Holdling Tank Question

[Mary & Roger]

Hi...we are new owners of a 2005 PDQ and are having a problem with the holding tank. With only VERY minimal use (3-4 times) the tank shows full. When we turn on the macerator to pump out [off shore ] it runs for about 1 minute and the breaker shuts off. I'm not real sure about the position of the valves, for pump out, and running. Can sea water get into the holding tank? Roger C.

[Tanah-Keeta]

First, make sure that the thru hull valve is open. This is located under the sole in the head compartment.

Second, make sure the selector valve (overboard vs pump out) is in the correct position... this is not obvious.. the long end of this valve should point to the macerator and the short end should point toward the tank.... just the opposite that one would think.

Third, start the macerator... you should hear a high pitch sound until it gets suction and then it will lower. When you hear the sound go higher, the tank is empty. Don't run it past this point or the pump will fail.

My tank level indicator shows empty for a lomng time. When it comes off empty, I have about 2 days before it is full

I don't think you can get sea water in the tank.

Good luck!

[Mary & Roger]

Thanks Ron, I think I did that, but I'm not sure of what position the valve under the head floor is open, up I think, and what does the small valve do? Roger

[Tanah-Keeta]

Yes, up is open.. the big valve is the waste overboard thru hull and the small one is the sea water deck wash thru hull.

[Mary & Roger]

Ron, Thanks again... Roger

[duetto]

hi roger,

there ia a related thread on this forum. i think it's called macerator. you also need to make sure that you have no vacuum leaks. if you do, pump will run dry and either toast the impeller or trip the circuit breaker.

[duetto]

hi roger,

you mention that you are new owners. have you ever had the tank pumped out at a pumpout station? if so, were you successful? just trying to determine if the pipe to the y-valve is clogged.

i also highly recommend priming the macerator by pouring water down the pumpout before running the macerator. it seems to get the macerator working better/more quickly.

[Tanah-Keeta]

John.. that is a good idea.. to prime the pump... you would have to quickly switch the valve back and forth to get the water to the macerator.

If all that fails, I would check the impeller in the macerator. Since you bought the boat used, it is hard to tell what operating conditions it had in the past.

[Marc Gershel]

Hi...we are new owners of a 2005 PDQ and are having a problem with the holding tank. With only VERY minimal use (3-4 times) the tank shows full. When we turn on the macerator to pump out [off shore ] it runs for about 1 minute and the breaker shuts off. I'm not real sure about the position of the valves, for pump out, and running. Can sea water get into the holding tank? Roger C.

Hi, Theortically,if the anti-siphon loop is not working properly, seawater could siphon back into the tank up to the level of the waterline. I have had a long running problem with my pumpout system (10 years).I,ve changed pumps, impellers,hoses, added a anti- siphon loop, nothing helped. Right after every fix it would work, then stop soon after. My final fix is still working. I routed the outlet hose to discharge ABOVE the wateline, rather than the thru-hull. I can't tell you why, but it's been working since last July.
Marc

[duetto]

priming the pump is simple. put y-valve in the deck pumpout position. use deckwashdown to pump water into the deck pumpout. it will run down deck tube and fill y-valve and hose back toward the tank. swith y-valve back to macerator. water will then flow into macerator. close deck pumpout. end of dry starts.

back to the original problem. i think you need to determine 1) is tank truly full. there are a couple of ways to do this. sure way is to remove tank guage sender and put a stick in. wear gloves! 2) is hose to y-valve clogged. no easy way to do this. 3) is macerator working. remove y-valve faceplate. unbolt macerator from the side of hull. with everything attached to pump stick input end in a bucket of water and turn it on for 2 sec. bucket should be almost empty.

based on this tests you will be able to narrow down where problem is. if all checkout ok, replace ALL o-rings on the y-valve.

[Moonstruck]

Had a similar problem of not being able to pump out and macerator blowing circuit breaker. After trying many of the soluitions suggested found the problem was thru hull was blocked after hard grounding on sandbar. Everything was fine after poking screw driver into opening from under water.

[Mary & Roger]

Thanks moonstruck, you were right, it was pluged with marine growth. Roger C.