Pilot 30 Head Vent Filter Location

Hi Everyone,

Was hoping someone might know where to locate the head vent filter on a 2007 Mainship Pilot 30? Looking to replace one but can't find where to access it.

Thanks!

Are you talking about the holding tank vent? I don't think Mainship installed a filter on it.


In any case, if the issue is obnoxious smells, those can be dealt with by more venting, not capturing the smell in a charcoal filter.


Holding tanks smell because they do not get enough oxygen which causes anaerobic digestion which produces smelly H2S among other things. You may not be getting sufficient oxygen because your vent is plugged due to over filing, kinked or maybe it needs to be bigger.


Maybe Peggie will chime in here. She really knows this s*&%.


David

We get some pretty obnoxious smells every time we flush the head for about a minute afterwards.

Get yourself a copy of Peggie Hall's book The New Get Rid of Boat Odors.
The New Get Rid of Boat Odors: A Boat Owner's Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor: Peggie Hall: 9781892399786: Amazon.com: Books
Peggie will probably be along here to help you out, but buy the book. It's very thorough and covers a lot of important stuff.

nicolasalan said:

We get some pretty obnoxious smells every time we flush the head for about a minute afterwards.

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What tank product are you using? That can be a major factor, but the wrong product is only part of the problem

As for any holding tank vent line filter...do you even know whether there actually is one? To find out, find your holding tank...the line is the smallest line coming off it, at or on the top of it...trace it to the hull (USCG regs require that holding tanks be vented to the outside of the boat, so it WILL terminate somewhere on the side of boat, or the transom). Hopefully you won't find one...but if you do, remove it and do NOT replace it....they're outrageously expensive and actually help to cause the very problem they're sold to solve (if only I could have come up with a product that does that!!) because they impede the flow of air needed to keep the tank aerobic, which is essential to PREVENTING tank contents from creating odor...the ONLY way to eliminate odor--which IS possible, although some minor modifications to the tank vent and and different tank product may be needed.

Is your head a vacuflush or electric head? My first pilot 30 was a vacuflush with freshwater flush, my boat now is electric with raw water flush, get the same problem of odor you do. Thinking to change to freshwater .
Jim

Flushing with fresh water can eliminate odors caused by dead and decaying organisms odors trapped in the intake line, pump and channel in the rim of the bowl, but there's so much bacteria in the waste that it doesn't make a nickel's worth difference in the tank...and odor out the vent originates in the tank, not the plumbing.

I really don't care what the inside of my holding tank smells like. I just don't want it to get out. And an activated carbon filter will consistently prevent that escape of odor without further ado. Other problems with salt water flushing aside, a handy person (even not so handy) with access to the vent line can construct and install an inline vent filter for <$20 with material from Lowes hardware and Walmart. PM me and I will send you instructions with pictures of what I installed.

I really don't care what the inside of my holding tank smells like.

You should, because it's the odor in the tank that gets out. But if you prevent odor from occurring in the tank (which isn't hard to do, btw), there won't BE any odor out the vent....and if there's no odor out the vent, there's no need for a vent line filter.

My 2002 P34 had no filter. Previous owner left 5 different bottles of tank treatments, but it was nasty every time we flushed. Installed a filter and voila... done.