Help me identify my Leak! I'm a newby.

Sissy · 04-03-2019, 08:48 PM

I have a 2008 3295rk new to me. (3 weeks)

There is a 2" pipe leaking above the elbow (under the belly). I'm not sure what this pipe is. It's very dirty blackish water..but no smell. I'm not sure if it is the black tank drain as the valves are on the opposite side of rig and this pipe is small compared to the main pipe. Any ideas? See attached pic. The leak is picking up steam...and black tank is approx. 2/3s full. Just thought someone would know.

Any help would be great. I even thought it might be vent pipe and filled up with rain..but it leaks even with no rain. So I doubt it.

notanlines · 04-04-2019, 12:06 AM

Sissy, first, welcome to the forum. Second, you have three holding tanks on your RV, all 38 gallons. One black tank for body waste, one grey probably serves your kitchen and one grey probably serves your shower. Because of the proximity of your bathroom sink to the commode it is anyone's guess which tank it uses. You have about a 50/50 chance of either tank being the one the factory decided to use that day. Thirdly, rain will not fill up any vent, ever. It would be very possible to have a roof leak around any of the caulked/sealed joints on the roof. With a 12 year old RV you vey likely have a full afternoon repairing said joints.
Another thing, if the water leaking seems to have no smell then you will want to investigate the probability of a fresh water leak, likely under/in the vicinity of the bathroom vanity.
Keep us up on your progress.

**hankpage** · 04-04-2019, 03:43 AM

Sissy, On a rear kitchen trailer, that pipe should be for the galley tank and is most likely 1 1/2 or 2 inch. It may have it's own dump outlet or share the same outlet with the other two waste tanks but you should have a separate pull handle somewhere around the wheels. Dumping the gray water tanks should stop the leak and allow the repair to be made.
Welcome and good luck. Let us know about your progress, Hank

jsb5717 · 04-04-2019, 05:13 AM

If it's a 2" pipe it's one of your gray water drain pipes...doesn't really matter which one. If it's leaking above the elbow the trick will be finding out just exactly where the leak is coming from. Chances are good it's at another elbow or where the pipe attaches to the tank (unless you can find a crack in the pipe it's likely leaking at a joint).

Short of cutting out the pipe, which is ABS and glued at the joints, you might first try Flex Seal (or similar product) in either spray or tape form. There is also a caulk form which can be tooled into place. Once you locate the leak location, drain your tanks to stop the leak and apply one of these products around the entire joint. It won't be a permanent fix but should stop the leak for a long time.

fatcatzzz · 04-04-2019, 07:29 AM

Washer drain?

jsb5717 · 04-04-2019, 11:03 AM

If there is a washing machine it will drain into a gray water tank. The toilet goes directly into the black water tank. All other water systems will drain into a gray water tank. Some rigs have just one gray tank, most larger rigs have two. The main drain pipe under the trailer is 3", which will handle the black water. Gray water pipes are 1-1/2" or 2" and will drain into the main 3" pipe and out of the rig when you connect your sewer hose to dump the systems.

If you have a leak in a 2" black pipe under your rig then it's a gray water drain pipe. It doesn't matter which gray tank it is or which systems drain into it. All that matters is that that's the one that's leaking.

Fortunately most leaks are relatively easy to fix, but they can often be a bear to find. Once you find the source of your leak you can either replace the parts or attempt to seal it as I suggested earlier, which is what I would do. You can get a lot of life out of a simple fix...just keep an eye on it.

Good luck on your hunting trip to find the source of your leak. I hope it's easy to access which will make it easier to fix.

jsb5717 · 04-04-2019, 11:17 AM

Here is a simple diagram that shows how the water flows. If this pic also showed a dish washer or clothes washer, they would also be draining into the gray water system

fatcatzzz · 04-04-2019, 11:33 AM

Mine does not go into gray tank. My 07' did not either. direct into 3" drain.

jsb5717 · 04-04-2019, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatcatzzz

Mine does not go into gray tank. My 07' did not either. direct into 3" drain.

Interesting. I stand corrected. I have heard that some manufacturers have plumbed the washing machine drain into the black tank but that's not the norm and typically not appreciated by they end user who now has a lot more water in their black tank. Likely trying to save materials and time by plumbing to the closest tank rather than the best tank.

It's hard to imagine any of the systems not draining into a tank. That would negate the ability to use that system unless your rig is connected to sewer.

In any event, the leak issue here is coming from a 2" pipe and needs to be traced to its source, which is likely at another joint or at the gray tank.

travelin texans · 04-04-2019, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatcatzzz

Mine does not go into gray tank. My 07' did not either. direct into 3" drain.

Both may have had the grey water plumbed with 3" piping, but it DID go into a tank somewhere or else washing dishes once would have overflowed the pipe & backed up into the sink.
If you've had 2 rvs without grey tanks you need to shop at a different dealer cause someone screwed up big time building both of those.
Some smaller rvs with outdoor kitchens did not have a grey tank & in some cases drained onto the ground or into a bucket.

vampress_me · 04-04-2019, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Both may have had the grey water plumbed with 3" piping, but it DID go into a tank somewhere or else washing dishes once would have overflowed the pipe & backed up into the sink.
If you've had 2 rvs without grey tanks you need to shop at a different dealer cause someone screwed up big time building both of those.
Some smaller rvs with outdoor kitchens did not have a grey tank & in some cases drained onto the ground or into a bucket.

I think he just meant the washer did not drain into a tank.

fatcatzzz · 04-04-2019, 04:00 PM

Oh I have had grey tanks just not had washer plumbed into a tank, straight into 3". Can not use with washer with 3" capped. Can only use washer when hooked up to sewer. Kitchen drains into galley tank but washer does not.

johnlewis · 04-15-2019, 09:14 AM

Black tank drain lines are always 3" pipe, like in a house. This is gray water. Whether from the galley or from shower/sink. Wipe of the piping and elbows, to find out where the leak is. Could be a crack in a pipe from a strain on the piping, could be a poorly cemented joint, could be the elbow got damaged. The piping is ABS, not PVC, so re repair should be done with ABS components, and ABS cement.
If you can't do the repairs, a mobile RV repair company or a regular plumber could do the repairs.
We had 2 cracks in the pipe coming from the galley, because it was under a strain, because they bent the pipe down to connect it into the main drain line. Took 10 years for this problem to show up. Because the pipe had to decline slightly for water to drain, I installed 2 flexible couplings where the pipe had cracked. Worked well.

Sissy · 05-12-2019, 09:37 AM

update - the 2'' pipe is the drain for the washing machine. BUT ....that was not where it was coming from. Removed the Colorplast----The black tank had had a previous repair that was NOT done correctly. It has been repaired....and I can say after 1 month...no further leaks.....( Yeah for Youtube videos on the correct way to repair ). The people I purchased from indicated no such repair....I asked before the purchase....
Thank you for all your replies...!

Sissy

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