new2this
Newbie
hello! thank goodness for this forum.
I am a new boat owner: ericson 26 1985
I have a double piston manual flush toilet but i do not know the manufacturer. recently I noticed that waste had leaked from somewhere out onto the floor of the bathroom then noticed that there was a hole under the toilet -what i assume to be the holding tank -with a wine cork stuck in it!! (previous owner blames the air b&bers) I moped it up and decided to get the holding tank pumped out before doing further inspection. I also noticed that I was unable to flush out the head so assumed the system was overfull.
it is possible the system has been overfull often.. this was my first pump out a month into acquiring the boat and living aboard it...previous owner told me I'd only need to pump out ever 3 months so I assumed the holding tank was huge, however when i asked her the size of the tank for calling the pump out service she told me its only 5 gallons!!!
pump out service came and said I need to clean my hold tank vent- it is obvious clogged. I'm not sure how to do that and I am looking everywhere on line for simple straightforward instructions. so far some things say back flush some say detach the parts to clean some say "don't detach whatever you do" etc
immediately after pump out I was able to flush again for a few flushes. I tried doing a hot water and vinegar flush but the head stopped flushing before I could complete that treatment. it seems like when I have the bowl set to dry water is still filling the bowl faster than it is pumping out.
tonight it started bubbling up and i really thought it might geyser up and explode on me. I left the lid open on the seat so that gases can escape but I'm afraid to go to sleep in case I wake up drowning in my own urine.
how do I clean out the vent? should i go out in my pjs right now and give it a scraping?
thanks
I am a new boat owner: ericson 26 1985
I have a double piston manual flush toilet but i do not know the manufacturer. recently I noticed that waste had leaked from somewhere out onto the floor of the bathroom then noticed that there was a hole under the toilet -what i assume to be the holding tank -with a wine cork stuck in it!! (previous owner blames the air b&bers) I moped it up and decided to get the holding tank pumped out before doing further inspection. I also noticed that I was unable to flush out the head so assumed the system was overfull.
it is possible the system has been overfull often.. this was my first pump out a month into acquiring the boat and living aboard it...previous owner told me I'd only need to pump out ever 3 months so I assumed the holding tank was huge, however when i asked her the size of the tank for calling the pump out service she told me its only 5 gallons!!!
pump out service came and said I need to clean my hold tank vent- it is obvious clogged. I'm not sure how to do that and I am looking everywhere on line for simple straightforward instructions. so far some things say back flush some say detach the parts to clean some say "don't detach whatever you do" etc
immediately after pump out I was able to flush again for a few flushes. I tried doing a hot water and vinegar flush but the head stopped flushing before I could complete that treatment. it seems like when I have the bowl set to dry water is still filling the bowl faster than it is pumping out.
tonight it started bubbling up and i really thought it might geyser up and explode on me. I left the lid open on the seat so that gases can escape but I'm afraid to go to sleep in case I wake up drowning in my own urine.
how do I clean out the vent? should i go out in my pjs right now and give it a scraping?
thanks