Effluent Discharge from Holding Tank Vent

LVGS

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Apr 8, 2018
32
Hunter 33 Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island
Thank you every one for your input. Peggie, Hayden and Smokey were correct...the wiring was reversed. I naively assumed that the wiring bundle from the boat was correct i.e. red was powered and black was ground. I disconnected the wires of the macerator altogether and checked the polarity of the red and black wires from the switch panel intended for the macerator and determined they were incorrect.

After connecting the black wire to the macerator's red (and red to black) resulted in an emptying of the tank. Air was clearly being pulled into through the vent.

Whether the previous owner did something between the panel and the macerator or, far less likely, an error was made at the Hunter factory, I will never know...

Thank you again for the time taken, and wisdom and expertise shared. It is sincerely appreciated.
 
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Nov 22, 2011
1,192
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
Thank you every one for your input. Peggie, Hayden and Smokey were correct...the wiring was reversed. I naively assumed that the wiring bundle from the boat was correct i.e. red was powered and black was ground. I disconnected the wires of the macerator altogether and checked the polarity of the red and black wires from the switch panel intended for the macerator and determined they were incorrect.

After connecting the black wire to the macerator's red (and red to black) resulted in an emptying of the tank. Air was clearly being pulled into through the vent.

Whether the previous owner did something between the panel and the macerator or, far less likely, an error was made at the Hunter factory, I will never know...

Thank you again for the time taken, and wisdom and expertise shared. It is sincerely appreciated.
Something similar happened to me. The dimwit...er, previous owner...of my boat had wired up his autopilot connector in the cockpit using a black wire for positive and red for ground. When I bought a different autopilot that required wiring in a new connector, I blissfully wired red for positive and black from negative on the new connector, only to discover that the polarity was reversed! Nothing was damaged but it was one of those "What the heck?" moments.

The proper fix is to swap the wires at the panel, or run new wires, so that red is positive and black is negative. You don't want to pass this issue down to the next person who buys your boat!
 
Oct 26, 2010
1,882
Hunter 40.5 Beaufort, SC
The proper fix is to swap the wires at the panel, or run new wires, so that red is positive and black is negative. You don't want to pass this issue down to the next person who buys your boat!
This is the route to go. While the swap at the pump will make it work, the need to remember what is wired correctly and what is wired backwards will be confusing and could lead to problems down the road. Its easy to swap the wires at the breaker. If you see that the wires are proper at the breaker (red on hot side and black on grounds side) the the problem is the PO connected somewhere between the breaker and the pump so you would need to run all new wires. I'd check other connections at the breakers for proper wire color too since I'd be suspect of all the wiring.
 

LVGS

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Apr 8, 2018
32
Hunter 33 Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island
Something similar happened to me. The dimwit...er, previous owner...of my boat had wired up his autopilot connector in the cockpit using a black wire for positive and red for ground. When I bought a different autopilot that required wiring in a new connector, I blissfully wired red for positive and black from negative on the new connector, only to discover that the polarity was reversed! Nothing was damaged but it was one of those "What the heck?" moments.

The proper fix is to swap the wires at the panel, or run new wires, so that red is positive and black is negative. You don't want to pass this issue down to the next person who buys your boat!
Absolutely Alan. Once I have time, I intend to track the wiring to see whether the 'error' was made at the panel or somewhere along the way and rectify it. In the meantime, I have labelled the wires at the macerator i.e. in the event we sell the boat before I get to it - I am actively pining after a Hans Christian...
 

LVGS

.
Apr 8, 2018
32
Hunter 33 Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island
This is the route to go. While the swap at the pump will make it work, the need to remember what is wired correctly and what is wired backwards will be confusing and could lead to problems down the road. Its easy to swap the wires at the breaker. If you see that the wires are proper at the breaker (red on hot side and black on grounds side) the the problem is the PO connected somewhere between the breaker and the pump so you would need to run all new wires. I'd check other connections at the breakers for proper wire color too since I'd be suspect of all the wiring.
The boat was very rarely used by the PO since new and few, if any mods, were ever made. This is why I had thought the wiring was 'honest'. Nevertheless, I will do as suggested Smokey.
 
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