Marlin Prowell
E34 - Bellingham, WA
Virginia and I purchased a very fine Ericson 34-2 last fall. When we took possession, the head had that certain odor which was never there previously during any of our inspections and sea trials. Time to investigate.
We looked under the head cabinet and found the optional Ericson Rube Goldberg plumbing system. The toilet outlet led forward to a Y valve where we could flush directly overboard or send things back aft again to the holding tank in the lazarette. The Whale pump in the head cabinet lets us pump the holding tank contents overboard via an outlet in the holding tank. And, almost as an afterthought, a second outlet on the holding tank is used for pumping out the holding tank at a pumpout station.
The Y valve was set to pump directly overboard. Yikes! That's not legal anywhere we are going soon. So I switched the Y valve to direct the toilet outlet to the holding tank. But it wouldn't move. After some effert I got it to partially switch to the holding tank, but could not get the Y valve completely switched to the holding tank.
I needed to replace the Y valve. I purchased a new Y valve, stuffed rags in all the downhill corners and pulled it out. I had flushed and pumped out the tank several times before starting, but still questionable water flowed out of the hoses. When I got a look at the hoses I remembered again there no such thing as replacing just one thing in a plumbing job.
All the hoses had a large buildup of salt deposits. A bad case of hardened arteries. The hoses were at half capacity or less. They were also old, so we decided that we'd replace the hoses. Besides, that's probably the source of the smell.
The hoses to and from the holding tank went into the lazarette, went under the full length of the Ronco B-142 tank that sits on a the shelf above the water heater, then finally to the fittings at the aft end of the tank. I searched the ericsonyachts.org web site to see how others have dealt with the hoses under the B-142 tank. Nothing. Huh.
We tried using couplings to attach new hose to old and then pulling it through under the tank. It was brutal. The hoses took a 90 degree downward turn at the front of the lazarette shelf, at the far and inaccessible end of the holding tank, and there was no way we could force stiff hoses through the narrow opening. After an hour the hoses had moved perhaps a foot. This was not going to work. The holding tank needed to come out so we could get access under the tank.
The Ronco tank had been installed so it would never come out. It was framed in with 1x4 planks and some of the hold-down screws could no longer be accessed. I took out the screws I could reach and used a chisel and hammer and hacksaw on the rest. Finally the beast was free. We took out the holding tank and could easily remove the old hoses.
The hoses led down through a crudely cut slot in the lazarette shelf. It didn't look like something Ericson would have done. I slowly realized that this tank was not installed by Ericson, but by a previous owner.
The holding tank was out of the boat, and all the sanitation hoses were out of the boat. There was still that smell. It was not gone.
I consulted the book by Peggy Hall, the Headmistress. She said that the Whale overboard pump could be a source of odors. As far as I knew it had not been used (because everything was getting pumped overboard), but I pulled it out and had a look.
It was corroded beyond repair inside. There was hardly anything left of the metal brackets inside that hold the pump flaps. Even a rebuild kit could not repair this Whale pump.
It was then that I realized the full extent of our problem. The B-142 holding tank sits on a shelf above the water tank and the tank outlets are at the bottom of the tank. The first "deposit" into the holding tank goes into the tank and then immediately runs downhill to the Whale pump in the head, where it sits ... forever ...
The B-142 holding tank currently built by Ronco has a capacity of 23 gallons. Ronco has recently been building tanks with thicker walls, so the capacity of the B-142 tank installed by a previous owner might have been as much as 25 gallons. That previous owner decided to replace the stock B-187 tank with a B-142 to gain just an extra 5 gallons of capacity. Or maybe there were other unknown factors in the decision. But regardless, it was a major remodel of the holding tank plumbing to install the B-142 tank.
We will not reuse the existing holding tank because it will just flood the Whale pump in the head the first time it is used. So we need to replace the holding tank. Our question to you is which option you would pick:
1. Purchase another Ronco B-142 holding tank, but put all the fittings on the top of the tank. This should keep the tank contents from flowing downhill to the Whale pump, and also shorten the run to the tank inlet. The clearances for fittings on the top of the tank look tight but doable. But this option is only 3 gallons more than the standard tank.
2. Purchase a Ronco B-179 holding tank. This is a tank with the same basic footprint of the B-142 but is 6 inches longer. It has a tank capacity of 30 gallons. Fittings would go on the top of the tank for the same reasons. It has the same clearance issues as the B-142 tank but appears that it would work.
Both of the above options put the holding tank up high under the deck and against the outside hull on the starboard side. This can be a lot of weight, equivalent of someone sitting permanently on the starboard rail.
3. Purchase a Ronco B-187 tank that was originally installed in the Ericson 34-2. This will put the weight down low and towards the boat center line. It has a 20 gallon capacity.
Further considerations: this is our first boat with a holding tank. Our previous San Juan sailboats all had porti-potties and we managed quite well with 5 gallon "holding tanks". The water requirements for a porti-pottie are different, obviously, but the porti-potties were not constraining.
Questions for Ericson 34-2 owners (and others):
Do you find the 20 gallon Ronco B-187 tank too small? Do you wish you had a bigger tank? Peggy Hall says that the holding tank for a 30' - 35' boat should be between 20 and 30 gallons and 35' and above boats should have a minimum of 30 gallons. What is your recommendation?
If we choose to buy a Ronco B-187 tank which is what was originally installed in an Ericson 34-2, how is the tank installed and secured? All traces of the original Ronco B-187 tank installation are gone. What brackets and braces keep the tank in place? Photos of your installation would be wonderful.
Thanks in advance for everyone's help and advice.
We looked under the head cabinet and found the optional Ericson Rube Goldberg plumbing system. The toilet outlet led forward to a Y valve where we could flush directly overboard or send things back aft again to the holding tank in the lazarette. The Whale pump in the head cabinet lets us pump the holding tank contents overboard via an outlet in the holding tank. And, almost as an afterthought, a second outlet on the holding tank is used for pumping out the holding tank at a pumpout station.
The Y valve was set to pump directly overboard. Yikes! That's not legal anywhere we are going soon. So I switched the Y valve to direct the toilet outlet to the holding tank. But it wouldn't move. After some effert I got it to partially switch to the holding tank, but could not get the Y valve completely switched to the holding tank.
I needed to replace the Y valve. I purchased a new Y valve, stuffed rags in all the downhill corners and pulled it out. I had flushed and pumped out the tank several times before starting, but still questionable water flowed out of the hoses. When I got a look at the hoses I remembered again there no such thing as replacing just one thing in a plumbing job.
All the hoses had a large buildup of salt deposits. A bad case of hardened arteries. The hoses were at half capacity or less. They were also old, so we decided that we'd replace the hoses. Besides, that's probably the source of the smell.
The hoses to and from the holding tank went into the lazarette, went under the full length of the Ronco B-142 tank that sits on a the shelf above the water heater, then finally to the fittings at the aft end of the tank. I searched the ericsonyachts.org web site to see how others have dealt with the hoses under the B-142 tank. Nothing. Huh.
We tried using couplings to attach new hose to old and then pulling it through under the tank. It was brutal. The hoses took a 90 degree downward turn at the front of the lazarette shelf, at the far and inaccessible end of the holding tank, and there was no way we could force stiff hoses through the narrow opening. After an hour the hoses had moved perhaps a foot. This was not going to work. The holding tank needed to come out so we could get access under the tank.
The Ronco tank had been installed so it would never come out. It was framed in with 1x4 planks and some of the hold-down screws could no longer be accessed. I took out the screws I could reach and used a chisel and hammer and hacksaw on the rest. Finally the beast was free. We took out the holding tank and could easily remove the old hoses.
The hoses led down through a crudely cut slot in the lazarette shelf. It didn't look like something Ericson would have done. I slowly realized that this tank was not installed by Ericson, but by a previous owner.
The holding tank was out of the boat, and all the sanitation hoses were out of the boat. There was still that smell. It was not gone.
I consulted the book by Peggy Hall, the Headmistress. She said that the Whale overboard pump could be a source of odors. As far as I knew it had not been used (because everything was getting pumped overboard), but I pulled it out and had a look.
It was corroded beyond repair inside. There was hardly anything left of the metal brackets inside that hold the pump flaps. Even a rebuild kit could not repair this Whale pump.
It was then that I realized the full extent of our problem. The B-142 holding tank sits on a shelf above the water tank and the tank outlets are at the bottom of the tank. The first "deposit" into the holding tank goes into the tank and then immediately runs downhill to the Whale pump in the head, where it sits ... forever ...
The B-142 holding tank currently built by Ronco has a capacity of 23 gallons. Ronco has recently been building tanks with thicker walls, so the capacity of the B-142 tank installed by a previous owner might have been as much as 25 gallons. That previous owner decided to replace the stock B-187 tank with a B-142 to gain just an extra 5 gallons of capacity. Or maybe there were other unknown factors in the decision. But regardless, it was a major remodel of the holding tank plumbing to install the B-142 tank.
We will not reuse the existing holding tank because it will just flood the Whale pump in the head the first time it is used. So we need to replace the holding tank. Our question to you is which option you would pick:
1. Purchase another Ronco B-142 holding tank, but put all the fittings on the top of the tank. This should keep the tank contents from flowing downhill to the Whale pump, and also shorten the run to the tank inlet. The clearances for fittings on the top of the tank look tight but doable. But this option is only 3 gallons more than the standard tank.
2. Purchase a Ronco B-179 holding tank. This is a tank with the same basic footprint of the B-142 but is 6 inches longer. It has a tank capacity of 30 gallons. Fittings would go on the top of the tank for the same reasons. It has the same clearance issues as the B-142 tank but appears that it would work.
Both of the above options put the holding tank up high under the deck and against the outside hull on the starboard side. This can be a lot of weight, equivalent of someone sitting permanently on the starboard rail.
3. Purchase a Ronco B-187 tank that was originally installed in the Ericson 34-2. This will put the weight down low and towards the boat center line. It has a 20 gallon capacity.
Further considerations: this is our first boat with a holding tank. Our previous San Juan sailboats all had porti-potties and we managed quite well with 5 gallon "holding tanks". The water requirements for a porti-pottie are different, obviously, but the porti-potties were not constraining.
Questions for Ericson 34-2 owners (and others):
Do you find the 20 gallon Ronco B-187 tank too small? Do you wish you had a bigger tank? Peggy Hall says that the holding tank for a 30' - 35' boat should be between 20 and 30 gallons and 35' and above boats should have a minimum of 30 gallons. What is your recommendation?
If we choose to buy a Ronco B-187 tank which is what was originally installed in an Ericson 34-2, how is the tank installed and secured? All traces of the original Ronco B-187 tank installation are gone. What brackets and braces keep the tank in place? Photos of your installation would be wonderful.
Thanks in advance for everyone's help and advice.