Black Water Tank Odours

[aroos]

We have a 2014 C30 sedan. Despite pumping out regularly and using various agents, we still emit a very strong odour when flushing the head. We would welcome any suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Brian B]

This stinky topic comes up very often here. I made a post back in 2013 on making a charcoal vent line filter. Here's the link
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3921&p=29936&hilit=Waste+tank+filter#p29936
It's been my experience that you can pour all the advertised chemicals in the tank and you will still get odors. The only thing that controls it is the charcoal filter. When you start to smell odors again change the charcoal, easy enough and cheap. I should be making these and selling them.

 

[stwendl]

Depends where the smell comes from. Every time you flush you take in,perhaps saltwater, which when stale contributes to its own part of the smell, eventually collecting in the black water tank

 

[Metric Rider]

I just installed a DIY charcoal filter fabricated from 2" plastic pipe,aquarium charcoal, and scotch brite pads on our R25. It seems to be working great and was very economical to make. You tube is a good source for info on the subject

 

[Hydraulicjump]

I will testify to the efficacy of the homemade charcoal filter. It is cheap and much more effective than the chemicals. Just change the charcoal once a year (cost a few bucks) and you are good to go. This is an easy DIY that takes a couple of hours.

 

[boaterjoe]

IF you pump seawater into your system you will always have a smell from the organisms in the water. Best to prime the toilet with fresh water. Smell will go away. Once smell is impregnated into the lines, it is hard to get rid of the smell. I have tried all types of chemicals. They don't work well. Use fresh water.
Joe

 

[Lone Star Ranger]

https://bigorangefilter.com/

We placed one in our R-27 and our current R-31 and we no longer have any odors coming from the head when we flush. 😀

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

In addition, the choker valve that opens when the toilet it flushed, can become deformed over time. When a choker valve becomes deformed and or clogged there can be gaps in the rubber piece that does not close and thereby its lets odors seep back up into the head. If you've had your boat a few years it might be time to inspect this part and or replace, they are rather inexpensive. 10-4 on the charcoal filters.

Jim F

 

[Scuba Too]

During our factory experience Kenny recommended filling the waste tank with water a couple of times after emptying to flush everything out. It takes a bit more time but if it helps it's worth it. So far no smell but our boat is too new to really know if it makes a difference. Note that when filling the tank with fresh water it can't be monitored very well using the tank monitor in the head (the green/yellow/red light). Apparently fresh water doesn't complete the connection very well. And yes I learned this the hard way 😱 . Our last boat had an analog level monitor which I do miss, but of course that could get stuck too.

 

[doke01]

Is the smell inside at the head or outside of the boat? If it is inside it is likely that the smell is coming from the intake line. Living matter gets pulled into the hose and dies without sunlight, then rots. I pump the toilet before each time going out to get the smelly water out of the hose. You could also have a problem with the joker valve not closing completely and letting odor from the tank back into the boat. If it is from outside, put a half cup of thetford aqua-chem holding tank treatment into the head and pump it into the holding tank. Make sure you pump long enough to get the thetford into the tank. As mentioned earlier, make sure when you pump out every other time you refill the tank with fresh water and pump out again. Put the thetford in after each pump out. Doing the things mentioned above will ensure there aren't any odors. Forget to do them and you will be reminded automatically by the smell.

I've been doing it this way for years and it works really well.

 

[Phil Nersessian]

Yesterday I installed a Sealand eco vent filter(about $70 on Jet.com) on my C30 after having odor issues last summer. It took me about 5 hours, but alot of that is because the first hose I cut was the saltwater supply line, not the vent line. I think I could do it again in under an hour once I got all my stuff out of the cave. Hoping for the best.

 

[baz]

My experience on my previous R-25 (Classic) with a manual marine head using salt water flushing.

For the first year we had no issues with significant smell. There was some but was not obnoxious.

After first year 1st mate insisted on me updating the manual to an electric flush head. I did so and plumbed it for fresh water by tapping into the fresh water line for the sink in the head enclosure. I made the connection so that I could revert to salt water flushing if required. I used the sink's fresh water line as this avoided me having install a separate pump. We had only use fresh water for the sinks and shower and continued to do so; never for drinking as we use bottled water at all times. If we ever ran out of fresh water in the fresh water tank then we had the option of flushing with salt water by using a bucket of salt water; we never had to resort to this.

With the electric flush head utilizing the fresh water we experienced absolutely no odor at all.

As mentioned here, salt water can bring with it its own odor and if the salt water lingers anywhere in the pipes it will promote odors over time.

When pumping out I would always flush the tank out with at least two fills of fresh water from the dock side. It did mean extra time at the pump out but IMO was a worthwhile task.

I did use some agent I poured into the head once in a while to keep the fittings lubricated, but don't recall the brand of this.