Holding tank mystery?

[bport]

I opened the holding tank seacock last weekend and left it open because it is so hard to get at that if I ever decided to dump offshore (outside 3 miles of course) I would be unable to get to it if the engines were hot. After two weekends staying on the boat, I checked the holding tank level (with a flashlight, as I have no confidence in the sensors). Despite lots of flushes, there was NOTHING in the holding tank?!

The key in the head is in the 'on' position and no one had turned it to the discharge position (where you have to hold it while it pumps out - or at least that's what I thought).

I had noticed that one of the pumps in the head system had been running intermittently and have not yet determined which pump or found the cause. I am assuming the holding tank should have been filling and somehow the discharge pump has been running of it's own accord intermittently. Seems very strange, but I can't come up with a better explanation. Am I missing something :huh:?

 

[Gofirstclass]

Am I missing something :huh:?

bport, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you. You have the right to the presence of council and if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to represent you if you request.

Do you understand your rights as they have been read to you?

Sorry, can't help you with the problem except to say that it sounds like something is wired incorrectly.

 

[mvoellinger]

Am I missing something :huh:?

A couple turds and some recycled beer, it sounds like.

FYI, I think if you're boarded you need to have the handle in the off position and sometimes locked that way - may want to be sure of the regs. (I dont have a head so Im not sure what exactly they state)

 

[mistercomputerman]

Maybe the motion of the boat underway is creating a suction on the discharge line and sucking the tank dry.

 

[tobnpr]

Can't comment on the mystery of the self-emptying holding tank, but the intermittent pump cycling you're hearing is most likely the vaccum generator for the head. How often does it cycle?

 

[penbroke]

I suspect that your tank is not empty but full due to seawater working back through the overboard discharge system. Close the seacock, have the tank pumped and then see how it behaves.


Frank