Newell Gurus

My sensor has been a bit squirrelly this week, so, as part of my waste tank cleaning, I let the tank fill all the way.

This morning, my olfactory alarm notified me that my tank was a bit more than just 100% full!  I opened the "wet" bay and found it was holding true to its name.    On the top of the waste tank, were puddles of waste water.  Da Heck?

So, I drained the tank and performed a hazmat cleanup with some Pine-sol on a rag wire-tied to a pole.  Industrious of me, I know.  ha.

Now the question is...

ARE THOSE TOP FITTINGS SUPPOSED TO BE FULLY SEALED ONTO THE TANK?  This really isn't as dumb of a question as it sounds to me, because I personally think they should.  However, in the world of Newell, sometimes things aren't always as "normal" as one would think.

I have a suspicion that THIS is the source for many of our Newells being "smelly" as they off-gas on hot days.  Rather than venting through the roof, I think the gases are escaping into the under-bays and wafting up through the floor.

THEREFORE, my gut-instinct is to attack those fittings with some really good plumbing sealant.  I have a tech request into Newell to verify with them as well which is also my way of saying, "hey, this isn't good, so you might remember it for the next person."

I trust that more than one of you has addressed this matter and can suggest what you used for sealant.  Gonna be pretty hard to get around those fittings as well; not looking forward to that back-twister.

Thanks,
Steve

Although our coach is light years from the engineering on your Newell, some basics don't change a lot. I have also overfilled the waste tank in a cleaning attempt. There were no leaks revealed on the top of the tank. The overflow pipe worked well. Our overflow pipe has 3 90 degree ells in it, but possibly could be a source for odor on hot days.

No Gary, running water down a pipe into a plastic tank hasn’t changed a bit, has it? Perhaps the only thing that’s improved over the decades is the glue. ?

This it the 2" fitting on my black tank.  They appear to be installed using gravity and sealant.  They do not appear to be installed using the flange and I know for  a fact MOT changed one using the gravity sealant method.
Icon Grommet 12484

Eek, that profile looks awfully similar. I didn't poke it, assuming it was ABS. So, if it's this grommet, no wonder the white silicone just pulled off easily!

My guess is Newell may have done a quick fix on those fittings after the fact. Only problem for me is, it's impossible to contort my body to reach two of the fittings. I dread the thought of having to have them replaced!!

Well, in retrospect...I should have not bothered with sealing those fittings. Because, as Jim mentions, I think those are slip fittings with grommets. I'm not sure how long they're expected to stay pliable to make a good seal. But, I got in there and wiggled the pipes and could definitely see a bit of give around those grommets. So, putting RTV around them was in vane.

Here is my black tank