Stephen Trapani wrote:
When we use the head (a Groco Type K) and pump it out, the waste
comes out the holding tank vent line.
I meant when I pump the toilet...
I knew that's what you meant.
Okay, then I'm thinking logically, just going insane. Or I really do
have a magic head! ;-) It's a plastic tank, I can see it's empty.
Since you've used the toilet, or only after you vacuumed it out? 'Cuz
it's very possible that the tank doesn't hold anywhere near as much as
you think it does. How many gallons is it supposed to hold? It's also
possible that the toilet either uses a lot more flush water than you
think...or that it's leaking flush water, filling up the tank.
I can
move the tank around with one hand, it's light like it's empty (It's not
tied down).
It's not too hard to slide a tank around...and you do need to secure it
from sliding when you're heeled.
I'm not there atm, I'll triple check it again this weekend.
If it's full, I'll check in to the nearest psych ward.
I don't think you're hallucinating...but I also know that there are
a only a limited number things that can force waste out the vent.
It was totally full when I first bought the boat, I unscrewed the
fittings at the top of the tank, sucked it all out from there with a
power vac (because the boat was in dry dock and I had to move the tank
to do some work on the shaft), disconnected the tank completely and
pulled it out, rinsed it out, put it back in and reconnected everything
(possibly reversing the pump-out, which I connected to the fitting near
the bottom of the tank, and the line from the head, which I connected to
the fitting near the top of the tank; both of these are on one side of
the tank).
You got it right--waste goes in at the top, has to be pumped out from
the bottom.
Since then we've used the head an entire weekend, with waste coming out
the vent line the whole time, I think. The vent can't be plugged, it's
functioning as the entire discharge for the system! I've been watching
the tank, it's right there in the starboard cockpit locker, never seen
it collect waste.
Hmmmm...
I haven't checked any of the lines yet though.
Lines.....WHOOPS--we may be onto something: Is there a vented loop in
the head discharge line that has it's own tiny vent line that's teed
into the tank vent line? If so, where's the loop--before or after the
y-valve? I need all the details you can give me. If no loop (which,
since your toilet flushes directly overboard, there should be), is
ANYthing teed into the tank vent line?
...reconnect it to the intake
thru-hull--which I suspect you've mistaken for a head discharge
thru-hull...I'll bet the PO "converted" it when he connected the
intake to the fresh water system.
... could be, but the '79 Hunter 33' couldn't have been designed without
a head discharge thru-hull, could it?
Prob'ly not on one that old, but it's possible...'cuz '79 was the first
model year to require holding tanks. Many boats built from then on were
plumbed to send all the waste to the tank. But it's more likely that a
PO prior to the most recent PO removed the head thru-hull and glassed it
over...'cuz your toilet isn't original either (it's a $600 toilet, btw).
So I'm guessing that the same PO who connected the intake to the fresh
water system also installed that toilet and decided to use the sink
drain through hull as a head discharge. However...
Maybe it Y'd into the sink
discharge? Should I try to run it to there?
That'll work...in fact, although I don't think Hunter ever did, many
sailboats are plumbed that way to eliminate a thru-hull. You will have
to either keep a plug in the sink or install a shut=off valve in the
sink drain line that should remain closed except when the sink is in
use...otherwise the toilet will pull air through the sink that'll
prevent it from priming and pulling in any flush water.
The Hunter Owners Website at http://www.hunterowners.com/ is an
excellent resource for any information you need about anything on your
boat.
You're right. I recently saw an owners manual posted there for the '80
H33, I just couldn't figure out how to download the pdf file onto my
ibook, I just got a page with a picture of the manual.
If you post a request, someone will be glad to get a copy to you.
If you still have questions, I'll be glad to answer 'em.
Thanks! hey what do I get if I manage to stump the head mistress? an in
person consultation?? ;-)
You just might--at least a phone consultation anyway.
--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://69.20.93.241/store/customer/p...40&cat=&page=1