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leak in holding E34

tmjkelley

Junior Member
I have a hairline crack in my holding tank that leaks into the lazarette and then into the bilge. Can anyone recommend a patch? Of what material is it made?
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
I have a hairline crack in my holding tank that leaks into the lazarette and then into the bilge. Can anyone recommend a patch? Of what material is it made?

My humble opinion on this subject:

Ronco sells a new tank, don’t mess with trying to patch it, you have to take the whole thing out to try to patch it anyway. The model number is on the tank and they probably still make it.
https://ronco-plastics.com/

Opinion is worth what you paid for it.
 
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Emerald

Moderator
My humble opinion on this subject:

Ronco sells a new tank, don’t mess with trying to patch it, you have to take the whole thing out to try to patch it anyway. The model number is on the tank and they probably still make it.
https://ronco-plastics.com/

Opinion is worth what you paid for it.

The opinion may only be worth what paid, but I'll second that opinion! Not only can Ronco make you a new tank at a reasonable cost, but you'll find virtually nothing will stick to the plastic it's made of. There are some products like West System G/flex that might do the trick, but I'd skip it and start over. I can't remember the science behind it (memory is we're getting into cross-linked plastics with these tanks, but I might be wrong....), but basically, once cracked, start over. Making a lasting repair is very difficult if not near impossible. The emphasis here is on lasting. I put it into the category that if I have to pull it etc. to fix something like this, do it once, which I think means a new one.

And another opinion worth what paid for. :egrin:
 
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Glyn Judson

Moderator
Moderator
Fixing that leak for ever.

Dear tmjkelly, Not only can Ronco make a tank for you in a jiffy, they can add an inspection port in the top (read garden hose scouring if/when ever needed). Add to that the process they employ has changed from the days they made the tanks for Ericsson, namely the wall thickness is now double that of the originals and I read that as being less prone to crack in the future.....ever or as long as we will own our boats or walk the planet, whichever comes first. Call them to order or look on their web site first to find the exact replacement tank, then call: ronco-plastics.com, 714.259.1385 Best of luck, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey CA
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Patching Holding Tank

Hi T. 30 plus years ago we patched our tank with "goop" and prayer.. I thought it was a small chance that the crack would seal but it did and is still holding. I hope that I have not cursed the repair by mentioning it. Mid summer problem and I did not want to wait for a new tank and delay a cruise. Caution when you remove your existing tank. I learned the hardway that it is very hard to totally empty tank and when you lift the existing tank out it is easy to slop onto the cabin deck. Good idea to seal off the connections.
Best Regards Pat 1981 E28+ Universal 5411
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The virtues of "new"

"What Glyn Said"
:nerd:

When I replaced our old HT, the new one did seem to have thicker walls. I also re-oriented the hoses and eliminated the worrisome bottom connections, using dip tubes instead. Inspection port added to top, as well.
 

supersailor

Contributing Partner
Considering the contents, replace. Clean up in that lazarette and that part of the bilge is extremely difficult and the odor lingers. A leak in the middle of a cruise would not be pleasant.
 

mjsouleman

Sustaining Member
Moderator
Holding tank lead

Hi,

I had a failure of the outlet port on my holding tank and after removing it I found it was a Ronco W-11.

I phoned Ronco, spoke with the supervisor and sent a diagram of what I wanted (I put inlet, outlet and air breather on top of the holding tank with siphon tube).

Total cost = tank 132 + shipping 85.

If you speak with them, tell them Mark from Alexandria Va sent you.

MJS


I have a hairline crack in my holding tank that leaks into the lazarette and then into the bilge. Can anyone recommend a patch? Of what material is it made?
 

tmjkelley

Junior Member
Hi T. 30 plus years ago we patched our tank with "goop" and prayer.. I thought it was a small chance that the crack would seal but it did and is still holding. I hope that I have not cursed the repair by mentioning it. Mid summer problem and I did not want to wait for a new tank and delay a cruise. Caution when you remove your existing tank. I learned the hardway that it is very hard to totally empty tank and when you lift the existing tank out it is easy to slop onto the cabin deck. Good idea to seal off the connections.
Best Regards Pat 1981 E28+ Universal 5411


Pat,
What do you mean by goop?
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Ecletic Goop

Hi TM Bruce found a tube on the West Website THANKS BRUCE. Now Eclectic Goop claims to have many different formulas. 30 years ago the standard Goop was only available as Household Goop and that is what I used. I was a traveling hardware salesman and walked into one of our customers and told them that I needed to quickly patch a slippery tank that looked like polyethylene or polypropylene. Both materials were considered un glue able at the time. Hardware store genius said "take this, it sticks to anything."
If you decide to patch I would buy $10 worth and clean (I think I used alcohol or lighter fluid very carefully) a easy to reach section of the tank. Smear some goop on it and see if you think the bond is tenacious enough for you to give it a crack patch attempt. If there is any dynamic stress on the area. I would not attempt to repair. (but then again) I have used the Goop to patch our canvas winter boat cover which is 35 years old (and looks it.) The stuff works there too and it shouldn't. I have noticed that the standard household Goop turns brown in the sun (our cover is brown.) Never tried the Marine or RV versions that mention resistance to UV on the tube. Not much UV under the v berth where our holding tank is. Every year I reach down where the tank leaked and expect to find some debris. Not yet...
The advice on this thread is to replace the tank and if I had the time that's what I would have done. Pat 1981 E28+ Universal 5411
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Goop

Hi Respected Sailors I just looked out the window at the canvas covered boat... The heavy duty duct tape patched (reinforced with a smear of household goop) that I did a couple of years ago are still there :<{))). Snow due Saturday Night. Please keep your fingers crossed. Goop is not foolproof. Years ago I foolishly used it to seal some of the cover frame pvc pipe connectors together. The goop did not bond the pvc. Fortunately the tension of the cover kept the frame from falling down. Back to using duct tape. Pat 1981 E28+ Universal 5411
 

tmjkelley

Junior Member
Well, I bit the bullet and replaced the tank after unsuccessful attempts to patch it. I did learn, however, what might have caused the crack in the first place. I was talking to a fellow sailor in a neighboring slip about the crack the cause of which has baffled me. I conjectured that perhaps the boat might have been exposed to a hard freeze, unlikely here in the PNW. He sited his background as a mechanical engineer and said that he thought it might be the result of a plugged holding tank vent line. He explained that flushing in the absence of venting would cause the tank to expand and pump out would cause it to contract and that this repeated flexing caused the crack. Sounds logical to me. What say you?
 

Navman

Member III
holding tank

I also had a leak in the holding tank at the end of last year. My boat is a 1986 E-38. I read an old post (2013) and they said Ronco could make another one. I looked at the catalog on-line and did not see my model B-130. The post recommended that if one calls direct and ask's for Rich Gray he could help. I called, spoke to Rich and my tank will be produced today or tomorrow and shipped. Interestingly he confirmed that I wanted a black tank. My tank was a white translucent. He said as he remembers all of the tanks were black unless someone had already replaced it once. Can't wait to "suit up" put on the gloves and dig into it!! :( good luck with yours!
 

GrandpaSteve

Sustaining Member
Well, I bit the bullet and replaced the tank after unsuccessful attempts to patch it. I did learn, however, what might have caused the crack in the first place. I was talking to a fellow sailor in a neighboring slip about the crack the cause of which has baffled me. I conjectured that perhaps the boat might have been exposed to a hard freeze, unlikely here in the PNW. He sited his background as a mechanical engineer and said that he thought it might be the result of a plugged holding tank vent line. He explained that flushing in the absence of venting would cause the tank to expand and pump out would cause it to contract and that this repeated flexing caused the crack. Sounds logical to me. What say you?

That sounds more likely than freeze damage for sure. I think the tank would have to be pretty close to full for freeze damage to occur.
 
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