Does NoFlex really work?

MonacoMike

MonacoMike

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2009
14,721
Indiana lakes and Lake Michigan
Boat Info
2000 Cruisers 3870
8.2 Mercs
Engines
85 Sea Ray Monaco 197
260hp Alpha 1
After reading through many of these threads and coupling that with my experience with RVs and boats black tanks, these are my thoughts on the issue.

There are three ways to deal with waste in a black tank,

Preserve it, (formaldehyde) no longer an option.

Mask it, perfume it, liquefy it, most of the common tank treatments.

Use a biological component to create an ecosystem that naturally accomplishes the elimination of voters and the liquefication of solids.

My observation is that many of the strong supporters of no flex type treatments have newer boats that are under 20 years old. It may very well be that once the boat gets to a certain age and build up it may not work or may take a long time to get the system cleaned to eliminate the odor’s. Also it may be that chemicals used in the past on older boats leached into the materials of the system and are killing the biologicals...

I really do believe that the biological products work, and work very well.

If it is not working on your boat you probably have other issues,

need to use more product until years of build up or removed,

the oxygen supply for the bacteria is limited or blocked from the vent line,

there may be something in your tank or system that is killing the biologicals,

you are using a toilet bowl cleaner that is killing the bacteria,

set your expectations that this is not an quick perfuming job, this is building a living ecosystem that consumes the waste.

Additional issues affecting the product will be added to this post as they are posted.
 
I’ve been using it for years with great success. Your observations are right on. I think the people that have issues with it are not properly flushing the tank of the “blue stuff” properly before using the Noflex, or are adding the blue stuff after using the Noflex. As you said using bleach or other cleaners will also cause problems. You also need to ensure the vent line is clear. The bacteria in the tank need oxygen to live. It is worth using the Tankteria product to get a good bacteria culture growing when first switching to Noflex.
 
I used it for a while but was not impressed. I think I was expecting a miracle with one application. I did use it religiously but when I was done with the first bottle( a couple of months as I remember, I was still not convinced that it was really working better than the blue deodorizer and I went back to that. I just ordered more Noflex to use in my drain sump and I think I will try it again in the waste system but be more methodical this time. There are enough experienced guys here that seem to swear by it so Ill give it another chance.
CD
 
I think one of the big variables is just how sensitive of the sense of smell you have to deal with. I also believe that most of us are trying to make the boat smell better for the Admiral As women have a much better sense of smell than men do.

For example, I once chased a ghost gas leak from a water heater for three months. The wife could smell it but I never could. The gas leak detector could not find it. Turned out to be a loose supply line to the pilot light, that required a quarter turn with the wrench to secure, that only had gas running through it for a few seconds.

Her sense of smell is that accurate.

My perception on these threads has always been that many of you are likely trying to chase the ghost of perfection for someone with a very keen sense of smell.
 
FullSizeRender.jpg

I believe being meticulous with your pump out routine can save you from dealing with odors without using any deodorants or digesters. I do believe Noflex works and that is a good product. We used our head everyday for the 15 years we owned our last boat. Every pump out was done following a thorough irrigation of the tank and the use of powdered Tide laundry soap flushed down the toilet every three weeks or so. We followed the rountine from the Dometic instruction manual that came with the boat. The boat was also always stored clean so the tank did not smell going into layup. The hoses never smelled and the boat always had a slight fresh laundry smell that was pleasant.
As an aside, keeping your AC filters and condensation pan clean is also important as some boat smells come from the AC system.
 
Some of us just need something to obsess over in the pursuit of perfection. With the world going to hell in a hand bag our boats are the one of the things we can actually affect a desired level of perfection on. Some have classic cars or a vintage home, I love keeping my boat " righty tighty " partially as an escape from the world I have no possibility of affecting positively (with out getting the needle anyway);)
Funny, I never tried using the tide laundry detergent approach or reading the manual for that matter, I just blindly follow CSR advice:p
Carpe Deim
 
I have used the NoFlex exclusively for the last year and a half religiously. I no longer have trouble with the tank sensors that indicate how full the tanks are. I also can go longer between pump outs as there must be less sludge taking up space in the bottom of the tanks. People who come inside say there is no smell at all. Overall, I am very impressed with this product.
 
Rumor has it that Oxiclean is the exact same ingredients. Don't know how true but that would be interesting.
 
mquiet said:
Rumor has it that Oxiclean is the exact same ingredients. Don't know how true but that would be interesting.
Click to expand...
Here are the MSDS sheets on the two..... Close but not interchangeable....but I am no chemist

noflex.png


Oxiclean.png
 
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I've been using Oxiclean for the last 2 years with similar (and much cheaper) results.
 
Yes, it's the same essentially. Washing soda. It's an oxidizer. You want Sodium percarbonate, not plain sodium carbonate. The percarbonate contains the oxidizer.
 
Checking Oxyclean MSDS against the NoFlex, and yeah.. looks very similar to me. $12 for a 7lb box. Certainly worth a try IMO. Does this also mean that we can do laundry with NoFlex??
 
I think one of the points lost on many is the acidic nature of urine. It gets lost in the physical nature of the solids. Balance is the nature of nature. Both must be dealt with on their own level. The biological's must be accounted for in this case. I suspect we can use the substitutes equally as well as Noflex.

I suspect the Teri-Tabs with the substitutes may be betters than the Noflex alone. As we discuss it comes to me that Noflex is the "fertilizer" for the biological's present, the Teri-tabs may be the enhancement we need and the generic the "fertilizer" for them.

MM
 
I use Oxiclean in my holding tanks and shower sump. Down the toilets, down the drains. About once a week when we are on the boat continuously.
 
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