clogged holding tank vent line

[carisea]

Peggy I was reading one of your topics regarding poor capacity of a holding tank and realized my 35 gal. tank needed to be pumped every three to four days. This seemed pretty frequent considering only my wife and I live aboard and we never put paper down the toilet. You alluded to a possible vent pipe that might be blocked and sure enough I discovered mine was packed solid. Have yet to verify this will solve the problem but it sure could help.

 

[Terry]

Our P42 vent line was plugged, too...

Made a huge difference. Now I clean it out with fresh water after each pump out.Terry

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

Keep the tank vent open!!

Flushing against a blocked vent pressurizes the tank, which can have all kinds of dire consequences, including an exploded tank. Pumping out against a blocked vent causes the pumpout the pull a vacuum in the tank that at the very least can prevent it from being pumped out, and which can implode a tank if the suction is strong enough.NEVER let the tank overflow out the vent...it's an AIR vent, not an overflow. If heeling makes it unavoidable, flush out the vent immediately with plenty of clean water. Check the thru-hull regularly...dirt daubers love to build nests in 'em.There's no reason not to flush toilet paper...unless you use the wrong kind, it dissolves and liquifies. TP has no noticeable impact whatever on the number of flushes your tank can hold. I think you need my book...it covers tank vent function and maintenance in detail and also TP use.