Waste Holding Tank 1983 Hunter 31

[jvidal01]

Does anyone know if the 1983 waste holding tank is removable? In my v-berth where the macerator is, the waste hose goes into a molded fiberglass compartment. When I removed the v-berth cushions there is a roughly 2 foot by 2 foot panel that is screwed down and appears to be bedded with 5200. I am afraid that this is actually the top of the holding tank. The inside of my boat smells terrible and I want to replace whatever I can.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Don Crowther]

Sorry can't help you there my tank was under the settee on the starboard side. This must be a mod some else did. All I can suggest is follow the hoses and change them. First rinse everything out with a bleach and water mix I would fill and pump out the tank several times before removing lower hoses.

 

[Scott]

It more than likely is bedded with 5200. My water tank is, never tried to get access to the waste tank. At the least you should remove and replace all hoses. Look in the archives under the "head mistress," She retired but her book is available, all the info is probably still there. You will find detailed instructions to solve your problem.

 

[Dalliance]

Sounds just like mine. About a five gallon fiberglass tank tabbed into the hull below the v-berth with a sealed lid under the cushions. You would have to cut it out. Like everyone else said, change all the hoses first. They are the more likely source of odor. I had the same problem when I bought the boat. Replaced all the hoses and no more odor.

 

[Steve Dion]

The tank is molded into the interior. I would also look at the hoses and connections before any other modifactions.

 

[jvidal01]

The tank is molded into the interior. I would also look at the hoses and connections before any other modifactions.

Thanks for the input. I will start with replacing the hoses.

 

[jvidal01]

Started to change the hoses today. Here's me feeling on the subject. Six hours later, a boat that now smells worse than it ever did (yes I know this will change) and the job is still not done. Numerous cuts on my hands and forearms.

Tell me..... Hunter how do you fit three 1.75 od hoses in a space made for 2 hoses. I have given up getting the third hose in the allotted space. Next weekend I am taking a hole saw and creating a new passage for the pipe.

 

[Scott]

Feel for ya' man. Whatever it takes! Good Luck!!

 

[Dalliance]

Sounds familiar. One suggestion: To get the new hoses in I found that warming them with a hair dryer makes them easier to bend and get into place. If you haven't already tried that, it might help you avoid cutting new holes in bulkheads.

 

[jvidal01]

Never thought about heating the hose. Thanks.

 

[jvidal01]

The hoses have been replaced, Thanks for suggesting that I heat the hoses. I purchased a heat gun for this purpose that worked fairly well.

For those that read this post.......

The Hunter 31 required 30 feet of waste hose to replace the old hoses that were in place. Removal of the hoses took my wife and I 6 hours and an additional 5 hours to replace with new hoses.

Rinse holding tank with water several times prior to replacing waste hoses, I also used bleach to help with odor and breakup of "crap".

There are three hoses that come to the head from the 30 gallon built in fiberglass tank. It is easiest to remove the hose that is the head discharge hose first then followed by either of the other two hoses (corrugated).

There are two additional corrugated hoses that shoot straight down into the liner that are located behind the bath room wall which I accessed by removing the sliding doors (Note: remove all doors in areas worked as you will be laying down on the bathroom floor while your helper is laying on the v-berth floor). These hoses are nasty, they are slimy and smell horrible. These hoses are very hard and will appear to be permanently bent at a 90 degree angle. I removed these hoses by pulling towards the head while my wife pushed the hoses from under the v-berth. These hoses literally moved 1 rib at a time or approximately 1/4 inch with every painstaking pull and these hoses are about 7 feet each hence the reason it took us 6 hours to remove. Picture 3 - 1.75 inch OD hoses placed in a space for two hoses.

Replacement:

***Replace toilet discharge hose last from the v-berth area towards the head. I bought 7 feet of 1 inch dowel rod, placed the dowel rod in the waste hose and heated the hose to remove the coil that is caused by the hose being coiled in the box it was delivered in. Without doing this, I would of had to drill additional hoses to route the new hose. Also prior to running all hoses, I ran a dock line thru the hoses so that I could pull hoses thru.

Other hoses: see above for heating instructions and run line thru hose. These hoses will start in the bathroom and terminate under the v-berth for connection to holding tank, macerator etc. Hoses will require two people and will also push thru a quarter of an inch at a time (After the fact I was told to apply Vaseline to the outer case of the hose to make it easier).

After cutting arms, bruising head, extensive use of foul language and a little prayer, the lines were replaced. Two weeks later the smell is gone.

Contact me if I can be of any help.

***The discharge hose is incredibly hard to replace as there is a PVC vented loop that attaches to the hose from the holding tank to the macerator. This hose rises from the boat liner and travels up the wall in the bathroom with very little area to work with. Make sure that you leave enough room i.e. extra hose as waste hose is very hard to manipulate and will crease and collapse if bent too far.

 

[rah0218]

Thanks for the war story and all the suggestions. I am getting ready to do the same on my 84 Hunter 31. I need to also replace the pump under the v-berth as the handle is broken. This will be hard since we can't get there from above.

 

[wufibugs]

I too have to replace the lines on my 86 31'.
To reach the valves under the v berth, I am thinking of enlarging the opening to the plumbing area beneath the v berth, but because I think that wall is structural, I will strenthen it with a teak frame.
I am still fascinated by the post of a year or two ago about using as much pvc pipe as possible in place of corrugated flexible hose.

 

[Swan]

The pain is felt here as well....My husband and I have an 87 Hunter 31 and went through almost a whole summer of smelling odor coming from the holding tank under the v birth and hoses. We replaced all the hoses and things improved dramatically. We also pump and flush flush flush often. We also use KO as a chemical and NO bleach or other chemicals and flush with fresh water only. (yeah, we're trying everything) One suggestion is to take the sink right out of the head....it gives you a bit more space to work the hoses when removing them and it's not difficult to remove (at least ours wasn't). It's much easier than reaching through the cabinet door.

Our latest project involves lifting the cover (very very carefully) off the holding tank. We cut a hole in the cover, installed a deck plate and we will fiberglass the cover back into place once the weather gets warmer to prevent future leaks. The deck plate will be helpful to rinse the holding tank when necessary (and often ). We're also doing the same thing on the fresh water tank under the birth in the cockpit area since that was leaking. I'm hoping for a sweet smelling boat this summer and no more leaks. I had read of someone glassing in the tank covers on this site somewhere after failed attempts to reseal them. That's where we got the idea. I posted a picture of the holding tank without the cover for you in case you want to know what the interior looks like. We flushed it out with lots of laundry soap which we learned from the "head mistress" before opening the cover. and it came out pretty clean (thank goodness!)