leaves the toilet only to the black tank. End result is that I rarely use the bathroom sink and I keep a dishpan in the kitchen sink to collect hand wash water and such and I dump it in the toilet to add to the black tank.

I have a Dometic toilet the previous owners installed. I do not like the height of it, I am not tall and cannot sit properly on a 17 inch high toilet (measured at the rim)(and also know as ADA height, meaning the government is involved in that calculation). That being said, the Dometic is a nice toilet and is indeed easy to replace the seal. I noticed it was not holding water, so I found replacement seals on Amazon. Off brand but it was a two-fer deal and they fit well. their instructions were stupid easy and actually were correct. Seals I bought, fit the 300 series Dometic. Installation instructions on the Amazon page.

Follow these Simple Hassle-Free Instructions:
Step 1: Turn off the water supply.
Step 2: Press down the pedal to hold the flush ball open.
Step 3: Grap the underside of the old seal and pull to remove.
Step 4: Clean the rim and bowl area where the old seal was.
Step 5: Release the flush pedal and let it close.
Step 6: Clean the flush ball.
Step 7: Leave the flush ball closed. Put the new seal in and press down around the entire edge until it is in place.
Step 8: Reopen the flush ball and spread a lubricant in the areas where the gasket will contact the flush ball.
Step 9: Turn on the water supply, add water to the bowl, and ensure that there are no leaks.
This is a generic product manufactured and distributed by BougeRV. This is not a DometicOEM product and we have no affiliation with or endorsement from Dometic.
Our product is not covered under any Dometic manufacturer's service.
Any use of the Dometic brand name and model is made solely for purposes of describing and illustrating compatibility.

Only thing I can add is with the flush ball open, feel around the entire seal to make sure it is seated on the lip. Mine was not in one spot and a little work and it went right in.

Charles

 

[Flroamer]

Thanks for all the infomation. I flushed the tank and added a enzyme and has cleared up for the most part.