Rotten Egg smell - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

ssheffel · 04-01-2023, 01:07 PM

I have a 2000 model 19' Towlite model I bought in 2021.

Last season I used the camper 7 times and started noticing quite a smell from the water taps. At the end of the season as I was winterizing, I noticed when I drained the hot water tank that rotten egg smell was pretty strong.

My hot water tank seems to just have a white plastic threaded plug for draining the tank. I did a quick search on this forum and it seems some hot water tanks don't have anodes. As I am in Canada, it will be another month before I get the trailer out of the garage and have access to that side to look any closer at the heater.

In any case, if there is no anode on this trailer, why then would I be getting that rotten egg smell? What can I do to fix this problem and maintain the heater going forward so it doesn't stink like this again. Thanks.

JackandJanet · 04-01-2023, 05:53 PM

Rotten egg smell is caused by dissolved hydrogen sulfide. It often occurs when organic matter breaks down in water. You may have sulfur in your tap water and this can combine with the hydrogen in your water, especially if the water is "old".

You also have hydrogen sulfide in sewer gas which is emitted by your black tank and is normally vented high up by the "stink pipe" in your trailer. If you have a leak or bad connection in that vent pipe, you could be smelling the gas from that.

The anode in a hot water tank is not there to prevent hydrogen sulfide. It is used to prevent galvanic corrosion in the tank, which is not really a problem in a trailer tank since it is not in constant use like a household hot water tank is. You should open the nylon drain plug and empty the hot water tank whenever you are not going to be using the trailer for any length of time. Once drained, replace the plug loosely to keep bugs out.

- Jack

Elaine and Bill · 04-08-2023, 08:42 PM

Have you sanitized the entire trailer’s water lines/tanks?