2012 Raptor 395LEV With Stinky Kitchen Area

[Dan Lockwood]

I have a '12 Raptor 395LEV toy hauler and it has two black and two grey tanks.

I have to assume that the front black and grey go to the master bathroom and the two rear tanks go with the half bath in the garage and the kitchen island sink.

The two front and two rears are all interconnected to a single common drop point under the kitchen slide.

We are getting a bad odor/stinky smell from under the kitchen sink area. I looked up under the sink and there is a riser tube, maybe 1.5" or 2" in diameter with a cap of sorts on top. This "may" be a vent or a one-way valve, not sure.

We seem to get the smell after the grey tank for the kitchen gets close to full and then this past week in Altoona IA, got the smell after mid-week of emptying all four tanks. I had all the drain valves closed and no water was draining out the septic system, we have a clear 45 degree elbow at the hookup end.

We're going to be leaving for MI on the 8th of September for a month and would like to get the smell issue resolved first.

So what can be causing our smell? Do I have a check valve that's bad?

Any suggestions? I have the RV in our driveway now and can get under the sink for a look-see.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Dan Lockwood

I have a '12 Raptor 395LEV toy hauler and it has two black and two grey tanks.

I have to assume that the front black and grey go to the master bathroom and the two rear tanks go with the half bath in the garage and the kitchen island sink.

The two front and two rears are all interconnected to a single common drop point under the kitchen slide.

We are getting a bad odor/stinky smell from under the kitchen sink area. I looked up under the sink and there is a riser tube, maybe 1.5" or 2" in diameter with a cap of sorts on top. This "may" be a vent or a one-way valve, not sure.

We seem to get the smell after the grey tank for the kitchen gets close to full and then this past week in Altoona IA, got the smell after mid-week of emptying all four tanks. I had all the drain valves closed and no water was draining out the septic system, we have a clear 45 degree elbow at the hookup end.

We're going to be leaving for MI on the 8th of September for a month and would like to get the smell issue resolved first.

So what can be causing our smell? Do I have a check valve that's bad?

Any suggestions? I have the RV in our driveway now and can get under the sink for a look-see.

Thanks in advance.

Dan

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Studor-Mini...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Dan Lockwood]

Javi, you think I have a bad valve?

How does this valve work? It closes when NO vacuum from the draining of the tank, and then pops open to let air into the system to drain better?

This also got me to thinking about vacuum when draining. Does the draining of the grey tanks pull all the water out of the "P" traps in the sinks so odor can come back up? Should you always run fresh water in the sinks to get that "P" trap working properly again?

Is there a "P" trap in the shower?

Thanks again and I will take a look at the "thingy" on the top of the PVC under the sink. Thingy, that's another tech term!

Dan

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Dan Lockwood

Javi, you think I have a bad valve?

How does this valve work? It closes when NO vacuum from the draining of the tank, and then pops open to let air into the system to drain better?

This also got me to thinking about vacuum when draining. Does the draining of the grey tanks pull all the water out of the "P" traps in the sinks so odor can come back up? Should you always run fresh water in the sinks to get that "P" trap working properly again?

Is there a "P" trap in the shower?

Thanks again and I will take a look at the "thingy" on the top of the PVC under the sink. Thingy, that's another tech term!

Dan

The thingy unscrews, just take it with you so you get the correct size of thread..

Also, it never hurts to occasionally flush the galley tank and I generally put about 5 gallons of water and a 1/4 cup of Dawn it it before towing the trailer.. Helps clean the old food bits out and freshen the smell..

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Dan Lockwood

Javi, you think I have a bad valve?

How does this valve work? It closes when NO vacuum from the draining of the tank, and then pops open to let air into the system to drain better?

This also got me to thinking about vacuum when draining. Does the draining of the grey tanks pull all the water out of the "P" traps in the sinks so odor can come back up? Should you always run fresh water in the sinks to get that "P" trap working properly again?

Is there a "P" trap in the shower?

Thanks again and I will take a look at the "thingy" on the top of the PVC under the sink. Thingy, that's another tech term!

Dan

The easiest way to "troubleshoot that thingy" is to just put a ziplock bag over it and tape the bag to the PVC pipe. Once sealed, if the odor persists, it's NOT the "thingy". If the odor is gone, remove the ziplock bag and replace the "thingy"

[wiredgeorge]

The Studor vents are far superior to less expensive vents. When I built my wife's laundry room the laundry sink wasn't easily vented directly through the roof (the room has an attic and is a barn style) so I chose to use an under sink vent similar to an RV. Used a cheapo and we got stink. Cheapo costs only a couple bucks. Changed to a Studor vent and no stink. It is magic.