Noflex Digestor

[sailorboy1]

My holding tank gauge hasn't worked in like ............. forever.

I don't want to take the float out to clean and 10 years of operation has taught me hold long it takes to fill. But I wonder if something like Noflex Digestor would clean it and the tank.

Anyone with any experience of using this product and its results?

[rslifkin]

A few people over at Trawler Forum have reported good results for tank cleaning with Noflex (or generic sodium percarbonate) and laundry detergent dumped into the tank with some warm water (don't fill too far) and then take the boat out on a sporty day. I don't have a link to one of the detailed threads handy though.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My holding tank gauge hasn't worked in like ............. forever.

I don't want to take the float out to clean and 10 years of operation has taught me hold long it takes to fill. But I wonder if something like Noflex Digestor would clean it and the tank.

Anyone with any experience of using this product and its results?

It's a miracle product when it comes to eliminating odors in my experience. As far as cleaning the tank it probably depends on what is causing the problem. If it's that rock hard substance that forms when urine and saltwater meet, the Noflex won't do anything (but vinigar might).
I put an inductive guage I that is pretty simple to install, you basically just stick two strips of this adhesive aluminium foil to the outside of the tank and hook it up to the provided guage. Pretty accurate and will never get clogged. Noflex is expensive, for the cost of a couple extra bottles of that you could replace it with a better system. But still recommend the once scoop of Noflex per tank for the smell, it does do wonders there.

[sailorboy1]

I read through over 6 pages of google results and got only a few semi real user answers that related to my question. I also read 6 pages of Noflex vs Oxiclean because I feel they are basically the same thing as far as how they would function. Since I can get Oxiclean at any grocery type store I am going to try that (once I am somewhere that I can add it, fill the tank, soak 24 hours and then drain and repeat).

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My holding tank gauge hasn't worked in like ............. forever.

I don't want to take the float out to clean and 10 years of operation has taught me hold long it takes to fill. But I wonder if something like Noflex Digestor would clean it and the tank.

Anyone with any experience of using this product and its results?

We used NoFlex. Useful for general maintenance. No miracles, but easier to "dose" than KO that we used previously. Did NOT free up a stuck holding tank sensor.

It also does nothing for uric acid build-up; Trac's Sew Clean product is the bee's knees for that.

Ted's (OCDiver) thread on trawlerforum about cleaning tanks is very good. I don't remember whether he suggested his cleaning method would have any impact on a stuck sensor.

Depending on sensor... and if you have good access... cleaning it could be very easy. I could remove ours, replace immediately with a spare, then drop the "stuck" one in a solution of muriatic acid for a while.

-Chris

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

My holding tank gauge hasn't worked in like ............. forever.

I don't want to take the float out to clean and 10 years of operation has taught me hold long it takes to fill. But I wonder if something like Noflex Digestor would clean it and the tank.

Anyone with any experience of using this product and its results?

Well I gave the Noflex Digestor stuff a try.

Near as I can tell it did nothing other than cost me money.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by ranger58sb

We used NoFlex. Useful for general maintenance. No miracles, but easier to "dose" than KO that we used previously. Did NOT free up a stuck holding tank sensor.

Depending on sensor... and if you have good access... cleaning it could be very easy. I could remove ours, replace immediately with a spare, then drop the "stuck" one in a solution of muriatic acid for a while.

If Hunter used WEMA holding tank level sensors -- as did other Luhrs Group entities -- the earlier plastic floats could crap out pretty early on.

The more current WEMA (now KUS) holding tank sensor is a captured float on a tube... and works pretty well.

As I said back then, ours still needed removal and cleaning from time to time, even with NoFlex tank treatment for other sewage issues. Easy to do, at least in our case and once we changed to the new sensor/mounting system... even if the idea sounds distasteful.

-Chris

[GreenWave]

I swear by Noflex but agree it is a preventative not an outright cleaner.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Oxiclean .

Which is sodium percarbonate as rslifkin made mention of

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Which is sodium percarbonate as rslifkin made mention of

If I remember correctly, Oxiclean is a mix of sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate and maybe a tiny bit of 1 or 2 other things. Might make a better tank cleaner, but I wouldn't expect it to work any better at smell reduction (and might require a bit more of it).

[CarlF]

It would be best to read the label. NoFlex’s label says it’s an “odor treatment and sludge eliminator”. It’s NOT a tank cleaner.

It’s an oxidizer - putting oxygen in the tank to keep recently deposited sewage from becoming anaerobic (the cause of stink).

NoFlex is the best holding tank odor treatment I’ve ever found.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by CarlF

NoFlex is the best holding tank odor treatment I’ve ever found.

Great, but for me it wasn't any better in odor control than just leaving the pump out cap off

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Great, but for me it wasn't any better in odor control than just leaving the pump out cap off

Noflex adds oxygen to the tank, so if your tank can get enough oxygen via other means, it won't necessarily do much. But for tanks that don't breath well enough on their own, it helps.

[MikeHoncho]

Once I doubled the dose for a day or so it stated working for me. Once I noticed the smell subsiding I decreased to one scoop a day.