holding tank order

[christopher]

hello,
Opening the drivers window causes an odor. I assume it comes from the roof vents because I have the traps sealed.
Would an elbow or something on the roof vents cure this issue?
Thanks all
Chris
mci5c

[TomC]

Easy way to keep that from happening-I keep the bathroom Fantastic Fan open just enough so the fan can operate.  I taped a couple of Popsicle sticks next to the crank up knob to keep the lid from vibrating down.  That will break the vacuum in the bus and should stop the smell.  The other reason I keep the Fantastic Fan open is that after I installed my new Peninsula windows, when you closed the front door, the bus is so tight it would pop your ears.

Couple of suggestions on tank odor.  With the black tank-I've tried many different chemicals. The best is the dry packets of blue powder from Thetford.  Then with the gray tank, if you get the rotten egg smell, just pour about a cup of bleach down the shower and run some water-usually kills the order.  Warning though-NEVER put bleach in the black tank-the ammonia from urine will react to create chlorine gas-like they used during WWI.  Good Luck, TomC

[bobofthenorth]

What we find works best is to keep a rear bedroom window slightly open while underway.  Otherwise it seems like there is a negative pressure at the ticket window that sucks all the smell from the back to the front of the bus.

[boogiethecat]

I have my tank vent pipe sticking out the roof about 6 inches, and cut off the top at a 45 degree angle with the tallest side facing forward.  It creates a venturi effect as you drive down the road that puts a pretty good vacuum on the tank relative to the inside cabin pressure.  Never had a smell over three busses doing it this way... super easy, super cheap...

[Ace]

The very best thing to put in your tank is nothing at all but the waste itself!
Mine is vented out the floor but thats the deadly way if doing it and Im still alive to tell about it after almost 10 years and no smell!


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[viento1]

Hmmm, i vented thru the floor. I was on a mission to remove roof holes. Anyways, why deadly?
I bought a little tank buddy fan system for the vent... Seems to work.


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[bevans6]

"Anyways, why deadly? "

It's against code, good plumbing practice and the laws of physics.  As to deadly, you'd have to work at it, but it has happened - we all know the old cartoon of the guy exploding out the top of the outhouse when he lit a cigar and dropped the match down the hole...  The tank is full of "sewer gas", including methane.  Methane is basically propane, and we all know that propane burns just fine, and can easily explode if it's a mixture of the appropriate richness.  Methane is lighter than air, so must be vented through a continuously rising vent to atmosphere.  This doesn't have to be on the roof, but most do that to keep the smell away and up off the ground.  A vent that goes up then down works just fine to let air in and out to accommodate filling and emptying of the tanks, but will trap the methane inside the tank, or more probably it finds it's way inside the coach via the toilet gasket  or when flushed.  The only way you could tell if your vent was working would be to find a methane detector and test the gas in the tank, but I have no idea what acceptable or expected values are.  It's probably out there somewhere.

Ace is convinced this is an old wives tale and he knows better.  I always chime in and tell this story whenever he suggests that venting out the bottom is acceptable practice.  I think of it as internet ying and yang...   

[TomC]

I don't see any problems with venting out the bottom-did it on my truck for over 800,000 miles without problems.  The only real problem is the stink.  Everytime the toilet is flushed, that in rush of water displaces the air forcing the lovely smell out of the vent-and if the wind is just right-will ordifisize you or your neighbor everytime.  Roof is better.  Good Luck, TomC

[Ace]

Okay I admit mine is vented out the bottom through the floor been that way for 10 years or more, I have no smell problems no flush problems No fill problems no drainage problems no leaks nothing whatsoever, I know you keep telling me its the wrong way and I refused to change it because just as soon as I do I'll probably have leaks galore and odors too!
Since when did converting a bus have to meet any certain code criteria I have never seen anything like it in print! All I have ever heard is bees want to be engineers that need to follow the book to build a house or a home, show it to me in print where it pertains to bus conversions!
Take hey trip to your local RV retail lot and check out all of the RVs including travel trailers to coaches and I will almost guarantee not one of them meet your code criteria 100%,
Yes I am old-school if it ain't broke don't mess with it!


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[bevans6]

 

[Len Silva]

Venting out the bottom is an environmental disaster.  If you continue to do that, all your babies will be born with no hair and no teeth.

[Ace]

So theres nothing new about that! They been coming out like that as far as I can remember!


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[jjrbus]

 After following the suggestions here, if you still have an odor the culprit is likely a leak in the system.

There are two ways to check for a leak, one involves smoke pellets from a plumbing supply house. Plus some Googleing of smoke testing plumbing.

The second way involves duk tape and sealing every opening in the coach and filling the system with water from the roof.

  With some of the piping hidden in a coach the water test may be the best option.   

                                                                                                                    HTH              JIm

[blue_goose]

All of us have the same problem, that includes all the factory motor homes.  When you open the drivers window look at how the curtins try to go out the window.  When the window is opened there is a vacuum in the coach that will try and pull everything out the window.  If it is strong enough it will empty the traps and then the gas fills the coach.  Like some of the folks said, leave a vent or window open some close to the bath and that is where the smell will go.
Jack

[Uglydog56]

I heard bottom-vented black tanks were the cause of the hole in the ozone layer, created global warming, and caused cancer in laboratory rats in California.