Location of holding tank air-vent?

[Alan Clendinen]

Hello folks,

The head in my 1987 E-35 MK-3 has some oder issues, and as part of trying to find the cause, I need to know where the holding tank air-vent exits the boat. I assume it must be located somewhere on the port side of the deck, about amidship, but danged if I can find it. I want to see if the air-vent is partially clogged, which could contribute to a stinky head.

Alan (E-35 MK-3 "Morning Star")

 

[newpbs]

Check the stern of the boat

I cannot address your specific boat, but my 32-200 vents out the stern on my boat. My holding tank vent is right next to the fuel vent. Mine seems to be undersized.

Good luck,
Paul

 

[bayhoss]

air vent

Look on the side of the hull just below the rub rail. Usually a small round fitting that sits right on the side, close to the location of the holding tank. One indication of a clogged vent (odors aside) is difficulty in pumping into the storage tank. Without the vent free to let air out, and thus vent pressure, they build pressure as the tank starts to fill.

Best Regards,
Frank
E28+ Valinor

 

[Ray Rhode]

Alan,

The vent on my E35-III is located in the cabinet above the head and exits the hull just below the rub rail. You can access it through that cabinet.

Ray Rhode
S/V Journey
E35-III, #189

 

[treilley]

Alan,

The vent on my E35-III is located in the cabinet above the head and exits the hull just below the rub rail. You can access it through that cabinet.

Ray Rhode
S/V Journey
E35-III, #189

Ditto. Mine was horribly clogged when I bought the boat. Was very easy to replace.

 

[Alan Clendinen]

[/SIZE] the head77]Alan,

The vent on my E35-III is located in the cabinet above the head and exits the hull just below the rub rail. You can access it through that cabinet.

Ray Rhode
S/V Journey
E35-III, #189[/quote

 

[treilley]

Thanks for the info. I'm not having any difficulty when pumping/flushing the head, so it probably doesn't have a completly clogged air-vent, but I read
somewhere that in order for the aerobic microboes to do their thing, they need good air access, otherwise the smell-producing
anaerobic bacteria will take over.

Alan (E-35 MK-3 #261 "Morning Star")

This is true. A good reference is Peggy Hall's book "Get Rid of Boat Odor"

http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?fno=400&sku=66505&cat=1304

 

[Emerald]

Something simple that seemed to help me win the battle was the realization that when putting the treatment agent in at the end of the weekend, it's necessary to flush quite a bit of water afterwards to clear the lines and actually get it into the tank. In my case, the "it" has been Odorlos. A nice sanity check was being able to talk with a fellow I have contact with through work who runs a sewer treatment facility. He confirmed that it (Odorlos) was the right approach and was the same principle used in the plant to control odor by feeding the microbes stuff to make them smell good, not bad, which in the end works better than killing them and covering them with perfume.

A final thought is not to miss the bilge as a source of microbe stink, and Odorlos works well there as well.

 

[Alan Clendinen]

Something simple that seemed to help me win the

battle was the realization that when putting the treatment agent in at the end of the weekend, it's necessary to flush quite a bit of water afterwards to clear the lines and actually get it into the tank. In my case, the "it" has been Odorlos. A nice sanity check was being able to talk with a fellow I have contact with through work who runs a sewer treatment facility. He confirmed that it (Odorlos) was the right approach and was the same principle used in the plant to control odor by feeding the microbes stuff to make them smell good, not bad, which in the end works better than killing them and covering them with perfume.

A final thought is not to miss the bilge as a source of microbe stink, and Odorlos works well there as well.

"Odorlos" sounds like a product I should investigate. Thanks for the tip.

Alan

 

[Emerald]

Here's a good info page on how it all works:

http://www.odorlos.com/products_info/howitworks2.htm


no association with the company by the way, just finally have less stink on the boat

 

[treilley]

I also swear by Odorlos. I have tried many things and that is the only one that works. 1 packet a week keeps the stink away.

 

[Alan Clendinen]

"Odorlos" sounds like a product I should

investigate. Thanks for the tip.

Alan[/quot
Emerald,

When I told the Admiral about Odorlos, she informed me that she was already using it, so I guess there is some other issue that is causing the head to smell so badly.

If the holding tank air-vent is partially clogged, how would I go about determining it is clogged, and what method to clear it up?

Alan
e]

 

[treilley]

You will need to remove the hose from the top of the tank and the inside of the through hull vent fitting. Make sure the vent fitting is not clogged and then replace the hose. You can always run the hose into a bucket and run water into the fitting from the outside. Spiders like to make nests in these.

 

[Emerald]

While you're checking vent lines for spiders etc, you may just want to replace them. Mine appeared to be original '79 vintage vinyl tubing, and as I was working through what's left to stink, I realized that the vinyl vent line itself was one of my last sources. The pile of old vinyl truly stank as I removed it. I also had some lingering stink that seemed to be into the cabinetry under the v-berths, and using a citrus based spray deodorizer has helped to eliminate this lingering absorbed "bouquet" as well.

 

[EGregerson]

hose

I had the unfortunate experience of a horrible acrid chemically smell in my boat back when. I finally replaced the hoses; they were the most awful smelling things; and I'm not talking about the normal 'out-house' odor. Apparently someone had put non-sanitation hose in; similar to the ribbed bilge pump hose. Made all the difference.

 

[jreddington]

Another vote for Odorloss. I've used it religiously (how about that, praying to a sanitation product), since replacing everything including the holding tank but not the toiler itself. However, the biologic activity encouraged by Odorloss is VERY sensitive to the existence of any other chemicals in your holding tank. I started out will all new guts. It may take a few cycles through the holding tank before you flush out all the bad chemicals.

Also, Odorloss won't help if the smell is coming from permeated hoses. It can't seep in and eliminate the funk built up within the rubber. Well maybe it can but it may take as many years to do that as it did to build up in the rubber. I used hose that supposedly is impervious to permeation but the stuff is extra stiff and hard to work with.