Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-17-2016, 01:43 AM   #1
Lieutenant
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
Default holding tank not water tight?

I have a 4600 SCB and I decided to "flush" the tank and fill it all the way up, wait for the red warning light to come on and pump it out. Well the red light never came on so thats another problem on its own.

But I noticed water starting coming out of the holding tank and I'm not exactly sure where. I think at the top somewhere. Does the tank have a big lid on it or is it a solid piece? It seemed to leak as if it had a lid and it has sort of a wooden brace on top of it like it's clamping down on a lid.

I shut of hose off real fast! I stunk up the utility cabin and then had to try and soak it up.

Luckily it was just clear water with a mild unpleasant smell but if it leaks water then how is is air tight?
__________________

sandiegoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2016, 01:55 AM   #2
Admiral
 
mmwjr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Essex, Maryland
Posts: 10,175
Default

The tank is typically two pieces fused together. There are penetrations for plumbing; waste in and out plus a vent. You also have one equipped with a float although does seem to be working. I suspect the vent penetration at the top is leaking but it may be a crack as well.
__________________

__________________
1997 Silverton 362, 7.4 Crusaders
1997 2400 SCR, 5.7 Vortec / Bravo 2

Mike
mmwjr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2016, 03:27 AM   #3
Lieutenant
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
Default

See attached image file for my setup.

Were most of the water came from the overfill I marked in red on the image.

It looks like the wood piece on top, holding it in place, comes off or at least tilts pretty easily so I guess I will remove that and try it again. I read someone suggesting use blue toilet bowl cleaner and a hose and fill it up to find the leak location easier.

I was using a flashlight to check the level of the water in the tank as I filled it up. I noticed it filled up and still nothing, no red light, no leak. Then another minute or two went by (still filling) and I saw decent dripping. I felt like the water went beyond the tank before it started leaking just from the time it took.

Noticed the vent penetration and another line is way in the back. Unless my boat was tilted for it to run to the opposite corner I don't think it could be those. I feel like the tank filled up and no leaks came but it went higher like maybe to the macerator and something there leaked. I felt around the filter cartridge and felt nothing.

Or I guess there could be a crack at the top!

I'll try again later but just wondering if the blue bowl cleaner is a bad idea since i'd have blue water leaking everywhere.
Attached Thumbnails
tank.jpeg  
sandiegoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2016, 11:22 AM   #4
Admiral
 
mmwjr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Essex, Maryland
Posts: 10,175
Default

Since its going to leak into the bilge I would just use food coloring dye mixed in the water.
__________________
1997 Silverton 362, 7.4 Crusaders
1997 2400 SCR, 5.7 Vortec / Bravo 2

Mike
mmwjr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2016, 02:43 PM   #5
Lt. Commander
 
dbriceno's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Huntington, NY
Posts: 175
Default

Last season I was getting a horrible odor in the salon from the holding tank. I then had all my sanitation hoses changed along with a rebuild of toilets and vacuum generators. Part way through the season it started stinking again. It turned out to be the vent fitting on the tank had broken. Got it fixed a couple weeks ago. Smell is all gone. Something for you to check
dbriceno is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2016, 01:50 AM   #6
TJK
Lt. JG
 
TJK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 42
Default

sandiegoguy,

I understand that it was unintentional, but you should never have the holding tank filled up to the top. Now the water probably got into the carbon filter and it's been ruined.

I suspect the water might have leaked from the vent/carbon filter fittings.
TJK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-21-2016, 05:09 AM   #7
Lieutenant
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by TJK View Post
sandiegoguy,

I understand that it was unintentional, but you should never have the holding tank filled up to the top. Now the water probably got into the carbon filter and it's been ruined.

I suspect the water might have leaked from the vent/carbon filter fittings.
Yeah, it was a hindsight moment. I need a new filter anyway and I actually hope its a leak from that area because that is something simple. But that brings to question if its not water tight then it's not airtight ? and something needs fixed/tightened/etc

I did find a tank monitor that will display tank levels without drilling into the tank. It's a tape you put on the outside and it somehow measures water levels.Easy cheap solution so that won't happen again.
sandiegoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2016, 09:35 PM   #8
Lieutenant
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
Default

Update to this topic. I finally got a chance to look into this holding tank issue. The smell seemed to slowly get worse. So I removed the things attached to the wood brace on top of it and lifted it up (luckily they were smart enough to put hinges on this wood piece) and i found this black lid. I slowly filled up the tank again with water/blue dye and a bunch of lighting.

Sure enough the water came out of this lid. I removed it (6 screws) and it just left a large 7-8 inch hole in the tank. The lid had a small amount of sealant on it....really thin layer. So i cleaned it all up and used a whole tube of new sealant and screwed it down into place. The adhesive ooozed out of the sides as I screwed it down and I'm hoping that is taken care of. I checked all fittings/hoses and didn't see any issues. The next day the boat seemed much better by the time i left. The test will be next time I visit the boat and walk in after being all closed up for a week. I'm hoping it just smells like a boat.
Attached Thumbnails
holdinhtsn.jpg  
sandiegoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2016, 09:40 PM   #9
Lt. Commander
 
jimq26's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Cobourg, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 229
Default

Those round access hatches usually have a rubber O-ring that's designed to make the screw in hatch portion air and water tight. I suspect that also may be worn out.

Take the measurement of the actual screw in hatch portion and check your local WM or Defender etc. for a replacement O-ring.
jimq26 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2016, 09:56 PM   #10
Lieutenant
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jimq26 View Post
Those round access hatches usually have a rubber O-ring that's designed to make the screw in hatch portion air and water tight. I suspect that also may be worn out.

Take the measurement of the actual screw in hatch portion and check your local WM or Defender etc. for a replacement O-ring.
It did. I checked it over and it looked fine. But I did use a thin layer of black silicone adhesive around the oring and tightened it back up. I don't ever plan to open it up again. If there is still a problem I will just replace the tank and all hoses so this was sort of my last ditch effort.

If there is still an issue when I go back to the boat I will fill it up again and see if its leaking at this lid or maybe a 2nd/3rd location. I'm pretty confident it took care of the issue.
sandiegoguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-13-2016, 09:59 PM   #11
Lt. Commander
 
jimq26's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Cobourg, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 229
Default

Good show. I'll bet it won't be a problem now.
jimq26 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2020, 07:31 PM   #12
Ensign
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 7
Default Holding tank

Just FYI I had issues with smell and found out the pump out caused the the tank to collapse. This caused the bottom hose fitting to crack and leak. I had the fitting repaired. Ive been told that some of these pump out stations use such high pressure pumps, that the vent line cant let enough air in/ or a plugged vent line provides insufficient air intake causing the collapse. I bought a back up vent that attaches to top of tank, that opens up when to much air is being sucked out of tank to allow air in and prevent collapse. I had a neighbor who had same issue on his sear ray, and installed one of these years ago and never had it happen again. The part only cost about $60. Cheap insurance even if it has never happened before. Hopefully this solves that problem. Winter and havent used since installed.
pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2020, 01:55 PM   #13
Moderator

 
shrew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 5,588
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pirate View Post
Just FYI I had issues with smell and found out the pump out caused the the tank to collapse. This caused the bottom hose fitting to crack and leak. I had the fitting repaired. Ive been told that some of these pump out stations use such high pressure pumps, that the vent line cant let enough air in/ or a plugged vent line provides insufficient air intake causing the collapse. I bought a back up vent that attaches to top of tank, that opens up when to much air is being sucked out of tank to allow air in and prevent collapse. I had a neighbor who had same issue on his sear ray, and installed one of these years ago and never had it happen again. The part only cost about $60. Cheap insurance even if it has never happened before. Hopefully this solves that problem. Winter and havent used since installed.
The issue isn't that there is too much suction. It is not the result of an undersized vent (design). The vent is partially blocked. This is pretty common with the Perko chrome through hull vents. There is a screen inside. They corrode over time. In fact this is pretty common with all but Bronze through hulls.

The same problem when fuel starts to burp when filling forcing you to fill very slowly with fuel, or fill and stop when you hear it gurgling.
shrew is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-07-2020, 05:38 PM   #14
Ensign
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 7
Default

Shrew, you may very well be correct. After hull out I noted a lot of dried caked wax on thru hull vent, that was left when I had hull waxed. Since I cant be certain that was issue, or if the vent is plugged somewhere else, I added the safety vent to top. I will certainly check that thru hull in a couple months when the hull gets waxed again for launch.
pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2020, 03:29 AM   #15
Lt. Commander
 
MoonRiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Spokane, WA
Posts: 228
Default

I seconded the vent screen being clogged at the thru hull fitting. I had this issue 2 seasons ago. Now I clean the screen as part of my spring prep.
MoonRiver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-10-2020, 01:04 PM   #16
Ensign
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 7
Default

Thanks to all the replies for your feedback
__________________

pirate is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3

All times are GMT. The time now is 08:11 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.