Pump Out Question

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thedirtyjobs

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Another nervous newbie question! Is there an rocket science to using a pump out station? Time to empty my holding tank for the first time.

Are places that have pump out operational 24x7 even if the place (ie fuel dock) is closed? I ask because our fuel dock at worlds fair has not opened yet (permit issues or something) and i need to empty.

I know its a pump out, but how the hell do i know where the pump out "machine" or whatever it might be is?

As always, thanks,
dan
 
It's usually a box on the dock with about 30 feet or so of hose coming out of it with a receptacle and valve on the end. There should be a switch on the box that turns on the suction pump. Open your waste fitting on your deck, turn on the pump and with the valve closed, seat the receptacle onto your deck fitting. Make sure it's seated good. Open the valve and keep good pressure on the end of the hose. Watch out for back splashes. Nasty **** if it gets on ya. When the tank is empty, close the valve, coil the hose, shut off the pump, and rinse the area well. Also not a bad idea to shoot a little fresh water down the drain fitting. Have fun.
 
Great....thanks! I really appreciate it. Hopefully i dont get crap (literally) all over the place!

thanks,
dan
 
I flush with fresh water then pump out again. My first time I couldn't tell if it was done so I lfted it a little and got spashed. I got undressed on watch hill pumpout dock and wife hosed me off. We tossed the clothes. It was disgusting
 
I always place a wet rag around the hose, where it enters the waste fitting. That way, if there are any 'splashes' they're contained in the rag and not on me! Guess how I figured this out!?
 
It's just like a high powered vacuum that sucks all the waste out.
If there isn't anybody waiting I always refill the tank with fresh water and pump it out again. Ask around, some municipalities have pump out boats that come right to you on the dock free of charge. I use the one at Tobay regularly.
 
if you're pumping out a port-a-potty that's been plumbed to a deck fitting, make sure the valve between the seat and internal holding tank is open because an implosion would not be fun. btw, some harbours have pumpout boats that will come around to anchored boats and take your waste away for free. i was shocked the first time someone pulled along side in oyster bay and offered.
 
Yes, good advice CurrentSea. Don't remove the nozzle with the pump running to see if your tank is empty. That's a guaranteed way to get s**t splashed all over you. You'll know when it's empt. In fact most setups have a clear piece of plastic pipe so you can see when it's done. But if you do get any on ya, Consider it a right of passage.
 
You haven't done a real pumpout until you've gotten baptized! I dove off the dock into the water when it happened to me.
 
We should start a thread of stupid boat mistakes:

- Left ladder down
- Still tied to dock and pulling out.
- Wife throws rope to someone on dock without tying to cleat.
- Pull boat out at ramp with engine trimmed down!
- Gas on auto shut off and starts to bubble out filler hole.
- Hitting sand bar
- Dropping phone, keys, beer, money, wallet, etc in water.
- Leaving anchor hanging down while driving home.
- Wearing a hat in the wind....see ya!
- Falling in!

Any others?
 
This one could have been very embarassing, like most mistakes on the dock. I started pulling out of slip when my wife screamed to stop. I forgot to disconnect the dockside power cable from the dockside power box. Another foot or two and I would have taken the dock box with us! Close call, but no damage.
 
How about forgetting to take the transom straps off the boat and trailer before launching. Forgetting to put the plug in. Forgetting to lower the VHF antenna's. I could go on and on. Not all of these are mine of course!!
 
The first time I pumped out, here's what I did:

Went to the gas dock, it wasn't busy so I asked the attendant for a pump-out. I said it was the first time, he said no problem, this is what you do, yada, yada, in the end, I gave him a nice tip for his time and the education.

Very simple.
 
I think my biggest " WTF " was running aground a few weeks ago.....

that and a few cell phones overboard , tossing the boat keys to the wife from the dink is all i got .... ( of course she didnt catch em..... )

I watched some guy take a bath at the pump out in ummm the nasty stuff... HE didnt have the hose seated properly against the deck fitting... spoooge shot out like a rocket... NASTY .... NOW thats a WTF!!!!

Rob
 
Nice to hear I'm not the only one who has worn the essence of "Le Holding Tank"

My kids and wife still enjoy telling the story of my first pumpout. Seems to bring back the smell.
 
IT seems more and more places have the threaded fittings for pumping out. It makes things much more secure.
 
Best advice is to let someone show
you how to do it and not what to do
for your very first time.
 
Well, did my first pump out yesterday. Went to the fuel dock on city island and asked the guy there for direction as well as took in everything i read here. That damn nozzle doesnt exactly fit "snuggly" into the hole, the guy assured me it was fine....and stepped back about 30 feet. But sure enought it worked and worked well!!!!!

I was no worse for the wear.....but i was smart enough to do this before having any drinks!

Thanks, later,
dan
 
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