Holding tank, toilet discharge

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:01 am

give the EPA time and the chesp. bay water act. will cover all the water in U.S.A.

but i would do a hold tank cheaper to put in and you can pumpout when you fill up. mine has two tanks 50 aft and 30 fwd

guglielmo6160 · Post by **guglielmo6160** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:37 pm

ok, so to summerize, against the law to not have a holding tank, and if yoiur boat didnt come with one, you could be fined, if you go out without one, any ideas what the fines are ??

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:59 pm

prowler where did you put your holding tank??

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 10:49 pm

Bill It is aganst the law to discharge overboard not that you have to have a holding tank , no law say you even have to have a head . a easy and cheap way to go is a porta potty .

Danny , I put my holding tank under the floor under the refrigerator

LandVF36 · Post by **LandVF36** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:16 pm

Paul,
How large a tank did you put under the fridge? Did you pull of the floor to install it or slip it in under the steps?

Our F36 has a vacuflush head. The waste plumbing runs up to the bow and back on the starboard side of the front berth. The vacuum unit is there and then it empties foward to a small tank, I think only about 15 gallons.

I'd like to have about 40 gallons of waste so we could make it a few days. I'm concerned about installing too large a tank under the berth it already sits a little heavy at the bow with the current tank is full.

Under our galley area, we have 2 40 gallon fresh water tanks, one each side of the center stringers and the hot water heater in the center. Is this your setup? If so, did you put the waste tank further out off center? I'm a little concernd that the weight placed out to far when full would cause listing / handling issues.

Appreciate your thoughts and details on your solution.

Mitch

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:54 am

Its right under the fridge. not the area under the steps . I had remove the frige . lift the floor I had to cut 1 (?) floor suport?joist sistered it back in . I did have to put a" shelf" over a stringer so the tank sits level .

I not sure if your boat is the same but as you go down the stairs there is small door to your left (before the head ) if you look in there you can see the area .

my water tanks and water heater are in the same place as yours .there is a bulk head between were I put rthe holding tank and where the water tanks are (and I like that )

you can not tell by the way the boat sits that the tank is one the side .

guglielmo6160 · Post by **guglielmo6160** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:12 am

ok, still unclear,, I know I may be dense, so its against the law to dump waste, but NOT against the law not to have a holding tank,
just curious because I plan on going out striper fishing next weekend, and I dont have my holding tank in yet, so I dont want any problems with "the fuzz"

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:50 am

Whatever you have it must have no way of dumping overboard. If it does have piping to do so that potential outlet must have a shutoff that is 'locked' closed. 'Locked' means no easy way to be opened by accident.
Does this make it clearer for you.... you don't need to have a holding tank.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:23 pm

It's really very simple...
A good toilet, new hoses, clean holding tank and a vent filter will be fine.
I have a holding tank under the vbirth with no issues.

The main causes of smells are permeated hoses, overfilled or leaking tank, fittings or lines. A vent filter works extremely well when properly installed.

Do a clean install or retrofit and you'll be happy!

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:12 pm

Mike, a porta poty will need to be emptyed more then once a month if you use the boat. On my last boat that was a F30 I put the holding tank on the outside of right engine it was a 13 gal I belive it was taller then wide so it could fit a 15 would not work as it was too wide ( and short) so watch how the fittings are . as far as the smell use a good treatment vent out side the hull and use FRESH WATER to flush salt water will stink badly after it sits

jddens · Post by **jddens** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:30 pm

Bill......you can't discharge UNTREATED waste over board anywhere unless outside the 3 mile limit. In many areas you can discharge treated waste over board (with a USCG approved treatment device like electrascan) and in some places you can't discharge anything treated or not. Check with your local coast guard to see what applies specifically to you and your boating areas.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:10 am

I don't know of anyone I know getting busted ( did get awarning years ago when boarded ) but on the other hand as far as I know everyone I know around here has a tank or elctra-san or a prorta-poty . I have put holding tanks in my last 3 boats . the first one had none , the next a F30 had a 2.5 gal gas can for a tank so I replaced it wity a 13 gal tank . My f36 had a recurcalating head that was ok as far as the law but nasty IMO so I put in a new head and a holding tank . on boats before that I went the poti-potty route . BTW some "porti-potys have pretty large tanks .

gardnersf · Post by **gardnersf** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:52 am

The USCG safety checks do not check compliance with the sanitation laws. It is not a safety item. This was recently brought up at our district but the USCGA pushed back as we do not want to be "Water Cops" but insure that boats are safe. This is not a safety issue, but a legal compliance issue