Our Coach is a Little Stinker!

BucknJeff · 10-10-2010, 09:20 PM

So, here is an odd one.

We have a 2004 Itasca Horizon 40 AD.

Recently, we began getting sewer gas smell under the bathroom vanity.

I know what you're thinking. It's the one way vent gone bad!

Nope.

Its the shower drain, it's worked loose!

Nope.

Its a leak of one of the valves or something in the wet bay that is the culprit.

Nope.

Its the toilet flange, or the vacuum break for the sewer rinser, or one of the vents has clogged.

Nope.

Best we can guess is either a cracked or dropped vent line, or a dead animal in the first stages of returning to the Earth....

Anyone else have any ideas before I tear a wall apart to inspect everything?

Thanks!

autofish · 10-10-2010, 09:52 PM

Oh I know the smell -----------took a week to find a dead mouse in the wall of our stick house. Was able to suck it out with a vacuum. So it could be the dreaded dead mouse. Good luck.........

puttin · 10-11-2010, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BucknJeff

So, here is an odd one.

We have a 2004 Itasca Horizon 40 AD.

Recently, we began getting sewer gas smell under the bathroom vanity.

I know what you're thinking. It's the one way vent gone bad!

Nope.

Its the shower drain, it's worked loose!

Nope.

Its a leak of one of the valves or something in the wet bay that is the culprit.

Nope.

Its the toilet flange, or the vacuum break for the sewer rinser, or one of the vents has clogged.

Nope.

Best we can guess is either a cracked or dropped vent line, or a dead animal in the first stages of returning to the Earth....

Anyone else have any ideas before I tear a wall apart to inspect everything?

Thanks!

Does the vent tube go through that cabinet? Have you been up on the roof to see if the pipe seems to have moved, or does everything look ok otherwise? Can you blow air down the vent and have someone else open the toilet flapper to see if the air enters the tank? Just curious.

BucknJeff · 10-11-2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puttin

Does the vent tube go through that cabinet? Have you been up on the roof to see if the pipe seems to have moved, or does everything look ok otherwise? Can you blow air down the vent and have someone else open the toilet flapper to see if the air enters the tank? Just curious.

That was going to be one of my next attempts. The vent pipe is boxed in just inside the stool room. I thought about using low pressure compressed air (like from a shop vac) to see if I can find it.

The pipe looks OK from the roof, and the swivel on the vent topper moves freely.

Thanks for the Help! I appreciate it.

jackrobinryan · 10-11-2010, 07:35 AM

If the coach had been sitting for a while unused, could it be the water in the sink's trap has evaporated and allowed tank vapors to flow?

BucknJeff · 10-11-2010, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackrobinryan

If the coach had been sitting for a while unused, could it be the water in the sink's trap has evaporated and allowed tank vapors to flow?

Tried that too. Thanks!

go6car · 10-11-2010, 09:54 AM

Perhaps a long shot, but if you have a washer, check to see if the smell is actually coming from there. Mold can get under the gasket and it smells just like.....the sewer.

Just a thought since you've checked everywhere else...

Fakrwee · 10-11-2010, 01:46 PM

Just for the hell of it, check your outside water filter. If you left the MH sitting for a while with water the filter will get grungy and smell bad. Mine actually got green once.

Good luck
Tom

agiledog · 10-11-2010, 02:31 PM

We had the same problem some time back and finally found it. The toilet tube going into the top of the black tank was leaking at the tank. It goes into a white "grommet" on top of the tank and there was not a clamp on it. Winnebago says they do not use clamps on these fittings. Mine has clamps now and no smell. See attached "before" picture.
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Me/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]

Thudman · 10-11-2010, 02:32 PM

FYI: I had (note: HAD) a combo washer/dryer, where smelly gasses exited from the W/D drain hose. A Tech put some pliable sealant around the connection from the W/D hose to the drain hose. Fixed it.

Thudman

BucknJeff · 10-11-2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agiledog

We had the same problem some time back and finally found it. The toilet tube going into the top of the black tank was leaking at the tank. It goes into a white "grommet" on top of the tank and there was not a clamp on it. Winnebago says they do not use clamps on these fittings. Mine has clamps now and no smell. See attached "before" picture.
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Me/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]

I was wondering about this very joint.

Did you have smell in the stool room? We don't. Only on the other side of the coach.

Thanks. How did you access that area?

wiscjc · 10-11-2010, 02:39 PM

OK, here goes, do you have a washer/dryer? If not there is a trap for it and if not used it will dry out and stink? Check that out....good luck...JC

BucknJeff · 10-11-2010, 02:48 PM

Thanks to all above. We do have a washer, but that wasn't it.

I am wondering of the "collar" on the toilet flange isnt leaking. The connection from the floor tot he toilet is tight, but that tank connection is suspicious.

I am going to take the inspection camera from work with me next time I visit the coach.

Keep the ideas coming and THANK YOU ALL.

We really appreciate the help!

agiledog · 10-11-2010, 03:34 PM

Our smell seemed to be everywhere. We didn't dare open a window while under way or it would instantly fill the coach. I found it by removing the panel behind the toilet and noticed that I could see down into the service panel area. We closed up the coach and turned on both roof vent fans full speed. The ammonia smell from there was really bad.

As for access, I removed the panel in the service bay and the toilet connection was right behind it. From there it was pretty easy to clean up the mess and install a clamp. I also installed a clamp on the other fitting I could reach from there which was the vent pipe for the black tank. Hope this helps you.

agiledog · 10-11-2010, 03:37 PM

BucknJeff

What's "work".

BucknJeff · 10-11-2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agiledog

BucknJeff

What's "work".

It's a terrible 4 letter word. I'm not really allowed to talk about it in polite company.

ichn2go · 10-12-2010, 04:11 AM

How about giving the tank a good cleaning...B&J know you have the skills to diagnose..Let us know and what the prognosis is...Good Luck

rodz · 10-13-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BucknJeff

It's the one way vent gone bad!

What's the one way vent? I can drive several hundred miles without a problem. When someone flushes the toilet, I get bad sewer gas all through the motorhome (06 Journey). Only after a flush. Any ideas?
Bob

Fakrwee · 10-13-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodz

What's the one way vent? I can drive several hundred miles without a problem. When someone flushes the toilet, I get bad sewer gas all through the motorhome (06 Journey). Only after a flush. Any ideas?
Bob

Make sure the bathroom fan is off when you flush. If it's on it will suck up the black tank aroma. Fan should be turned on when you finish.
Tom

W8RLM · 10-13-2010, 04:53 PM

We had a similar problem with our 2006 Journey. Turns out the vent line came loose from the black water tank. On the opposite side of the coach from the water connection bay is a panel held on by quite a few screws. On my coach, it is in the same compartment with the propane tank and the gravity water fill. Removing that panel revealed the holding tanks and the connection to the vent pipes. The black water vent had come out of the tank. It was a very tight area to get your hands in, but I managed to use duct tape to seal the vent line to the tank until we could get home. Once there, we managed to push the vent line from the roof back into the tank. Then we used a right angle bracket to fasten the vent line to the floor of the coach.

Just another idea.

W8RLM - Bob