Grey Water Plumbing Dilemma

[Sparkie616]

When I drain the kitchen sink in my '04 Fleetwood Fiesta, the water bubbles up in the bathtub. My first thought was that the vent for the grey water tank must be plugged, but I ran some water down that from the roof without any back-up. I've also run a snake through as much of the plumbing as I could (too many 90 degree bends!). I even had a guy come out and try to clean out the whole system, but that didn't seem to help. I've been very careful about what goes down the drain - scrape all dishes and dispose of oil and grease properly. The biggest problem seems to be that the entire plumbing system is built right into the floor; so I can't get at it without tearing up the floor. Anything I've missed???

[wildmanbaker]

Could be several things that could cause this. Is it possible the Grey water tank vent has slipped down into the tank causing the back flow? Could be a flaw in the actual plumbing when it was constructed, or an actual blockage in the drain line. The drain plumbing in the 04 Fiesta is usually accessed fairly easily from the basement area, usually. As for an actual blockage, try any of the drain cleaners, that is listed safe for all plumbing systems. The plumbing in your MH is the same as S & B plumbing. IF the cleaner does not work, try to find powered dishwasher detergent to pour down the shower drain, followed by about 2 cups of water, to wash the power down to the blockage. Let it set overnight, then flush with water. If it still back flushes, you may need a company that cleans drains for a living to help you.

[mrkinger]

Hi Sparkie,I kinda have the same problem only with my toilet,When i flush it it spits back up at me,so i beleive i have a plugged vent also ,i ran hoses down the vents to with no luck,im not sure what to do with it,Maybe we can help one another if we find the problem.
Thanks
Paul

[jyrostng]

pour some hydrogen peroxide in those drains, it's cheap and easy to do. Are you sure the grey water tank is empting. pull that gate valve and make sure.

[Sparkie616]

Thanks for all the suggestions. If anybody can think of anything else, I'm open to suggestions!

My experience has been that when the grey tank is full, it simply backs up into the tub. Sure fired way to know the tank needs to be drained! Both the kitchen sink and the tub drain quickly. I thought at one point that might be part of the problem; so I thottled back on the release from the sink, but that didn't help either. My thought was that if there was a partial blockage, a slower release rate would stop it from gurgling in the tub. No such luck! I did run a snake from the kitchen sink, as near as I could tell, almost all the way to the grey tank. Ran into a T or elbow somewhere along the line that stopped me. We even cut into the grey water vent accessible through my closet and ran a high pressure sprayer into the grey tank to no avail. As for accessing the plumbing through the basement storage compartments, all mine are seamless molded plastic. I guess the only thing I haven't done is gone in through the tub p-trap connection - not looking forward to doing that!

[Old-Biscuit]

Grey waste tanks have vent lines.....they are what sticks thru roof.

Air admittance valves are installed after sink 'P' traps so that when draining grey tank the 'P' traps don't get sucked dry. The AAVs open when draining allowing air into sink drain lines after the 'P' traps.

If the stick closed (very unusual----usually stick open) water would gulp-gulp-glup at sink


Water backing up into shower when draining sink.........then as suggested...the drain line AFTER shower is clogged/obstructed and not allowing full flow into grey tank.

Need to get access to shower 'P' trap..remove it and then snake drain line from there down into grey tank.

[racecarfan]

Sparkie616 wrote:
When I drain the kitchen sink in my '04 Fleetwood Fiesta, the water bubbles up in the bathtub. My first thought was that the vent for the grey water tank must be plugged, but I ran some water down that from the roof without any back-up. I've also run a snake through as much of the plumbing as I could (too many 90 degree bends!). I even had a guy come out and try to clean out the whole system, but that didn't seem to help. I've been very careful about what goes down the drain - scrape all dishes and dispose of oil and grease properly. The biggest problem seems to be that the entire plumbing system is built right into the floor; so I can't get at it without tearing up the floor. Anything I've missed???

the bath drain and kit sink drain must be in fact the same line teed together so there must be a blockage after where the two drains join into one. Does the sink drain slowly or normally speed wise?

[the_bear_II]

There may be some access panels in storage compartments you can remove to get to the holding tank plumbing. In two of my storage compartments, the back walls are just plywood panels covered in carpet that hide access to plumbing, heat duct and electrical cables. I can remove several screws along the panel to remove it and have clear access to what is hiding behind the panels...including a dead mouse.

[lanerd]

MountainAir05 wrote:
have you check the air admittance valve located in the kitchen sink area. Locate the P-trap and follow up.

X2

[MountainAir05]

have you check the air admittance valve located in the kitchen sink area. Locate the P-trap and follow up.

[donn0128]

Is this happening in one place or all camp grounds? Sounds like a vent issue to me. Next time try partially opening the drain pipe at the hose to let air in and see what happens.

[rgatijnet1]

Usually that is an indication that your grey tank is full. I will assume that is not the issue here.
The vents for your plumbing are in the drain lines NOT the grey water tank. They are there to insure that the liquid drains quickly and does not create a vacuum situation. I think that any water entering your grey tank is creating a pressure situation and the water bubbling up in your bathtub is from water that is in the bath tub plumbing trap. I think the only way to eliminate the problem is that you need to somehow vent your grey water tank.