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How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 5:11 pm
by km1125
And do you ever wish it was larger, or would you still pump it out frequently anyways, even if it was larger??

I currently have two 40 gallon waste tanks. They both need to be replaced, along with all the hoses (ching ching $$). I had a brainstorm today and was thinking about just using one tank and plumbing both heads into the same tank. If I do this I only have to buy one tank and I could even buy it a bit larger than the original, so I could go up to 50 or 55 if necessary. It would also eliminate one whole (LONG) section of waste hose (from the rear tank to the pump out). I'd only have to cut one extra hole though a bulkhead to connect the aft head to the fwd tank and that hose run would be about the same length as the original that went to the aft tank, so overall that length would be a 'wash' over stock.

Is 40 gallons too small for two heads? We don't use them much and have never filled them even when they were working.


EDIT: Here's a graphic of what I'm talking about. (Ignore that little kink in the pumpout line from the fwd tank)
carver_waste_tank_idea.jpg

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 5:29 pm
by bud37
You could put in two 30gl.....heh, consider replumbing with white pvc where you can, no more odor, cheaper works great, dometic has adaptor fittings and some nice sweep elbows.......I redid our last boat with it.

One thing , there is nothing better than some redundancy...one breaks you still got one. We have one 30gl and it takes a while to fill it.....1 to 2 litres/ flush for 113L tank = lots o flushes.... :-D

Just another point of view to consider.

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 5:41 pm
by km1125
If I did still do two, then I probably would go a little smaller for the fwd tank, as I can use some of that space for an inverter or other storage. We use that fwd head a lot less than the aft head anyways. But even two smaller tanks is still more $$ than one larger tank (along with hoses). From a reliability standpoint I'd be more concerned about the heads than the tank.

Don't know how I'd do PVC... are you talking about regular "non-bendable" PVC or something different? I'm not sure there's enough of a stretch anywhere that's straight enough, except in the pump-out line starting near the aft head and going about 6' forward towards the pumpout.

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 6:33 pm
by g36
Regular household pvc . I have 2 40 gallon tanks in my 405 I replaced long run in engine room with pvc and then where I needed then a good quality waste hose where the flexibility is needed.

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 7:19 pm
by mjk1040
02-30 gal waste tanks in ours and hope as long as we have her I never have to deal with any replacements in this area! Famous last words! Would stick with the duals, always have a back up if needed.

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 8:08 pm
by Midnightsun
Wish I had dual 40's, only dual 25's in mine. A total of 50 is more than enough for our needs. Sure helps that are marina charges only $80 for a seasonal $hit pass. :-D Could pump out every day if I wanted. :evil:

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 17th, 2019, 9:54 pm
by tomschauer
My 1998 355 has two 18 gallon tanks. When its just the wife and I we are good for at least two weekends or about 6-8 days. When have kids and grandkids on board it would be nice to have some extra capacity, but I do believe I would pump out at least every two weeks needed or not. I just don't like that dark stuff in the boat.
I do like having two tanks with monitors when others are on board. You never know when someone will use 10x water than needed and fills a tank. You can then close that head and use the other until you get to a pumpout.


Mike, how did you fit a 30 gallon for the aft head? I could do it for the forward, but no room aft.

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 18th, 2019, 3:57 am
by tonyiiiafl
My 390 CPMY has 2 20's. Only wife and I so we use one for #1 and the other for the "real deal". We have gotten 4 days on the hook before and not filled either. Vacu Flush also helps in conservation of resources.

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 18th, 2019, 2:26 pm
by rjr
We have two 40 gallon tanks in our 440. We pump on a 2 week cycle now. Used to be 3. Wondering if anybody has installed a charcoal filter during upgrades?

Re: How big is your waste tank?

Posted: July 18th, 2019, 2:30 pm
by Midnightsun
Mine came factory with charcoal filters. They really did a good job on this as the key to controlling doors is good air exchange. The vent lines on both tanks are 1 1/2" :-O All previous boats IO had were only 5/8".