Empty the waste tank with a macerator / Leaning boat - Maxum Boat Owners Club

_fredrik_ · 08-15-2011, 12:33 PM

Hi,

I'm going to try to emptying the waste tank this weekend with the help of the macerator pump. I have two switches under the throttle for the macerator. Is it just to switch these two on and see if something happens or do I have to switch something in the engine room for the waste to go right (if so where and how does it look)?

(I'm 'doing it' in a legal place)

Another question as I have your attention. We are new to owning this size of a boat (2700 SCR -00) and are wondering about one thing. The boat is leaning to the starboard side when it's laying in the harbour. It is leaning so much that the seawater is a bit above the bottom-color of the boat (almost from the helm and forward). We are wondering if that's because of that the freshwater tank is empty and the wastetank is full (we guess it's almost full)? Anyone else that have had the same leaning? When we go up to cruising speed the boat straigthens up and goes well, when we are moving slow it leans a bit. I hope that the leaning will stop when we have filled the freshwater tank and emptying the waste tank.

Thanks for your help.

Best regards,
Fredrik

pascavone · 08-15-2011, 02:39 PM

yes, push both switch under the dash at the same time and your macerator should run.

now, they don;t run offen so, if it dose not check the following:

1. fuse, check the manual its got a big fat orange wire.
2. the switch could be stuck, take off the four screws and jump out the switch, and wd-40 them..... (ask me how i know this?)
3. The macerator could be plugged with old dry toilet paper blob in the pipe, you will need to take the hose off and plung.....(ask me how i know this?)
4. Water or fuel is 8 lbs a gallion, so 24 x 8lbs = 200lbs of weight.
5. I'd take it to your gas dock and just suck it out at the pump put station before i'd take the hoses off and spill poop poop in the bugle when you take the tank out to get it plastic welded......(ask me how i know this?)

Welcome to used boats!

seapuppy · 08-15-2011, 04:29 PM

Fred.
welcome to the zoo...first off....the boat leans cuz you have nothing in the fw tank....so...all the weight is on the stbd side right now...fill the fw tank with water and then empty the waste or san tank.....that should level the boat out somewhat....

second....I don't know where you boat.....but I would take it to a pump out station and pump it out there...if your in certain canadian waters....I'd get up on plane and as your running ...then hit the macerator switches ..out in open or close to open waters....it will spread it out over a larger area..thus less pollution.........

but that's just me....pump out is the prefered method....

and finally..I used to own a 2700 scr ..great boat...loved it....enjoy..

SP

seaman-recruit · 08-15-2011, 04:53 PM

I have a macerator on my 2500scr as well but don't use it where I boat due to discharge restrictions. One thing I wanted to point out though is I'm fairly sure there is a seacock or valve connection between your macerator output and the discharge port - make sure it's open. I'm a newbie so I'll let one of the other guys confirm.

seapuppy · 08-15-2011, 05:35 PM

SR
very true....be sure the seacock is open before you start the pumps......could get ugly...

SP

_fredrik_ · 08-15-2011, 06:02 PM

Hi,

I don't want to empty the tank in the sea if I have a choice. We have only done nr 1 on the toilet but I think it's better for everyone if it stays out of the sea.. I will look into if there's some pumpstation nearby.

If we find a pumpstation is there some switch or something for that?

I will fill up the fw-tank this weekend and hope that the boat straightens up then. It feels a little bit bad when the water is over the bottom color.

Thanks for your help (I'm sure there will be more questions along the way..). /Fred

seaman-recruit · 08-15-2011, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by _fredrik_

If we find a pumpstation is there some switch or something for that?

No switch. The pump station is basically a big vacuum - it will provide the suction to drain the holding tank. If marina personnel are performing the service they usually will have their freshwater hose ready - pump your tank - and give you a quick back flush with the freshwater and re-pump as part of the routine.

One other note of interest to consider - may not apply to your situation - my marina has the pump-out station at the gas docks. If you purchase =>$50.00 of gas they provide the pump-out free. Of course I always flip the attendant a few bucks for the service.

seapuppy · 08-16-2011, 03:57 AM

out here in Washington state..all pump out stations are free.....most marinas have them at each fuel station.....

so....lets go thru the process of pumping out....
1st pull the cap off and insert the pump nozzle...give it a little twist to the right...basically it inserts the rubber tightly into the fitting....then open the valve and keep pressure on the nozzle to the fitting so you don't get backwash...
after it sucks everything out.....close the valve on the nozzle...set it down....now have a water hose handy and pour in about 10 gals of water.....and suck it out with the nozzle...do this about 2-3 times ....this will keep the tank fairly clean and odor free....
once your done pumping out the tank....put the cap back on...go inside to the head and pour in a container of odor-loss or some other treatment for waste tanks....this will help keep the smells down..(trust me..this method has worked for me for the past 12 yrs)......

hope this helps..
if we knew where you boat at...one of our members might be able to meet up and help out

SP

_fredrik_ · 08-16-2011, 09:38 PM

The boat is on the east coast...of Sweden!

I think that I have found a place where I can do it the right way, hope there's a water hose there aswell. Thanks for the help!

_fredrik_ · 08-22-2011, 02:52 PM

I got a pumpstation were I have my boat - 200 m away..! I pumped it out and flushed it with freshwater 2 times. I have not searched after cemicals for the waste tank yet but I will look for it soon.

It's a bit stupid that you can't see how full/empty the waste tank is without opening the engine room - but even then it's hard to see. We noticed when it was almost full that it started to smell a bit when we pumped (or maybe that was because we tried the macerator a little bit earlier - or there's some hole in a hose, I hope not..).

The boat straighted up after filling up the freshwater tank. But now when the freshwater tank is 1/4 and the waste tank empty it's leaning a bit to the right (but not as much as earlier). I think we need to pack the stuff in the boat a bit more to the middle/left side or always have the freshwater tank full..

tackleshep · 08-24-2011, 09:29 PM

If you let the tank get full it's going to stink. Make finding those (blue) chemical a priority. It's not just for smell but also has the chemicals to breakdown the paper and non paper you put down the hole. Without using that you could run into some pretty ugly results.

Just one thing to add, the pump out at our station sometimes needs a little priming to really pump out well. We are in the habit of putting the nozel in the water and pumping a couple seconds of lake water, shutting off the nozzle and then putting it in the boat.

If your positioned anywhere close to a pump out I can tell you it's a habit we do after every good sized outing. I don't want the weight or the waste just sitting on the boat. We always try and keep her as low as possible, then your not having to check if your full.

shrew · 08-25-2011, 06:22 PM

The holding tank NEEDS chemicals added to it. This is not an option. You should not retain anything in the holding tank for more than 5 days, even with chemicals added. Get it pumped out frequently, regardless of how much is in there. I pump mine out every Sunday, then flush it with freshwater, then pump the freshwater out. Then add about 2 gallons of freshwater and the holding tank chemicals. The holding tank is ready for the next weekend. Make sure to pump a bunch of freshwater into the head to flush the contents of the head and lines back to the holding tank BEFORE you pump it out. Then when you fill with freshwater and chemicals the only thing in the head, lines and holding tank is freshwater and chemicals.

Put an inline filter on the holding tank vent. If you have old sanitation lines (black) they are permeable over time and will need to be replaced. If you do all of this you will never have an issue with head odors.