Holding Tank Treatments

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Lucky Chucky

Lucky Chucky

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2016
Messages
107
Location
USA
Vessel Name
L'Eau Vive
Vessel Make
Bayliner
Captains,

After reading hours of TF threads on hold tank issues, I'm curious to see if anyone has compared Happy Campers Holding Tank Treatment with Odorlos, Noflex Digestor, Raritan CP, etc.


I've been using Happy Camper for 2.5 years and am running low. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with the product but am just looking at what else is out there and avail in Mexico and environmental safe in the fragile Sea of Cortez:)

Thank you for your response...

~Lucky Chucky
mv Ho'okipa
S4326
 
Noflex Digestor works so well for us, we wouldn’t switch to any other product.
 
After reading hours of TF threads on hold tank issues, I'm curious to see if anyone has compared Happy Campers Holding Tank Treatment with Odorlos, Noflex Digestor, Raritan CP, etc.

For one thing, Raritan CP is NOT a tank treatment...it's a bio-active toilet bowl cleaner that also happens to be an outstanding sump and drain cleaner. IMO, No-Flex is the best in the tank product.

As for Happy Camper, the Amazon listing for it has the most complete description of it I could find: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers-Organic-Holding-Treatment/dp/B007S0LDME The company is pretty stingy with information about its ingredients...the only "ingredient" listed on their MSDS is "monohydrates," which is defined as "a hydrate that contains one molecule of water per molecule of the compound"...and apparently the "compound" can be almost anything. See https://www.thefreedictionary.com/monohydrate. Their literature claims there are live bacteria in it, but no mention of 'em in the MSDS. And no mention of what if anything it does to prevent sludge sludge buildup on the tank bottom...something that No-Flex does do.

But apparently it is enviro-friendly, so although No-Flex Noflex Digestor would be my first choice, I can't find any reason not to use it if you're happy with it. But I'd flush out the tank 2-3x/season--and especially in preparation for winter or other extended layup--to eliminate sludge.

--Peggie
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No Flex is what we use. Not as often as we should, but as often as I remember to.
 
bayview said:
I used KO for years and never had a tank odor problem. I don't see it mentioned here.
Click to expand...

I used it for years, too, probably starting the year Peggie introduced it.

IMO, dosing (and cost$$$) with KO wasn't quite as manageable as for NoFlex, though. It was something like 4 oz into the tank and then much of that would be wasted if an early pump-out became necessary...

-Chris
 
With lots of O2 and a raw water flush, KO works really well. As I now how a fresh water head, and use a small amount of chlorine to treat my fresh water tanks, I use No-Flex now. FWIW, after adding an aerator to my tank, I never get any odor with or without tank treatment.
 
dhays said:
FWIW, after adding an aerator to my tank, I never get any odor with or without tank treatment.
Click to expand...


For that matter, I can't say we've ever had an odor issue without tank treatment and without an aerator.

I'd guess many odor issues are actually about plumbing problems (hose clamps, hoses, maybe tanks, etc.)... or wet bilges, shower sumps, P-traps, etc. Peggie's book applies.

-Chris
 
New boat in 2012. Have used only Odorless product. Never had an issue.
 
I hear from dozens of people every year who tell me they've tried every tank, product,, religiously pumpout after every outing, never put anything but urine in the tank, but cannot get rid of odor inside their boat. That's because unless a tank is leaking it's rarely if ever the source of odor INSIDE the boat 'cuz odor from inside the tank only has one place to go: out the tank vent. I also see quite a few posts from people who, because they have no odor INSIDE the boat, proudly claim they never use anything in the tank and have never had any holding tank odor....Everyone who's ever been within 50 yards downwind of 'em when they've flushed the toilet would disagree!

Holding tank odor--odor out the vent--and odor inside the boat are two entirely separate issues. Tank products can only deal with odor from the tank--odor out the vent. No tank product or any amount of aeration can prevent or eliminate odor inside the boat because the tank isn't the source. The most common sources of odor inside a boat are permeated sanitation hoses and wet dirty bilges...but they aren't the only ones.

So when you say you never have any odor, do you mean out the tank vent, inside the boat...or both?

--Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein
 
HeadMistress said:
So when you say you never have any odor, do you mean out the tank vent, inside the boat...or both?
Click to expand...


Good point. When I've said no odor, I mean inside our boat. So our tank treatment is partly just about mitigating potential sludge (?) build-up -- and giving our neighbors a break at flush time. :)

-Chris
 
Sea Q,

Thank you for that very informative post.

~Lucky Chucky
 
We've used different products along the way, but have now settled on "Forget About it for Boats."

Forget About It for Boats | TankTechsRX. What a difference!

We also poured a little in the bilge when we first got this boat and it cleaned it right up.

It makes a very positive environmental impact statement.
 
Did two things for our system... check the air vent line and corrected a dip that had water pooled in it, forming a trap. Started using Noflex. Been odor-free since.

Many, many thanks go out to Peggy for her decades of online advice.
 
HypnoBob said:
We've used different products along the way, but have now settled on "Forget About it for Boats."

Forget About It for Boats | TankTechsRX. What a difference!

We also poured a little in the bilge when we first got this boat and it cleaned it right up.

It makes a very positive environmental impact statement.
Click to expand...

How coincidental that I ordered that today. I was impressed by the information on their website and have been planning to try it.
 
Giggitoni said:
Noflex Digestor works so well for us, we wouldn’t switch to any other product.
Click to expand...

Giggitoni was so impressed with NoFlex that he bought a bottle for me to try. Now I'm sold after noting that I no longer experience the post-flush olfactory assault from the vent.

Ray is probably regretting that generosity since I now send him texts while enjoying my clean smelling head saying, "Thinking of you!"

In fact, I sent him a new one this morning. :socool: :D :whistling:
 
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