2016 Solitude Unbearable Sewer Smell

[DLasiter]

We just bought a 2016 Solitude 377mbs-r and have already installed new AAV's. This has NOT fixed the foul smell.
We've read the comments regarding foul smells, however... this smell is not coming from the AAV's. This odor is coming out of the control panel and the cabinets above and below it. PLEASE HELP US! It only seems to happen when the island sink has water poured into it. There is NO smell coming from under the sink however. Any help would be greatly appreciated! PLEASE!

[alkbch]

Is your sewer hose connected from your waste tanks to the sewer hole? Are the tank valves opened or closed? Have you cleaned the tanks since you bought the rig?

[huntr70]

Sounds like the gray tank needs a good cleaning. Food particles going down a drain and rotting in the tanks smells just as bad or worse than the black tank smell.

[Second Chance]

@DLasiter -

Welcome to the forum - and sorry you're having this issue. Knowing the answers to the questions @alkbch asked would help us. @huntr70 also has a very good point - I've smelled gray tank effluent that was worse than the black tank! One less likely thing to consider if working on the other things doesn't fix your problem is checking to see if the vent stack has come loose and slipped up out of the top of any of the waste tanks. You would have to visualize the tops of the tanks to do this. I don't know how your rig is laid out, but I can see the tops of two of the three waste tanks in our rig by removing the rear basement wall and crawling back in there with a flashlight. A mirror or a fiberoptic scope would likely let me see the top of the third tank.

Finally, you can create a signature block with your RV and tow vehicle information (see mine below). That way you won't have to repeat that information whenever you post or ask a question - and others won't have to ask. You can create a signature by going to:

Forum Actions (on menu bar) -> Edit Profile -> Edit Signature (under My Settings on the left)

Rob

[DLasiter]

Is your sewer hose connected from your waste tanks to the sewer hole? Are the tank valves opened or closed? Have you cleaned the tanks since you bought the rig?

Thank you for your response. The tank valves are closed. We have not cleaned the tanks, however we'll do so immediately. we're trying to figure out why this smell is ONLY coming from the control panel cabinet and the cabinets above and below it. There is NO smell from either sink or toilet.

[Second Chance]

Thank you for your response. The tank valves are closed. We have not cleaned the tanks, however we'll do so immediately. we're trying to figure out why this smell is ONLY coming from the control panel cabinet and the cabinets above and below it. There is NO smell from either sink or toilet.

By "control panel cabinet," are you talking about the panel from which you control slides, awnings, etc.? I'm not familiar with your floorplan - however, this has sparked two unpleasant memories for me.

1) We once stayed in a campground in Massachusetts where there were a lot of permanent/seasonal units that people did not maintain or clean well. We ended up with mice in our basement (and we were only there for about 10 days). I set a couple of traps in the basement... and then forgot about them... I remembered about the traps when a bad smell started wafting up through a return vent in the bathroom floor (our previous Reflection 337). Yep, Mr./Ms. mouse had started to decompose and it wasn't a pleasant smell.

2) 25+ years ago when I owned a stix 'n brix, I needed to replace the icemaker in the top-freezer refrigerator. Of course, I had to clear everything out of the freezer to do this and placed frozen items on various surfaces around the kitchen. Without thinking - and apparently not consciously aware of it - I put a couple of pounds of frozen hamburger in a basket on top of the fridge (you see what's coming, don't you?). I got the icemaker replaced and everything (I thought) back in the freezer. It took a couple of days for the hamburger to thaw and start smelling like decomp. We searched high and low but, obviously, in the basket on top of the fridge. I had my then-teenage son put on a jumpsuit and crawl up under the house to see if an animal had gotten in the crawl space and died. We had the gas company out with a leak detector (a not-so-bright gas company employee told my late wife, "You don't have a gas leak, ma'am, but your house sure does smell bad.") After another day or two of turning the place upside down I finally looked in the basket on top of the fridge.

In both of our fifth wheels there has been/is an air return to the basement underneath the buffet cabinet (on the side of which is our control center). The back of the electrical distribution panel is also open to the basement. So - how does your basement smell? Have you gone through the cabinets - including pulling out a drawer and looking behind - to make sure some sort of foodstuff hasn't fallen behind? It may not be a plumbing or waste tank issue, but I still would not rule out checking out the vent stack(s) on top of the tanks.

Rob

[cfowler55]

Thank you for your response. The tank valves are closed. We have not cleaned the tanks, however we'll do so immediately. we're trying to figure out why this smell is ONLY coming from the control panel cabinet and the cabinets above and below it. There is NO smell from either sink or toilet.

The back of control panel is basically open to the basement. All the wiring comes up thru a couple of holes that have kinda been gouged out. So , if you had a tank issue, the smell could funnel straight up. I do know on our 310 , the galley tank sits pretty much directly below that area.
Charlie

[OshawaDave]

What are AAV's?
For what's worth my neighbour had same issue with a a diifferent brand. He had two issues: syrofoam obstruction in the black stack and grey tank vent not working. this solved his odour problem.
If you find out it just needs a cleansing, here's what I do and I've had odour issues.

* I use Odorlos granular in black tank
* I use Walrex Elemonate tablets in my grey tanks each time I empty them.
*when we get home from each camping trip I fill up all three tanks and drain them.

I've never had tank odours.

[OshawaDave]

What are AAV's?
For what's worth my neighbour had same issue with a a diifferent brand. He had two issues: syrofoam obstruction in the black stack and grey tank vent not working. this solved his odour problem.
If you find out it just needs a cleansing, here's what I do and I've NOT had odour issues.

* I use Odorlos granular in black tank
* I use Walrex Elemonate tablets in my grey tanks each time I empty them.
*when we get home from each camping trip I fill up all three tanks and drain them.

I've never had tank odours.

Sorry one small edit.

[jkwilson]

Don’t overlook your batteries! The smell of overcharged batteries is very similar to sewage as both are heavy sulfur smells.