I also have a 2005 H38. We had a smell as well and most of our issue I believe was the vent. It has a screen in it that became clogged due to over filling the holding tank and our gauge was very unreliable. It is tough but I go my arms in and unscrewed the threaded nut on the back and then.... had to break the seal on the caulk they used to secure it in place. crazy hard but I did it and cleaned the screen. It has eliminated almost all of the issue. We have also made it a habit to now pump out more frequently. On top of that I did install a new gauge that is on the outside to the tank that works beautifully.
H-38; head oder in aft stateroom: sanitation hose replacement
- Thread starter EdFin
- Start date
'Twould have been a lot easier to just knock the screen out. Screens cause more problems than they prevent because they become clogged with dust, pollen, rust and any waste that spills out the vent due to overfilling the tank or just heeling. Screens also interfere with the free exchange of air needed to keep the tank aerobic (which is the key to preventing odor out the vent), but they also make it impossible to backflush the vent line--which you should do every time you wash the boat--to clean out any waste or critters that may have tried to set up housekeeping in it. It's not too late to get rid of the screen...just punch it hard enough with any tool that works to loosen it, then pull it out with needle nose pliers.
Mine was similar. Hose from bottom of tank on the side, ran downhill to macerator, approx. 4-5 ft. so would fill with "stuff" and never empty even with flushing. I took out the hose and capped the tank, and removed the macerator and hose to thru-hull. This boat will most likely be anywhere offshore to use the macerator. I used the thru-hull for a wash-down pump. Everything is reversible if and when it is sold and may be needed if it goes that far.
"On top of that I did install a new gauge that is on the outside to the tank that works beautifully". Just wondering what gauge did you install?
https://www.ferriellosales.com/ is who provided the system. He was great and recommended on this forum at some point in the past. I had a couple of questions and the owner answered the phone and actually answered the questions. Service was exceptional. Install was easy enough and now I can reliably see how full both tanks are.