Grey Tank Leak

[stevemcn]

I was dumping, after my most recent trip, when I noticed a drip from the stub of the grey tank drain, at the joint where it exits the tank.


There is a fillet joint of some sealant at that joint, but the water still drips. Doesn't look like anything I can tighten to remedy this. Is there anyone else out there who has had this experience? How did you fix it?


Our Escape 19 is fairly new (we took delivery in July 2019). Hasn't had rough use. I do not believe I hit anything under there. This is the first time I noticed it, after a fairly short (around 150 miles round trip) trip to a state park.



Anyone?

[tdf-texas]

Take a look at this thread.
https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ion-18996.html

You seem to be not the only one with this problem.

Since you are under warranty, contact Escape - they have a fix for it.

[dana mcdaniel]

HI, WE also have a 2019 Escape 19 leaking at the drain exit from grey tank. No response from Escape yet. How have you fixed the problem Thanks

[stevemcn]

I did get a reply from Escape, a few replacement parts a tube of sealant,, and minimal (possibly less than minimal) instruction.

We were able to do the repair. And the leak has been banished.

You will need to buy a particular tool from Home Depot, or Lowes. It is a tub drain removal tool. It is kind of like a giant screw extractor, if you know what one of those is.

You will also need a heat gun, to soften the existing sealant around the broken fitting. (As it turned out, the fitting had cracked about 2/3 the way around, which was the cause of our leak.)

I did write up my experience, as detailed (hopefully, easy to follow) instructions. I will be happy to share.

[dana mcdaniel]

Thanks for the info. Dustin also contacted us today. Going to disassemble and try the fix later today. Here’s hoping it’s the only fitting that is problematic.

[Margot May]

We had the SAME ISSUE on our 2019 escape 21. Appears the 1 1/2" ABS female slip by male thread fitting sheared off from to much stress. Use a heat gun to soften the broken ABS male threads and it should peel out with needle nose pliers. I plan on using a 1.5" x 3" fernco adaptor plus pipe support clamps to take the stress off. Out of warranty so did not call ESCAPE. Several threads on the repair.



Fortunately this happened at the end of a 3 month trip.

[dana mcdaniel]

Thanks to everyone for your tips and experience dealing with the grey water leaks. Dustin, from Escape, also contacted us with similar suggestions and photos of components. Even though our 2019, 19’ is still under warranty, no one would work on it for a few months. We had leaks at the discharge outlet and the inlet from the bathroom. Both male adapter fittings leaked and snapped off as soon as I began removal. The tip of using the tub drain removal tool was great.$20 we’ll spent. We did replace the pipe with a gap bridged by the rubber, flexible 1 1/2” couplings which allows for some of the stress of movement to be absorbed there rather than all on the male adapter fitting. Seems dry now. Hope it holds after travel and more use. Kitchen sink drain looks good for now. If it needs repair in the future I guess flexible elbows would be the only possible fix given how tight the space is. Thanks again for your help

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Margot May

We had the SAME ISSUE on our 2019 escape 21. Appears the 1 1/2" ABS female slip by male thread fitting sheared off from to much stress. Use a heat gun to soften the broken ABS male threads and it should peel out with needle nose pliers. I plan on using a 1.5" x 3" fernco adaptor plus pipe support clamps to take the stress off. Out of warranty so did not call ESCAPE. Several threads on the repair. Fortunately this happened at the end of a 3 month trip.

All but a fragment of the ABS male adaptor is stuck in the gray tank. You mentioned using a heat gun. I don't think you followed up on this. Did it work using a heat gun? I am concerned about damage that might be inflicted to the female threads on the gray tank. I've made two cuts through the part of the ABS which is embedded. No luck budging it or prying it away. I don't want to use a lot of force. If the heat gun works, I'll give it a whirl. Plan B would involve buying $117 pipe extractor. If that doesn't work then Plan C will involve removing all the foam insulation and dropping the tank.

When I cut the S trap near where it is glued into the 1.5" pipe going down to the ABS male adaptor, I should have yelled, "Timber"! There was nothing holding it to the adaptor.

Thanks for any feedback.

[oldwave]

It’s a poor design, but fixable.

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by oldwave

It’s a poor design, but fixable.

I was hoping someone could address my questions/concerns. The S-trap will be replaced by a Hepvo valve.

[dana mcdaniel]

We used a heat gun. This seemed to loosen the caulking but the adapter still snapped on both repairs we did. Had to get a pipe or drain extractor ( about $30 at Lowe’s or Home Depot). Press and tap this heavily textured bit into the sheared off adapter. Then unscrew and replace the fitting. Used the trailer on two trips since the repair. So far so good.