pump out problems

[magna 6882]

When to pump out for the first time and had problems. at the dock they had a head with a valve with a 90 degree drop. On my boat the waste cap is inset in an alcove and i couldn't get the assembley to set vertical to make a seal. I was thinking perhaps a flexible length of tube.
Have any of you guys seen this?

 

[twistedtree]

Most pumpouts have camlock fittings in one place or another. You can likely get a camlock adapter than screws into your deck fitting, then the pumpout can connect directly to that. Or make up an extension of some sort using PCV pipes.


https://www.camlock-fittings.com/polypropylene-camlock-couplings.html


Note that some deck fittings have an extra-planetary thread that is completely non-standard, either SAE or metric. My last encounter was 1-1/2" 14 TPI. In that situation, you could have custom adapters made, but I found it was much easier, cheaper, and ultimately more flexible to replace the deck fill with one that uses a standard thread. Sea Dog makes a line of very nice stainless deck fills that are very reasonably priced.

 

[RichardM]

Most pumpouts have camlock fittings in one place or another. You can likely get a camlock adapter than screws into your deck fitting, then the pumpout can connect directly to that. Or make up an extension of some sort using PCV pipes.


https://www.camlock-fittings.com/polypropylene-camlock-couplings.html


Note that some deck fittings have an extra-planetary thread that is completely non-standard, either SAE or metric. My last encounter was 1-1/2" 14 TPI. In that situation, you could have custom adapters made, but I found it was much easier, cheaper, and ultimately more flexible to replace the deck fill with one that uses a standard thread. Sea Dog makes a line of very nice stainless deck fills that are very reasonably priced.

Do you know if the 1 - 1/2" - 14 is the most common one? I need to make an adapter that screws on the deck fitting and I'm not sure what tread size it is. Can't access the boat right now. But when I go for a pumpout, I just take the screw-on cam lock adapter they give me and it always fit. I'm thinking my deck fill is pretty standard.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Yes, I've seen an 18" flex tube with appropriate fittings on each end - probably custom made. Last saw one at Green Turtle Bay Marina - the marina used it for pumpouts. Your setup would be problematic for a 90 degree fitting on the pumpout hose, but would be ok for one that is straight, as most are. Good luck

 

[HeadMistress]

Most dock pumpouts don't connect directly to the deck pumpout fitting...you need one of these SeaLand NozAll on Defender It threads into the fitting and sticks out far enough for the pumpout hose to connect to it using a cam lock.


--Peggie

 

[magna 6882]

On my boat the cap is held on with a chain. At the pump out station the end of there line had a soft tube with a sealing donet. It looked like it was designed to seal against any hole but i couldnt get it to seal at the back. Do i need to remove the chain and come up with a more direct connection? It was raining like hell when we tried the pumpout so i didnt get any pictures or look real hard at there setup.

 

[twistedtree]

Do you know if the 1 - 1/2" - 14 is the most common one? I need to make an adapter that screws on the deck fitting and I'm not sure what tread size it is. Can't access the boat right now. But when I go for a pumpout, I just take the screw-on cam lock adapter they give me and it always fit. I'm thinking my deck fill is pretty standard.

1-1/2" - 14 tpi in non-standard and I have never seen or heard of a manufactured adapter that fits. The only ones I know of have been custom made.


A standard thread would be 1-1/2" - 11.5 TPI which is standard NPT pitch. The commonly available adapters will fit this.

 

[twistedtree]

Most dock pumpouts don't connect directly to the deck pumpout fitting...you need one of these SeaLand NozAll on Defender It threads into the fitting and sticks out far enough for the pumpout hose to connect to it using a cam lock.


--Peggie

Those are great.... as long as you don't have one of the freak-thread fittings.

 

[hmason]

I needed to remove the chain from the Pumpout fitting to get a seal.

 

[HeadMistress]

On my boat the cap is held on with a chain... Do i need to remove the chain?

You definitely need to remove the chain. Chains are fine on water and fuel tank fittings caps 'cuz there's no need to create a vacuum to fill either one. But you only open the deck fill fitting to stick a hose into it to fill water and fuel tanks...you open a waste tank deck fitting to pump out the tank...and it's impossible to pump out a tank if the dock pumpout connection "leaks" air...you have to have tight seal. which cannot happen if a chain is there. So remove the chain...and ALWAYS stow the cap where it CANNOT fall overboard when it's off. This is especially important if you have an older boat with original deckfills that have 16 TPI (threads per inch) instead of the 11 TPI on current fitting...'cuz you will NOT find a replacement that fits...the only solution is a whole new deck fitting. I found this out when I had to replace missing cap on my last boat (1980 Trojan)...and I had access to every wholesaler, importer and other source on the planet!


--Peggie

 

[Comodave]

Everything floats when you drop it overboard, it either floats on top of the water or floats on the bottom of the water. Deck caps definitely float on the bottom of the water. Good advice about securing the cap when it is off.

 

[kchace]

Everything floats when you drop it overboard, it either floats on top of the water or floats on the bottom of the water. Deck caps definitely float on the bottom of the water. Good advice about securing the cap when it is off.

Yup! And I have one of those 16TPI deck fittings. Don’t want that floating on the bottom!

 

[High Wire]

When to pump out for the first time and had problems. at the dock they had a head with a valve with a 90 degree drop. On my boat the waste cap is inset in an alcove and i couldn't get the assembley to set vertical to make a seal. I was thinking perhaps a flexible length of tube.
Have any of you guys seen this?

If the pump-out hose is run up the walkway then the nozzle with the 90* might go in with a slight bend of the hose. It won't work coming perpendicular to the boat side.
Yes the chain must go. Its usually held in place by a screw inside the fitting.

 

[Comodave]

When to pump out for the first time and had problems. at the dock they had a head with a valve with a 90 degree drop. On my boat the waste cap is inset in an alcove and i couldn't get the assembley to set vertical to make a seal. I was thinking perhaps a flexible length of tube.
Have any of you guys seen this?

Maybe a good time to relocate the pump out fitting to a more accessible location???

 

[jbabs]

As noted, chain must go to make sure you're able to create a proper vacuum. I've bought a selection of different adapters from here.

https://marinesan.com/site-nozzle-qc-w-splash-guard-1-5/

All the marinas I've encountered have a banjo fitting at the end of their hoses with their nozzle attached. Easy to just remove whateverfinal fitting they have and install yours. I prefere a nozzle with a sight glass just to make sure I'm getting good flow and the suction hose with splash guard . The splash guard helps create a secondary seal around the deck fitting for good suction.

 

[Comodave]

Definitely remove the chain. To get a good seal you can run a hose with water and run it around the deck fitting so that any vacuum leak will suck in the garden hose water instead of air. Works easily and great.

 

[HeadMistress]

There's a sight glass in most dock pumpout hoses.


--Peggie