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E35-3 Holding tank removal

John Yandow

Member I
I went to see Mean Jean for the first time this year, she is looking great. Sean, I was reading your holding tank project, this is on my list this year, right after my rudder bearing "fix", still deciding how to proceed. Anyway, you said "used an extended phillips driver to remove the lower one, and a hack saw blade to remove the upper one". Now I was able to remove the upper with a phillips, did you get this backwards? Do you need the hack saw blade to remove the lower? I did not get to involved with this today, but why do you have the cut the lower, is it attached to the tank?
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Holding Tank Upper and Lowers

We used a hacksaw blade to remove the upper - and an extended phillips to remove the lower. The upper had it's screws painted over and buried in junk - and the screws became stripped - so we cut it (this was before I mastered the fine art of stripped screw removal).

The lower is (on my boat) held with three phillips screws - very easy to remove with a extended (long shaft) phillips screw driver. It's just a board - held into place with the three screws - nothing else.

Hang onto both of those boards - the lower one especially. That lower board is what will recenter your tank into it's correct position when you go to reinstall. Pulling it out is fun - throwing it in the dump is even more fun!

Also - when you reinstall the new tank, make sure that the 1.5" lines are side-by-side - not one on top of the other - where they make the turn into the tank compartment - otherwise the tank won't sit right.

And - make sure that you get the replacement tank from Ronco *without the wing* -Model B192, I think- that the original tank had. That added wing only gives you about an extra gallon of capacity, and (once you reinstall you'll see why) the design was/is flawed - and subject to cracking at the "L" joint (the pressure from the hoses creates a pressure point on the joint (of the old design). Ask Scott at Ronco - he'll tell you all about it.

Finally - do yourself a favor - and get the 6" inspection port mounted by Ronco when you order the tank. You'll avoid lots of problems, and it'll give you a way to keep the tank clean and clear every year - so it'll never smell!

I need to update that projects section with the new photos and text. Today I'm reinstalling the teak molding, putting the plugs back in, varnishing, and then -in-goes-the-toilet!! Within a week or two the sanitation portion of the head overhaul will be history on O Barquinho!

Have fun! :D

//sse



[Edited by Sean Engle on 04-18-2001 at 11:08 AM]
 

John Yandow

Member I
Sean,
Where did you get the paint you used? I can't find it. Is Interlux's Bilgekoat the correct name?

BTW, I am having fun...the tank and head are out. What did you use, if anything, to clean and get the smell out of these areas?

Thanks
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Congratulations on the delivery (from your boat of) the holding tank!

I used West Marine's Mold and Mildew remover (about 2.5 bottles in total), as well as Scott Towels "Box-O-Rags" ($10 for 200 super heavy duty paper rags from Home Depot), nylon scrubber, scrub brush, and small kitchen scrubber (like you would wash dishes with). I pulled out everything, including the pump, loop and valve, etc.

The Bilgekoat can be found at any marine supply place that carries Interlux http://www.interlux.com products. You can also get it from BoatUS if nowhere else http://www.boatus.com. You should not have problems finding it. Make sure you buy a respirator to use when you apply it - as it's quite nasty (but VERY effective).

I'll be updating the projects board very soon (this week, hopefully).


//sse


[Edited by Sean Engle on 04-24-2001 at 05:45 PM]
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
coating bilges...

Today I got a first coat of white gelcoat in the forward bilge area. Tomorrow I will do some more. The factory had gelcoated only the center part where you would see it when the access boards were lifted out. I have scrubbed and sanded and chisled out many lumps of putty left over from when Ericson installed the interior modules, and it all should stay clean in the future.
I had previously done this to the part of the bilge at the foot off the companionway steps. Looks clean and "new" three years later.
I mix in a little wax (liquid) into it, and then catalyst, and then paint on the gelcoat with a throw-away brush. I admit to being puzzled about your buying a special kind of "bilgecoat" paint (?) for this job.
Meanwhile at home the sole pieces have been varnished on the bottoms, and tomorrow I will get the first of several coats on their tops.
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Interlux Bilgekoat

I used the Bilgekoat because I wanted to seal off that area's glass to basically encapsulate whatever remaining mold was in there. I cleaned the daylights out of it - but of course I'm sure some small bits remained (see the "after cleaning" photo in the projects section).

I considered doing the gel coat route - but given the fittings and difficult access beneath the vanity, I chose to go with Interlux's Bilgekoat product. Also, I would need to seal off the gel coat from the air - which would be more difficult - and, I've never used gel coat before (I have lots of experience with all kinds of paint).

I'm very happy with it - it went on thick, and dries to a nice, light gray finish. It was pretty easy to do, and enabled me to get into very tight locations - and protects the fiberglass from any, um "fluids" that it might be exposed to.... I put on four (count em!) coats. Take a look at the pictures I just loaded into the projects section....

Not to worry about doing gel coat, Loren - I've got lots of projects for that - most notably the chain locker up front! :D

//sse
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Surfacing agent for gelcoat

>>Also, I would need to seal off the gel coat from the air - which would be more difficult - and, I've never used gel coat <<
That's why I mentioned the wax. This additive allows it to cure completely, because the wax rises to the surface of the gelcoat and seals out the air. You end up with a slightly dull rather than glossy surface.
Loren
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Really? That's interesting. I was unware that you could do that. No matter, however - since I have no experience with it, I was more comfortable with the paint, so...

//sse
 
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