Gray tank leak

[CritterdenRV]

We own a 2016 Reflection 5th Wheel(purchased brand new in 2017) We noticed a terrible odor underneath in the storage area and under kitchen sink. Took the underbelly liner off, once we detected it sagging some, and found it to be full of foul odored water. We have narrowed it down to the gray tank that holds the kitchen sink water, since being able to see a little better without the underbelly liner in place. It only leaks once the tank gets full so we are thinking the leak is near, or on top of the tank. Is this tank replaceable? Also we are FT campers in this rig. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks I’m Advance!

[Country Campers]

We own a 2016 Reflection 5th Wheel(purchased brand new in 2017) We noticed a terrible odor underneath in the storage area and under kitchen sink. Took the underbelly liner off, once we detected it sagging some, and found it to be full of foul odored water. We have narrowed it down to the gray tank that holds the kitchen sink water, since being able to see a little better without the underbelly liner in place. It only leaks once the tank gets full so we are thinking the leak is near, or on top of the tank. Is this tank replaceable? Also we are FT campers in this rig. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks I’m Advance!

There is a possibility that the vent tube or the sink drain tube is where the leak may be. These will be found on the top of the tank. The sink drain connection should be right under the sink. Where the pipe enters the tank there will be a grommet that is used to seal this connection. Your pipe may be loose in the connection or not inserted enough. I am not sure where the tank vent enters the tank , Cate&Rob will have a better understanding of this as he has a similar vintage unit.

Brian

[Andi]

Moderator note: I moved this post to the Plumbing forum for maximum visibility.

[TucsonJim]

We own a 2016 Reflection 5th Wheel(purchased brand new in 2017) We noticed a terrible odor underneath in the storage area and under kitchen sink. Took the underbelly liner off, once we detected it sagging some, and found it to be full of foul odored water. We have narrowed it down to the gray tank that holds the kitchen sink water, since being able to see a little better without the underbelly liner in place. It only leaks once the tank gets full so we are thinking the leak is near, or on top of the tank. Is this tank replaceable? Also we are FT campers in this rig. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks I’m Advance!

Welcome! I see you made it over here and made your first post. There are a lot of technical people here who will most likely give you some trouble-shooting ideas and recommendations on how to proceed.

Jim

[CritterdenRV]

We can see the pipe under the sink and felt like it may be in that area. But the problem is reaching the top of gray tank.

[Cate&Rob]

CritterdenRV

Which Reflection model do yo have? If it is the 303 or 337 with the island, you might be able to remove the island to get a better look at the top of the tank. Definitely not an easy job. The other alternative is to drop the tank, which might be the better choice since you already have the coroplast down.

Rob

[CritterdenRV]

I have the island model and we were thinking we may have to pull it out.
if we drop the tank, is that thing welded in with brackets?

[Cate&Rob]

I have the island model and we were thinking we may have to pull it out.
if we drop the tank, is that thing welded in with brackets?

At least one of the rails that support the tank will be bolted into place . . . specifically to allow for tank removal. The waste tanks are “T” shaped resting on rails under the arms of the “T” along the sides of the tank.

Rob

[howson]

I have the island model and we were thinking we may have to pull it out.
if we drop the tank, is that thing welded in with brackets?

This is a pic of the underside of my 315RLTS and the kitchen gray tank. Not the best shot, but hopefully you can see the crossbeams that the tank is resting on.

The hard part is what I have circled. If your setup is like mine, the drain valve is glued on to the ABS. There's a 3" to 1.5" adapter that is glued to the tank, then the valve is glued to the adapter, then the ABS drain line is glued to the other side of the valve. It won't just "drop" out of the unit, assuming your RV is the same as mine.

There is a possibility of splitting the valve. If you have the Bristol I documented the process staring in post 3 of this thread: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...9153#post19153

[Cate&Rob]

CritterdenRV

Howard is correct that you should be able to undo the four bolts on the gate valve to release the (Valterra in your case) gate valve connection to the drain plumbing. You should plan to replace at least the gate valve seals . . . and maybe, the whole gate valve, while you have this apart. The attached picture is not my 303, but is another one from a kitchen grey tank replacement discussion several years ago. There should be two holes and two grommets in the top of the tank. One for the sink drain and one for the connection to the vent stack.

I will (personally) be really interested in how you solve this. Please take lots of pictures. My kitchen grey tank was built with (I suspect) the vent pipe pushed too far into the tank, limiting its water capacity significantly. Our bathroom grey was like that and I fixed this one because it was easy to get to in the pass through storage "plumbing basement". I have always wanted to solve this problem on the kitchen grey but would have to drop the tank. Which I have been hesitant to do . . . so, I will be following your learnings very closely. .

Hopefully, all you will have to replace in the grommet(s) but, make sure the pipes only go into the grommets to the "stop ridge" and are not pushed past this. May require cutting the pipes a little. Look for "witness" marks on the pipes from where the grommets were positioned.

Rob

[Yoda]

Before you drop the tank there is one possible way to check for the leak. Pick up some water colorant (HD, etc) and add to water as you slowly fill the tank. Watch the connections as you fill. Hopefully you will see where the leak is.

[shawncberg]

Hi @CritterdenRV! I'm curious to hear how you solved this?

[howson]

Hi @CritterdenRV! I'm curious to hear how you solved this?

When you click on their profile you can see they haven't logged in for quite a while, unfortunately.

[shawncberg]

Thanks howson ! I was hoping they'd get an email notification and maybe chime in.