Sanitation system issue

[headhoncho]

I own a pumpout service. Today, one of my clients called me to say that despite our bi-monthly service, her holding tank never seems to empty completely (her gauge never went below half full this week) and now when she flushes her head the bowl fills to the rim with water after the intial flush. Any suggestions as to what might be going on here would be appreciated. Thanks.

Matt

 

[Kastlercreative]

best bet, not knowing what kind of system she has, is that her vent line is plugged... be careful, pumping out a tank with a plugged vent will collapse it, if it has not already, which may explain the issues she is having as well...

 

[PascalG]

most gauges are unreliable... most heads dont back up if the tank is full, it just gets dumped out the vent (unless she has a charcoal filter)

need to know what kind of head and if the holding tank has a vent filter.

depending on the boat, there could be a problem with the dip tube in the tank. Older boats used metal dip tube which corrode with age preventing you from emptying the tank...

 

[headhoncho]

Lou & Pascal,
Thanks for the info. I passed it along to my client along with a list of local marine sanitation system repair services. I'll pump the system out, but I ain't gonna get on my hands and knees and tear it apart! ;-)

Matt

 

[HOGAN]

Make sure that as you pump out you hear air entering the vent - if not, you can collapse the tank.

 

[dmunneke]

When I pump my system out it dries out the bowl and sucks air right through the head.

 

[Vic Willman]

David, that's telling you that your vent line is either partially clogged, or that it isn't large enough in diameter.