Black water tank odor

[jmacstack]

It's me Jennifer again, this time with a totally different question...for those of you following, I am still working on the battery issue. I'll let you know the outcome in a few days. Ok, onto the sewer gas smell! There is a very strong odor of sewer gas in the closet across from the head. I thought it was due to a particularly strong head wind(no pun intended) the other day coming back from camping and that is just not the case.

I took off the wood box that covers the vent pipe that runs through the closet hoping to find a crack or broken pipe. The vent pipe is not cracked and all joints look good, no broken pipes. I checked all fittings in the bay underneath and no problems there either. Any ideas? It seems odd that the vent on the roof is facing forward directly into the wind. It seems like this would cause wind to blow down the vent pipe. Why do I smell the odor in the closet across from the head? And, if the vent pipe was perpendicular to the wind I imagine a bottle effect might occur and might be rather noisy as I cruise down the road!

I am wondering if the odor control is switch in that bay is the answer. I've never used it and don't even know if it works or how it works. Why odor now and why in the closet? Thanks, Jennifer

[folivier]

Hi Jennifer, check out this thread that Tom started. Seems he had the same problem and discusses his fix in detail. http://www.newellclassic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1472

[chockwald]

Definitely turn on the odor control switch. We leave ours on all the time, and NEVER have any trouble with sewer smell. On the otherhand, maybe the vent pipe has slipped....I think that was Tom's problem. Can you move the pipe up, or down? If you can, then it has come lose.

[encantotom]

hi, i wrote this once and then didnt finish it.

my vent pipe for the septic tank goes up through my closet behind a wood/laminate box cover.

i checked mine for cracks etc and nothing.

the smell was only in the closet and only when driving. the venturi cover over the vent pipe that sticks up through the roof faces forward so when you drive, the small hole in the front makes the air flow faster going out the back and causes a vacuum to suck the fumes out of the septic tank.

since the silicone around the vent pipe at the outside roof under the venturi cover had totally dried up, there was a gap where the venturi vacuumed stink got shoved out the rear hole of the cover AND pushed down through the gap through the roof into the closet.

so, i took the roof venturi cover off (a bunch of screws) and carefully pryed the cover off (it was sealed with butyl putty) and cleaned the old silicone off. then i shot silicone down the gap, and re siliconed it several times over a couple of days. then used some new butyl putty tape and put the old venturi cover back on.

there are new ones that spin, etc, but this one is fine.

no problems since.

tom

[jmacstack]

Excellent! I will look into as soon as the coach comes back from Western Sates Cat. Sounds like a fairly direct and easy fix! Love my Newell! Thanks Again! Jennifer