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Heads-up on the internal pipe in your holding tank |
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mcmanus
Lieutenant Commander Joined: 13 November 2015 Location: Puerto Rico Status: Offline Points: 52 |
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Posted: 02 February 2016 at 01:25 |
The day head holding tank on my 461 got clogged within a few weeks of ownership. I began dismantling the hoses and discovered that the inside the stainless holding tank was plugged with sewage that had turned hard as cement. I took a screwdriver and dug it out for about 4-5 inches then brought a hose from the dock with to pressure wash it out. No go. I got a metal file and worked the blockage for another hour (it was fun communing with nature). No go. I rigged a 13" file/long screwdriver combo and got about 12 inches dug out. Still no success. I took off the discharge hose and the tank inside was clear. Turns out there is a stainless steel pipe inside the tank - all I knew is that it was longer than 12". So, I re-grouped and bought a bench motor that jewelers use because it came with a 36" cord with a drill chuck on the end of it. The drill chuck was only 1" in diameter and it fit into the 1.5" hole in the tank. I put a 1" wood drill bit in it. I had to grind down the shaft of the drill bit to get it to fit into the miniature drill chuck on the drill cable. The brand new sharp wood bit bogged down because the blockage was so dense. I had to stop to let the bit and the motor cool down 3 times before I finally broke through - after 36 inches. No kidding! The holding tank itself was not clogged, just the internal pipe that takes the waste up.
Works great then. I use the dock hose to run water through the system and cleaned it out. Worked great for a day until the macerator/motor went out. That is going to be an easy fix compared to the tank!
What I learned is to let the head flush for plenty of time to get that internal pipe fully cleared. I used to be frugal with flushing and now I'm "let 'er go!" 10 - 12 seconds per flush. Believe me, any wear and tear on your motor is worth not having to drill that internal pipe out. |
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