head pump out troubleshooting

Pat Lohan

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i can pump out in the ocean, yet when i get to the pump out station nothing comes out of the tank. is there a valve I'm missing? i've snaked it from the deck floor to the tank and there were no obstructions.
i have a 28.5 ft sailfish 2004. thanks for any tips and advice.
 
Check the owners manual, if you don't have one go to GradyWhite website.
There is usually a Y valve in the 1.5 inch line.
 
for my 2002 282, there is no switch or lever or anything required to change other than opening the waste deck fitting on the starboard side mid ship.
when the process is near done, i take my wash down hose into the head and fill the head/bowl and bunch of times to "flush" the tank as thorough as possible and re-start the pump out process until i can see that the waste water is near clear. This is a 2 man process. One guy in the head, one guy on the pump out hose. if you choose not to "extra rinse" your tank as i like to do, 1 person can do this job.

i'm assuming you're using a pump out station's hose/pump and accessing the hold tank via the starboard side deck fitting?
not really familiar with all variety of pump out stations exist, but the one i've used seems the norm and it has a hose with semi flexible tapered tip to that it will snuggly fit into the deck fitting hole and make a decent seal to better retain good suction. A very important step in using most pump out stations is that the hose needs to be "primed" to get it to work. You cannot simply stick the hose into the hole and press the button. there should be an approx 3" or better vertical pipe with open end with flowing water that you stick the hose tip into to help prime the hose. The hose should have a flow lever that you open to prime and once primed, you close and quickly insert into your waste deck hole, open the lever and the pump out process should begin. Most hoses have a "clear" section or window so you can see when the process is finished without risking premature pull out and "crap" spillage on your boat or in the water.

the pump out hose i've used does not "drop" or need to be "snaked" into the tank, it makes its' seal with the waste deck hole and the suction lifts the "crap" right out of the tank.

had to use the pump station a few times when my sub mac pump broke. much prefer to discharge offshore.
Hope this has helped. good luck.
 
When I retrofitted my 265, I found the diptube for the pump out connection does not go as deep into the tank as the internal pump, so it takes more crap (literally!) in the tank to enable it to be sucked out.
 
My bet is your duck bill valves are inverted. You probably have 2 or 4 of them depending on your set up.

Replace them and you'll be all set. West Marine has them. Messy job though.
 
Sounds like a air leak in the hose from the tank to the deck plate.
 
I had the same issue season before last and wasn't able to resolve the problem until the boat was hauled for the season. The problem was inverted duck bill valves.