Outside kitchen stink

[WaitingToRetire]

So, got the Outback 312BH with the outside kitchen. Love the kitchen, great idea!

Here's the problem - the outside kitchen stinks. The sink drains into the black tank. Yes, the black tank. Wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but as you can see in the pictures, there isn't enough clearance for a P-trap in the drain pipe. Instead they used some sort of modified straight pipe (you can see the "Hep Q" on the side - initial internet searches yield nothing) as an attempt to filter, I assume. Doesn't work. Of course, with a straight pipe, the smell of the black tank comes right out the sink. Not very appetizing, for sure. When you open the outside kitchen "door", you get a huge whiff of disgusting. After it airs out, it still stinks to high heaven.

Here's what I have tried so far. 1) Putting the stopper in the doesn't work, not a good enough seal. 2) I tried filling the sink enough to cover the stopper; the water just drains out after a 1/2 hour [no surprise since #1 doesn't work]. 3) I bought one of those large flat rubber sink stoppers and laid that over it - still doesn't seal well enough.

Any ideas? Anything would be appreciated. I am also going to post this in Travel Trailers to get better exposure.

Thanks,
Chad

[Bob Landry]

For a couple of bucks per unit, They could have put a P-trap anywhere in the line. It doesn't have to be right at the sink. I've also read post where the bathroom lavatory was plumbed to the black tank. That's really poor design.

[booter]

Chad

Have same problem with my 2010 303TG. A very poor design at best. No help from Keystone they say it is ok. The white pipe actually has a bladder in it to stop sewer gas from backing up into sink. Bladder dries up and cracks allowing gas to pass (no pun intended) into outdoor sink area. A new bladder will temporary solve problem until it fails again and it will. I removed bladder, capped drain line into black tank , and plumbed outdoor sink through under belly to the ground between axles. Unfortunatly with my trailer there was no room to plumb it to the grey tank where it should go in the first place. No more smell and grey water doesn't fill black tank up when dry camping. Hope this helps. Happy trails.

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by WaitingToRetire

So, got the Outback 312BH with the outside kitchen. Love the kitchen, great idea!

Here's the problem - the outside kitchen stinks. The sink drains into the black tank. Yes, the black tank. Wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but as you can see in the pictures, there isn't enough clearance for a P-trap in the drain pipe. Instead they used some sort of modified straight pipe (you can see the "Hep Q" on the side - initial internet searches yield nothing) as an attempt to filter, I assume. Doesn't work. Of course, with a straight pipe, the smell of the black tank comes right out the sink. Not very appetizing, for sure. When you open the outside kitchen "door", you get a huge whiff of disgusting. After it airs out, it still stinks to high heaven.

Here's what I have tried so far. 1) Putting the stopper in the doesn't work, not a good enough seal. 2) I tried filling the sink enough to cover the stopper; the water just drains out after a 1/2 hour [no surprise since #1 doesn't work]. 3) I bought one of those large flat rubber sink stoppers and laid that over it - still doesn't seal well enough.

Any ideas? Anything would be appreciated. I am also going to post this in Travel Trailers to get better exposure.

Thanks,
Chad

The trap you are looking at says "HEPvO" It is similar to a check valve and is used when there is not enough room for a "P" or "J" or "S" trap. When installed correctly they work quite well. There should be arrows showing "UP" and direction of flow printed on it. It may be faulty and need replacement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDNh7lfcIYQ

[WaitingToRetire]

Originally Posted by hankpage

The trap you are looking at says "HEPvO" It is similar to a check valve and is used when there is not enough room for a "P" or "J" or "S" trap. When installed correctly they work quite well. There should be arrows showing "UP" and direction of flow printed on it. It may be faulty and need replacement.

Thanks Hank. My fault for reading that as "HepQ" I couldn't get a straight-on look at it, so I just thought it was some slick brand-name marketing/design to have it look like a backwards "Q". Sure enough, a "Hepvo" google search returns plenty.

$34 delivered to the door. So, do I spend that much to try the same thing that's already failed only 12 months into it? Or do I try to engineer an alternate method of drainage? I think I'll go outside and mess around with it for awhile to see if anything pops into my head while I'm working. Sometimes, that happens, ya know

Chad

[SLIMSHADIE]

Well thank you!!! I have this problem this year and couldn't figure it out. The odor got so bad, it was kind of getting disgusting. I thought it was just the excessive heat this summer. I bought some new rubber stoppers that helped but wasn't solving the problem. I've also been cleaning the black tank too. I'm going to replace this Hepvo with a new one and go from there. Mine did last 1.5 years.
At first when I found out that this sink went into the black tank, I was pissed. But we do camp alot with just water and electric with no sewer, so it does help divert some of the gray into the black.
Thanks you guys

[DTJ9610]

I haven't had any sink stink issues with our on the 303TG yet, however I did find out the hard way that the sink goes into the black tank. My son was washing his hans and ran back to play while leaving the water running. Came back to find the sink nearly full. First I thought it was clogged until I checked my levels and saw the blakc was full (know previously it was only 1/3). That was not fun using the Blue Boy to drain the black (good thing it was only liquid). The good news is the water had no smell so I would think there is some kind of check valve in there to prevent any overflow into the sink.

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by WaitingToRetire

Thanks Hank. My fault for reading that as "HepQ" I couldn't get a straight-on look at it, so I just thought it was some slick brand-name marketing/design to have it look like a backwards "Q". Sure enough, a "Hepvo" google search returns plenty.

$34 delivered to the door. So, do I spend that much to try the same thing that's already failed only 12 months into it? Or do I try to engineer an alternate method of drainage? I think I'll go outside and mess around with it for awhile to see if anything pops into my head while I'm working. Sometimes, that happens, ya know

Chad

If you watched the video you saw why they use it for this application. As low as the sink is the black-water would slosh through a regular trap when traveling with a full tank. Not a pleasant thought and since the sink is lower than the toilet ..... well you get the idea. Some type of mechanical valve is needed to keep you from being down stream without the proverbial paddle.

[JRTJH]

Looking at the pictures posted and thinking about solutions, I think I might have one that would work. If you removed the bladder backflow preventor and replaced it with a 1 1/2" (or appropriate size) pipe with a 1/4 turn off/on valve, you could close the drain completely to prevent any backflow, and then open it when you're using the sink. Not sure if this would help or not, just a thought from someone who doesn't have an outside kitchen but also doesn't like that smell. Especially around something that's potentially going into my mouth. "YECHT"

[WaitingToRetire]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Looking at the pictures posted and thinking about solutions, I think I might have one that would work. If you removed the bladder backflow preventor and replaced it with a 1 1/2" (or appropriate size) pipe with a 1/4 turn off/on valve, you could close the drain completely to prevent any backflow, and then open it when you're using the sink. Not sure if this would help or not, just a thought from someone who doesn't have an outside kitchen but also doesn't like that smell. Especially around something that's potentially going into my mouth. "YECHT"

Awesome! That's the value of the internet right there! Thanks JRTJH. That just might do the trick. Only downside I can foresee is having to train the 7 & 8 yr old girls on how to operate it - I can see a lot of "forgotten" valve openings and closings. But I think I can deal with that better than the smell.

On a side note - I was at the RV dealer today and talking to my salesman about it. He suggested I bring it in for warranty work for the smell. They want me to bring the RV in so they can "troubleshoot" it. My 1yr warranty runs out in a week, so I went ahead and had them open a ticket for it, and I can bring it in after Labor Day. At least it's documented. I just thought it was funny they want me to bring in the whole trailer instead of just giving me a new HepVo valve ($25). It'll cost me more in gas to make that trip. But hey, maybe they can actually get it fixed or come up with a another solution.

I'll give them their chance, then get ready for the valve mod that JRTJH thought up.

Thanks JRTJH,

Chad

[JRTJH]

No problem, Chad. I'm just happy that it might work for you. As for the girls, they can't drain the sink unless they open the valve. Once you start getting a hint of "nasal assault" you can remind them LOL

I swore, at that age my girl was "brain dead" Then she hit the teen years..... YIKES You ain't seen nothin' yet LOL

Hope you get it fixed, it sure will make for nicer camping trips

Keep us posted.

[SLIMSHADIE]

Tweetys has the Hepvo valve, so I ordered a replacement. We will see how long the new one lasts. Mine was the 1 1/2". Well at least, it will be an easy replacement.