Pump out tip.

[gwkiwi]

Yesterday at Aqua Harbor Marina in MS the local dock hand earned his tip and I wanted to pass on his great solution for pumping out, especially if you have a lot of lift from the black tank to the outlet cap like I do, ie 10'

After placing the suction head to the outlet and before turning it on, have a fresh water hose with you running water lightly, right above the pump out tube and then turn on the pump.

The water circulates and covers any air gaps around the end of the pump nozzle and makes a secure vacum, thereby allowing the pump to work at 100%.

I apologize in advance to those who already knew this but after owning many boats in many places thought this was worth passing along.

 

[FlyWright]

Occasionally when I use the marina's fitting, I get an air leak which slows the process. If I use my own fitting, then I have no issues as it seals completely.

Thanks, I'll remember this for next time I hear a leak as I pump out.

 

[gwkiwi]

Hey Flywright hope CA is treating you well, I will be back out there this weekend and will be up visiting friends in Alameda next week but will be boatless.

My wife maybe up in Sacromento doing some consulting this summer off and on, so maybe we can finally get together and have a cold one while chatting about boats.

 

[FlyWright]

Sounds great, gwkiwi. I'll be here (Sacramento) or on the delta pretty much all summer. I'd love to get together over a cold one.

I saw your ol' Californian made it to San Diego and its new owner said hi here on TF. I hope that new Defever is treating you well. I imagine you're still getting used to all that space onboard!!

Let me know when you're coming to town. PM me anytime for my cellphone.

 

[GFC]

Get one of these for about $5.....

It screws into the threads on your pumpout fitting then this attaches to it. No leaks, no spray just a nice clean pumpout.

 

[FlyWright]

Doesn't everyone have one? It was one of the first "tools" I bought for the boat.

What I sometimes have issues with is the fixed pumpout nozzle with the tapered rubber nipple like this

which gets held into place at the outlet opening by physical pressure. Sometimes the rubber on these is a bit stiff and they won't seal properly. In this case, the running water tip could be helpful.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

It never occurred to me to buy a pump out fitting. At our old marina, the fitting they have on the pumpout worked fine. At the new marina, the marina staff pumpout the boat in the slip when we aren't even there. I do like this water seal idea. I'm sure I'll have to pump out my own boat again SOMEday....

 

[meridian]

Having an early 80's TT i have no idea what the threads are. Any ideas?

 

[FlyWright]

Next week, I'll look at what I have on my 1977 Californian and post here. I'm not sure how standard the threads are, but mine is the same size as my friend's 1986 Jefferson TT.

 

[gwkiwi]

Even with the threaded connection tube attached you could hear air leaking out through the threads which was eliminated with the soft rubber connection and hose water running.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Yeah I've never seen a threaded one, just the soft tapered tip.

One of our friends sprayed holding tank contents all over his teenaged daughter one time. I will pass on this suggestion.

 

[GFC]

Even with the threaded connection tube attached you could hear air leaking out through the threads which was eliminated with the soft rubber connection and hose water running.

I put a bit of Vaseline around the threads of all my thru-deck fittings. It keeps the stainless steel from galling and on the pump-out fitting it keeps air from leaking in or out. The Vaseline also makes the threaded fittings easier to unscrew.


On a somewhat related note......

Do you know what the German word for Vaseline is?



Ready?



Schlipinsider. (say it slowly) (Marin, say it several times and it will come to you!)

 

[Marin]

Cute, but wrong.

 

[Steve]

Those screw in adapters work great. And the inside is tapered from the top so the cone type fitting will seal well, in case you have to use that instead of a "banjo" connector.
I have been using them since I got sprayed during one early Sunday morning pumpout, what a way to start the day, or week!

 

[twistedtree]

This begs the question of how the pump-out hose ends are equipped at marinas in your area? Everywhere I've gone in the Northeast, the pump out hoses have a permanently attached rubber cone shaped fitting like this.

http://images.jamestowndistributors.com/woeimages/plumbing/250_250/13280.jpg

You have to manually maintain pressure while the pump slurps away, and I can certainly see how a little water would help improve the seal.

Cruising in Canada last summer, all the marinas had pump out hoses equipped with cam-lock fittings like you see on the end of a fire hose like this

http://www.wastecorp.com/pumpparts/images/pump-suction-accessories.jpg

They also have a selection of adapters that thread into your deck fitting and have a male cam lock on the other end like this

http://www.perfprotech.com/media/products/lns-2012/images-large/S/Sealand/51-310343502.jpg

As a catch-all, they typically also had a cone to cam lock fitting, but the threaded ones were much preferable because once hooked up they could be operated unattended.

The big challenge we had is that our deck fittings on our Grand Banks have a different thread from all the types that the marinas had. I never was able to find one that fit.

So the question is, how are pump outs in your area set up? Rubber comes, or cam locks?

 

[FF]

So the question is, how are pump outs in your area set up? Rubber comes, or cam locks?


A question for a cruiser is do you have all the adapters aboard , and handy , to allow pumpout , regardless of the dock equipment?

 

[Steve]

Marinas I have been to along the Gulf Coast use a variety of connectors, usually held onto the hose with the camlock connectors.
Both the tapered or the camlock connections will work with the screw in adapter.
My Monk original waste pumpout fitting was a thread size for which a screw in adapter was not available. I changed it out for a deck fitting with threads that match a screw in adapter. 1.25 or 1.5 inch I don't recall which. A bit of trouble yes but as I mentioned above I have been the recipient of a holding tank content spray at pumpout not much fun.

 

[GFC]

The connectors in the PNW have the cam-lock fitting and they're called "Banjo" connectors. (don't ask me why? I dunno?).

I pumped out again yesterday using the screw in adapter I own and it was great. Screw it in, attach the Banjo connector to it and flip the switch to turn on the pump. There's no viewing window for everyone's enjoyment but you can definitely hear it when it's done sucking up "stuff" and starts sucking air. It's faster, cleaner and less messy than the kind you have to manually hold in.

 

[Northern Spy]

The connectors in the PNW have the cam-lock fitting and they're called "Banjo" connectors. (don't ask me why? I dunno?).

Banjo Corporation specializes in injection molding of glass reinforced polypropylene with an excellent reputation for high quality. Key properties of glass reinforced polypropylene include excellent chemical and corrosion resistance, rigidity, lightweight, stress cracking resistance, low moisture absorption, and good impact resistance. Banjo prides itself with innovative designs, skillful engineering and precise manufacturing.

 

[driller66]

Comox dock in Canada (Vancouver Isalnd) has the rubber cone and my Monk has a threaded 1 1/2" fitting. I''ll let you know how it goes after the "job" is done

 

[Pack Mule]

Hey gwkiwi I will have to try that next time . I'm new to the forum and on the Tennessee River at Paris Landing .Will you be coming this way any time soon I would love to see your boat.

 

[Phil Fill]

My tip is to have SOMEONE ELSE do it! Yuck! 17 years and I have only pump the Eagle one time and that was enough! Had to change cloths and take a shower.

Since then we use a lot of Clorox down the toilet with a little stink pretty so odor is not so bad. Also keeps the hose and tank clean.

Act helpless/air head and ask for help! Take a long time, look cinfused, somebody will come to help/due. Can you show me how?

 

[GFC]

Act helpless/air head and ask for help! Take a long time, look cinfused, somebody will come to help/due. Can you show me how?

Phil, why would acting blond benefit you?

 

[FlyWright]

I got a picture of my adapter last week. Here it is for those wondering about size options.