fresh watery electric toilet smell problem

[Clevermoray]

I have fresh water electric toilets on a 46 feet catamaran, I have an black water smell problem, how should I care to stop the smell?

Thanks
CM

[Sailmonkey]

Is the smell of black water internal to the boat or external?

How old are the hoses, and what type of hoses are they?

Is the discharge routed to a tank? If so, is the tank well sealed?

[peghall]

To re-phrase Sailmonkey's questions--which are excellent ones--and add some detail...

Is the odor inside the boat, only out the tank vent when the toilet is flushed, or both?


If inside the boat, where--only in the head, or elsewhere? If elsewhere, where is it strongest? Around the tank? throughout the boat?

Is it a soft "sewer" odor?, a sharp combination sewer/chemical odor? or a swamp-like odor?

And, to repeat his question: how old are the sanitation hoses? There should be writing on them (would be every 3 or 4 feet) that would identify the maker and "model."

The answers to these questions will help to identify the source(s)...for instance, ff only in the head, the source could be a shower sump in serious need of cleaning or it could be sanitation hose, or both...it depends on the "type" of odor. So the more detail, the better.

The holding tank will be the source of odor out the tank vent. Two causes of that..tank product that doesn't work (a lot of 'em only add a chemical odor to the sewage odor) and a vent that doesn't allow sufficient air exchange to create the aerobic environment in the tank to prevent odor from being created. If there's a filter in the vent line, removing it will go a long way toward solving the problem.



--Peggie