savory title LoL i tried running water thru the pump out line to the tank but it would not get thru so i am building a wand that will use cpvc piping reducing from 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch with a garden hose attached will send it down thru the toilet to the tank and see what i can stir up for my next pump out


redneckhouseboater

Water has to get through the pumpout line into the tank...although if the line is long and has bends in it, you'll have to reduce the water pressure enough to prevent it backing up faster than it's going through.

If the pumpout line IS pretty much a straight shot to the tank, check your tank vent for a blockage...'cuz a blocked tank would not only prevent water from getting into the tank, it 'll prevent the tank from being pumped out...and will also result in a pressurized tank (you don't want to think about what that can do).

Unless your toilet is an RV gravity toilet--the kind that has only a "trapdoor" in the bottom of the bowl and sits directly above the tank--putting a "wand" down the toilet won't work.

'Cuz unlike household toilets, the path from the bowl into the discharge line through a marine toilet is not an open shot...it goes through the pump--and maybe through a macerator and impeller too, then through the joker valve that you'd damage even if you could get the wand through it.



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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Edited: 06/07/2005 at 11:21:39 AM by peghall

I am new to houseboating and have recently purchased an '83 HM Coastal Barracuda. The original owner replaced the original system (Lexan?) as the boat was kept in fresh water, as am I. I had to move the pump out placement from the side to the top deck. After moving, I tried to pump at the dock, but was unable. It seemed like a clog, but the actual tank was sucking in. It was suggested that I remove the impeller. Am I missing a step? Should I remove the impeller, is so, where would I find it? Should the tank vent be open...where would I find it? Thanks.

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Nu2it
1983 38' HM Coastal Barracuda

not sure what you got BUT
my tank has about 1 1/2 pipe From toilet to tank. this is piped right into the upper part of the tank...

Then it has the pump out line 1 1/2 " thats goes from the bottom of the tank to the deck pumpout plate outside .

Also in the upper part of the tank is a 3/4" VENT line this goes to a thru hull fitting above the water line the fitting has a screen built in to keep the bugs and junk from clogging it up ...

if the toilet flushes ok it aint that line ...
if you just cant pump the holding tank then it could be only 3 things really ...

1 vent line is cloged =very very bad ... un hook vent line hose from both ends unclog or replace..make SURE you check the thruhull fitting as well bugs and junk seem to get into them now and then if it aint a screened fitting...
ENSURE VENT LINE IS ALLWAYS OPEN !!!!!

2. pump out line from tank to deck fitting is cloged run a water hose down there see if water goes into holding tank water in line aint pluged,,,...also that hose can NOT leak air at any of the the fittings...
if it leaks air the pump out hose looses suction and quits sucking out the waste.
i replaced this hose And the deck fitting ...pump outs will be slow at best if this line is leaking any ...

3. 3 the pump you are using is weak IF you are using a marina's pumpout system this is unlikely cause everone would be bitching about it...keep in mind a lot of the boats have the tanks in the bilge level so the pumps need to draw the waste water UP about 6 to 8 feet ...thats a lotta suction power ...

i would tend to check the vent line first and then the pump out line ..

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gibson 44ft

If the pumpout is pulling in the sides of tank, it definitely means the tank vent is blocked. Nothing else would cause that.

There isn't anything to open or close...the tank vent has to be open at all times because it has two main functions: it provides an escape for air in the tank displaced by incoming waste--otherwise the tank will become pressurized...and it provides a source of air to replace tank contents as they're pulled out.  When the vent becomes blocked, the pumpout pulls a vacuum that prevents it from pulling anything out of the tank...a particularly strong pumpout pulling against a blocked vent can crack your tank.

Flushing the toilet when the vent is blocked will pressurize the tank, which will result in anything from a geyser when you open the pumpout fitting to cracked tank. So don't use the toilet again or try to pump out again until you clear the vent.

Most likely the blockage is in the vent thru-hull. Dirt daubers love to build nests in vent thru-hulls. Other possibilities are a kink in the vent line or there could be a clog in it at the connection to the tank.

I would NOT recommend disconnecting the vent line from the thru-hull OR the tank to find out until you've made sure the tank isn't pressurized...so open the deck pumpout fitting to relieve any pressure.

As for any impeller, the only two devices that  would have have impellers are the toilet and a macerator pump...neither have anything whtever to do pumping out a tank. A  macerator pump is used to dump a tank a tank sea...so if your boat has been in fresh water, it's unlikely that you even have one installed, 'cuz  dumping a tank is illegal in all US inland and coastal waters...legal only in open ocean at least 3 miles from the nearest point on the whole US coastline. 


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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you.  I had to have some engine work before I could take it to the pump out station. I believe it may have been a combination of dirt daubers and heavy sludge. The boat sat for about 2 years before I bought it. It pumped out, but slowly. Thanks for your help!

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Nu2it
1983 38' HM Coastal Barracuda

That won't work very well, for several reasons...1) sending water into the tank via the toilet sends it in at the top of the tank, so it just falls in instead of coming in at the bottom to stir up any sludge. 2) can also damage the toilet pump, 'cuz it's not a straight shot from the bowl out the discharge...it has to go through pump to GET out the discharge.If you can't put water into the tank via the pumpout fitting, use a power washer that canPeggie----------Peggie HallSpecializing in marine sanitation since 1987Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?fno=0&sku=90&cat=1304 make it past any bends in the pumpout line or dislodge any clog building up in it. But first check your tank vent for a blockage...'cuz a blocked vent wil create backpressure that won't let air displaced by incoming water escape OR let any water into the tank via the toilet OR the pumpout fitting.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Peggie, I have a question. I deal selling boats here in Tn that have no holding tanks due to being on a navigable river system or some open waters and this is supposedly legal. The ones that have been on land locked lakes all have the tank. Are there some local rules possibly?

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Boatless at the moment
www.spboatsales.com

If you're gonna sell boats, you need to know what systems are legal and which ones aren't.And the first thing you need to know that federal law makes it illegal to flush a toilet directly overboard or dump a tank in ALL US waters, so there are only two legal systems on ANY boat on ANY coastal or inland waters--a holding tank or a CG certified Type I or II MSD (device that treats waste to legal standards before sending it overboard). Boats <66' LOA may use either a holding tank or a Type I...Boats 66'+ must have either a holding tank or a Type II. Neither Type I nor Type II are legal in waters than have been designated "no discharge"..."no discharge" means NO discharge, treated or untreated...all toilet waste MUST be held in a tank that can ONLY be emptied via pumpout, In waters where the discharge of treated waste is legal, all boats that are not equipped with the appropriate treatment device must also flush into a holding tank that can only be emptied via pumpout. There are NO waters anywhere in the US or Canada in which a toilet may legally be discharged directly overboard.That's been true under federal law for 27 years, and there are no local rules that allow anything different.]So if the boats you sell are going into naviable interstate waters where the discharge of treated waste is legal, they must either have a holding tank or the appropriate treatment device. If they're going onto a non-navigable intrastate lake, they must have holding tanks. Peggie----------Peggie HallSpecializing in marine sanitation since 1987Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?fno=0&sku=90&cat=1304

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

I appreciate the 1 and correct answer. Thank You. I got to many different answers from everybody here.

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Boatless at the moment
www.spboatsales.com