I have a 1987 O day 322. I replaced all its sanitation lines last year. After wrestling with the tank while preforming this task, my hands had a linger odor attached to them for hours. This year when I opened the boat I could again smell the sanitary system. I used JB Weld on the fittings of the tank as the original "putty" providing an air tight seal had failed. Again after wrestling with the tank my hands smelled for a couple of hours. I thought tanks were supposed to be impermeable. Obviously that is not the case for this tank. The tank is a custom unit and I haven’t been able to find an exact replacement. Any hints on where to look or maybe a coating I can apply to the tanks exterior? Thanks in advance.
Smelly Holding Tank.
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Ya may be dealing with an outside problem that resulted from the fitting leaks and not permeability .. Ya might try cleaning/scrubbing the entire outside of the tank with hydrogen peroxide to tone down the mercaptains that are stinking up the place. do it out of the boat and wear gloves.. You can get some very strong peroxide at pool stores who advertise "Baquacil" water treatment; it would be called "Baqua Shock" . This stuff will burn skin and clothes as would a strong acid.. so start with the cheap weak regular stuff first to see if that works.. if not, then work with the dangerous stuff, VERY carefully as you would if handling a strong acid.
Hopefully @Peggie Hall HeadMistress will respond soon. We had a god-awful smell recently. We were absolutely convinced it was part of the sanitation system. Peggie assured me it was not. We finally discovered it was some rugs that had fouled. I'm not saying this is your problem or even that I don't think it's the tank. I'm just saying that Peggie is The Man when it comes to smelly boats.
.It so happens that I do have access to Baquacil. I'll remove the tank and clean it. I'm not sure what the tank is made of but I bet it is original to the boat. There are no fabric materials in the aft stateroom at the moment and that isa where the smell in originating from. A friend once said "My wife is away so I'm the man this weekend". He hasn't lived that down yet.
Thank you all and I'll report on my success.
Thank you all and I'll report on my success.
It doesn't matter what the tank is made of, the smartest thing you can do is replace it....'cuz if the tank is metal, JBWeld has sealed the leaking fitting, but the first leak in ANY metal tank is only the FIRST leak...urine is turning it into a a colander. If it's polyethylene, it hasn't permeated, but nothing bonds permanently to PE, so there's an excellent chance that the fitting you "welded" is already leaking again...if not, it will. Tank mfrs use a process called spinwelding that was melts the edges of the fitting and the edges of the hole to cause them to blend into a continuous mass....so what you called "putty" is actually melted PE. The odor on your hands is residual odor from stinky hoses and the leaking fitting that has tranferred itself onto the outside of the tank...and most likely every other surface in that area and any area the hoses passed through.
Ronco Plastics (no relation to the VegoMatic Ronco) Ronco Plastics Marine Catalog is your best source for a new tank. They makes TOP quality thick-walled water and waste tanks for a very reasonable price and has more than 400 shapes and sizes, over 100 of which are non-rectangular (which means you might be able to fit a larger one in the same space), and they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank.
As for how to get rid of the residual odor...there's a product called PureAyre PureAyre that will eliminate ANY odor, once the source of that odor has been eliminated...it's safe to handle and is even rated for use around food. Amazon has it...check it out.
Ronco Plastics (no relation to the VegoMatic Ronco) Ronco Plastics Marine Catalog is your best source for a new tank. They makes TOP quality thick-walled water and waste tanks for a very reasonable price and has more than 400 shapes and sizes, over 100 of which are non-rectangular (which means you might be able to fit a larger one in the same space), and they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank.
As for how to get rid of the residual odor...there's a product called PureAyre PureAyre that will eliminate ANY odor, once the source of that odor has been eliminated...it's safe to handle and is even rated for use around food. Amazon has it...check it out.
keep on digging Kermit it will not be long now before the strategic cruise on the bay..... on how to gigg a frog