E26 Holding tank?

My 1988 Ericson 26 was fitted with a small holding tank (6 gallons) by the previous owner. Looking at the brochure, it seems the boat can take a 13 gallon tank.

When I look on the web, there are a huge variety of holding tanks available. Can someone to take a look at their holding tank and see if there is any kind of name/part number I can use?

Thanks,

Bill
"Away"

Which holding tank to use.

Bill, It's most likely that you'll need a Ronco 11W tank http://www.ronco-plastics.com/newRonco/categories.php?catID=2. Ronco was the OEM supplier to ericson and is happily, still in business. That's the tank that my 1979 E25+ had and is also coincidentally the same tank in my E31, both original Ericson installations. Although the one in our E31 is an exact replacement that I ordered from Ronco some years ago when the original developed a fitting crack, the former tank actually had 25+ marked on it with a felt marker. If starting from scratch, consider plumbing your head system after the "Our Favorite Method" diagram in any West Marine catalog in the Marine Sanitation section with one small variation. Substitute Y-valve #8 with a T fitting. It's on page 490 in the 2011 catalog. As with any head system, use Odorlos treatment (available at West Marine or any reputable chandler) as directed and you'll never have head odor, ever. Go for it, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA

Thanks, Glyn

Glyn, that's great, just the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks for such a fast reply. I'll follow through on that link.

BTW, how often do you find that you need a pumpout with your 13 gallon tank with a couple on board? I haven't sailed my boat yet, I'm just trying to estimate how many days I can get out of the 6 gallon tank before I get around to making the switch.

All the best,

Bill

Tank usefulness.

Bill, If we're careful by heading ashore as much as possible and sharing the use of the head (two uses, one flush) we can get about four to five days use from the tank. Mind you, we're very careful with its use and really do rely upon using shore facilities as much as possible. By the way, ask for a clean out cap to be fitted to any tank you buy. That way you can remove it for use of a garden hose from time to time measured in years. You'll have to figure out where you want your fittings to be spun in before talking to Ronco. That'll necessitate going to the boat to think through placement and proper routing from the head to the tank. I fitted a 1 1/2" Groco HVL vented loop http://www.groco.net/SVC-MAN-07/Sec1/pdfs/Vented-Loops.pdf between the head discharge and the tank input to prevent back flow to the toilet bowl. It's mounted above the top of the tank as much as I could reasonably get it. Glyn

Good advice

Thanks, Glyn -

I'll take your advice. We'll be bringing the boat back along the southern Maine coast in June and we'll need to test out your usage recommendations.

There aren't a lot of pump out stations, but enough, I'm sure.

All the best,

Bill

Bill,

Here's another option to consider if space is a consideration. You can find them a little cheaper if you are patient and hunt around.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|51|87367|315192&id=916840

Roscoe

E25, #226

Tight fit.

Rosco & Bill, As memory serves, that Ronco 11W tank is about a tight fit as can be imagined but then, it's been 16 years since I sold my E25+ and close to five years more since I installed that tank in my former E35+. Also, it may not be the case today but when buying two tanks from Ronco over the years, the price shown on their web site turned out to be twice what I actually paid for them. In one case, it was mailed to my home and in the other case I drove down to them and got them myself. Both times the price was half of what was published. Why not give them a call to see if that's still their policy? Glyn

Bill,

Glyn makes a good point. If you opt for the Ronco tank instead of the Dometic, it's worth it to give Ronco a call. I recently ordered a replacement water tank from them. If you talk with the guys in the back who make the tanks, you might end up getting a better deal than the list price the receptionist quotes you.

Regards,
Roscoe

Thanks

Thanks, Roscoe and Glyn. I will call Ronco once I get my boat back from Maine. The hoses are new on the current system and I'll take photos and measure, see what it would do to fit it into the existing system. I realize I may need to start from scratch.

Thanks for your help on this -

All the best,

Bill

Head hoses.

Bill, If you're like me, you don't want to spend any more money on a boat project than you have to. That said, consider reusing some or all of your existing plumbing hoses. By using Odorlos in the system, even the stinkiest of hoses will very quickly rid itself of odor with the regular use of Odorlos. Don't believe me, try it out for a while and you'll become a convert. At worst, all you have to do is replace the old hose lengths like for like. Go for it, Glyn

Location of holding tank on e25+

Greetings. I am a new owner of a 1979 Ericson 25+ (at least I think it's a 25+). I bought the boat from an estate and no one knew anything about the boat, I am a newbie (this is my first boat) and so I am doing a lot of sorting through things. One of the things that's baffling me is that that the marine survey the estate had done said there was no holding tank but there is a deck opening (or whatever that is called) for "Waste" ( and one for loading water). The boat was really packed with stuff and the marine surveyor didn't see everything. For instance, he thought there was only one sail, but when I could finally get into the v-berth found several additional sails. I'm wondering if he missed a holding tank but am not sure where to look for it and the e25 brochure on this site did not show that. In general I am also trying to figure out if there is any way to know for sure what came with my boat when it was new. For instance, I haven't had it out of the water yet and the marine survey did not look below so I don't know which type of keel of the two types possible for e25+'s it has. Thanks for any info!