Hunter 376 holding tank discharge

[jmarty32]

Hi, just purchased a hunter 376 and can't find a way to discharge holding tank while offshore sailing. Thought there would be a seacock and macerator pump somewhere. Looked at the owner's manual and still can't find it.

Hope someone can help. Thank you

 

[jssailem]

When looking for your Holding Tank outlets, start at the holding tank and follow the hoses. If your boat is equipped, there will be a hose that goes to the hull. If the previous owner never sailed beyond the 12 mile limit may not of had a discharge installed.

If you have a pimp, it may have been disconnected in order to easily pass the CG inspection issues.

 

[jmarty32]

Thanks...this makes sense. Since there is a locker that has a hose that is just hanging. The manual shows that this would be the area where the discharge hose should be.

 

[marcham]

Your owner's manual should have a diagram of all the plumbing. If you don't have a copy, it should be available in the files section.

That being said,previous owner's sometimes do weird things...

On my 380, the holding tank is port aft side (swim deck laz). The aft bottom side of the tank has a discharge port which is connected to a macerator located 10 inches away. The thru hull is also in the port aft (swimmdeck) lazarette.

Do you have a macerator breaker and push button on your dc panel?

HunterOwners.com downloads

HunterOwners.com downloads

hunter.sailboatowners.com

 

[Terry Cox]

Hope someone can help

Do you have a macerator breaker

If your boat came equipped with an overboard discharge system, you should have a macerator switch on your breaker panel as mentioned by marcham. If so, there should be a through hull valve with a hose that is connected to a wye fitting by the holding tank. Like on our boat, the wye fitting has a hose that comes from the tank standpipe. The wye fitting has one hose that connects to the deck pump out fitting and the other goes to the overboard discharge through hull. Follow the hoses as suggested by John, but forget about looking for the pimp.

 

[jmarty32]

Hi, Thanks to everyone for your help.

I was on the boat today and found where it seems it was originally. There is a 2-inch hose hanging that is leaking and 4 screws on the port side swim platform locker where it seems that it was holding a macerator. I also saw where the original owner capped the seacock inlet. I guess my next question is what macerator pump do i need, to put everything back to the way it was.

And yes Terry, i do have a Macerator breaker on my panel.

Thanks again

 

[marcham]

Most likely a jabsco, if you have a 1" seacock/thru hull. Is the wiring (10 gauge) still there?

There should be a 90 degree elbow coming off the tank, then about 2 feet of 1 1/2 hose to the macerator. Then 1in hose from the macerator to the thru hull.

 

[jmarty32]

Hi, Yes. I can see the hose. There is also some wire hanging, not sure if its 10 gauge but i will test tomorrow with the switch turned on. The thru hull is covered with a plug.

 

[marcham]

Jabsco 18590-2092
12 Volts.

 

[jmarty32]

Thank you

 

[Terry Cox]

Hi, Yes. I can see the hose. There is also some wire hanging, not sure if its 10 gauge but i will test tomorrow with the switch turned on. The thru hull is covered with a plug.

I suspect your boat has a similar setup as ours, which is a hose connected to a tank stand pipe that leads to a wye fitting (not a valve). One hose from the fitting goes to the deck pump out and the other to the macerator. Once you install the macerator pump and connect the hose from it to the through hull valve and connect the power source you should be good to go as long as the valve is not frozen. If it is, come back for further instructions.

A couple of tips. The macerator pump only works with the deck pump out cap secured. Otherwise, it just sucks I air and it will not prime. Also, if I use the pump during a cruise, when I return I always rinse the pump with fresh water by filling the tank with fresh water (after first pumping out the black water), then run the pump with the valve open for a few seconds to clear out any black water residue, close the valve and finish pumping out the tank. When the tank is empty, I continue to pump out while squirting fresh water through the tank vent until the pump out water becomes clear. By doing this, our system remains trouble free after many years of cruising PNW waters.

 

[Scott NIelsen]

I had to replace the holding tank on OLD CROW after I purchased her as the suction connections had rotted and came unconnected. I suspect it was the use of Drano the previous owner had used as, I found a can of Drano aboard the boat after taking custody. Lesson learned, do not use Drano in an aluminum tank. I replaced the holding tank with a poly tank before I realized you can contact Ezell Industries in Florida and they will make you one using the original blueprints for the tank. Ezell is the company that made the original tank. I found that out as my fuel tank had a pinhole leak in it and I replaced that one too. As far a s a macerator pump. I found that the macerator pump on my boat would not have enough lift suction to empty the tank unless it was at least 3/4 full. I replaced the macerator with a Whale diaphragm waste pump that works like a champ. I attached the blue print for OLD CROW's fuel tank that EZELL provided. As your boat is much newer that mine I believe Hunter had shifter to poly tanks. That makes things easier as there are a number of companies that make poly tanks and you can usually find one that will work for your application. I was just impressed the Ezell had the plans and was willing to build a tank for me that had been out of production for years.

 

[jssailem]

While Jabsco pumps are used often, I like the capabilities and performance of the Whaler pump.

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