Dear Peggy, I am in the process of completely replacing a 35 year old Kracor recirculating system in my P-J 30. (Kracor brags on their web site's opening page about having invented this abomination!) Going in is a Kracor 25 gal. tank, along with a Lavac head, tied together with AVS96. The tank was purchased as a "blank" so that all fittings can go in on top using Uniseals. The Kracor tank does cost almost ten times that of a similarly sized Ronco tank but it perfectly fits nice and low in the forepeak. (Can you tell that I have been paying attention, Peggy?) The one thing that does confuse me, however, is some of your advice concerning the routing of vent line(s). In your book and on this site you repeatedly say to avoid bends and upward angles. But the tank is low and the vent exit of coursse must be high up on the hull, so an upward angle appears to be a given. Likewise, there is always other stuff in this area of the boat that must be routed around, so having a couple of bends (or more) in the vent line likewise appears to be something impossible to avoid. I'm sure that I'm luckier than most in this regard, as my forepeak is simply a big unfinished sail bin topped by a couple of simple pipe berths. Yet even I find the need for five bends to route the vent line to its through-hull without encroaching on space occupied by sails or sailors. Given these constraints, I am planning to increase the vent size to 1" and to add a second vent line, likewise winding its way, in mirror image, to the opposite side of the boat, this to provide some cross-ventilation for the tank. I would be grateful for reactions to these comments from Peggy or anyone else. Owen McCall P-J 30
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If you vent off the bow end of the tank...
and take the vent line forward far enough, you can put the vent thru-hull in the hull about a foot below the toe rail, keeping the rise to less than 45 degrees. This has the added advantage of having the vent always into the wind, forcing air to circulate through the tank. You won't need a second vent to keep the tank aerobic. From your post, I'm pretty sure this will require a new vent thru-hull. I hope you've already bought the AVS96 hose, 'cuz I learned earlier this week that it's no longer available...the Aussies just couldn't create a big enough market for it to continue producing it. That news broke my heart. The best choice now is Trident #101 (black) or 102 (white) http://www.tridentmarine.com/stage/sanitation.htm Defender carries it. I spent nearly an hour on the phone with the pres. of Trident yesterday..it's a double-walled rubber hose that has a bactericide in the rubber formula...they put a 5 year warranty on it, and have yet to have a claim. It's also a bit softer, and therefore easier to work with, than AVS96. The downside is, because it's double walled, it also has 1/8" bigger outer diameter than other hoses, which can make it problematic to pull through holes in bulkheads that are already a tight fit for the existing hose. We prob'ly ought to chat a bit about the specifics of your installation in more detail than is practical in a discussion forum...so how 'bout sending me an email (I'm in all the directories).
and take the vent line forward far enough, you can put the vent thru-hull in the hull about a foot below the toe rail, keeping the rise to less than 45 degrees. This has the added advantage of having the vent always into the wind, forcing air to circulate through the tank. You won't need a second vent to keep the tank aerobic. From your post, I'm pretty sure this will require a new vent thru-hull. I hope you've already bought the AVS96 hose, 'cuz I learned earlier this week that it's no longer available...the Aussies just couldn't create a big enough market for it to continue producing it. That news broke my heart. The best choice now is Trident #101 (black) or 102 (white) http://www.tridentmarine.com/stage/sanitation.htm Defender carries it. I spent nearly an hour on the phone with the pres. of Trident yesterday..it's a double-walled rubber hose that has a bactericide in the rubber formula...they put a 5 year warranty on it, and have yet to have a claim. It's also a bit softer, and therefore easier to work with, than AVS96. The downside is, because it's double walled, it also has 1/8" bigger outer diameter than other hoses, which can make it problematic to pull through holes in bulkheads that are already a tight fit for the existing hose. We prob'ly ought to chat a bit about the specifics of your installation in more detail than is practical in a discussion forum...so how 'bout sending me an email (I'm in all the directories).
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