Yuk, yuk, YUK!

[RobG]

Guess what I did on Sunday? My nose hairs are all gone, my lungs are permanently polluted and the EPA is searching for who ever caused the green cloud of toxic gas over eastern CT. Yup..I removed all of the old hoses, Gusher overboard pump and holding tank. Go figure, the tank wasn't pumped out nearly as far as it could have been and not rinsed. I did the initial cleaning of the area it was removed from with Citrus Boat Wash and let it sit. I couldn't rinse anyway 'cause the marina water isn't on yet. Hell of a tiring and stinky job. Much more scrubbing to come. I did buy a gallon of PureAyre and am gonna need it.
Well after getting the tank home (that's another thread all together) is emptied the disgusting contents into a bucket and accessed the situation. What a mess. I don't think permeable is the issue here. This tank stinks so badly with so much build up I'm thinking there is no hope. It would take gallons of wash water (from my power washer maybe) and I think it would still stink. What would I do with that wash water anyway? 50' down wind from this bomb is unbearable. Reminds me of Jim Carey..."wheeeeew, do NOT go in there!"

I'm checking out Plastic-Mart now. Anybody buy from them?

Rob (still in recovery).

 

[Rick D]

Been There; An Accomplishment!

BTW, this site (sailboatowners.com) has Ronco tanks. You may want to give some thought to that.
http://shop.hunterowners.com/detail.htm?group=1250

 

[DannyS]

I feel your pain (or is it I smell your smell?! let's not go there) I did that job a couple of seasons ago, not pretty. I went with a porta pot while I decided what my next move would be, guess what? I still use the porta pot and will stick with that for a while.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Hoo Boy...

Why didn't you wait to do this job till the water was on so you could thoroughly rinse out the tank--the whole system?

Danny may be onto something, 'cuz a 5-6 gal "MSD" portapotty wouldn't be a totally bad choice for a 28' boat. Give it some thought.

Whether you go that route or decide to replace the toilet, tank and hoses, you can get it all from the online store right here, and you won't find better prices anywhere else, even for Ronco tanks. sbo.com plumbing

 

[RAD]

Rob,
been there and done that.....the knuckle head po left my holding tank with product in it for who knows how long :cussing:and the way I dealt with it till I was ready to replace it was to empty it and put some bleach and hot water and left it for a week then I pumped it out and that seem to help a whole lot till I replaced it with a larger tank that I found at this link
ya know I thought I smelled something foul over the weekend when the wind was out of the north

http://www.tank-depot.com/

 

[shemandr]

If money isn't too much of an issue I'd send the stinker to the toxic waste site and start over - new tank & new hoses. At least you'll be working in a fresh smelling bilge. Do you really want to snuggle up to that tank again? No filling and pumping over and over. No scrubbing, chemicals. No wondering if it still stinks (Or worse yet, you re-install and your mate takes one step onboard and declares "It still stinks"). How much is avoiding that worth?

 

[Bob S]

I can't imagine your pain! I almost died just changing out the vent pipe. I'm sure I'll be replacing the whole system on my boat and had a question. Is there a face mask that can help? I'm sure it's not too healthy breathing around this project!

 

[MrBee]

Well i been there also. Bought the boat last May, Had one of those ElectroSan systems but it didn't work. used a porta pot for the trip down from CT. to Md.. When I went to remove the system the OLD light-brown (supose to be white) hose was so brittle we're lucky it didn't break on the way just from the motion of the boat. It's amazing how much "Stuff" those sanitizer units can hold. Good thing the wife stayed home that day.

If the odor is that bad, replace EVERY THING. We do not have a problem with head odors after Installing a holding tank and all new and Better hose.

Bee