www.iFourWinns.com

noticed this today. we hadn't used the boat and the head for a couple of weeks. it seems like the odor is coming from the vent. I added deodarant to the tank.

Is this a) serious b) nothing to worry about - it will go away c) get the checkbook out d) all/some/none of the above

let me know. thanx.

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2006 348 Vista
"some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield"

Pump out the head and install a filter on the vent line. Your neighbors will appreciate it

A 2006 348 should already have a filter on the vent line. It's in the engine compartment. Mounted right on the aft-end of the starboard fuel tank box. It's a cylinder about 18" long with a white hose going into each end of it.

If you're getting stink out the vent then you've overfilled the waste tank. This will let waste water get up into the filter. This will ruin the filter. You will have to either replace or rebuild that filter. Rebuilding is actually pretty easy. You just cut it in half and put some PVC fittings on it. Refill it with charcoal from a fish aquarium place. MUCH cheaper that buying a whole new filter.

If the filter did indeed get wet then you have to be careful about pumping out. It's entirely possible for a wet filter to block the necessary air flow pulled during a pump out. If the pressure's high enough it can collapse the waste tank or other lines. You may have to disconnect the line from the vent filter and then pump out. Have a bucket handy and some nose plugs. There shouldn't be a torrent of waste but there could be some in the vent line.

What tank monitoring system do you have on that 348?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Eww what is that smell? That smell, is our feces Focker, we're standing in it...





Does anyone happen to know where the filter is on the 248? or does the 248 not have one? I beleive the loop/vent pipe for the 248 connects to a chrome vent starboard side midships. Not sure if there is a filter on there or not.

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Brett DiMichele

It may be something much, much simpler...I notice that if we forget to re-flush the head after turning off the fresh water pump it will leave standing water in the bowl and will smell the following weekend when we show up...stagnant, rotten egg smell...I run the vent, open the port, flush the head, and spray some febreeze and it is fine. Just reminds me all the more to make sure to flush after the pump is off and make sure there is nothing left in the bowl.

Joe B.

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Joe B.
Ruff'N It 4
2011 Regal 42 SC

Previous
2008 FW V358
2006 FW V318
2004 FW V288

99, to answer your question i have the Fireboy Xintix LLM2 monitor system - the factory installation that doesn't work! I had previously mentioned this to the service manager and his response was - "we installed new monitors on the tanks."

So yesterday, after pumping the holding tank and filling the freshwater tank the indicators showed: freshwater tank - 1 green lite - basically empty and three green lites for the holding tank - basically full. (as my daughter said, maybe they switched the sensors on the tanks.) (are they supposed to change to red? sure would make it simpler.)

So now it will be contact the service manager again to tell him - "I think the monitor system sucks - how are you going to fix it?"

there was a thread here a couple of weeks ago about the monitor system being replaced under warranty - need to check that again.

I think the rule now is - pump it whether it needs it or not.

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2006 348 Vista
"some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield"

The Xintex sensor only shows green LEDs. Full would just be all four LEDs lit up. The sensor they use inside the tanks has got a hollow tube inside of it. That tube has sensors leading up along the sides. On the waste tank the tube tends to get clogged by solids (either paper or poo). It gets stuck reading at whatever level it's clogged. Mine usually ended up being around 3/4 full. I don't know why the fresh water sensor mis-reads. Perhaps it's mineral deposits or something. Mine misread several times but I finally got sick of it when it leaked out it's sensor wire hole. I said to Hell with it and removed the fresh water sensor entirely. I just put a 1-1/2" threaded plug (from West Marine) into it instead. $2.99 is cheap to avoid leaks and confusion over tank level.

As for how to leave the boat, remember there is a hose leading from the toilet back to a macerator. And then there's another hose that leads to the waste tank. On the 348 that's about 20' of hose.

One of the greatest hassles with waste systems is hoses getting contaminated from having waste sit in them. Eventually the waste permeates the material of the hose and the hose itself starts to stink even when empty. Make the repair all that much more labor intensive as everything else gets replaced first.

It's important that you don't do a single flush after the last use. If you only give it a single flush you end up leaving waste in the hoses. It's better to flush it longer in order to let water flush everything out of the hose.

I've done this every time we leave the boat for more than 3 days. I also add the 'Odorlos' brand tank treatment to it at that time. Most treatments depend on solids being in the tank. Adding the treatment at that time, and leaving it sit for a few days, helps make sure it gets broken down. If possible I suppose it'd be better to just pump out right away.

But if you're going to leave it sit for a while it's best to make sure it's just water in the hoses and add your treatment.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista