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tkcas01's avatar
tkcas01
Explorer
Jun 13, 2013

Odor - Thedford Aria Deluxe

The flush valve on my Thedford Aria Deluxe failed a couple of years ago and I replaced it myself. Lately I have been getting odor in the bath, especially when a ceiling vent in ANOTHER PART of the RV is on. I emailed the company and explained how I had re-installed the toilet with new seal.

They said that if the toilet is holding water then the odor was likely coming from the roof vent. Well, that does not make sense because I get the odor even when the ceiling vent in the bath is CLOSED. The odor HAS to be coming from the toilet, and no it is not the autovent on the grey tank - checked that.

Just curious if anyone else has worked on their similar toilet and had any such problems and how you solved it.
  • HiTech's avatar
    HiTech
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2013
    All the drain traps in the camper have water in them, like the sinks and shower?

    Jim
  • tkcas01's avatar
    tkcas01
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2013
    This rig is a 1.5 bath unit and this toilet is in he half bath. The odor is originating there and yes the lav there gets used quite a bit so always water in the trap, and as I said I have checked the autovent on that lav as well. The odor is not coming from the kitchen or the rear bath. I am confident it is this toilet.
  • doxiemom11's avatar
    doxiemom11
    Explorer II
    Jun 13, 2013
    There are vent things under the sinks. If they get old they may fail to keep odors out. We have had to replace ours as they were letting odor into the rv when any water was put down the sinks or shower. Replacements were cheap and they just screw in/out. There is some kind of baffle inside that opens and closes and if it fails to close you have odor. (Sorry, don't know technical name for it.) And the smell was as bad as a black tank or worse. It smelled like black was wasn't.
  • tkcas01's avatar
    tkcas01
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2013
    doxiemom11 wrote:
    There are vent things under the sinks. If they get old they may fail to keep odors out. We have had to replace ours as they were letting odor into the rv when any water was put down the sinks or shower. Replacements were cheap and they just screw in/out. There is some kind of baffle inside that opens and closes and if it fails to close you have odor. (Sorry, don't know technical name for it.) And the smell was as bad as a black tank or worse. It smelled like black was wasn't.


    Right - those are the autovents to which I have referred as not being the current problem.
  • powderman426's avatar
    powderman426
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2013
    If you have verified that the autovents aren't the problem and the toilet holds water, that doesn't leave much but the seal between the toilet and holding tank. JMO
  • Salvo's avatar
    Salvo
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2013
    You can find the location of the leak, but it requires some work. Connect an air compressor hose to the roof black vent. Set compressor regulator to 2 - 5 psi. If you have a sealed system, the black tank will start expanding. You will hear it. Don't worry, it's no where near busting. If the tank does not start expanding, you have an air leak. Start smelling around the toilet. The location will be easy to detect. I had a leak from the cable that activates the water valve. I also had to insert a screw type expansion plug in the bathroom sink.

    Sal
  • Harvard's avatar
    Harvard
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2013
    Some RVs have the bath vanity plumbed into the black tank so keep that in mind when you try pressure testing as described by Salvo.
  • Rheinlan's avatar
    Rheinlan
    Explorer
    Jun 14, 2013
    Had a similar problem and it was the rotating shaft on the slide valve that had a bad seal that permitted tank gasses to escape into the motor home. Ruining exhaust fan made problem noticeable and with all air inlet openings closed pinpointed the problem and made it evident. It is a non-replaceable part and I had to replace the entire toilet. Problem solved and running exhaust fan no longer sucked fumes down the stack and out the leaking seal.
  • tkcas01's avatar
    tkcas01
    Explorer
    Jun 15, 2013
    Rheinlan wrote:
    Had a similar problem and it was the rotating shaft on the slide valve that had a bad seal that permitted tank gasses to escape into the motor home. Ruining exhaust fan made problem noticeable and with all air inlet openings closed pinpointed the problem and made it evident. It is a non-replaceable part and I had to replace the entire toilet. Problem solved and running exhaust fan no longer sucked fumes down the stack and out the leaking seal.

    Thanks. How could you tell the odor was coming from the shaft seal and not just the seal at the floor? Mine it backed up into a corner and you can't really get behind it to "sniff" around.

    Also, it is the slide assembly that I replaced a couple of hears ago, so not understanding why you had to replace the entire toilet. I wonder if I got a defective one perhaps? I'll have to investigate further.
  • Rheinlan's avatar
    Rheinlan
    Explorer
    Jun 18, 2013
    Actually filled tank and toilet with water above the offending seal and water leaked out. Water tends to need a larger opening then air to leak. I did the fill carefully and just short of the toilet bowl rim. There was no leakage at the floor seal, only when I got to the top. rotating shaft seal. Toilet was under warranty and was replaced by manufacturer after explaining test procedure above.

    Mine was a different model toilet and the shaft seal was not a replaceable component per manufacturer.

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