I just replaced the holding tank, Y valve, and all hoses and clamps, and fully serviced the Raritan PHII on my new-to-me Niagara 35 "Classic".
But it still stinks! In fact, it has the same stink, although not as bad, as it had before I replaced the 20-yr-old hoses and did 2 rounds of NosGuard.
My nose has traced the odor to the tank, a new 24 gallon Todd "heavy duty", but there doesn't seem to be any specific source, i.e. no leaks from the fittings or loose hose clamps. Since it doesn't get noticeably stinky until the tank gets about 60-70% full, I suspect it's at that point that the ratio of sewage to air exceeds some threshold of de-stink-ability that no amount of my usual go-tos (Happy Campers or Odorlos) can handle.
I just bought CP and KO locally -- and the book, pending shipping -- so I'm going to try those after tomorrow's pump & flushes, and I'm going to use only freshwater in the toilet per a dock neighbor's recommendation.
In case those changes don't help, I just ordered NoFlex Digestor and will try that on the subsequent tank. Just learned of that product on this forum.
However, I suspect none of that will work. I suspect the real culprit is that, due to the unusual layout of this boat where the tank is right in the middle of the cabin, fresh air exchange is essentially nil. The 15' 3/4" vent hose has to go up 18", then back down 30" until parallel with the bottom of the tank (running next to the outlet hose), and finally back up 5' to the gunwale. This doesn't seem conducive to good exhaust or air intake, right? And fresh air is the name of the game, especially in salt water, right?
If the aforementioned chemical solutions don't work (or any other chemicals, I'll try anything!), and getting more fresh air is the only fix, I'll next consider:
1. Installing the Groco SweetTank system, if I can find it
2. Adding a 2nd vent line and putting a closed inline fan -- like a tiny bilge blower, if I can find such a thing -- in the hose to force air circulation.
ANY suggestions, comments, criticisms welcome! Full time liveaboard here...getting desperate.
But it still stinks! In fact, it has the same stink, although not as bad, as it had before I replaced the 20-yr-old hoses and did 2 rounds of NosGuard.
My nose has traced the odor to the tank, a new 24 gallon Todd "heavy duty", but there doesn't seem to be any specific source, i.e. no leaks from the fittings or loose hose clamps. Since it doesn't get noticeably stinky until the tank gets about 60-70% full, I suspect it's at that point that the ratio of sewage to air exceeds some threshold of de-stink-ability that no amount of my usual go-tos (Happy Campers or Odorlos) can handle.
I just bought CP and KO locally -- and the book, pending shipping -- so I'm going to try those after tomorrow's pump & flushes, and I'm going to use only freshwater in the toilet per a dock neighbor's recommendation.
In case those changes don't help, I just ordered NoFlex Digestor and will try that on the subsequent tank. Just learned of that product on this forum.
However, I suspect none of that will work. I suspect the real culprit is that, due to the unusual layout of this boat where the tank is right in the middle of the cabin, fresh air exchange is essentially nil. The 15' 3/4" vent hose has to go up 18", then back down 30" until parallel with the bottom of the tank (running next to the outlet hose), and finally back up 5' to the gunwale. This doesn't seem conducive to good exhaust or air intake, right? And fresh air is the name of the game, especially in salt water, right?
If the aforementioned chemical solutions don't work (or any other chemicals, I'll try anything!), and getting more fresh air is the only fix, I'll next consider:
1. Installing the Groco SweetTank system, if I can find it
2. Adding a 2nd vent line and putting a closed inline fan -- like a tiny bilge blower, if I can find such a thing -- in the hose to force air circulation.
ANY suggestions, comments, criticisms welcome! Full time liveaboard here...getting desperate.