Piney Fresh Pottie - and other tips welcome

[H3Jim]

I have never used any chemicals in the tank, and I don't have any odor problem.  The secret is a 2" vent stack all the way to the roof, and of course no leaks in the toilet or pipes. 

If you use chemicals that stop the bacteria breakdown, then its not good for where ever you dump it.  I believe its a cause of many issues in public dump stations - all the chemicals that get put in there. In a septic system, the poo needs to break down and the chemicals stop that breakdown.  The best thing for a septic system is poo, and to allow the natural bacteria to break it down the solids.   I allow my bus holding tank to act just like a septic tank.

I'm not sure the chemical  are that good at stopping odors anyway.

[47FLXclipper]

That said, I didn't know yeast broke down poo.

yeast doesn't break anything down, it ferments, bacteria is what makes a septic system work .... a good composting toilet solves all the problems, properly set up there's no smell, and there's no messy black tank to deal with, just a bit of flower bed fertilizer a few times a year and a gray water tank that can be dumped near anywhere

Bill

[jjrbus]

OK I looked it up, what I am reading is use water from 100 to 130 degrees depending on type of yeast to activate it.
I no longer use anything!!! Mother nature does a great job. I am fullltiming and wonder if some of the problems are by people that use bus occasionally and are always starting with a squeaky clean tank? When I dump I try to keep some of the batch in the tank to kick start the next batch.

[JohnEd]

Don't use that crap to deodorize anything.  Really!  And H3 was precisely on point when he suggested that the black water be left alone to work.  Don't dump "daily".  It can sit there for a year.  When its "done working" it is all liquid.

The key is to have a well performing vent system.  Mine is 2 inches and has two 45's in the run to the roof.  It is near vertical.  The code says "no bends and vertical" and that is good advice if you can(no pun).

I, out of ignorance, have done literally everything in the book to "MAKE" my system "BE" odorous.  No dice!  I have poured Red Devil lye into the black tank as a yearly ritual and run down the road with just a few gallons in there.  When I dumped I could see through the bottom of the black tank.  It is translucent plastic and supported by straps and not insulated stock.  Really clean.  The first time I used it after lye it was bacteria free and no odor.  Next I started adding those chems that perfume everything.....no smell in the coach from that ever.  I even added that stuff that promotes fermentation and I still had no odor.  It seemed impervious to all my efforts to "IMPROVE" it's performance and was so for many many years.  Even with the toilet off the floor for repair....no Stinky.  Amazing!

So, one day after I had put down flooring in the bathroom and was replacing parts in the flush circuit part of the toilet, I finished up putting the toilet back down with a pee and a flush.  Holy be-jeez crapola and gag.....my God what a horrific odor.  I immediately pulled the toilet up again and reset the gasket.  Still a smell from hell.  I mean unbearable.  Again up and back down....no joy.  The next day I replaced that perfectly good gasket too, again, to no avail.  I went up on the roof and ran a garden hose into the drain at full force and that filled up my black tank smartly.  No clog.  Installed a new vent cap(those are really required) and like the song says "nope, sorry, still nothin".  I did everything many times over.  It was an insoluble problem that i thought would cause the Winnebago to "catch fire" or "roll of a cliff" unattended.  Went on for more than a year but I wasn't in her full time but I was full timing for 4 months with that Steven King situation.

Turns out that when I was putting in that floor, I or my helper, fell against or used it as a grab rail, the ROOF VENT LINE.  2 inch ABS is and looks stout.  Well it got a small crack in the rear side and I guess the tension on the pipe kept it open a smidgen.  God only knows what a friggen hole in that pipe would have smelled like and my imagination runs amok.  I found the problem quite by accident when in frustration while replacing the seal for the umpteenth time I grabbed that vent pipe and gave it a vicious shake.  It cracked off in my hand.  I figured i broke it and was surprised that I could.  While retching I looked at the end of the pipe and noticed that less than a half of the break was shiny.   HUMMMMM!  Cut it clean and squeezed in a coupler with glue and guess what.  This story ends.

If you don't have a 2 inch vent directly into your black tank.....DO THAT.  If you do and you have odor....find the break or problem.  Those chems are used to treat the symptoms of a problem.  Nothing fancy...no fans to suck the fumes, no perfumes no enzymes or yeasts or anything..just pour pooopy into the tank and drain when it is at least half full after driving(preferably).  No fancy aux vents to the toilet rim or pipe are needed to make a good system work and WILL NOT make a broken system function.

This was such a miserable experience for me that I get flummoxed trying to make the appropriate emphasis.  The fix was so simple. Drat!

Good luck with this everybody that has the problem.  I won't visit till you have conquored it!

John