Septic vapours R-25

[Capt. Chris]

Sidetrack,
Do you keep the boat in fresh water or salt?
I think trinity hit the answer. If you keep the boat in salt water, you are probably smelling the dead micro organisms left in the plumbing since the last flush ( I am not a biologist so I hope that makes sense ).

If the smell indeed is coming from the holding tank, the boat is not old enough to have a "permeation" problem in the hoses or tank. The deodorant solution should work.

Something I have done over the years on every boat I have owned, is flush a quart of white vinegar thru the system once a year.

Chris

[commander bill]

My R25 (2008 hull #67) had the Y valve and mas pump as options. I think these may have been standard later. I have rarely rarely had odor problems even when not empting holding tank for a couple of weeks and heavy use (and before anyone says it mine does stink). I have noticed odors in cockpit or when raising engine hatch but never significant. I think several posts above are correct in that you must have a leaking seal or some other problem.

[doke01]

There have been books written on this stuff. Check out Amazon. Putting a good filter on the raw water intake side helps out. I have also heard of people closing the intake valve and pumping/draining any water out of the intake line but I think they added an additional valve for the draining.

[Trinity]

Chris
Thanks for the tip on the vinegar.

[Capt. Chris]

Sorry, this is a little off topic.

Aren't there any laws in the PNW about discharging waste overboard?

Chris

[captain's cat]

Of course there are.... Look HERE

Charlie

[sidetrack]

Found the problem! I thank all of the posts directly related to the Septic Vapours topic..... However none of the suggestions worked..... and the fumes were becoming staggeringly overwhelming in both the cockpit and the wheelhouse, when ever anyone flushed the head. It was so bad it would give you a head ache and make you want to abandon ship. To start from the beginning.... the toilet had a hard time getting water into the bowl from the day I got the boat. The previous owner had only put a 100+ hrs on it in aprox 1 yr. I figured that the disk inside the plunger had dried up and would eventually seal up once it started having use.... and it did... somewhat. This past Sunday I traced all of the hoses associated with the holding tank and its venting and could find no real problems, leaks or cracks. ( By the way.... the rudder stock was rubbing on the pump out hose... something to watch out for. I zap-strapped it clear ). Next I installed a toilet kit..... and the problem disappeared. As it turned out, or at least this is what I believe was happening, the pump had an inefficient seal to draw water up and was getting air into the lower portion of the pump..... and when I pushed the plunger down, it was sealing well enough to actually push air into the holding tank. I believe that I was inadvertantly pumping the holding tank up like a balloon and the air inside the tank was venting into the under deck space. The heater in the wheel house was usually on and would draw this bad air into the wheelhouse as well. Now the toilet draws water quite nicely and the smell is gone!

[Karma]

The best way to keep all of the "O" rings, rubber flappers, etc lubricated on a marine head is to use Mineral Oil. Dump a couple of tablespoons in and flush. Do this once a month during normal use and every time you are going to lay the boat up for anytime at all.

Never use vegetable oil (I was surprised to see this recommended in Boat US this month) as it will turn to gum and you will be back to rebuilding the head......