Holding Tank Been Full for Years
- Thread starter bobalong
- Start date
Some are, some are not. Mine are foil blocks that are stuck on the outside of the tank. Good idea in theory, but not in practice. The ones on the water tank work fine, but the ones on the holding tank read full because of "poo" clinging to the inside walls of the tank.
Folks, think about this:
The outlet from the holding tank to the deck fitting and/or the macerator is at the bottom of the tank. It has to be or the tank would never be emptied. If there were more than 1 1/2" or so of solids on the bottom of the tank, it could not be pumped out at all.
There's nothing wrong with the idea of filling it, pumping, repeating, etc., but if it can be emptied through the deck fitting, it's not a very serious problem.
Ron since I installed the inspection plate in my holding tank I found the most poo clings where the head fitting and discharge is located. Thatwall is by far the worst sludge wall in the tank. I moved my foil to the opposite side of the tank now and it rarely requires recalibration. However it wasn't any easy task because I had limited access to the opposite end of the tank. Also I have found since I slightly overdo the Ordorless there is less sticking to the walls of the Poly tank. You are correct the water tanks read dead on and are repeatable the waste tank does require periodic recalibration.
Bill
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2000
- RO Number
- 36
- Messages
- 6,625
When you think you have it licked (sorry) pump it out. Then, time filling a 5 gallon pail and use that to gauge how long the hose takes to fill the tank, or fill it 5 gallons at a time. If it takes the measure you have it done and can then read the paper in peese.
to answer the original question, yes there is a way to get the old dried up turds out of the tank assuming that removing the tank from the boat is not an option. open the inspection port or remove the gauge and use a garden hose nozzel while someone is operating the pump out hose on the dock and flush the thing out. its not fun but it will work. its how septic tanks are cleaned out every day.
I strongly suggest Odorless it promote the growth of good bateria. Do it a few times and add boiling water when you flush. Eventually the tank should almost come back to new. A power wash through the inspection plate can be a mess I would only do that after trying numerous chemical treatments to disolve the Buffalo chips.
Bill
Bill
Well the update. The enzyme treatment that was allowed to saturate for a few weeks seems to be helping. Using the measured 5 gallon per minute (from the designated garden sewer supply hose) I now have about 5-6 gallons of useful tank. Spent about an hour jamming the garden hose down the pump out hole, (6-7 ft of hose) turn the water on full blast, when full, remove and pump.
Before I left I poured more enzyme chemical in and it is now soaking.
The son of the owner says that the tank is buried under a bulkhead, and there is no chance to install an inspection plate or access the tank without major interior overhaul. Possibly more $$ than the boat is worth. His dad apparently wasn't much on preventative maintenance. We are renting the boat for the cost of electricity & slip rent and don't see this as a long term deal. It is just a place to live while they get the marina restaurant up and running. Having said that we don't mind doing some of the maintenance to get it back in a little better condition, at no expense to the owner. It's a win win.
Before I left I poured more enzyme chemical in and it is now soaking.
The son of the owner says that the tank is buried under a bulkhead, and there is no chance to install an inspection plate or access the tank without major interior overhaul. Possibly more $$ than the boat is worth. His dad apparently wasn't much on preventative maintenance. We are renting the boat for the cost of electricity & slip rent and don't see this as a long term deal. It is just a place to live while they get the marina restaurant up and running. Having said that we don't mind doing some of the maintenance to get it back in a little better condition, at no expense to the owner. It's a win win.
The reason I keep stressing Odorless is it doesn't need the air flow most other enzyme treatments need. It kind of generates it's own oxygen in a tank that has limited airflow. I wouldn't be surprised if the vent line wasn't full of crap because where would the overflow go when the tank is full it's only escape route is through the vent hose and the pumpout hose. Normally the pumpout hose is capped so it creates it's own airlock hence the effluent travels up or across the tanks vent hose. Since most tanks vent hoses have screens you can see where the vent line I can see the waste tanks vent line being almost totally encrusted/blocked. To speed up the process I would try leaving the pumpout cap off while you continue treating the tank with Odorless.
Bill
Bill
Again, how can you pump anything out of the tank if there are built up solids higher than the tank outlet?
And since you are at the boat, why are you taking the owner's son's word about the tank? Why not look for it yourself?
And since you are at the boat, why are you taking the owner's son's word about the tank? Why not look for it yourself?
You can't however with the proper treatments this should change the solids to effluent eventually.
Also snaking it should break up the solids near the outlet of the tank.
Put a bend on the end of the snake and twist it.
Bill
This is from a previous post:
"So they repeatedly filled w water and pumped to get as much out as possible. Then they filled the tank half or more full of water and added enzyme holding tank additive. (the tank sensor always shows full). Hopefully they will pump it out this week again, and some of the poo / buffalo chip whatever will be begining to dissolve. We shall see, as usual I am optimistic."
What I am trying to say is, something is not right here. If they can pump any liquid out, the tank cannot be half full of solids. The discharge is at the bottom. At most, it could have an inch to two inches of solids on the bottom.