Peggie, First a little history about our head. I bought an Ericson 32-3 (1987) early last year. During survey it was obvious that the head needed some work. My nose told me that part. The head was set up so that the toilet could pump into the holding tank, over board or the holding tank could be pumped over board via a hand pump. Also all of the hoses smelled. First thing I did was to remove and throw away all of the hoses, the over board pump and the "Y" valve. I closed up the thru hull valves for both over board dumps, toilet and holding tank. Then I ran a new hose from the toilet to the holding tank and another from the holding tank to the deck pump out. This opened up a lot of space in the head cabinet and made us "legal" in the eyes of the Coast Guard and the DNR. Good thing too because a little later we were boarded for an inspection by the Coast Guard while sailing to Oxford, MD and they made a point about seeing our "Y" valve and were very happy to find that we could not pump anything out into the bay. After replacing the hoses I also scrubbed down the inside surfaces of the head cabinet where most all of the hoses were located. This got rid of most of the smell. But there was still some there and I tracked it down to the holding tank. It was a RONCO B173 and when I did the "wet rag test" to it a smell was evident. So, I replaced the tank also with a new B173 from RONCO. We also started using fresh water, instead of bay water, to flush the head. In addition we're using "Oderless" after each pump out and I installed a tank monitor so we don't over flow out the vent. However, I still noticed a slight odor in the head and in the compartment (under the "V" birth) where the holding tank is located. A few sniffs seem to indicate that the smell was again coming from the top of the new RONCO B173 tank! This was just after about two weeks. It's not nearly as bad as it was and you need to go looking for the smell to find it but it is there. I did send an email to RONCO asking about this problem but they never got back to me. So I'm ready to try one more remedy but I wanted to pass it by you first. Our boat has AC (I didn't install it) and when the unit was installed it was placed in a space under the "V" birth where a water tank was located. Our boat originally came with three fresh water tanks. Because it did there are three fresh water fills on deck but since the AC was installed one of the fills (starboard side, nearer to the bow) is not use and the end of the fill hose is capped off so as not to mistakenly fill the boat with water. My thought was to provide more air to the waste holding tank then is now coming through the existing 1/2" vent hose. In one of the other postings I read about the UniSeal tank fitting that allowed a PVC pipe to be placed into a tank without leaking. I was thinking of putting a UniSeal into the tank and then running a hose from it to the unused fresh water fill. At the fill I would removed the cap and find a PVC fitting that could screw into the hole where the cap was sitting. From that PVC fitting I would run a very short pipe and elbow over the edge of the deck. This would then give me about a 1-1/2" vent to the holding tank. But I see a few problems with this solution. First, the information you gave on line said to cut a hole in the top of the holding tank to install the UniSeal. I can't do that because there is only about a 3/4" from the top of my holding tank to the compartment door and there is now way of increasing this distance. I can put a hole in the side of the tank, near the top (the hose from the toilet comes into the side of the tank) but I'm worried about leakage with the UniSeal. The unused fresh water fill port, that I would be converting into a vent opening is on the starboard side of the boat while the tank is located on the port side. The new, large vent hose would run from the tank (port side) through the AC compartment under the "V" birth and to the new vent port (a.k.a - fresh water fill) on the starboard side. A run of about five feet. Everything I've read about vent hoses indicates that they should be as short and straight as possible. From what I've read in your book, and in other places, it seems that adding this additional venting should resolve the tank smell problem. Your thoughts on my problem and idea will be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Bob PS-I was tipped off about your book by a dock neighbor who owns a Hunter 36 name "Loverly". He told me that you went for a sail with him and his wife one day out of Port Annapolis where I also am.
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It's not the tank...it's most likely...
Residual odor from the hoses etc that has attached itself to the tank and every other surface in the locker where the tank is located. Nothing that you do to improve conditions INSIDE the tank is gonna do a thing to get rid of odor on the outside of the tank, or any other odor inside the boat...only what comes out the tank vent (you must have missed that in my book). Besides, there's no way that a Ronco tank could have permeated...the walls are too thick. I wish you'd asked questions before you bought a new tank, 'cuz you didn't need one. Buy some Raritan K.O. or a product called PureAyre http://www.pureayre.com Put it in a spray bottle and liberally saturate every surface in that locker, including the tank. Leave that locker open while it dries for at least 24 hours. If that doesn't get rid of the odor completely--and permanently, there are a couple of other possibilities: If there's an inspection port in the tank, is there an o-ring on the cap? If not, that's your culprit, 'cuz the cap can't seal without it. Or, it may be molds etc in your air conditioner ducts...there's a product for that. If your ac concensate drains into the bilge there, that could very well be the culprit, 'cuz that gets stinky very quickly in hot weather. Whatever the source, we'll find it and cure it. Btw...I will be in Annapolis for the sail show this year. I've been invited to speak at the SSCA GAM there. If we haven't cured your odor by then, I'll make a "house call" on your boat.
Residual odor from the hoses etc that has attached itself to the tank and every other surface in the locker where the tank is located. Nothing that you do to improve conditions INSIDE the tank is gonna do a thing to get rid of odor on the outside of the tank, or any other odor inside the boat...only what comes out the tank vent (you must have missed that in my book). Besides, there's no way that a Ronco tank could have permeated...the walls are too thick. I wish you'd asked questions before you bought a new tank, 'cuz you didn't need one. Buy some Raritan K.O. or a product called PureAyre http://www.pureayre.com Put it in a spray bottle and liberally saturate every surface in that locker, including the tank. Leave that locker open while it dries for at least 24 hours. If that doesn't get rid of the odor completely--and permanently, there are a couple of other possibilities: If there's an inspection port in the tank, is there an o-ring on the cap? If not, that's your culprit, 'cuz the cap can't seal without it. Or, it may be molds etc in your air conditioner ducts...there's a product for that. If your ac concensate drains into the bilge there, that could very well be the culprit, 'cuz that gets stinky very quickly in hot weather. Whatever the source, we'll find it and cure it. Btw...I will be in Annapolis for the sail show this year. I've been invited to speak at the SSCA GAM there. If we haven't cured your odor by then, I'll make a "house call" on your boat.
Thanks for the tip on PureAyre
Peggie, Thanks for the tip on PureAyre. I've ordered some and look forward to using it on my tank and tank compartment. To eliminate one possible problem, there is no inspection port in the tank, so no chance of an "O" ring problem. The holding tank department is definitely the source of the smell but I'll be using PureAyre everywhere I can reach. One possible cause of the problem might have occurred when I installed the new tank. The hoses were still there when I did and some "fluid" did spill out of the hose into the tank compartment. Not much mind you and I did clean it up a best as I could. Some might have escaped into the bilge or an area below the compartment. So, what I might do is pour some PureAyre into the compartment and hope that it reaches any "contaminated" areas. Hope to see you at the boat show! It will be here before you know it. Thanks! Bob
Peggie, Thanks for the tip on PureAyre. I've ordered some and look forward to using it on my tank and tank compartment. To eliminate one possible problem, there is no inspection port in the tank, so no chance of an "O" ring problem. The holding tank department is definitely the source of the smell but I'll be using PureAyre everywhere I can reach. One possible cause of the problem might have occurred when I installed the new tank. The hoses were still there when I did and some "fluid" did spill out of the hose into the tank compartment. Not much mind you and I did clean it up a best as I could. Some might have escaped into the bilge or an area below the compartment. So, what I might do is pour some PureAyre into the compartment and hope that it reaches any "contaminated" areas. Hope to see you at the boat show! It will be here before you know it. Thanks! Bob
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