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31-07-2016, 12:43
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#16
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,012
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by a64pilot
There is a hose inside the tank?
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On a lot of tanks the discharge fitting is on the top of the tank. That requires a pickup tube inside the tank that goes to the bottom. It should touch the bottom and be cut at about a 25 degree angle. Any shallower and sludge or undissolved TP can clog it...any steeper leaves too much in the tank.
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31-07-2016, 12:44
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#17
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: 5 Mile River
Boat: Bristol 41.1 Keep on Dancin'
Posts: 837
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Re: Septic tank question
Check to make sure that hoses aren't connected wrong. The inlet from the head may be attached to the pumpout connection, and the pumpout could be connected to the inlet for the head. The tank would fill even though the tube is close to the bottom, but the pump out obviously won't work from the top of the tank.
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31-07-2016, 12:54
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#18
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Nice, France
Boat: Hunter Marine 38
Posts: 1,342
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Re: Septic tank question
Attached is the waste water schematic from my Hunter 38-2005. I think your layout should be similar. It all points to the most probable cause being the clogging of the pumpout tube going down in the BW tank, as indicated already by Kenomac.
Envoyé de mon iPad à l'aide de Cruisers Sailing Forum
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01-08-2016, 08:54
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#19
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Back at Point Marina - Whortonsville, NC USA
Boat: Nauticat NC36 36'
Posts: 725
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Re: Septic tank question
One other possibility is an air leak in the tank. My tank is molded into the bow of the boat with a stainless steel cover bolted on. The pumpout tube is stainless steel welded to vent cover. It developed a pinhole at the weld and when I tried to pump out the tank it just sucked air through the pumpout line.
Al, S/V Finlandia
__________________
quo fata ferunt
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01-08-2016, 09:29
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#20
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: East shore Mobile Bay AL
Boat: ODAY 28
Posts: 425
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Re: Septic tank question
same problem my friend had on his boat, it was a vacuum leak at the holding tank fitting
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01-08-2016, 11:34
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#21
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cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Pangaea
Posts: 10,856
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Re: Septic tank question
Been there done that on a Hunter..... His pumpout tube is clogged with sludge and sh&t. It's really that simple.
The OP can first try putting an enzyme or bleach down the pumpout tube to break up the excrement, or go in and get dirty by lifting the tube a bit off the bottom, pump out the mess, then use enzymes to break down all the hard crap on the bottom of the tank. Then give his boat "enemas till clear" down at the pumpout station.
Basically, his boat suffers from a fecal impaction.... Just ask any registered nurse.
http://www.enemastillclear.com
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01-08-2016, 12:18
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#22
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Maryland, USA
Boat: 58' Sedan Bridge
Posts: 5,420
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenomac
Been there done that on a Hunter..... His pumpout tube is clogged with sludge and sh&t. It's really that simple.
The OP can first try putting an enzyme or bleach down the pumpout tube to break up the excrement, or go in and get dirty by lifting the tube a bit off the bottom, pump out the mess, then use enzymes to break down all the hard crap on the bottom of the tank. Then give his boat "enemas till clear" down at the pumpout station.
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There's a product called Zaal Noflex Digestor Sewage Treatment that is said to be able to break down fecal sludge. Dave the Noflex guy posts here occasionally... or maybe that's on Trawler Forum, can't remember perfectly. Demo on his website, etc.
Presumably some of the Noflex powder and a little water introduced periodically via the pump-out tube could gradually open it up... and then subsequent treatments on the tank itself could presumably clear up the "floor" of the tank, too.
No affiliation.
And actually it'd be good feedback if the user can report back that it works. Or not.
-Chris
__________________
Chesapeake Bay, USA.
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01-08-2016, 12:35
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#23
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,012
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Re: Septic tank question
His pumpout tube is clogged with sludge and sh&t. It's really that simple.
Or maybe not. If the pickup is metal, urine may have eaten holes in it....it even may have fallen off. In fact, that could happen even the tube is plastic if the connection to the tank failed. It really can be THAT simple.
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01-08-2016, 18:18
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#24
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: puget sound washington
Boat: 1968 Islander bahama 24 hull 182, 1963 columbia 29 defender. hull # 60
Posts: 12,117
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by sailormed
Attached is the waste water schematic from my Hunter 38-2005. I think your layout should be similar. It all points to the most probable cause being the clogging of the pumpout tube going down in the BW tank, as indicated already by Kenomac. Attachment 128801
Envoyé de mon iPad à l'aide de Cruisers Sailing Forum
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I hadn't done a hunter yet thank you for the insights
__________________
Non illigitamus carborundum
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01-08-2016, 20:49
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#25
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Santa Cruz
Boat: SAnta Cruz 27
Posts: 6,711
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Re: Septic tank question
The OP said that he could easily fill the tank from the pumpout fitting, so that probably rules out a blockage in the pickup tube. Its more likely a leak. On a 30+ year-old Grand Banks, they used a copper pipe as a pickup. It was corroded like swiss cheese, so I had to replace it with a PVC pipe. OTOH, if the boat is less that 20 years old, the pickup is probably plastic, but an airleak anywhere in the system will keep you from using a vacuum pumpout.
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01-08-2016, 21:32
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#26
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cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Pangaea
Posts: 10,856
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by donradcliffe
The OP said that he could easily fill the tank from the pumpout fitting, so that probably rules out a blockage in the pickup tube. Its more likely a leak. On a 30+ year-old Grand Banks, they used a copper pipe as a pickup. It was corroded like swiss cheese, so I had to replace it with a PVC pipe. OTOH, if the boat is less that 20 years old, the pickup is probably plastic, but an airleak anywhere in the system will keep you from using a vacuum pumpout.
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He said the pumpout tube filled fast, indicating that it was most likely plugged.
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02-08-2016, 02:07
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#27
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Santa Cruz
Boat: SAnta Cruz 27
Posts: 6,711
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Re: Septic tank question
Maybe you are right--in which case he should try to unblock the pipe by forcing water in from the pumpout fitting side--take a water hose, cut the male end fitting off, turn the water on full blast, and try to shove the hose down the pumpout tube. A bit messy, but better than the alternatives.
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02-08-2016, 02:12
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#28
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2011
Location: St-Barthelemy Island, French West Indies
Boat: Ericson 34
Posts: 339
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by a64pilot
I changed the title from Septic Thank, to Septic Tank. Is there a valve that has to be opened to change from the Macerator to the pump out port? That would be my guess
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It's a HOLDING tank... Very little happens in it as anaerobic bacteria don't know how to rock'n roll in force 8... That reminds me what I read on a septic tank pumping truck in St-Thomas VI "Your **** is my bread & butter!"
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02-08-2016, 02:26
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#29
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Lewes De
Boat: C & C 25 MK1
Posts: 4
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by peghall
His pumpout tube is clogged with sludge and sh&t. It's really that simple.
Or maybe not. If the pickup is metal, urine may have eaten holes in it....it even may have fallen off. In fact, that could happen even the tube is plastic if the connection to the tank failed. It really can be THAT simple.
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This sounds pretty spot on the suction hose may also be kinked or collapsed due to a clog at the bottom of the tank.
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02-08-2016, 06:38
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#30
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,012
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Re: Septic tank question
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenomac
He said the pumpout tube filled fast, indicating that it was most likely plugged.
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He said that as evidence the vent isn't blocked, leaving it unclear whether he meant that the pumpout line filled up or the tank. I guess we'll never know which, 'cuz he seems to have departed the thread.
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