Why does having the furnace on produce a sewer smell ?

ice2fire wrote:

Big Love wrote:
are you sure it is a sewer smell and not an unburned propane gas smell?

Definitely a sewer smell. Been around propane gas and sewer smells long enough to know the difference unfortunately.

Not had the smell since we put a cap over the shower drain. Suspect the water evaporates in the p trap of the shower when not in use (we tend to use the camp showers - bigger and more hot water supply). Maybe, I should install also one of those wind directional vents.

But I'm going to replace the vent trap at any rate.

I'd like to thank everyone very much for their suggestions as to the cause and possible solutions to our problem. The responses were directly aimed at the situation, which doesn't always happen on this forum.

Glad to hear that you have found the source of stink :B

If you don't use your shower just run the shower faucet for a few seconds once a week to keep water in 'P' trap and then use the drain plug to minimize water evaporation.

The 'wind directional' vent caps help with venting of waste tanks but won't stop the water loss in unused 'P' traps

Enjoy your stink free trailer :B

It has been getting quite chilly in Arizona (Tucson) at night, but warms up nice during the day. Just curious as to the use of the heater in the bedroom at night and turning the heater off for the other parts? I would think you would have more efficient heating if you just left the main heater on auto and turn it down to 45 or 50 or even 60. Maybe it wouldn't run so long in the morning when you get up. We summer in the high country of Colorado and June there is still pretty cool. We have a little electric fireplace in the living area we use for heat when we are watching TV at night; but then we turn it off and just use our propane at night and set the temp at 55. Our 34 foot trailer stays comfortable but cool enough to sleep. I guess I am just more nervous about letting an electric heater run all night than using the furnace. Just my thoughts.

Big Love wrote:
are you sure it is a sewer smell and not an unburned propane gas smell?

Definitely a sewer smell. Been around propane gas and sewer smells long enough to know the difference unfortunately.

Not had the smell since we put a cap over the shower drain. Suspect the water evaporates in the p trap of the shower when not in use (we tend to use the camp showers - bigger and more hot water supply). Maybe, I should install also one of those wind directional vents.

But I'm going to replace the vent trap at any rate.

I'd like to thank everyone very much for their suggestions as to the cause and possible solutions to our problem. The responses were directly aimed at the situation, which doesn't always happen on this forum.

Big Love wrote:
are you sure it is a sewer smell and not an unburned propane gas smell?

I was thinking the same thing. On my first trailer which was used when I bought it, propane would leak from the in line gas shut off valve's stem. Would get a whiff of propane every time the furnace fired up. Found out where it was coming from. While trouble shooting I would smell the propane when I operated the shut off valve.

So in a way I think you are correct. You don't have a window cracked so stinky air slips up past a faulty air admittance valve. :B

Hopefully you can find someone at the park with long lanky arms. I'd do it for you if you were anywhere near me. Oh ans here's a picture you can show to the guy at Home Depot to help locate a replacement.
link

Just changed the AAV under the bath vanity in our older motorhome. It was just hand tight and easily unscrewed. The new part was an exact match from the plumbing department at Lowe's (black, 1-1/2" pipe size)and cost a whopping $4. The symptoms were exactly as described in the OP, and initially I was misdiagnosing the issue as a black tank problem. I just couldn't get it in my head that the grey tank could smell THAT bad, LOL. Good luck, easy fix, and cheap enough that I would do it, just to check it off the list.

Welcome to AZ, spend money it helps our economy.

Sometimes the wind will the fumes into the bath vent, me too. Keep a window cracked. Helps a lot. Happy-camping

are you sure it is a sewer smell and not an unburned propane gas smell?

Stop using those heat ducts and use the toilet !

Guy