Empty tank = stinky tank

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners]

Hi Peggie,Here's an interesting (to me anyway) situation. My aunt stayed on my boat for the month of December while visiting family. I taught how to use the head properly and all went well. On one of my visits, I checked the holding tank and it was about 1/4" from the input hose! So she used the toilet in the house from then on - only a few days more so it wasn't a big deal.After she left, we dumped the tank and rinsed it out at least 4-5 times. I know she went inside for "big" jobs so it was primarily liquid and paper. Haven't used it since.The other day I was digging around and opened the tank area and got a faint whiff of sewage. Couldn't detect any leaks. Now the boat itself doesn't smell and when we pumped it, there was no odor so it seems strange that a clean, empty head would be producing odor.In that vein, I read a couple of your articles and there are only two things that seem logical to me. 1) The vent could be plugged or 2) there's a leak I couldn't find. Does this sound about right? BTW, the vent line on my boat runs about 15'! I guess I should upgrade to the 1" hose, huh?LaDonnaPS: Just bought a bottle of KO. Looking forward to using it!

 

[Jon Bastien]

Third possibility...

Permeated hose? How old are your holding tank hoses?--Jon BastienH25 'Adagio'

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

I doubt if it's either 1 or 1, LaDonna...

My guess is, what you're smelling is a permeated hose--prob'ly the discharge hose from the tank. Waste will rise in it to the level in the tank, and it was full of waste for a month with no relief and no rinsing out.Also, don't confuse a clean head and tank with a sterile one...as long as one li'l ol' bacterium survives to multiply, its descendants can produce odor.

 

[LaDonna Bubak - CatalinaOwners]

Thanks, Peggie, one more thing

I'm assuming that means I need to replace that hose, correct? YUCK! So to do this, should I wait on the use of KO?LaDonna

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

First, try a little test...

Wrap a clean hot wet rag around the hose...leave it there till it cools...then smell it. If you can't smell anything on the rag, the hose is ok...if you can, the hose has permeated. Wrap it low on the hose. While you're at it, you might as well check the head discharge hose and the vent hose too.If it HAS permeated, and you don't want to rehose right now, wrap it in Saran Wrap (has to be Saran, no other brand)...it works!No need to wait to use K.O....what's happening in the tank has nothing to do with whether your hoses stink or not.

 

[Dan]

Better yet, have someone else smell it!

NM