Gobbler
Chadbourn, NC
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My Thetford Bravura is giving off a blackwater tank type odor but it's not coming from the blade valve because that has just been replaced and it's holding water at all times. I've contacted Forest River techs and have received a couple of suggestions regarding vent pipes being plugged, etc. but they are clear. Odor seems to be coming from the floor area, possibly past the newly installed floor seal. Odor is not present at all times. Anyone else experience this problem?
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wolfe10
Texas
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Yup, the floor ring is the first place to check. If not properly centered, it WILL leak air if not fluid. Cheap and easy enough to pick up a new floor gasket and install it.
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Kenneth
Washington, the state
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Also consider that the gray water tank can give off a sour smell that can be as bad as the black water tank. That can bubble up from the shower or sink drain if there is a low pressure in the RV, maybe caused by driving with a roof vent open or a side window if the wind is blowing just wrong.
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lv2rom
Kansas City, Missouri
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wolfe10 wrote:Yup, the floor ring is the first place to check. If not properly centered, it WILL leak air if not fluid. Cheap and easy enough to pick up a new floor gasket and install it.
He's got it...sounds like you need to pull it out and check the foam seal ring. Because the pipe neck goes down into the receiver it may or may not leak fluids, but it sure will "burp" sometimes. I don't want to wish you ill but it could also be that the fluids are seeping out around the seal and into your floor material around the neck.....Brian
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scbwr
Wilson NY
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If you use the exhaust fan while flushing the toilet, it can pull sewer gas up.
I also had a problem one trip because I left the black tank vale open by mistake, turned on the bathroom exhaust fan and then used the toilet. OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH....it really pulled in some great fumes!
Just thought I'd add these thoughts before you start pulling the toilet.
Good luck!
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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I had a plastic toilet in another TT we had and it had a vent hole that went down into the black tank. This vent was located just under where the water squirts out around the edge of the bowl. If the tank wasn't treated with deodorant, it would sometimes stink through this vent.
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Kirk
Livingston, Texas.
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I suspect that Kenneth is on the right track, but there is another much more common source for odors from the gray water tank. If you look under the bathroom sink, up near the bottom of the sink you should see a branch line that comes from the drain pipe and ends with a cap of sorts at the top. It is a vacuum breaker device to prevent an air lock in the drain line when you empty the sink. It is not uncommon for those to loose their seal and to allow vapors to come from the tank up into the bathroom. It is particularly common when windy outside.
There also happens to be another one just like it under the kitchen sink. They are very easy to replace by unscrewing them from the pipe. A replacement can be purchased at either Lowe's or Home Depot in the plumbing department.
Good travelin! ........Kirk
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Gobbler
Chadbourn, NC
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Thanks for the replies guys. A Cedar Creek tech suggested the same possibility as did Kirk but I found that there is no vacuum breaker under the bath lavatory while there is one under the kitchen sink. And the source of the odor has been isolated to the toilet room anyway so it's not coming from the lavatory or shower. I put a hose into the roof vent for the toilet and water goes right into the black tank so that's not blocked. I'll have to check for that vent in the bowl, Scott, but a close inspection with the nose detects the odor right at the base of the toilet.
The odor is not always present so it makes me think that movement of the toilet, whether through use or travel, causes the seal to break. Do you think that I may not have the toilet screwed down tight enough? Any danger of doing damage by over tightening? Anyone ever heard of a crack in the lower portion of a Bruvara?... below the blade valve?
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agefhx
Republic of Texas
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I would get that nasty smell sometimes, and it was bad when we flushed. I think if the wind was blowing just right, it blew down the vent pipe.
Guy parked next to me had the same problem. We got 1 of these from walmart for $18.
Cyclone Sewer Vent
So far so good.
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lv2rom
Kansas City, Missouri
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Never heard of a crack in the down pipe below the valve... Yes you can over tighten, but it certainly should be quite snug (does it rock?). I'm still voting for an off center foam seal. Did you put it on the stool (not in the pipe) and lower straight down? Taking the stool out is two nuts, and one water connection....real simple. I would certainly take a look...expecially since you say the odor is at the base. You don't want your floorboards contaminated and rotting. .. Just had a last minute thought, on the Bravura you can pop out the lower front panel and take a look (it has one ear tab either side that must be pushed in toward the center in order to remove).FYI....Brian
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