Macerator/holding tank operation

[Cruzin]

I have a new to me 87 Compac 27 and need some guidance on operating the macerator and discharging the holding tank. Obviously ideally I want to pump out waste dockside for proper disposal but need to know how to operate the macerator/tank to discharge at sea if needed. Do I just open the valve and turn on the macerator? I tried this at sea and nothing happened but the pump did come on. Does the dockside pump out y switch need to be open or closed or does it matter? Does the head itself need to be opened for air or water flow? My tank is currently full from prior owners. Sorry for so many questions but I don't have any ideas. Thanks for you advice on this stinky subject!

Dale

[wes]

Post a picture of your tank plumbing if possible. If not, please describe the routing of each hose starting at the head.

Wes

[Cruzin]

Thanks I will get it tomorrow.

Dale

[moonlight]

TYPICALLY - the Y valve is hard for newbies to follow.  It's handle design is just plain goofy.  Regardless, it's a Y for a reason.
It has one line from the holding tank ...
It has one line to deck discharge (pumpout at marina)
It has one line to overboard discharge.

Typically, the stem of the handle is the base or long leg of the Y; has nothing to do with the other two.  It quite likely will be "pointing" up/pumpout when the Y part is bridging the holding tank to the overboard (which may or may not have a macerator).  The handle then likewise points to the overboard-macerator bridge when the valve Y itself is actually moving material from the tank to the pump out.

Macerator or not (I get it, you have one), the discharge/overboard hose probably also has a valve that must be opened.

So in your case, with a pump that makes obvious noise, I'd:
- go for a sail
- open the overboard discharge
- position the Y appropriately even if you have to look at it and swing it six times; but you'll see that it's range of motion is probably the counter-intuitive described above
- pump.

If you're in very small water and/or want to feel somewhat more at ease, pump a gallon of clorox through the head into the holding tank, a day or so before aforementioned sailing trip.  If it's absolutely too full for that, you can pour it down the deck fill (again, orient the Y to bridge that to the tank) to shock the initial discharge; then once a gallon or so is out you can run the rest of the clorox through the head into the holding tank.

Leave a bleach concentrate in the holding tank but flush it very well out of the head!

If you have any urine or head odor whatsoever on board; that comes from the discharge plumbing (wipe it with a wet paper towel and give it the sniff test).  So you'll get intimately familiar with the plumbing when you change all that 1-1/2" hose.  HINT: A heat gun is your friend softening the hoses for removal and installation.  HINT 2: A good old fashioned hardware will have 1-1/2" rubber stoppers you can plug the old hoses with to get them off the boat to the wastebin.

[Cruzin]

Moonlight and Wes thanks here is a diagram and two photos. I may have been trying to operate it with the Y valve in the incorrect position as it is confusing to me. Does the toilet need to be set in a certain position when discharging waste? The waste appears to go directly to the holding tank (through the top)first then it is either sucked out from the bottom of the tank to the deck discharge pump out or macerated to then be discharged out the seacock, I think!

I don't understand the incoming water line that comes into the top of the holding tank. Maybe this is a drain from the head sink. It looks like a 1/2 or 3/4 braided water line.

Thank you so much!
Dale

[Cruzin]

Here are two photos as well

[Cruzin]

Here is other photo maybe

[Cruzin]

What I thought was a water line is actually an air vent line.

Thanks

Dale

[moonlight]

I think you've got it.
Yes, the small line is air vent.
Picture 3056 shows a Y-valve, I would suspect, positioned with arm UP meaning the two lower lines are connected...
Without following your plumbing myself, if you only have one Y valve, the head probably is forced into the tank first, thence overboard or thru deck.
Many larger vessels will have two Y valves.  One may allow head to go directly overboard, while off shore.  Thence it is flipped to go to holding tank, inshore.  Then the second Y valve controls whether it goes through the deck, or back to sea ...

[Cruzin]

Thanks I will give it a try. One of my previous posts on this I made a diagram of the system. The head does discharge directly to the holding tank first. I think I just had the valve in the wrong position when I tried pumping it out. I appreciate your assistance.

Dale