holding tank discharge

[john hughes]

Can anyone help?
I have a 295 bowrider with a holding tank which needs emptying based in Menorca (Balearic Islands) There is no sea cock outlet, just an outlet on the topsides which is the same diameter as the water and fuel filler. The head is a vacuum flush system with a macerator. Thre is no pump out facility on the island so i guess its an out at sea job? but i don't know how the system works. Would appreciate some advice.
Also only the bow speakers work on the clarion system. there is power to the amp which is screwed to a bulkhead in the bow and all the rear speakers seem to be connected. Am now stuck!! :smt100

 

[Dave S]

I can't help you with the pump out but on the radio did you look for a balance knob? My Clarion radio allows me to fade the speakers in my 260DA Cruiser so they will play just in the cockpit or in the cabin.

 

[Four Suns]

How do you have a macerator pump with no sea cock and outlet under the boat? Where does the macerator go? If you really do have a macerator pump, then follow the hose off of it to the underwater sea cock. The macerator should y-off of the hose going to your pump out outlet on the topside. There should also be a switch somewhere on the boat to turn the pump on and off.

In Virginia, you have to be 3 miles offshore in the ocean to use the pump. Because we are on the ocean, it's hard to find a good quality pump out facility along the coast as the marinas just point you to the ocean.

Not to highjack the thread but the pump out facilities in Maryland are top notch compared to what I'm used to seeing in Virginia. They can evacuate 80 gallons in about a minute... and it's very clean and smell free... nice systems.

 

[Bridog]

I can't help you with the pump out but on the radio did you look for a balance knob? My Clarion radio allows me to fade the speakers in my 260DA Cruiser so they will play just in the cockpit or in the cabin.

I would suggest trying what Dave said. On Clarion's they have a "fade" button. As far as pump out. Do you have a key in the head compartment? If so, make sure the seacock is open (see Gary's response) and turn on the head and water system switches. Turn the key all the way to the right (I think). This operates the macerator and pumps out the holding tank.

 

[jg300da]

I agree, never heard of a macerator without a seacock, unless it was removed and plugged?

 

[john hughes]

Thanks all.
Understand it better now. Quite right, no macerator. I assumed wrongly it was in fact the vacuum generator. I guess i will have to buy a pump of some sort and and either try and pump out at sea or do it in the yard, into a tank, when i lift the boat out in the winter.
Does anyone have any experience of a) the kind of pump, and b) whether the outlet tube sits near the bottom of the tank.
In retrospect I would have banned it's use, so it would'nt be a problem Yuk!!
Maybe i should fit a seacock? (when out of the water)

The Clarion speaker balance and fade functions work ok, but only on the bow speakers, so back to the drawing board. I will try and pull the whole unit out to see if there are any dis-connected wires at the back.

 

[Four Suns]

You'll need one of these:

http://vacuflushparts.com/discharge_pumps.htm

The link to the instructions for installation are there as well. Other than putting the sea cock in, it's pretty simple. You don't have to put anything into the holding tank but can put a Y-fitting on your pumpout hose. You'll want to make sure your sea cock has a switch on it such that the pump can not be turned on when the sea cock is closed.

 

[tphinney]

Can anyone help?
There is no sea cock outlet, just an outlet on the topsides which is the same diameter as the water and fuel filler.

john;

this outlet you describe is your pump out. the marina should have a hock up which will fit in this hole and suck out the waste.

 

[Dave S]

Here in the states you can also take your boat to an RV facility that has a pump out if you have a trailer. But I would think that there are facilities on the water at a Marina or Gas dock that will handle that for you too.

 

[Brian 59]

John, If your clarion is like mine, if you loose battery power for a period of time you need to reset the unit, to get sound out of the cockpit speakers.
1) Press and hold the TITLE/ADJ button for 2 seconds to access
program menu.
2) Use SEARCH buttons to scroll through menu until display reads
"SW LPF"
3) Press Volume down button to select "REAR" full range output
signal
4) When adjustment is complete, press TITLE/ADJ button to exit the
program menu.

This was a Technical Bulletin out the dealer gave me after I complained anfter my first winter layup. I hope it helps.

 

[Bridog]

Good stuff Brian. :thumbsup:

 

[john hughes]

Thanks for the Clarion advice, am back in menorca in Sept. and will try it.
Incidentaly I am going to try the bellows hand operated bilge pump to try and pump out the holding tank !!!

 

[john hughes]

Clarion now working.. Thanks so much for the advice.
Next challenge, the holding tank !!!!!!
What is confusing is, that in the head there is a key switch with twoo breakers above it. The switch has two positions, one on, which activates the vacuum generator, and a level indicatoor (showing full !) and a turn to the right to operate a pump, albeit when i turn it nothing happens. There is also a legend saying this boat is fitted with an overboard discharge pump. so its all a bit confusing. There is no pump out facility at all on this Island so will have to find a way of emptying at sea.

 

[john hughes]

Clarion and Holding Tank

Thanks to Brian, Clarion working on all speakers. Great advice and not available from Clarion UK who were useless!!

Holding Tank emptied 3 miles off North coast of Menorca in the Med.
I put a Brass adapter from a hardware store, fitted a poly. connector to it + about 6 inches of alkathene water pipe. (Total cost 9 euros or about $13) Then attached the suction side of the Rule emergency bilge pump, and started pumping. Success !!! Until the nut holding the pump bladder to the handle came off and holding tank started to run out all over the place until the pipe was empty. Not good in a 6 foot swell and lots of smell. Anyway it worked notwithstanding nausea at sea. On a serious note, the Rule pump should at least be fitted with a nyloc nut, since if I was pumping the bilge and taking on water it would have been pretty serious if the pump stopped functioning.