Holding Tank

Posts about the Galley and Head systems, including plumbing, water, and propane
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trashpad

Holding Tank

Post by trashpad »

Anybody know how the holding tank is held in? I can see where the top of the tank is tabbed in but I do not know if PCI installed it in a bed of 5200.

Looks Like I have a leak on the seal so I want to pull it out to repair. It all started with the best of intentions to clean out the tank and it went south fast. I pulled up the the gas dock early and asked the
young guy if I can drain the tank a few times to clean it out. He was not busy and gave me the go ahead. I had only a few flushes in the tank along with a gallon of vinegar from the day before. Before I went tot he dock I did a few more fresh water flushes. The first pump went quick and I grabbed the water hose to fill it back up. I started and several min later there was a water bubble but it went back down so I kept filling. A few more min went by and I started to think something might be wrong but I gave it a few more min to make sure. I then pumped the tank back dry and paid my five bucks and thanked the attendant. That was when I noticed the inch of water in the cabin! I quickly got the pump back and sucked all the water (it was clear thank goodness) out of the cabin. It looked like the water had back flushed from the head as I had the valves open from the earlier fresh water flushes. This did add a item to the to do list, bed to round hatch that gives access to the head valves as it is not water proof but more like a sieve.

So a quick motor back to the slip and some time spent with a wet vac and some bleach and I thought the story had an ending. So not true, I did a race a few days later and never felt like Reboot ever lock in the groove. I marked it down to a dirty hull. Even several trips out after I cleaned the hull she just felt sluggish. I even noticed that under power I could not get to 12 kts much less the 15 I have done before but I kept coming up with reasons why until my wife asked for her fishing rod I keep up forward. I went to retrieve the rod and found the forward V full of water!! It was about an inch or so below the opening where the hose comes from the head. Wow, nothing like several hundred pounds of water to slow things down. 60 gallons of water is just over 500 pounds. I pumped the water out and did the bleach thing again. After things had dried out I pushed on the top of the tank and some more water came out so it has to be the seal on the top. It does not look like it will be to hard to get out if it is not in a bed of 5200. Live and learn..


Kurt
trashpad

Holding Tank

Post by trashpad »

I had a good talk with Tony yesterday about the holding tank. He says that the only thing holding the tank in is the four glassed tabs on top. Tony did say that the forward bulkhead would be in the way and would need to be cut out but I took a look at Reboot and I have over a foot of room so there should not be any issues. He did say that they stopped using SS screws (what I have) to hold the top of the tank on and move to SS bolts.

I was thinking of glassing the seam to seal the top. With the top sealed on with 5200 now it sounds like a pain to remove and reseal.

Tony also said that they are in the process of moving the Telstar line into the new building.
trashpad

Holding Tank

Post by trashpad »

I got the tank out today. I used my Sawsall and a fine blade to cut the four glass tabs and it came right out. It took me longer to get the three hoses off than anything else. After it was out I quickly saw the leak. There is a 6 inch long gap on the port midsection about a 1/8 inch wide. I plan to remove the screws around the opening and clean out the gap. After that I will reseal it with some 5200 and use bolts and nuts to tighten it back up.

Not as bad a job as I feared.
trashpad

Holding Tank

Post by trashpad »

The tank has been fixed and reinstalled. The part that took the longest was disconnecting and reconnecting the three hoses. I cleaned up the area and dropped the tank back in. After that I used four layers of glass cloth on the original tabs to secure it into place. All in all it turned out to be an easy job.
luigisante
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Holding Tank

Post by luigisante »

Ya gotta love those easy jobs. Except the part where you had to bleach the bilge. : )

Lou G.
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