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Old 25-03-2017, 22:30   #1
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Smelly toilet

G'day everyone

I'm from Australia (please don't hold that against me). My wife and I received our new caravan in mid November, we had been waiting for it for 6 months. We only began using it in Mid December and been do small to medium trips for around 8 weeks/
We think it is the only one of its kind in our country. It has a grey water and a black water tank with a marine macerator toilet.

We started using it in Mid December and the toilet worked fine. Then recently the toilet room started to smell every time we emptied the black water tank.

Then the toilet stopped working. So I took the van to the near by marine centre and they pulled the toilet apart and finally found the problem was between the macerator outlet and the black water tank.

The wrong pipe at been put in which did not have the right thread size and the gap was filled with black bog to hold it in place. The pipe was small and reduced the flow by half. Some of the black bog found its way into the pipe and further reduced the flow.

I emptied the black water 3 days after the toilet had been fixed to find the toilet room still smelled.

The toilet has a carbon filter that stops the smell from going outside via a pipe could this be the problem? Could the black water had got into this filter?I have not been game enough to take it off and have a look in case I mess it up. Also reluctant to take it back to the marine centre as it has already cost $880 (aus).

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated.

Best Regards Bob
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Old 26-03-2017, 03:45   #2
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Re: Smelly toilet

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Bob.
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Old 26-03-2017, 04:14   #3
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Re: Smelly toilet

Chuck it and install a composting toilet! No smell, no repairs, no fuss!
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Old 26-03-2017, 05:50   #4
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Re: Smelly toilet

It only smells after you dump the tank?

Is it fine after you've used it a few times?

Where does the tank vent lead to?
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Old 26-03-2017, 07:34   #5
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Re: Smelly toilet

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobr View Post
The toilet has a carbon filter that stops the smell from going outside via a pipe could this be the problem?
If there's a possibility that fluid has got into the vent line, then your carbon filter may now be blocking the actual venting of the tank. I would suggest removing the filter to permit the tank at ventilate unrestricted, and see if your problem goes away.

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Old 26-03-2017, 18:03   #6
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Re: Smelly toilet

The vent goes outside to the rear caravan.

I had a look at the carbon filter late yesterday and I thought I would find hose clamps at either end of the filter holding the hoses on. No such luck they have used black silicone/bog and just pushed the hoses on.

Should be fun removing the them.

Bobr
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Old 26-03-2017, 18:20   #7
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Re: Smelly toilet

Forgot to mention that the toilet stopped working again this morning and I cannot get it into the workshop until Wednesday, appears to be the same problem.

Since the last fix, one week ago, we have not been putting the toilet paper in the toilet. Now we have eliminated one likely cause of the problem.

Grrrrrrrr, my wife and I are pulling our hair out in frustration.

Regards Bobr
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Old 26-03-2017, 18:44   #8
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Re: Smelly toilet

So, it only smells after you empty the tank?
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Old 26-03-2017, 18:51   #9
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Re: Smelly toilet

I've been following your tale of woe...

The wrong pipe at been put in which did not have the right thread size and the gap was filled with black bog to hold it in place. The pipe was small and reduced the flow by half. Some of the black bog found its way into the pipe and further reduced the flow.

That doesn't sound like the people who installed it didn't have a clue how to install it and worse yet, didn't bother to read the installation instructions. I strongly suspect that removing it and all its plumbing, then re-installing it correctly would solve a major part of your problem.

What's the make/model of your toilet? Once I know, I can give you a link the manual that includes the installation instructions.

The black goop they used to install the vent filter (another indication they were clueless) may have clogged the vent line...if no air can get out the vent it could send odor back to the toilet--especially if, as I suspect, they didn't bother to install a li'l rubber doodad called a " joker valve" in the discharge fitting. You'll see what that is once you have the instructions.

Unless you're using the best 'strongest' toilet paper, a macerating toilet should have no trouble with it.
Is your holding tank directly below your toilet, or do bowl contents have to travel a hose to get to it?

What tank product, if any, are you using in the tank?

Once I have some answers, I should be able to help you eliminate the problem. We can even go to a one-on-one Skype conversation if need be. Meanwhile, I wouldn't take it back to the same people who've already proven they don't know what they're doing. Which brings up one final question: did your caravan come equipped with a macerating toilet? Or did that shop decide that's what you should have?

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Old 27-03-2017, 21:36   #10
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Re: Smelly toilet

G'day Sailmonkey

The toilet is odour free until we dump the waste.

Regards Bob
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Old 27-03-2017, 22:10   #11
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Re: Smelly toilet

G'day Peggie

You are quite right. I made a few enquiries and the toilet was put in by a non-marine plumber. Also the marine bloke here in Kadina, South Australia, said the same thing when he pulled the offending part out of the system. (We are about 1500 km from home at the moment).

The name of the toilet is a Matromarine Delux Low Bev.Silent.

Tomorrow I will ask the marine bloke (Ian) if he can see your li'l doodad, the joker valve.

As to the vent filter I would have thought a couple of gal hose clamps would do the trick.

Peggie we don't use any tank sanitiser as the only way we could get it into the tank would be through the toilet bowl and we have been told to put nothing down there that hasn't gone through your mouth.

The contents of the bowl pass through a hose to get there.
In fact we have thought about whether we could convert the setup so the contents of the bowl dropped straight into the tank and a sliding thingo could be closed after it flushed.

We have had 2 caravans before this one and got tired of lugging a 30 odd kg cassette to the dump point. So we decided to have this system installed. At the moment my wife and I think it may have been a big mistake. LOL

Plus we have a couple of serious safety issues that are going to be sorted out in a few weeks time when we get back to New South Wales.

A Prime Minister Of Australia once said "life was not meant to be easy", we know, we know.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards Bob
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Old 27-03-2017, 22:29   #12
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Re: Smelly toilet

Bobr,

You could have almost had a brand new Incinolet waste incinerating toilet for the price of the repair job. Your mostly running a generator anyhow so the power is available to run it. No mess no hassle.
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Old 28-03-2017, 01:07   #13
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Re: Smelly toilet

If you are going to spend big bucks, consider a US RV style gravity system:

When you flush, the bottom of the bowl opens via a 4" diameter pipe and it all falls down into a 20-40gal tank. If you can't get close to a dump station to empty the tank via gravity, they have maceration pumps that can attach to the outlet and then you can run a long hose to reach a dump station.

Alternatively, I would seriously consider a composting toilet. 3-4 weeks between dumping the solids, no smell and a convient 2gal liquid tank that lasts a day or two (depending on usage) and can be dumped in any toilet.
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Old 28-03-2017, 04:01   #14
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Re: Smelly toilet

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobr View Post

Peggie we don't use any tank sanitiser as the only way we could get it into the tank would be through the toilet bowl and we have been told to put nothing down there that hasn't gone through your mouth.
Bob! That means USING! Not maintaining 😂😂😂😂😂

I would put a litre of bleach in there and slowly work it through the pipes. Then flush through and empty tank, then rinse.

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Old 28-03-2017, 04:48   #15
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Re: Smelly toilet

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobr View Post
G'day Sailmonkey



The toilet is odour free until we dump the waste.



Regards Bob


Ok, and by dump the waste you're referring to the act of emptying the black tank?, not the act of pressing the button to let the toilet pump waste into the tank. Correct?

What I'm thinking here is that the vent filter is far too small to allow a sufficient volume of air into the tank when you're dumping with the 4" drain hose. By doing this the toilet is also acting as a vent (lots of air through the bowl into the tank). This now leaves the bowl of the toilet to the tank free of water and a direct conduit for smell back into the very small room containing the toilet. If as Peggy suspects there is no joker installed, the toilet will have no way of blocking stink.

I would suggest you eliminate the vent filter and run a proper 1.5" vent up to the roof of the caravan, try this fix. If the smell still persists then add a joker valve and a loop on the discharge.

However before you try any of this, as awful as it sounds, to confirm my theory fill the tank. Then one of you stay in the restroom while the tank is dumped. I'll bet that a big giant suck is heard at the bottom of the bowl.
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