Best Smelling Head Tank Treatment

[thomm225]

I used that crappy smelling Blue stuff from West Marine last year, and it didn't smell that great.

Any recommendations besides a new Composting Head?

[a64pilot]

The orange stuff has been working well for me, I used it in an RV before with good results.
I believe the "blue" stuff is largely formaldehyde with the theory being sterilize everything to prevent smell, where the orange stuff doesn't kill the bacteria.
I may be wrong though, this is what I use Amazon.com: Camco 41189 TST Orange Drop-Ins Holding Tank Treatment - 15 pack: Automotive

There are many sources of head smell, perhaps you should look into permeated hoses etc as maybe those could be an issue, first thing is to find the source of the smell, is it the tank, hoses, or the head itself, possibly the vent? There is a book dealing with this exact subject

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

The orange stuff has been working well for me, I used it in an RV before with good results.
I believe the "blue" stuff is largely formaldehyde with the theory being sterilize everything to prevent smell, where the orange stuff doesn't kill the bacteria.
I may be wrong though, this is what I use Amazon.com: Camco 41189 TST Orange Drop-Ins Holding Tank Treatment - 15 pack: Automotive

There are many sources of head smell, perhaps you should look into permeated hoses etc as maybe those could be an issue, first thing is to find the source of the smell, is it the tank, hoses, or the head itself, possibly the vent? There is a book dealing with this exact subject

Thanks!

It must be my tank because I don't have it pumped. I remove the whole thing and take it to the boatyard and pour it into the government provided disposal unit.

Mine is like a portapotty looking thing with a 3-5 gallon holding tank at the bottom but it is hooked up the Y valve system.

It's a Thetford Marine Aquamate.

Thetford Aquamate 365 MSD Marine Head

[Bill_E]

Yep, by Peggy Hall Get Rid of Boat Odors: A Boat Owner's Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor: Peggie Hall: 9781892399151: Amazon.com: Books

She has a lot of great suggestions and I think still does some web posting. Search for her name on this forum and you'll find a lot of help.

Bill

[valhalla360]

Composting toilet and you don't need treatments.

[Stu Jackson]

Odorlos

Head Odors 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5755.0.html

Head Odors 101.1 - "T" into sink drain: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5....html#msg38216

Head Leaks and Vented Loops 101.1.a http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5865.0.html


Head Odors 101.2 The Difference between KO & Odorlos (scroll up to Reply #2) http://forums.catalina.sailboatowner...hlight=odorlos

Head Odors 101.3 Flix of New Vent http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,8....html#msg57288

Head Hoses 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5738.0.html

Head Pumps 101 Why just pouring water into the bowl is NOT a good idea http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5865.msg40604.html#msg40604

[ranger58sb]

I've had good luck over the years with KO (Peggie's liquid product).


More recently, folks in our owners club have been raving about Zaal Noflex Digester, which is granulated.


Practical Sailor did a review of various products, I think a few years ago now.


-Chris

[gunkylump]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

I've had good luck over the years with KO (Peggie's liquid product).


More recently, folks in our owners club have been raving about Zaal Noflex Digester, which is granulated.


Practical Sailor did a review of various products, I think a few years ago now.


-Chris

Hey Chris:

Do you have a web site for the owner's club you referred to, I'd like to read the comments about this product.

Thanks!

gunk

[ranger58sb]

Well, it's a paid-membership site... but you'd probably be welcome to join. PM me if you'd like to proceed.

OTOH, if you just do a net search on the Noflex stuff, there are other (I think open) sites that seem to have similar results. I think the SeaRay site is one of those.

I can say my own results have been favorable, but I'm not seeing the magic some folks have claimed. OTOH, we've never really had any head odor problems anyway (perhaps because of the KO treatments)... so that kinda makes me wonder what kind of situations some of those folks have been dealing with.

-Chris

[toddedger]

I used Odorlos after reading practical sailor and I give it a thumb up. I have a sealand bowl that sits on top of a 9 gal tank. Maker sure you have a good vent to the outside.

[CarlF]

+1 Odorloss. No smell (neither formaldehyde or perfume).

KO is good but it has a little smell (which is fairly pleasant).

When I am leaving the boat for more than a week, I add a shot of KO for "belts and suspenders" with the Odorloss in the tank.

Also, if you flush with salt water, when I leave the boat I follow Peggy's suggestion to flush with fresh water from the shower and pump enough to leave the the hoses full of fresh, clean water. I add a cap full of KO to the last flush to keep the water in the bowl from growing anything.

[peghall]

I'm a big fan of Odorlos Odorlos Holding Tank Treatment Archives - Valterra.com | Valterra.com

It's available from RV supply stores for a LOT less than marine store prices.

Fwiw, the holding tank, unless it's leaking, is rarely if ever the source of odor INSIDE a boat...'cuz odor from inside the tank has only one place to go--out the tank vent. If you have odor out the vent, you don't want the "best smelling" tank product, you want one that has no odor at all. If you have odor inside the boat, nothing you put in the tank will help...the odor is from another source...permeated sanitation hoses are the most common culprit (new hoses are the ONLY cure for that), followed by a wet dirty bilge that needs more cleaning than just dumping in more bilge cleaner and calling it done. It's helpful to know that odors are always strongest at their source, so start lifting hatches and sniffing when you first come aboard BEFORE the boat has a chance to air out.

[Greenhand]

For the Porta Potti, I use the Camco Orange, but in liquid form. I am not sure my porta potti has enough in it to make the drop ins dissolve well. I don't know what else it does, but the orange oil makes it float on top so that it forms a kind of seal over the waste.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by peghall

If you have odor inside the boat, nothing you put in the tank will help...the odor is from another source...permeated sanitation hoses are the most common culprit (new hoses are the ONLY cure for that), followed by a wet dirty bilge that needs more cleaning than just dumping in more bilge cleaner and calling it done. It's helpful to know that odors are always strongest at their source, so start lifting hatches and sniffing when you first come aboard BEFORE the boat has a chance to air out.

Yeah, seems like most boat odor is actually NOT anything to do with the head, tank, or hoses. Folks just seem to light on that as the most obvious culprit, but our club members identified something like 32 different sources of odor... shower sumps, dirty bilges, sink traps, etc...

-Chris

[Dulcesuenos]

We love "digest it" used it in our last boat and. The enzymes or bugs. actually cleaned the inside of the tank and hoses and it smelled like nothing in a few days.

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