Baffling black-water problem

[dougweibel]

Noflex. Not yet. We just finished our cruising season and are 'reloading' on products and projects. I'll track some down.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by peghall

It could very well be that the WM product is your culprit.

I used a WM additive in my holding tank. Is yours a dark blue color? I am almost certain it formed a gel in the bottom of my holding tank. If this is your problem then it would most definitely cause a stoppage in the gravity feed

[more]

Originally Posted by dougweibel

I have an intermittent, but frequent, problem with my blackwater system I cannot figure out. Sometimes I cannot dump the tank for no apparent reason!

My system is configured with a gravity dump tank. The hose from the bottom of the tank runs to a two-port Marelon sea-cock/thru-hull. When the handle is set to one side the valve directs waste from the tank hose out the thru-hull. When the handle is centered the valve is closed. And when the handle is to the other side waste is directed from the tank hose to the hose for pump-out through the deck fitting.

Sometimes when I move the valve from the closed position to the dump position the tank just does not dump though there does not appear to be any apparent clog or restriction.

I have verified that the vent line to the tank is clear and passing air. When the tank is failing to dump applying either air pressure or vacuum to the vent line to the tank has no effect.

I have verified that the hose from the tank to the seacock is clear. If the tank is failing to dump I can fill the pump-out hose with water from deck and then switch the seacock to the pump-out position, then watch the water in that hose flow in to the tank, at least down to the level of the tank, so there appears to be no restriction in the hose from the seacock to the tank. Also we have never had a problem pumping out.

On occasions when the tank has failed to dump I have managed to get it to dump by getting in the water and jamming my wash-down hose and a rag into the thru-hull, giving a blast of of pressurized water for several seconds, and repeating a few times if necessary till effluent starts to come out. When it does start flowing I never see anything indicating a blockage coming out, just effluent. This really sucks for the obvious reason but also because we are now sailing the Maine coast and the water is cold!

I've had this happen four times now and haven't figured it out. Ideas???

99.99 % paper jam in the bottom tank or bulid hard pop.

what to do try.

use 1/2 hose and push in seacook from outside hull, other side of hose conect with hand/foot air pump or compresor and pump air in tank .buble mix paper,**** and other things from bottom and water must flow.

after empty black tank. fill with sea and empty couple time.

what i do
install Jhonson electric toilet and use unlimited quantity zewa toilet paper. ussualy 1 roll in day and 1/4 courter tank, but i pump aditional sea water in tank every day because everybody so stupid to use proper volume of water.

[RockinRick]

I am so sorry to reply here. I am a brand new user, and I can't find out how to create a new post. Please help.

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by RockinRick

I am so sorry to reply here. I am a brand new user, and I can't find out how to create a new post. Please help.

At the top of the page hover your cursor over the Forums tab and pick the forum most applicable to what your post will be about. After that forum's page loads you should see a New Thread button about two inches down (on a laptop screen) from the top on the left side.

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by more

what to do try.

use 1/2 hose and push in seacook from outside hull, other side of hose conect with hand/foot air pump or compresor and pump air in tank .buble mix paper,**** and other things from bottom and water must flow.

My original post pretty well covered this idea. I just use a wash down hose which is more convenient than a air pump. Was only a temporary solution. See OP.

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by gonesail

I used a WM additive in my holding tank. Is yours a dark blue color? I am almost certain it formed a gel in the bottom of my holding tank. If this is your problem then it would most definitely cause a stoppage in the gravity feed

Yep! The dark blue WM additive. Can't wait till I get it all out.

[more]

Originally Posted by dougweibel

My original post pretty well covered this idea. I just use a wash down hose which is more convenient than a air pump. Was only a temporary solution. See OP.

no you must use air,because air buble go to top of water in tank and mix the content of tank on route from seacock to top of water level in tank,