Blackwater Holding Tanks

[Bleemus]

Ever taken a completely calcified hose and soaked it in 100% undiluted vinegar for 24 hours? Doesnt do a thing.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by peghall

There is a product that's sold in OZ that will dissolve the buildup safely: NoFlex Digestor Noflex Digestor, It's getting rave reviews in the US and Canada. Scroll down and read the instructions for use in recreational marine holding tanks.

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein
http://www.amazon.com/New-Get-Rid-Bo...dp/1892399784/

I remember posting about No-flex 5 years ago (when I first tested it for PS), recommending it and getting the brush-off. Odorlos and CP were the thing. Why the change?

[peghall]

I think you meant to say Odorlos and K.O....C.P. is not a tank product.

All the controlled testing in the world doesn't mean as much to me as consumer experience with a product. 5 years ago no one had heard of No-Flex...today it's available from every marine store and and online retailer I see, and boat owners everywhere are raving about how well it works, especially at dissolving sludge. Availability and distribution don't impress me but -0- negative comments about it does...and as the old saying goes, "50 million Frenchmen can't be wrong." Odorlos is still an excellent product and so is K.O. But they can't dissolve sludge and No-Flex can do everything both of those do AND dissolve sludge. That's enough to convince me to recommend it where appropriate.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by peghall

Odorlos is still an excellent product and so is K.O. But they can't dissolve sludge and No-Flex can do everything both of those do AND dissolve sludge. That's enough to convince me to recommend it where appropriate.

So now that solid waste, scale, and sludge can be controlled with "products" of some sort...

Perhaps what we need now is a boat/holding tank/sanitation hose/toilet bowl-friendly product to deal with those pesky struvites! Get right on that, will ya?



-Chris

[Sea Q]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

So now that solid waste, scale, and sludge can be controlled with "products" of some sort...

Perhaps what we need now is a boat/holding tank/sanitation hose/toilet bowl-friendly product to deal with those pesky struvites! Get right on that, will ya?



-Chris

Already have.
For the last 6 months it's been on test with Coast Guard and about 20 Rec. boaters in PNW and more in Florida
A toilet bowl cleaner that cleans stains off bowl and then dissolves the scale in the pipes. That can be use with the Noflex.

[peghall]

Struvites aren't scale, they're urine crystal buildup...most scale removers won't dissolve 'em. Last spring at a boat show in California I ran into the mfr of a product called "Forgetaboutit" that's formulated specifically to dissolve struvites. It appears to be doing pretty well in the RV market where struvites are a much bigger problem than they are in marine systems...I'm not sure how much potential there is for it in the marine market.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Sea Q

Already have.
For the last 6 months it's been on test with Coast Guard and about 20 Rec. boaters in PNW and more in Florida
A toilet bowl cleaner that cleans stains off bowl and then dissolves the scale in the pipes. That can be use with the Noflex.

Send me some, and I'll help you test it. The test will be about un-sticking the sensor float, after it gets all struvited (?) up, and without removing it from the holding tank to clean with something like muriatic acid.

Originally Posted by peghall

Struvites aren't scale, they're urine crystal buildup...most scale removers won't dissolve 'em. Last spring at a boat show in California I ran into the mfr of a product called "Forgetaboutit" that's formulated specifically to dissolve struvites. It appears to be doing pretty well in the RV market where struvites are a much bigger problem than they are in marine systems...I'm not sure how much potential there is for it in the marine market.

Maybe the marine potential is for occasional use? To un-stick sensor floats?

Wonder whether/how it would co-exist with KO or Noflex or similar...

-Chris

[peghall]

It's the animal fats in waste that clog up tank level senders...detergent is all that's needed to dissolve it, although it usually requires pulling the sender and scrubbing it by hand. That's what has made the tank level monitors that use senders that attach to the outside of the tank so popular...the senders never need cleaning.

You're not likely to find a struvite buildup in the tanks and plumbing of toilets that use sea water...that's usually only found in systems that use fresh water and very little of it...direct drop RV toilets...VacuFlush etc. "Forgetaboutit" apparently does a good job of dissolving it. However, scale--sea water minerals and salt--buildup IS a major problem in sea water systems. And like most problems, prevention--a cupful of distilled white vinegar once a week--is easier and cheaper than cure. But since "prevention" is a concept that never occurs to most boat owners, there will always be a very brisk market for new and better cures.

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein
http://www.amazon.com/New-Get-Rid-Bo...dp/1892399784/

[a64pilot]

I'm in the process of having triple M make me a plastic holding tank to replace my aluminum one, I believe it will be made from 3/8" material, but am unsure of the type of plastic.
I'm very interested in an external mount level sensor, any recommendations?

[Seeking Solace]

I don't know about stuck sensors, but we mix dawn (the blue one) with white vinegar and it works on lime, hard water, and urine crystals. It's slow, but time is our friend. Once you've got it clean it seems to prevent buildup.

When I first was told to try this I was very skeptical. I'd tried every cleaner in the isle. Nothing worked. After about three days of applying the vinegar mixture and light scrubbing everything is like new again. I'm not sure how the pipes and hoses look, or even the tank (gross) but I can say that it took a heck of a lot longer for the smell to go away. Now we keep some in a squirt bottle and use it about once a month. I haven't been disappointed.

Those floats and sensors are only much use in calm seas or at the dock I'd suspect. It's better than having to stick the tank

[crabcake]

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by peghall

It's the animal fats in waste that clog up tank level senders...detergent is all that's needed to dissolve it, although it usually requires pulling the sender and scrubbing it by hand. That's what has made the tank level monitors that use senders that attach to the outside of the tank so popular...the senders never need cleaning.

Looked like chrystalline composition surrounding the float and most of the tube, to me, when I had to take ours out last year. Thought I mentioned it to you at the time and you said it was uric scale or something like that.

Anyway, I tried a bunch of stuff to dissolve it in situ, including Noflex and Dawn and so forth. Once I had it out, muriatic acid fixed it in a heartbeat.

-Chris

[peghall]

I'm 99% certain your tank will be PP (polypropylene)...but I suggest you ask them.

I'm very interested in an external mount level sensor, any recommendations?

The SCAD Tank Level Monitors Scad Tank Monitors were top rated by Practical Sailor a couple of years ago. SCAD is the private label version of the Profile tank level monitors Profile Tank Monitors.

[a64pilot]

It's the external sensor recommendation I'd really like and or is there something I should have added to the tank to make sensor mounting better?
I had tank sensors that worked pretty good in my RV, I know it can be done, just don't which ones are junk and which ones are not.

[peghall]

You can't cherry pick which type of sender--external or internal--you want...systems are designed to use one type or the other. The SCAD/Profile gauges are designed to use external senders...and they will attach to your new tank without any modifications to the senders or the tank.