Newbie: Possible to get black water into fresh tank ?

[Delawaredave]

Newbie. The water from sinks really smells bad. I do not think it smelled that way when we bought boat in spring.

I don't understand plumbing. Friend who bought boat with me went to a pumpout station and emptied the black water tank.

Is it possible to backflush dirty water into the fresh tank ?

Past owner had a lot of antifreeze in fresh water tank - does this start to "bio degrade" over time ?

Maybe these tanks just start to smell over time ? I see a lot of web articles about flushing with bleach solution.

Thanks for any comments !

 

[Stu Jackson]

Unless you're on a lake, the gray water goes directly overboard. You don't have to understand plumbing, just a hose and a thru hull, that's all that's there. Look under your sink(s) and see. No gray water gets stored, only waste in what are called the holding tank. This has nothing to do with your sink. Smells from sinks are very rare. Consider changing the hoses.

If you want to clean out your fresh water system, try this:

Fresh Water System Recommissioning 101 http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5836.0.html

 

[Delawaredave]

Thanks - couldn't get link to work.

There's no gray storage. But there is black water storage - possible to get to clean tank ?

My buddy says no way- says toilet draws river water - and plumbing doesn't connect at all to clean side.

 

[Delawaredave]

And the sink doesn't smell - the water smells coming from the sink

 

[Scott]

If the water smells like "rotten eggs" its source is more than likely a well. The coastal plain deposits and aquifers in this part of the country are rich in sulphur.

 

[robertsapp]

There's no way you can get sewage into your freshwater system unless someone has fixed up your head for fresh water flushing and thoroughly screwed up the job. They're normally two completely separate systems. What you're smelling in your fresh water is just algae and/or mold that stinks up the lines because the water sits stagnant for long periods. You'll need to do a good flush with bleach to get rid of it. Drain your tank, then put in one cup of bleach for each ten gallons of tank capacity. Fill the tank with fresh water, and then run all the faucets and showers until you smell bleach. Let it sit for about four to six hours, and then drain the tank again and refill with fresh water, and then run all the faucets again until the bleach smell is gone. That should fix you up for at least six months. Here in Florida, we have to do this twice a year to keep the tank water fresh. Also, when filling the tank, it helps to let the hose run for five or ten minutes first to make sure the water coming into the boat is fresh and clean, otherwise you might be filling your tank with stagnant marina water.

 

[stevec22206]

If the boat is equipped with a hot water tank that could be the culprit. Every time we motor the tank water is heated, as it is part of the engine cooling system. Found out the hard way that the repeated heating of the tank water (and not using it) over time it went rancid and created a rotten egg smell. Bleached the system following Peggy Halls instructions and completely cleaned the fresh water system. We run the hot water out before we leave the boat now. No more smell.

Steve

 

[Benny17441]

Does the boat have a water heater? It is common to get that Hydrogen Sulfide smell (rotten eggs) in a water heater tank when the system is not used often. Sometimes it is produced by bacteria and others by a chemical reaction from the tank's anode. Usually flushing and treating the tank with a bleach solution takes care of the problem but in cases replacement of the anode with one of a differnt material is called for. If you do not have a heater and the smell is coming from the fresh water tank it will require flushing and treatment with a bleach solution and watch where the water is coming that is used in the tank.

 

[bcollis]

Your smell is the water antifreeze mixture in your "fresh" water holding tank. I had the same issue on my boat the first season after purchase. The first turn of the handle pushed out water that made me gag. The solution is to start by flushing it out, then going with the bleach instructions. Drop a running hose in your water tank fill port and open one tap at a time and let it run for 10-20 minutes or longer each.

Next year I'll be using cheap vodka instead of the pink antifreeze. Maybe I'll also install a tonic dispenser.