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Roger

Peggie, I have leaned a great deal in my novice year as a C 27 owner, and much of it on this forum. However, could I ask for a little help with the MSD? I have no guage, so I do not know when the holding tank is full. However, after it seemed to refill the bowl with waste, then pumped it all into the tank, and then what I assume to be the overflow vent, a raised cylindar next to the pump out opening, began to spray waste. I assume that meant it was full (although that surprised me as I had pumped out earlier in the season, and we are just weekending). I then went out four miles and used the macerator about 5 minutes, and all seems well. Is all well, or am I deluding myself?
 
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Peggie Hall/Head Mistress

You're deluding yourself

Starting with--you're WAY overestimating the capacity of your holding tank. I don't know what size it is, but let's do the math: Each flush puts at LEAST a half gallon into it, so a 15 gallon tank is only good for a max of about 30 flushes...you'd be safer estimating 20. Figure at least 4 flushes/person/day, and that's only about two 2-person weekends aboard. A 20 gallon tank would give you at most another day. And you've only pumped out once, earlier this season? Your tank has been overflowing out the vent--which, btw, is NOT an overflow...NOTHING but air should ever pass through it, or it will clog up, and then you have REAL problems!--for weeks! So no...all is prob'ly not well...'cuz your tank vent is almost certainly clogged, or the waste wouldn't have backed up into the toilet or spray waste out "the raised cylinder" (which I THINK may be a filter...if it is, it's toast, 'cuz they can't get wet). That happened because flushing the head pressurized the tank. That means running the macerator didn't empty the tank, either...just a gallon or two till it pulled a vacuum. First, clear the vent. If that "raised cylinder" is in fact a filter, remove it and either replace it--which will cost you $50--or replace the entire vent hose (whether there's a filter in it or not, I'd replace the hose...it's a whole lot easier than trying to clean it out)...use white sanitation hose. Blast out the vent thru-hull with a hose till it's clear. Then go to a pumpout to empty the tank, followed by a THOROUGH rinsing out of your whole system with clean fresh water...pump bucketfuls down the head during pumpout, then once the tank is empty, stick a hose (NOT a hose used for filling water tanks!) down the pumpout and let it run till water runs out the vent and keeps running out till it's clear. Finally, replace the joker valve in your toilet. It's a rubber cup-shaped valve in the head discharge fitting. We'll deal with getting rid of the odor from the spill in your boat later. But from now on, unless you want to install a gauge (which I highly recommend doing), either dump your tank (which, btw, is illegal unless you're at least 3 miles out to sea) at the end of every weekend or have it pumped out every other weekend, and check your tank vent thru-hull regularly for blockage...blast it out with water every time you wash your boat. And please read the articles in the Head Mistress Reference Library to learn how to maintain your system and prevent problems in the future.
 
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LaDonna Bubak - Catalina Owners

Where is the tank?

Where the heck is your tank that you can't have visual access to it? LaDonna
 
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Roger

Working on it

Dear Peggie and LaDonna, As I said in the first post, I am both new to mid-size sailing, and have been an avid follower of this website. You are both important contributers to its success. To answer your question, La Donna, under the V berth. To reply to your tone, I have not looked at it a lot yet. As you can tell from posts to this site, those of us new to cruising boats have steep learning curves: diesel engines, 12v systems, not to mention successfully docking 7000 lbs of boat in two plus knot currents and 20 plus knot winds. Sailing I know more about. I also know that I need also to become a sea plumber, and I am working on it. Peggie, I did do the math, and there had not been more than 20 flushes since the pump-out. I will now get very familiar with the total MSD system on this boat that I love. So thanks for the help. Looking around anchorages and posted boat photos, there are a lot of us 50-somethings who now have some time and little money to get into cruising. But we are old dogs and these boats present lots of new trick opportunities. All the best, Roger
 
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