Wild Weasel
California
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Joined: 08/14/2007
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I have a friend with a Class C Motor Home, Not sure of the make or brand but he is having a real bad problem with black water tank odor. He's done all the usual stuff. Wanded out the tank several times, flushed black and grey tanks several times, inspected and repaired a disconnected vent stack. Tonight he put about two cups of bleach in the black tank, filled it completely and went out to let it sit for awhile. A few moments later he tells me he hears an explosion! Mist in the air, looking down toilet showing mist and green and blue liquid. Odor is terrific! He tried to flush again and another explosion!?! What the heck is going on here? I thought the sound was probably a tank burp due to an improperly vented tank, but he said it was like a shotgun blast. He's really frustrated and quite concerned. Since this happened at night he's not too sure if the tanks are still intact until tomorrow morning. I've never heard of such a problem before and can't advise him. Odor is so bad that it woke up neighboring RVers at 2am complaining.
Hope you can help,
Scott S.
scott@tasteofparadiseice.com
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camperkids1025
Bel Air, MD.
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Joined: 07/27/2005
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Sounds like a chemical reaction to many different chemicals put in at one time. The vapors can also be very harmful. He would be better to drain and flush the tank again making sure the tank is draining completely and no obstruction is in the drain valve or tank causing it not to drain all the way. Let us know what he finds. JIM
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oldham
Cameron, NC
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Joined: 06/23/2004
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Be sure you are following the correct odor. It could be that the house battery is being overcharged and you are smelling sulfuric acid from boiling the battery dry. Also, make sure critters have not built nests in the vent pipes of the gray and black tanks. Remove the caps on the roof and run a rod down them or something to check for obstructions.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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another good reason to put only chemicals that are INTENDED for black tank use in there. Lots of RVers seem to revel in using stuff for different purposes than intended but often it does more harm than good.
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crawford
Dandridge Tenn.
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Joined: 03/22/2006
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Tell them to go to roof and pull off vent cover make sure it's not being restricted mine had a wasp nest in it I clean it out and problem went away.
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Polishnurse
Schodack, NY
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Joined: 03/13/2007
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Oldham sound to be more on track, batties being reenginered. With the convertor being pluged in, he would see the loss of power. Bill
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old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
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Joined: 03/15/2006
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as far as chemicals go, I have found one that really works with odors, it's called Happy camper. can be found on happy campers. com. You can only buy it in large quantities but it costs less in the long run. esp if you break it down to cents per use compared to others I've used. I bought the biggest one and put some in smaller containers for the kids to use in their TT's. The big one is more than I'll use in a life time I got left. edit, I just checked, it's 1-happy camper.com
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crawford
Dandridge Tenn.
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I don't understand what do batterys got to do with the black tank?
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Amberbunny
newport news
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Joined: 02/23/2005
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Maybe they have battery operated back tanks? Rich folks will buy anything. Just kidding! I believe the suggestion there was sulpher being vented from batteis that were boiling dry. That is quite the smell of devil and death, perhaps mistaken for black tank odor. My guess would be for the blocked vent pipe first. This causes horrendous sewer gas to come up through the toilet. If there were a lot of solids, low water over a couple of days or trips it could truly be caked with, uh, stuff. I would use the mild and effective Geo method. Fill it to the brim and let it sit for several days. This will gently loosen the sludge and liquify it. Once it rehydrates everything in the tank and breaks it down, then he needs to drain and make sure the solids are exiting the tank. Perhaps he is letting the liquids drain out but not the solids, causing an immense back up of . . . human cement. Over use of chemicals at this point will cause chemical reactions. I once mixed bleach and ammonia at a restaurant I worked at. Instantaneous mucus removing eye watering body gagging Tear gas of the worst kind. I easily could have killed myself and others if my manager wasn't there to rinse it down the drain with large amounts of water. This stuff was at a roiling boil in the mop bucket, producing smoke as well. I'm betting a draining of the tank, refilling and long soaking will soften up whatever is in there . .. but something might be blocking the exit of the tank: tampon? bar of soap ? cell phone? wad of keys on key chain? Many things can fit down there.
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camperkids1025
Bel Air, MD.
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Another thought on the topic, they have had problems during manufacturing when they install the vent pipe it is to long and goes down in the liquid causing the vent to act like it's blocked. But it still sounds like to me it's not draining all the way and to many different chemicals were added at one time. Let us know what he finds.
JIM
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