Holding tank vent odor

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HarlenW

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25699
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Our holding tank emits an odor outside the boat every time we flush it, is this just the nature of the beast? There is no odor inside the boat. Is there an additive that would prevent this? We want to be good neighbors and not gross out the boat next door every time we flush the head.

Thanks!
 
There's a good book by Peggie Hall, "The Head Mistress" on how to get rid of Boat Odors. I haven't read it but have talked to people who have. Most of them have added a second vent to their holding tanks. This creates a cross flow of fresh air to keep the odors to a minimum. We're going to do that with our boat.
 
You need to use something in the tank to kill odors.

If you have good ventilation in the tank, try KO.

If you only have one small vent hose, try Odorlos.

We use Odorlos, we get a smell from the first flush when we get to the boat after it has sat a couple of days, other than that - no odor whatsoever.
 
quote:
Originally posted by HarlenW

Click to expand...


Harlen, I'll assume you have a Fresh Water Head?
1st leave the bowl cover down so the smell is contained. If you're not using the head for 2 or more days flush at least 2 gals of clean water through the system. As for the holding tank, put in a chemical bacteria that will eliminate the oders (it takes a few days to mix & develope the organisms). Use it any time you empty the head to restart the bacteria in the holding tank. If all else fails try eating mints :) No joke unless there is a problem or check the vent screen this is usually easy to stop.
 
Harlen, You need to replace the carbon filter in the vent line from your holding tank. If you do not have one, add one. They need to be replaced every 12 to 18 months. I'm assuming you have a Vacuflush head based upon the newness of your boat. SBW
 
First thing, check that there IS an vent filter. If there is one, and stink is getting past it, then it's time to replace it. You don't have to buy a new one, just cut that old one in half, refill it with fish tank charcoal, and put some PVC threaded fittings in the middle to rejoin the two halves. Works great and costs less than $20, as opposed to over $80 for a new filter.
 
DON'T use a filter, a properly working holding tank does not need one. They get clogged and cause more problems than they solve.
 
Use the filter, it works and will not clog if waste tank is not over filled. Filter should be changed annually however and proper tank treatment is still necessary.
 
We don't have a filter, and we don't have odors. However, our vent is one small line and neither KO nor Odorlos did the trick for us. So we started using the CampaChem from WalMart. I just make sure not to get it on my skin. Early this year we had a bad odor after flushing outside the boat and even a bit inside, while using Odorlos. That's when I decided to just use the "blue stuff". I also started pumping out every other weekend. No more head odors, ever, outside or inside.

I have no idea why you'd want to have a filter on the vent line, considering it's yet another maintenance item that will cause more problems that it will solve once it starts failing, if it gets wet for example.
 
if you have a filter it is just that. Previous owner overfilled our holding tank and the odor would knock you down if you were outside when we first bought our silverton. we changed the filter and no more odors. We also treat the tank like others mentioned above.
 
"Our holding tank emits an odor outside the boat every time we flush it..." If this is the only time it happens, are you sure the dumping (overboard discharge) valve to the macerator is closed? If not, you when you flush, you may be pressurizing the tank and forcing the odor outside the boat. I have seen it happen on more than one occasion.
 
Harlen,

I think a lot depends on the way that people use your toilet. My good wife, and most of our guests, tend to give the head a very substantial flush after use, maybe using 5 or 6 litres of (salt) water.

If 6 litres of water (and other stuff) goes into your holding tank, then 6 litres of air must be displaced, and this air will come out via the vent line. No matter what chemical treatments I've tried, there had always been a varying degree of odour in this air from the tank.

Personally, I've always used vent line carbon filters on all of my pervious boats (now on my 5th boat) and providing the carbon is kept dry, I've found the odour is almost non-extistant when used in conjunction with a chemical treatment.
 
Our experience is the filter does the job without any chemicals. We live on our boat much of the summer and never use the public facilities. We do a good job of irrigating the tank when we pump it out and change the filter once a year. We also flush a cup of powdered Tide with NO bleach down the head every two weeks. This has been our routine for the past 15 years and seems to keep oders completely under control.
 
Made a filter from the instructions given on another post. No odor out the vent since I put the filter on.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gregory Saracco

Made a filter from the instructions given on another post. No odor out the vent since I put the filter on.

Click to expand...


And that post would be?????
 
I couldn't find it when I needed it so some of the ROs around here found it for me. Maybe they'll find it again. Pretty simple to make and cost me about $20.00 in material and it'll be a snap to change the charcoal in the spring.
 
David

Take a 2' piece of PVC pipe, use fittings on the ends to connect to your vent line. Insert 2 pieces of screen mesh or foam in the ends. The foam or mesh is to hold the standard charcoal filter material that you get at the pet store. The type used in fish tank filters. To make re-filling the device easier cut the PVC into 2 pieces and use a 2" nohub fitting after filling the PVC with the charcoal. Tighten the nohub, and insert the new filter in the vent line where ever you can reach it to change every year or so.
 
Man, all this talk of filters and this and that. We had the same problem on mine. A terrible rotten egg odor if the tank was left unpumped for a few weeks in the heat. Our friend on his brand-new 340 DA made fun of us. That is, until a month later, his boat was even worse. Every time the head was flushed, the rotten egg odor would linger for several minutes. Anyway, we started adding about a cup of bleach to the head, just before pumpout. We would rinse out the tank (raw water flush on both boats) with several flushes and empty the tank. Neither one of us have had any further issues.

While I don't think a lot of bleach is a good idea for the plumbing, I am confident that this small amount we're using is not an issue, and it solved our problems. In fact, others must be doing the same at our marina as they usually have a container of bleach at the pump-out every time we're there.

EDIT: Oh, forgot to mention that our odor was coming from the tank vent too.

EDIT II (9 months later): When we were using a little bleach in the tank, it was when we were only using the head for #1. Now that we have a freshwater flush on the new boat and 'fully' use it, we use Odorlos and don't have any issues.

Paul
 
Lots of different ideas here...... Bleach or Tide, or the "blue stuff" will kill all the bacteria in the tank, not good. I've found the best is a enzyme type such as KO, Ordolos, or even West Marine Head Enzyme. I believe that we should treat our holding tank like a septic system. Good bacteria, enzymes,and air will break down all the nasty stuff.

As soon as you introduce a little bleach or detergent, you kill all the bacteria and have to start all over with several pump-outs and flushes before the "good" bacteria gets going again.

I'm not too fond of the charcoal filters as they limit the amount of air getting into the tank.

The holding tank needs a little care in order to not smell.
 
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