Gray and black vent pipes

oldog12 · 08-17-2006, 10:04 PM

Been reading Dave Galey's THE BUS CONVERTERS BIBLE trying to figure out a plan to convert my 79 IH Thomas.... Galey advocates venting up through the roof for gray water and a separate one for black water. Has everyone vented up through the roof? If anyone has vented out the side, have there been any problems? Do the vent stacks have to go straight up through the roof or can they have a bend in them? What's the deal?

sportyrick · 08-18-2006, 09:20 AM

I put my vent straight up through the roof and don't regret it. I also tied the black and grey vents together but not at tank level but a few feet up, that way if they overflow they won't bleed one into the other yet they seem to have enough height that they don't have draft problems. I had them both full last weekend and didn't have a problem. I was going to put it out the side but didn't think I could get away from the smells coming back in if doing so. I do have a dog leg kick in mine to get it up a little higher and I don't see any problem with that. Height is what you want, it doesn't have to be straight. Look at a port-a-poddy, they have a large stack going out the top to create a natural chimmney effect. sportyrick

bdavis441 · 08-18-2006, 03:40 PM

I just have a grey tank, no black. My vent comes out the top of the tank, down the side to almost the bottom and turns back up and stops at a level above the tank, yet still under the bus. I poured water into the drain to fill the trap. It should be tall enough to vent without blowing water out, yet not freely vent odors at all times. This is a new system, so I am not sure how well it will work. I'll keep you posted.

oldog12 · 08-19-2006, 12:29 PM

Well, I was originally thinking to vent the tanks out the side and then run the stacks up along the outside wall to roof level. I'm just concerned that putting holes in the roof is only asking for trouble....

lapeer20m · 08-20-2006, 12:58 PM

I agree with the above post!

Skoolie.net is terrible....NOT!

I much prefer the yahoo groups where searching for stuff is next to impossible, the moderator is some sort of bi-polar cajun who loves to sensor information and ban members who dare to disagree with him. I also love the fact that the site is inundated with pop-ups and enough advertising to make your eyes bug out of your head. Other than that, the yahoo school bus conversion group is great! Seriously though, there is a lot of good information posted by the members of hte yahoo school bus conversion site, but with all the negatives on the site, it can't hold a candle to Skoolie.net.

just my 02 cents.

westport_wayne · 08-20-2006, 01:37 PM

that site aint s--t. i joined for 2days. then cancled out. the people on skoolie.net are my kind of folks. they come from all walks of life from every where in the country and i injoy reading all the posts. even the posts that dont apply to what im doing. SKOOLIE.NET IS ALL I NEED. oh ya, i got a crown so i do belong to crown coach junkies.

but there good folks to. I GOT 3 DOG NOSE CORNBINDERS TO. so to all the people on this site and the guys that run skoolie.net-MY HAT OFF TO YOU.!!!!!

oldog12 · 08-21-2006, 08:55 AM

I've looked at Yahoo's site and didn't find it all that helpful and it is harder to navigate. The folks that hang around here are really cool and willing to help you out with creative tips as well as down to where the rubber meets the road good advice. Call me an old dog, but I think I'll just stick around here.

w1bmw · 08-21-2006, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

I agree with the above post!

Skoolie.net is terrible....NOT!

I much prefer the yahoo groups where searching for stuff is next to impossible, the moderator is some sort of bi-polar cajun who loves to sensor information and ban members who dare to disagree with him. I also love the fact that the site is inundated with pop-ups and enough advertising to make your eyes bug out of your head. Other than that, the yahoo school bus conversion group is great! Seriously though, there is a lot of good information posted by the members of hte yahoo school bus conversion site, but with all the negatives on the site, it can't hold a candle to Skoolie.net.

just my 02 cents.

You forgot trolls that come to other boards to spam... if we just had a few of those, we'd be golden!

Ryan Grimm · 08-21-2006, 09:11 AM

BDavis,
You'll end up refilling that p-trap every now and then, or maybe you'll forget and might get smell, might not.
DON'T do it that way for a BLACK tank !

Vent pipes for black and grey tanks usually go out the roof, as they are farther away from windows that might distribute the smells back inside the bus.
One (1) vent stack is OK PROVIDING that the black and grey vents join up some 4 feet or so above the floor...this prevents clogs from letting 'liquids' backflow into the passenger compartment.

The vent can be 1 1/2 or 2 inch PVC, but I think ABS is better due to it's strength and weldability...since most RV black/grey tanks are ABS anyway, stick with the one plastic type.

The vent pipe should go into the black tank only an inch or so. Make SURE that the rubber slipjoint seal (if so equipped) where it enters the tank is good.
ALSO make sure the vent stack doesn't slip downwards into the tank, exposing the roof joint, and incidentally keeping the tank from filling or vently properly.

Most roof exits are fully waterproof; just follow the instructions (if any) that come with the roof vent jack-and-cap assembly.
BTW, the galvy roof vent caps last longer than the plastic ones, and are only $2 or so more in price.
Use a good Butyl sealing tape and/or caulk to seal the roof jack to the roof.

You CAN exit the vent out the wall; two drawbacks are they have to be far enough away from a window so you don't get smells inside;
AND birds and/or wasps/bees will try to nest in the horizontal pipe.

bdavis441 · 08-21-2006, 03:36 PM

I agree, I wouldn't try the trap vent with a black tank. I have a cassette toilet, therefore no black tank. Went camping this weekend, good so far!

captainkf · 08-23-2006, 10:51 PM

Use solid pipe for the first 2' then it is acceptable to use a flexible hose to the ceiling. This is standard in the RV industry and works very well, and is much easier to get to the ceiling. -Richard

TomCat · 10-01-2006, 02:52 PM

I preferred to vent my combined black/grey tank right out the top, then terminate under the bus skirt.
One reason I won't vent through the roof, is that I don't want the shower flooded with waste in the event the tank overflows.

Jay

http://jsbird69.zoto.com/user/lightb...aded-desc/0-90

bdavis441 · 10-02-2006, 08:25 PM

well, my trap vent doesn't work well. I filled it with water and the sink drains slow, almost not at all. The reason it worked well the first weekend I used it is because I forgot to put water in the trap and the tank was brand new, so no smell. Oh well, time to try something else!

GoneCamping · 10-02-2006, 09:33 PM

Quote:

I much prefer the yahoo groups where searching for stuff is next to impossible, the moderator is some sort of bi-polar cajun who loves to sensor information and ban members who dare to disagree with him. I also love the fact that the site is inundated with pop-ups and enough advertising to make your eyes bug out of your head. Other than that, the yahoo school bus conversion group is great! Seriously though, there is a lot of good information posted by the members of hte yahoo school bus conversion site, but with all the negatives on the site, it can't hold a candle to Skoolie.net

Don't even have to disagree with anyone over there. I simply stopped visiting there, and was coming here instead...got booted anyway! Way too arrogant for me over there!

I do agree, this is a much better format, the people that run it are actually friendly, and no broken search feature! Best of all no more 'Flash' pop-up's every time I change the page!

wmah · 10-02-2006, 10:21 PM

For a group that claims to be the original skoolie group why is it they can't even get a real web site instead of using the yahoo servers?
One thing I didn't like right away when I was searching for school bus conversion info was the fact that you had to join them before you can have access to the message boards and pictures. Needless to say I kept on going and found a better site. This one right here.

hoser · 10-10-2006, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wmah

For a group that claims to be the original skoolie group why is it they can't even get a real web site instead of using the yahoo servers?
One thing I didn't like right away when I was searching for school bus conversion info was the fact that you had to join them before you can have access to the message boards and pictures. Needless to say I kept on going and found a better site. This one right here.

I tried to sign up and could not make it through all the hoops they want you to jump through I dont need info that bad.

GoneCamping · 10-12-2006, 09:50 PM

Very strange site. If you ask a question there, the moderator gets very arrogant and insists you should 'search the archives' with their broken seach engine. Worst search engine on the planet, I think it lets you sift through ten or twenty posts, then you have to seach some more. You could be there all day just trying to navigate through their archives. You're better off here, you ask a question and someone will answer it instead of getting arrogant and telling you to go look up your own answer. Not a very helpful place from what I could see....

the_experience03 · 10-14-2006, 12:08 AM

This all kind of sounds like my opinion of Pirate4x4.com versus toyotaoffroad.com.........

Pirate=get out your flame suit

TOR=get GOOD answers within an hour in most cases

I think that's something I've really come to appreciate about this site. I have never seen anyone get flamed (other than trolls). I've seen some strong suggestions against doing something a certain way, but it is usually accompanied by and explanation and alternative idea. Long story short, props to the members of this site.

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