Potty smell from cabinet EFS290

[archieandchris]

Hello to all,

I must have not signed into the Cougar net in a long time as I had to register and start all over again as a junior member.

Here is my question for the Cougar owners:

I am getting a sewer smell in the RV basically coming from the closet located near the front door as you enter the rig. I would like to know if there is a black tank vent pipe that routes behind the panel in this closet. I have not been able to nail down what is causing this problem.

Anyone with similar problem please advise if you solved this issue. You can email me or leave a response here.

Happy Camping.
Archie

[Umpie007]

i have a 01 278efs and in my fifth wheel there is a black pvc vent that goes through my closet. i'm not sure what tank but it's directly across from my toilet. i too have a smell sometimes. i just double up on the tank sanitizer and only empty it when it's almost full. it has seemed to help. if you are always dumping your tank and leaving it empty that might be your problem. if you do dump then put about 5 gallons of fresh water in your tank after dumping and add sanitizer/deoderizer for black water tanks and then drive home and let the clean water and deodorizer slosh around and clean the tank.. ido that also and it has seemed to help. i also noticed a smell coming from my shower drain and used the lemon cleaner for drains and tanks and let that slosh around. the smell you smell might be from the shower drain trap or tank.

erin

[archieandchris]

Hey Erin...thanks for your input....I will heed your advice and let you know how it works.
Archie

[rburckhart]

I had a similar problem with a Forest River Sierra we had. Turned out to be that the vent pipe wasn't sealed properly at the roofline, and tank fumes traveled down the outside of the pipe into the cupboard. I used a rubber plumbing collar around the pipe to seal the void and had no more problems.

[archieandchris]

Thanks Rburckhart....I will check that out as well...I have calked around all the seals in the cabinet (in case of odor leak from pipe adjacent/backside to the cabinet) and will check the seal at the roof line as well. I appreciate your input.
Archie

[hankpage]

Archie, I think we have the same floorplan, they just changed the letters to RKS in '07. The vents for both the black and gray tanks do run behind that cabinet to the roof. Check for leaks or cracks in the pipes in the storage area under the toilet. I'm not sure if you can access the vent from behind the electrical panel/converter, but it might be worth a peek. ... Hope this helps, Hank

[archieandchris]

OK...will check this again as well...thanks for your help!!!

[irenejd]

I have the same problem and wonder if anyone solved it.

Thx!

[archieandchris]

IreneJD.....I still have no idea exactly why this was happening but we have basically did a hit and miss fix. Here is what we did in order to stop this smell that was coming from the closet (located on right side as you enter the RV. The fuse, converter and electrical system is located just below this closet.)
1) Keep plenty of Black Tank Deodorant in the tank as well as not letting the tank fill too full before emptying (especially in hot weather).
2) I sealed the closet seams (panels) with calking from top to bottom, so any vapors could not escape in to the living area easily.
3) I found no visible damage of the black tank vent pipes at the roof line and in the basement area. The vent pipes extended properly past the roof line as requrired.
4) Oh yes...I tried to get Keystone Service to help me with this problem and they never answered my inquiries. (The poor response from their service group is why I traded the Cougar and went with Coachman this past March 2011.)
Hope this helps...
Archie

[chuckretnav]

I had a similar problem with my 327res. smell in the kitchen area. I was storing my blue waste water tank in the basement compartment while i was not using the trailer. took it out and about a hour later no more smell. :thumbsup: Happy camping