Manual Holding Tank Pumpout Pump in Odd Location . Or is it?

[markwbird]

The manual pump for pumping out my holding tank is in the line from the tank to the deck fitting. Thus, if I were to manually pump out the tank (and I never actually have) it would pump the contents of the tank out onto the deck. This has very limited appeal to me. The question is: Is this a mistake or is it done this way on some boats?
The boat does have a below water line through hull for sending effluent directly from the head out to sea but the pumpout line is not connected to it.

 

[Jackdaw]

I really doubt it was from the factory that way.

Sounds like a PO mod... I have seen some VERY creative things done when if done to getting human waste off the boat. Normally it surrounds limited shore capabilities. Perhaps they had a hose and container system created in the absence of a true pumpout.

 

[sail sfbay]

It has be a mistake. It should generally look like this schematic diagram below with a pump out through a deck fitting by a shore vacuum pump/hose and macerator pump to pump out through a thru hull when legal to do so.

 

[kloudie1]

Mark, here is a shot of my system; it is as from Hunter originally. The hose below the hand pump is the drain hose from the bottom of holding tank. The pump takes suction on that hose and pumps up the white hose through a vented loop under the deck, then down to the thru hull overboard. The reddish hose goes up directly to the pump out fitting in the deck. The head discharge goes straight to the holding tank.
Scroll down to the one that says "our favorite" and it is like that. The "y" valve shown is not necessary as long as the pump out deck fitting is air tight.. The check valves in the hand pump keep the shoreside pump out pump from pulling air through the vented loop ..

Selecting a Sanitation System | West Marine

Visit West Marine for step-by-step instructions from the experts to bring your inboard/outboard out of hibernation and prepare it for the season ahead.

www.westmarine.com

 

[markwbird]

Mark, here is a shot of my system; it is as from Hunter originally. The hose below the hand pump is the drain hose from the bottom of holding tank. The pump takes suction on that hose and pumps up the white hose through a vented loop under the deck, then down to the thru hull overboard. The reddish hose goes up directly to the pump out fitting in the deck. The head discharge goes straight to the holding tank.
Scroll down to the one that says "our favorite" and it is like that. The "y" valve shown is not necessary as long as the pump out deck fitting is air tight.. The check valves in the hand pump keep the shoreside pump out pump from pulling air through the vented loop ..

Selecting a Sanitation System | West Marine

Visit West Marine for step-by-step instructions from the experts to bring your inboard/outboard out of hibernation and prepare it for the season ahead.

www.westmarine.com

View attachment 184839

Thanks Kloudie. So you don't have the option of sending the waste from the head directly overboard or is that just not shown here?

 

[kloudie1]

Nope, always goes to tank, then it can be easily pumped overboard if off shore.

 

[WayneH]

When my holding tank failed five years back, I replumbed it so that the head always went to the holding tank. From the holding tank there is a tee going up to the manual macerator pump and then overboard through the original overboard fitting. The other outlet of the tee goes to the deck fitting. I have no complaints about the setup. In fact, if the CG boards me, they will find the overboard discharge valve is wired closed. Once a month, we remove the wire and stroke the valve to make sure it stays usable.

Back just before the holding tank failed we got inshore in Louisiana at the Jesse Fontenot Memorial Boat Launch with a full holding tank that helped this decision. We found the pumpout station easily. But the hose was missing and nobody who answered the phone number knew a damm thing about the pumpout station. We finally found out that the grant money to put in the station was insufficient to cover the entire installation in that part of Louisiana. One of the locals said something about graft and corruption. His words afterwards? "Just get out in the ICW and pump it overboard." We had seen the fish camp earlier and yes, NDZ does not apply to that area at all. ugh!

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

One of the locals said something about graft and corruption. His words afterwards? "Just get out in the ICW and pump it overboard." We had seen the fish camp earlier and yes, NDZ does not apply to that area at all. ugh!

Actually the ICW isn't an NDZ...the discharge of treated waste from a USCG certified Type I or II is legal. However, dumping a tank in the ICW is not. But from what you've said I'm guessing that enforcement is pretty much non-existent in that area.

The "Clean Vessel Act" (federal grant program funding the installation of pumpout facilities in marinas) went into effect in 1994. But it only covered installation, and maintaining a pumpout is expensive...the $5 max fee that marinas who accepted grant money are allowed to charge isn't nearly enough to cover it. I personally knew of at least half a dozen pumpouts on which an "out of order" sign was hung as the last step in installing it. If you have the ability to flush directly overboard instead of into a tank when you're waters where there's no working pumpout, you'd be a lot kinder to the environment if you'd use it instead of dumping a tank.

--Peggie

 

[markwbird]

Nope, always goes to tank, then it can be easily pumped overboard if off shore.

Thanks for your your help, kloudie1. Another question: When pumping out at the dock using the vacuum, doesn’t the vented loop break the suction?

 

[kloudie1]

No, the check valves in the manual pump won't let air backwards.. Easier for the air to go in on top of the tank from the vent line and mushroom thru hull.. My hand pump discharge thru hull can be locked to satisfy inspection.. A "y" valve could be put in to replace the "t" in the hand pump suction, or a regular ball type block in the pump suction just above the "t" if ya needed a more handy lock place but there'd be spacing problems that'd have to be accommodated.. The only problem that I have had is from the hand pump joker type check valves looking upwards.. When i first got the boat, it had been a liveaboard in salt water (marina at Redondo Beach) full time and the calcium scale from urine/sea water had coated the holding tank walls.. that scale would break off and go through the hand pump into the vertical hose to the vented loop..with no flow in that hose, the chips would settle back to the hand pump discharge check valve and jamb the joker lips closed.. then ya couldn't pump out by hand until that was disassembled and cleared.. It helped to be able to do a shoreside pump-out before working on the hand pump..
I considered putting in a macerator in place of the manual pump but it seemed to me that they aren't very robust or reliable..