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Topic: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon (Read 265 times) previous topic - next topic
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Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon

The only time we have a smell is when I drive with driver's window down. Since Dorothy does not like any windows down, we don't often smell anything. I would like my window down more, so does anyone have any personal experience with this thing.

Amazon.com: 360 Siphon RV Fume Extractor - White: Automotive

Requires holes in the roof. I have sealant and Eternabond with me.

As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #1 –
You could travel with the bathroom vent open a little.  That would draw air out.  Works better if you have vent covers.  Do you have water in all the sink and shower traps?  This spring I had an occasional very bad oder from the bathroom.  Turned out when I de-winterized I got distracted and didn't put water in the shower drain.  The gray tank was almost dry but the small amount of water from the sinks kind of woke thing up after a few days.
John
Currently: 2008 36' Tiffin Open Road
Previously: 2007 Mid Bath
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #2 –
No experience, but have heard some good reviews. Basically, this will do a better job than the oem cover of creating a low air pressure in the vent tube while driving. I.e, it will help keep tank gas odors from coming up through a poor seal at the toilet bowl, or lack of sink/shower trap water lock. However, once outside the rig, the odors could still come in through open windows or vents, or annoy other drivers. Odors are often a sign of a plumbing issue (in the rig) that should be addressed first.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #3 –
Quote from: Don Malpas  - 
The only time we have a smell is when I drive with driver's window down. Since Dorothy does not like any windows down, we don't often smell anything. I would like my window down more, so does anyone have any personal experience with this thing.

Amazon.com: 360 Siphon RV Fume Extractor - White: Automotive

Requires holes in the roof. I have sealant and Eternabond with me.
Don, I have used one like this one for many years     Amazon.com: Camco 40595 White Cyclone Sewer Plumbing Vent: Automotive   and it eliminated most all odors to the point that I rarely use any smell-well additive to the black tank anymore. I drive with the windows down a bit and have not noticed any odors. That said, YMMV.
Chris
As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #4 –
First, is the toilet seal good, or do you find the bowl has drained while traveling?  If so, the seals may need to be replaced.  If the toilet bowl goes dry when traveling but not when stopped, what may be happening is traveling with an open window or vent can generate negative pressure in the rig.  That can make the grey and black tanks leak air into the interior.  For that reason, I would not travel with the bathroom vent open.  Second, driving with one window open may reduce interior pressure, while driving with two open may not, due to airflow characteristics around the cab area.  My objective would be to avoid anything that can generate negative air pressure in the rig.

I think I would try plumbing vents such as Chris suggested, for both the black and grey tanks.  (Remember, the grey tank can smell as bad as the black.)  Then see if you still have a smell when you have the window open.

And stop asking Dorothy to pull your finger...  :-)

Ken F in WY
'08 MB
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #5 –
We use no toilet chemicals, drive  with the bathroom and lounge vents opened at all times , have the LD issued vent cap, and prefer natural ventilation to A/C weather permitting.
No detectable odors. 
Then again, as I age, nothing in my head works as well as it used to so maybe it's my nose.  :D

My guess is that the air from the Windows or  A/C vents, is being forced in, circulated through the rest of the camper then exhausted through the roof vents carrying with it any odors from any source.

Ed
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #6 –
Well, this is getting curiouser and curiouser, folks having different experiences with the same plumbing.
I replaced the seal last year. It holds water all the time. Blimey if I can figure how fumes get out of the tank through the water with window open or closed. We close all windows and vents before moving. It's not a big deal. I may put a siphon vent on just to see. 
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #7 –
If these are definitely black tank odors, and your rig does not combine black and grey vents before the roof exit, then about the only inside route left would be the toilet-to-sewer seal. Even with water in the bowl, any flange seal issue could allow gasses to leak out around the base, without necessarily causing fluids to appear. I guess some pinpoint sniffing would detect any issue here.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #8 –
Don, give this a try.  First, make sure the engine HVAC system is closed to outside air, by having the engine on and switching the air to Max AC or to OFF.  Turn the engine off.  Close all windows and vents tightly.  Open the bathroom vent and set the fan to high.  This should generate negative pressure in the rig.  Close the bathroom door and let it run that way for a while.  Meanwhile, go outside so your nose does not adjust to a building odor.  After perhaps half an hour, go back in and enter the bathroom and sniff.  If you smell any tank odors, vapor is getting into the rig from either the grey or the black tank.  The grey tank route would be bubbling around the traps.  The black tank route could be around the pedestal base seals or the flush valve.

If you detect odors, keep everything closed up and add the rear vent on high exhaust to increase the vacuum effect.  Remove the trim cover around the base of the toilet to expose the pedestal and flush valve.  With a soapy water solution and brush, wet the flush valve mechanism and the top and bottom edges of the pedestal, looking for bubbles.  Put the strainers in place in your shower and sink drains, bathroom and kitchen, and brush (do not pour) the soapy water on the strainers, looking for bubbles.  Why not pour?  If you have a trap that is sitting with barely enough water or not enough water, you want to see the air venting.  Pouring water in might stop the air flow short term.

Good luck.

Ken F in WY
'08 MB
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #9 –
Ed. D. said, "Then again, as I age, nothing in my head works as well as it used to so maybe it's my nose."  Outloud guffaw once again disturbed the tranquility of the library environment.  :-[

Me, three...Never sure if it's my nose, or the occasional olfactory hallucination, since I sometimes think I get a whiff of something odd while driving the minivan, which has no black or gray tanks (& I never drive with windows down, so it surely can't be somebody elses's tanks affecting my schnozz.  Indeed, curiouser & curiouser...


Ken F--thx for such a thorough explanation/troubleshooting option. 
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Black Tank Ventilator - 360 Siphon
Reply #10 –
Holding vent pipes do breakaway from the top of the tanks, providing another source of smell. A poor seal, through the floor, will let it in. 
I have seen small fans, that sit on the top of the vent stack, that keep a constant negative pressure  on the tanks.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze