Why are heat vents(registers) on floor? what to do if water gets into the vents?

[Ken / Claudia]

When my black tank over flows on bumpy roads and floods the bathroom. I hire homeless folks to clean it up with sponges. No worries, it's then ready for the next trip.

[BrooksFam]

Originally Posted by rvwonderful

Can a full black water tank overflow when towing on bumpy road? or there is a valve that can be completely shut off?

It would flow into the shower first. If you fill the shower pan, then you may have a problem, one that I have never heard of.

Also, if you are concerned, don't travel with overfull tanks.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by BrooksFam

It would flow into the shower first. If you fill the shower pan, then you may have a problem, one that I have never heard of.

Also, if you are concerned, don't travel with overfull tanks.

Unless the shower was plumbed to the black tank, there is no way for it to. I know there is the odd trailer that does have the shower drain into the black tank, but the vast majority doesnt.

OP: the black tank will not spill or overflow on a bumpy road. It would have to get past the toilet bowl seal or travel uphill to the roof.

[BrooksFam]

I stand corrected. It would be the grey water tank that can overflow into the shower.

A few years back, a family had rented a class C MH for the first time. They were across the road from us. The husband came to me as told me his shower was filling up with waste water. I went over and noticed they did not have the sewer drain hooked up. He said they have been using water as if they were home ( 1 day) and did not know there was a capacity limit on the tanks. Well, after getting them hooked up and drained, all was well. So, it "could" happen I guess...………

Also for the black tank, wouldn't the toilet valve have to fail to let black waste slosh onto the bathroom floor??

[BrooksFam]

OK, I've wasted to many brain cells on this now...………..

[Ribtip]

This one maybe leaking

[goducks]

Going on 10 years with floor vents in 3 RV's. Never ever an issue with water in the vent. Yes some debris may make it's way in to the vent. But honestly who cares? A couple screws to remove the cover and a vacuum once a year fixes that issue.

[JRTJH]

My BIL spilled a beer on the floor of his SOB a couple years ago. Trust me when I say that "with a straw, he was able to extract nearly all of that beer"... Using a vacuum to remove some "spilled water" from a floor register would, IMHO, be even more efficient than watching his "tear filled eyes as he diligently recovered his adult beverage"....

As for "gray water overflowing a shower and contaminating a floor register duct system..... Someone (again IMHO) would have to be either unconscious or so incompetent that they shouldn't be allowed to shower without adult supervision if they allowed that to happen.....

Certainly a "reasonably functioning adult" would recognize the situation long before it reached catastrophic proportions.....

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

My BIL spilled a beer on the floor of his SOB a couple years ago. Trust me when I say that "with a straw, he was able to extract nearly all of that beer"... Using a vacuum to remove some "spilled water" from a floor register would, IMHO, be even more efficient than watching his "tear filled eyes as he diligently recovered his adult beverage"....

As for "gray water overflowing a shower and contaminating a floor register duct system..... Someone (again IMHO) would have to be either unconscious or so incompetent that they shouldn't be allowed to shower without adult supervision if they allowed that to happen.....

Certainly a "reasonably functioning adult" would recognize the situation long before it reached catastrophic proportions.....

Attaboy John! Perfect response!
The only issue I've ever had with something in the floor vents was my youngest granddaughter dropping M&Ms into the living room vent. After removing the candy I put screen on the underside of all the registers to prevent the waste of good candy in the future.

[Rwake901]

I understand why they put heating ducts in the floor but why don’t the furnace’s in RV’s have filters?

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Rwake901

I understand why they put heating ducts in the floor but why don’t the furnace’s in RV’s have filters?

Look at where they are located in the RV, it might be possible to put a filter on the intake vent from the interior of the trailer but usually the actual heating intake is several inches to several feet from those vents.. We aren't dealing with an air handler like in a home.

[Rwake901]

Originally Posted by Javi

Look at where they are located in the RV, it might be possible to put a filter on the intake vent from the interior of the trailer but usually the actual heating intake is several inches to several feet from those vents.. We aren't dealing with an air handler like in a home.

Looks like the dust buildup in the furnace from not having a filter will effect efficiency and could be a fire hazard. Just looking at it from a safety and maintenance position.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Rwake901

Looks like the dust buildup in the furnace from not having a filter will effect efficiency and could be a fire hazard. Just looking at it from a safety and maintenance position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-zqTLjG7qA

[bbells]

Floor registers also heat the floor. Otherwise the floors would be very cold on cold mornings.

[Jctozer51]

As most have stated, floor vents are the most efficient way to pipe heat into campers. Our Cougar has there for vents and one wall vent. We use magnetic covers to keep dirt and anything out. I wouldn’t recommend trying to run anything down the vents hose as most are like dryer exhaust hoses and can be easily punctured.

Besides our inside vents, we have a hose that runs hot air to the gray and black tanks area. With the bottom being sealed, the heater hose and the separate tank heaters keep their liquids from freezing.

[bbells]

You don't need a filter in an RV furnace. First, there is no AC plenum, so dust won't clog it up. Second, it is a small space. You just don't need one.

[77shovelhead]

I went to the local craft store got a sheet of magnetic paper cut to fit over ventswhen not in use keeps dirt and debri out

[Tom N OH]

My wife told me pantyhose were no longer sold in Texas.

Your wife lied to you.

In our case the groundskeeper hit the valve on the y at the faucet with a weedeater and turned the black tank flush onHe didn't know what he was doing and we didn't know it happened. Thought we would take a nap and after I was there about 5 minutes told DW I thought I smelled something like propane....or something. Waited a couple of minutes trying to figure it out and it got worse so hopped up and headed downstairs to check the appliances. Got to the kitchen and she began hollering that water was coming out of the toilet. I ran outside, turned off the water and found the Y valve on...and was thoroughly POd because I had watched him weedeat out there thinking (it's about time). Thankfully we had just dumped and rinsed the tank that morning so it wasn't very dirty, but a real pain none the less. I now keep a 2nd off valve connected in the convenience center to prevent a recurrence of that.

Sorry Javi, I didn't take pictures as I was pretty busy cleaning up and assessing what might have happened.

How did the water get past the flush valve in the toilet? If the toilet was sealing properly, it never should have been able to back up into the toilet, you should have had water running off the roof from the black tank vent.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Tom N OH

Your wife lied to you.



How did the water get past the flush valve in the toilet? If the toilet was sealing properly, it never should have been able to back up into the toilet, you should have had water running off the roof from the black tank vent.

Don't know. That was my thought afterward but didn't really worry about it at the moment DW was hollering. It was a brand new trailer so doubt the flush valve was bad....but it was a Thetford....and I had a new Dometic on the way so didn't really worry about it. DW said it was "coming out" of the toilet.

[Nhkev]

Good ?. And why are the vents with such a low grade material. They sent when walk on!