Peggy...I still have a slight odour...

[Paul H]

After several cleanings of my holding tank...I did the "sniff tests" on all of my connection hoses, and they're OK. I've tried tracing it all the way back to the head...and all seems OK. The smell has gotten MUCH better that when I first got the boat...but there is still that slight odour. Is this normal? Is it possible that the plastic (or whatever it is) that my holding tank is made from has absorbed some odour? Or should I continue to add holding tank cleaner till the smell is gone...I live in Canada...and I haven't been able to find the Raritan KO...is it available up here...if not, is there an equivalent type of product for us Canucks?Thanks in advance for your help...Paul H.

 

[walmsleyc]

KO

I think West Marine carries both KO and CP. I believe that's where I got mine (in Kingston).Chris

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

You can clean the tank till the cows come home...

And try every product on the market in it...but that won't get rid of odor INSIDE the boat...'cuz unless the tank is leaking, odor from inside the tank has only one place to go: out the tank vent. (If I had a dollar for every time I've posted that, I could retire in style!)I can't count the number of people who've told me that they've replaced their whole sanitation system--toilet, tank and hoses--trying to get rid of what they think is "head" odor, when all they really needed to do was clean their bilges and sumps--really CLEAN 'em for a change, and flush ALL the dirty water out, instead only dumping in more bilge cleaner and or bleach and letting the bilge pumps do the rest. Bilge water, especially in boats on which the ice box and shower drains into the bilge instead of into a sump, is a "primordial soup" that can make a boat smell like a swamp or even a sewer. So if you're sure your sanitation hoses are the culprit, clean your bilges and sumps.If cleaning the bilges and sumps doesn't get rid of the odor completely, there has to be trapped water somewhere. Hunters are notorious for a "grid" that has compartments that don't drain...compounding the problem by providing almost no access to 'em to clean 'em out with anything but a power washer. The most overlooked source of odor on a boat is the chain locker. The same sea critters that sit and decay in the head intake line are on the anchor rode, dying and decaying in the locker. So at least once a year, lay the rode out on the dock and hose it off with plenty of clean fresh water, then leave it on the dock to dry. While it's out, clean the chain locker. Maintaining a boat is a lot more work than most people think!For Pete's sake do NOT buy K.O. or C.P from West Marine. Their price is $17.95 for a 22 oz bottle...Raritan's LIST price is only $11.90!

 

[Paul H]

Peggy....thanks for the info...

I've noticed a somewhat funky smell coming from the anchor locker...now that you metion it...I will do as you suggest...my bilge however is clean...I got down and dirty with that when I was trying to track down the source of the odour.You will have to pardon my ignorance...this is only my first "liveable" sailboat...My previous experience with sailboats has been lasers etc...and all of my other long distance sailing has been on Navy destroyers; where head maintenence was not my problem...Once again...you have been most informative...I will let you know how I make out.

 

[Scott21120]

Paul - to answer your question regarding the tank

YES - it is possible for the tank itself to be permeated with odor. My tale of woe goes like this. We bought the boat and it had a fairly distinct head odor. Before we sailed her home, I replaced the head with a Raritan PHII based on Peggie's recommendation (couldn't be happier with that), and replaced all the hoses with PVC pond hose (against Peggie's recommendation) - looked just like PVC sanitation hose - but it's not! After spending a year trying everything from cleaning the bilge and holding tank area to adding a second vent to the tank, to spraying the whole inside of the boat with Raritan KO, to replacing all the cushions and foam inside the boat, I finally removed the tank over this winter layup. I brought it home and cleaned and flushed it several times in the basement - and - months later - it still REAKED! I ordered a new Ronco tank - also on Peggie's recommendation (couldn't be happier with it!) and installed it a few weeks ago, along with new Sealand Odorsafe Plus Sanitation hose. I also upped the vent sizes to 1" (per Peggie's recommendation ...) and started using Odorlos. The one year old PVC pond hose absolutely stunk! So far I have given the system a good workout - including taking my daughters and several friends on the boat and I am happy to say that FINALLY I have a boat that smells like something other than the head when I open it up! I should mention that our tank is under the v-berth, and no matter what I did - that area always smelled sour and foul - I cleaned it with KO, bleach, even painted it with BIN - an odor and stain sealing paint, but until I removed the old tank and hose, it always stunk.Thanks Peggie for your help - my wife and daughters thank you too!

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

A really cheap thin-walled tank can permeate...

But it's very rare and almost always due to the boat being laid up for an extended period with waste in the tank. 99.999% of the time, it's odor from another source--usually permeated hose--that's attached itself to outside of the tank...in which case, cleaning OUT the tank wouldn't help a bit...and about the only thing that'll take the odor out of the outside of the tank OR the inside of it is a microbial odor eliminator like K.O. or PureAyre and plenty of fresh air. Just curious, but when you left the tank in the garage, were there threaded plugs in the fittings...or were the fittings open? I'm betting they weren't plugged.

 

[Dan]

Hunter Grid Access

Peggie -You said:"Hunters are notorious for a "grid" that has compartments that don't drain...compounding the problem by providing almost no access to 'em to clean 'em out with anything but a power washer."You're absolutely right about the grid, and no access. In fact, on my 420, I can't even get a power washer down there (aft, below the fuel tank) and I have some spilled diesel down there. Would spraying Pureayre or Febreeze take care of it? Is there something else I might try (e.g., vinegar, lemon juice, etc)? Will it simply evaporate over time (I found and sealed the leak so it shouldn't come back)? Should I learn to hold my breath for long periods of time?Thanks.

 

[Scott21120]

Peggie, they were not plugged -

but I washed (filled and sloshed around) the tank several times with different concoctions, and anyplace on the outside of the tank where I sniffed definitely stunk. It was a Todd tank, and you were right - the Ronco was SUBSTANTIALLY more robust - from the fitting connections to the overall thickness. The old tank (23 years old) was badly discolored as well - kind of a sewage brown.

 

[Alex]

Bilge and head hose smell

Multiple attack to the smelly problem:(1) really clean or replace the hoses (if over 10 years old) to the holding tank(2) vacumm (wet/dry) the slightest amount of water from the bilge at least monthly. If you use ice in the ice box, vac it out weekly. The bilge pump leaves about 1/4 inches of water behind.(3) install a dripless shaft seal or something similar to reduce or eliminate bilge water(4) Home Depot sells a odour eater block which absolves not mask odour for about $8.00. I got one under the v-berth, head, and the dry area in the bilge.(5) Have a solar vent. Two will be better as you can suck in fresh air one one and exhaust stale air with the other.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Nothing will work, Dan, until the source is gone

So you're gonna have to find a way to remove the diesel or live with the odor.When I bought my last boat, there was no access to the bilges beneath the cabin sole, so I installed hatches in the sole. I also had to cut some limber holes. I dunno why boat owners are reluctant to do that, 'cuz it's not hard to do...and if done right with recessed pulls, they're unnoticeable from the rest of the sole. And it sure does solve a lot of problems...not only to keep the bilge clean, but access to piping, hose connections--EVERYthing below the sole. Alex's advice is spot on...except that cleaning smelly hoses is a waste of effort, 'cuz once a hose has permeated, it can't be reversed...the hose has to be replaced. And bilges should be vac'd out as part of closing up the boat every time, not just monthly.Btw...if the "odor eater" blocks he refers to are what I think they are--a kind of gel in a tub--they also do wonders for molds etc in heat/ac ducts. Put one in the return...change it every 30 days.