Leaking grey tank

[Jason Worman]

Good morning,

Got up this morning to unhook and head out for a quick couple of nights and noticed a big puddle on the ground. Crawled underneath and noticed several seams of grey water tank leaking. I had someone jump in shower and drips increased. I opened outside access door to check plumbing and all was set. Tank is not easily accessible to replace even if we could find one for this ol' girl. Any thoughts or has anyone repaired their tank? Material is a dark almost fiberglass looking material.
Thank you,

Jason Worman

[Gerald Farris]

Jason,
First you need to determine where the leak is located. From my experience, the leak is probably located at one of the connectors where a line enters or exits the tank, and if so, it can be repaired by replacing the connector at a plastic fabrication/welding shop. However, if the tank itself is damaged, it can also be repaired or rebuilt by a plastic fabricator. Since the tank was spun molded, and there is probably no chance of finding an exact match because the mold no longer exist, you can use an off the shelf tank, but you will probably end up with a smaller tank to get something to fit in the space.

Gerald

[Jason Worman]

Gerald

Boy, I crawled under the coach while water was running and just could not see the leak, (got quite wet). Used flashlight to shine on nooks and crannies but no luck. The point of tank connections were dry, water seemed to come from everywhere. I am wondering if somewhere up where I could not see was maybe some kind of hidden overflow outlet? The tank will be quite difficult to repair because of where it is mounted.

Jason

[Eric Maclean]

Jason
Unfortunately most of the plastic fabrication guys will want the tank out of the coach so they can work on on in horizontally position to help facilitate a proper weld.

From your discription it sounds like the bottom of your tanks are exposed are they fitted up from below or are the sitting on bay substructure it's odd as I thought all these coaches had there tanks in heated bays.
 As Gerald said most leaks are plumbing related although I have seen cracks or seams blow out usually near suport brackets.
Either way the best way to insect the tank is to remove it and that is a pack a lunch job.
Good luck Eric

[Fred Brooks]

    Jason,
 The tank is made out of polypropylene which is the same material as "Pex plumbing currently being used. It is not likely the tank has failed but the ABS drain plumbing going to it is usually the issue. A common problem is the vent line going into the top of the tank that usually goes up in a wall cavity then thru the ceiling up to the roof. What happens is if the tank is filled to flood level (water level is above the tank and back filling the shower) the top of the tank "balloons" upward because of the head pressure. Sometimes this pushes the vent pipe upward above the tank. When the tank is drained, the pipe does not stay in the tank as the tank retracts to its original shape. To prove if this is the issue, close the gray dump valve and start filling the gray tank tank thru the shower or tub in 5 gallon increments and monitor how many buckets before the leak occurs. The roof should give you a location to hunt down the vent going into the tank. Hope this helps, Fred

[Jason Worman]

Fred,

Thank you for the info, makes sense about the vent pipe, after inspection the tank seems very solid. Once the vent pipe is located is it hard to reseat in the tank? Can  I PM you once I get started on this project?

Jason

[Fred Brooks]

   Jason, absolutely! Things are kinda condensed on a 36 foot coach. You should be able to zero in on this issue just be patient. We will figure it out and get you rolling again, Fred

[Fred Brooks]

   Jason, Glad to hear you fixed it, Let the adventure continue! Blessings & Joy, Fred

[Adam Hicklin]

So what was the problem and the fix?  I gotta know!

[Jason Worman]

Adam

The venting pipe had popped out because of over pressure in the grey water tank which caused it to leak. Per Fred's instruction I added 5 gallons of water down tub until pressure loosened pipe and repeated in tank. Amazing what help you can get on this forum, especially for first time owner such as me.

Jason Worman

[Adam Hicklin]

Fred is a treasure!  Has helped me through a couple thing I could have never done myself.  There is a ton of knowledge in this group and I too am thankful for all the help and advice.

So does the vent pipe just fit in a hole in the tank?  It’s not glued in to a fitting?  How did you get it re-seated?  I’m not quite tracking here.

[Jason Worman]

Adam,

Over the years things have loosened, was able to reseal things back to the tank, was a two person job, had to get on the roof and pull vent cover to position pope, once in position, climbed  back down and under the coach at the tank and revealed. Having an older coach is a blessing and a curse someday. Everything is pretty compact, not alot of fancy electronics.  But for instance our old steps are obsolete and entire step assembly is only option to replace.

Jason