Leaky black water tank under bed

[The Quilting Lady]

Anybody have problems with leakage from the three inch pipe that connects to the black water tank under the bed. We just discovered with our 2017, 21 foot that we purchased in May 2017, we are having this problem. We are in process of contacting Escape about it. I'm sure they will be good to help us.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by The Quilting Lady

Anybody have problems with leakage from the three inch pipe that connects to the black water tank under the bed. We just discovered with our 2017, 21 foot that we purchased in May 2017, we are having this problem. We are in process of contacting Escape about it. I'm sure they will be good to help us.

I had a leak at the black tank/pipe junction my first few months of ownership, which I discovered 3 days before leaving on a 4 month trip. Escape sent me a package of repair parts and said they would pay for a plumber to install them - but there was no way for us to wait until the parts arrived and a plumber to do the work. The solution for me was to make my own repair.

To start, I removed all the wood bed slats over the tank and pipe for easy access. Then I assembled the repair parts from my various tool boxes. In the first photo you will see black "tape" putty, stretchy silicone tape, and a high-quality hose clamp. After cleaning and drying the leak I forced a bead of putty into the joint (photo 2). Then wrapped with a couple of turns of stretchy tape (photo 3). Finally, installed the hose clamp over the first two layers for good measure (photo 4).

This has held up for 3+ years and I trust it will last a good long time. But I still have the box of repair parts "just in case".
--
Alan

[cpaharley2008]

Since this tank involves unpressurized contents, a simple fix shown should suffice since gravity is the only item that needs to be channeled.

[Farther]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

...gravity is the only item that needs to be channeled.

That must be that black lumpy gravity.

[Eggscape]

https://youtu.be/q6k_2SgArds

Another Escape Video

[cpaharley2008]

I wonder why the black tank video is being produced, I do not like the idea of trying to fix mine after it is put into use nor have I heard of but only two owners having an issue. Hoping for the best......

[rubicon327]

I’m sure they have this figured out and corrected on the trailers coming off the line now. This fix doesn’t look so bad on the bench but under the bed platform is another story. Half the job is probably clearing a way to do the work.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I wonder why the black tank video is being produced, I do not like the idea of trying to fix mine after it is put into use nor have I heard of but only two owners having an issue.

Since Reace went to the trouble of working out a solution and making the video, it seems unlikely that there have been only two failures. The 21' is a popular model, so even if only a few percent of them built over a few months have a problem, that's more than a couple of trailers.

This is essentially what the automotive industry would call a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB), in video form. A TSB is part of a normal response by a competent and responsible manufacturer to the identification of a repeated problem found in vehicles after they have reached customers.

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I’m sure they have this figured out and corrected on the trailers coming off the line now.

Since it was just an improperly sealed joint, I'm sure it has been resolved. On the other hand, at least one of the flexible couplings used in the repair would likely be a good component to use from the beginning, to relieve bending stress on that joint due to relative motion as everything bumps and twists down the road.

Originally Posted by rubicon327

This fix doesn’t look so bad on the bench but under the bed platform is another story. Half the job is probably clearing a way to do the work.

Thus Reace's comments about removing as much length of the original pipe as possible, to provide working room.

An alternative might be to make one cut in the ABS piping near the tank but the second cut further away from the tank, on the other side of the elbow, providing much more working room. The end result would have one rubber coupling near the tank and the second rubber coupling between the elbows, rather than both couplings jammed against each other by the tank. This could be done with the same parts provided by ETI in the repair kit.

Reace explains the need to keep the sealant off the area of the first ABS fitting to be glued; I would consider masking off that area with tape while working with the sealant, to be safe.

I find one thing about the assembly of this plumbing interesting: I've never heard of a caulk-like product like that (either the original which Alan showed, or the white product which Reace shows in the repair) being used as pipe thread sealant. I would have more faith in a sealant intended for this purpose; it is a normal threaded plumbing joint, so any sealant intended for pipe threads and compatible with both materials (ABS and whatever the tank fitting is, perhaps HDPE) should be suitable. I wonder if the original problem was that joints were not being adequately tightened, due to interference by the type of sealant used?

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

...
I find one thing about the assembly of this plumbing interesting: I've never heard of a caulk-like product like that (either the original which Alan showed, or the white product which Reace shows in the repair) being used as pipe thread sealant. I would have more faith in a sealant intended for this purpose;
...

To elaborate a bit on the sealant I used...
It is not intended to be used on threads or in the pipe joint, rather, to be applied on the outside of the pipe. I used it because I had some handy (no time to do a proper repair) and because it was easily molded to the gap that was leaking. The red stretchy tape must be used otherwise the sealant would probably just fall off. Neither the sealant nor the tape have any adhesive qualities.

Normally this stuff is used to keep moisture from moving inwards. I took a gamble that it would keep moisture from moving outwards. Seems to be working after 3 years.

--
Alan

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by alanmalk

To elaborate a bit on the sealant I used...
It is not intended to be used on threads or in the pipe joint, rather, to be applied on the outside of the pipe. I used it because I had some handy (no time to do a proper repair) and because it was easily molded to the gap that was leaking. The red stretchy tape must be used otherwise the sealant would probably just fall off. Neither the sealant nor the tape have any adhesive qualities.

That makes sense, for the purpose that it was used.

What puzzles me is using a caulk within and around a tapered pipe thread, which should have no problem sealing properly with the normal thread sealant and nothing around the joint.

[reace]

Hi Brian

I agree, normal thread sealant should work...but it doesn’t. For years we have had success using proflex, however if it is not applied correctly, it can fail.

Having Northern Lite Campers now as a ‘sister company’ has allowed us more freedom to share ideas back and forth and this is one thing we have changed as a result. We now use a Sikaflex product to seal the joints.

Reace

[Greg A]

Not as bad an issue, but reminds me of the Scamp 16 black tank valve a few years ago that would fall off shortly after picking up the trailers. One of our good friends had his fall off at the Bandon gathering and his black tank emptied onto the campsite, of course, at the end of the stay.

[viator36]

Hi Reace,

When did ETI start using Sikaflex product to seal the joints? Thanks.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by viator36

Hi Reace,

When did ETI start using Sikaflex product to seal the joints? Thanks.

I would imagine since these 2 companies joined, less than 6 months ago.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by reace

I agree, normal thread sealant should work...but it doesn’t. For years we have had success using proflex, however if it is not applied correctly, it can fail.

Thanks Reace

Do you know why there is a problem? Is it perhaps that with trailer motion the pipe is taking bending stress, and pulling the threaded joint apart? That's why I was thinking that a rubber coupling could fix the root problem.

[LJY]

Originally Posted by The Quilting Lady

Anybody have problems with leakage from the three inch pipe that connects to the black water tank under the bed. We just discovered with our 2017, 21 foot that we purchased in May 2017, we are having this problem. We are in process of contacting Escape about it. I'm sure they will be good to help us.

Thank you.. this might explain the bit of bad smell we always get when opening the underbed cabinets.. will look to see if something is leaky tomorrow

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by LJY

Thank you.. this might explain the bit of bad smell we always get when opening the underbed cabinets.. will look to see if something is leaky tomorrow

I get a smell as well when I open the underbed storage. To me it smells like that chemical outgassing smell you get in a new trailer. But my trailer is several years old now and my sense of smell is poor, having been shorted out on the farm during childhood. So it might be the tank/pipe after all. Eeww. Perhaps something heavy stored under the bed banged into it. I've been concerned about that.

In French Camp, MS

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Not as bad an issue, but reminds me of the Scamp 16 black tank valve a few years ago that would fall off shortly after picking up the trailers. One of our good friends had his fall off at the Bandon gathering and his black tank emptied onto the campsite, of course, at the end of the stay.

[ATHiker]

Originally Posted by reace

Hi Brian

I agree, normal thread sealant should work...but it doesn’t. For years we have had success using proflex, however if it is not applied correctly, it can fail.

Having Northern Lite Campers now as a ‘sister company’ has allowed us more freedom to share ideas back and forth and this is one thing we have changed as a result. We now use a Sikaflex product to seal the joints.

Reace

Does anyone know the specific Sikaflex product?

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by ATHiker

Does anyone know the specific Sikaflex product?

From Reace’s repair video (link in post #5) you can see that it is Sikaflex 221.

https://www.amazon.com/Sikaflex-221-...79841334&psc=1