Hello,
I need some advice on where and how to install a holding tank in a Swan 371. All help appreciated.
-Allan
I need some advice on where and how to install a holding tank in a Swan 371. All help appreciated.
-Allan
Swan 371: installing holding tank
- Thread starter allan3670
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A few rules of thumb to go by...
The tank should be within 6' (2 meters) of the toilet. Reason: that's as far as bowl contents will travel in the amount of time 99% of people will spend flushing a toilet...so if the tank is much further from the toilet, waste will be left sitting in the line to permeate the hose.
Size of the tank depends on where you spend most of your time and the rules for that country's waters. If you cruise mostly in waters where you're required to hold, you'll need a larger tank than you'll need if you only have to use it occasionally.
Waste tanks should be made of plastic or FRP, NEVER metal. Urine is so corrosive that it'll turn any metal, even 316 stainless, into a colander in an average of 10 years. A bladder is also a bad choice because average lifespan is only about 15 years and odor is very difficult to eliminate because of the design.
Because methane is flammable, all waste tanks must be vented to the outside of the hull...they cannot be vented it into a lazarette or chain locker.
I would love to help you with specific instructions for your boat and use, but that would require more typing--more exchanges of questions and answers--than is practical in a forum. Ideally, I'd love to talk instead of type...we could accomplish more in 30 minutes on the phone than by swapping 20 emails apiece. So if you have access to Skype or other reasonably priced international phone service and would like to do that, send me an email or private message (to do THAT, click on my name in the box to the left of this post) and we'll pick a mutually agreeable time.
The tank should be within 6' (2 meters) of the toilet. Reason: that's as far as bowl contents will travel in the amount of time 99% of people will spend flushing a toilet...so if the tank is much further from the toilet, waste will be left sitting in the line to permeate the hose.
Size of the tank depends on where you spend most of your time and the rules for that country's waters. If you cruise mostly in waters where you're required to hold, you'll need a larger tank than you'll need if you only have to use it occasionally.
Waste tanks should be made of plastic or FRP, NEVER metal. Urine is so corrosive that it'll turn any metal, even 316 stainless, into a colander in an average of 10 years. A bladder is also a bad choice because average lifespan is only about 15 years and odor is very difficult to eliminate because of the design.
Because methane is flammable, all waste tanks must be vented to the outside of the hull...they cannot be vented it into a lazarette or chain locker.
I would love to help you with specific instructions for your boat and use, but that would require more typing--more exchanges of questions and answers--than is practical in a forum. Ideally, I'd love to talk instead of type...we could accomplish more in 30 minutes on the phone than by swapping 20 emails apiece. So if you have access to Skype or other reasonably priced international phone service and would like to do that, send me an email or private message (to do THAT, click on my name in the box to the left of this post) and we'll pick a mutually agreeable time.
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