www.iFourWinns.com

(Mods, feel free to move post if this is not the proper place for it.)

I bought a 2009 H260 with a pump out head this past spring. I had the boat "winterized" & serviced at the marina last week and upon getting it home it appears that I had to tell the marina to pump out & winterize the head as it is clearly not winterized. (I would think that "winterizing the boat" would include the head but that's another discussion for later!) The head was not "used" this season, however being new to me this spring I did fill the reservoir and try a couple "test" flushes. It has those few "clean" water flushes along with the blue deodorizer in the bottom now. So we're not talking "raw sewerage" but it's far from "fresh water" that I want to remove. I'd bring it back however the 2-1/2 hour drive each way is my last option even if they offered to do it at no charge.

My question is, has anyone had to empty their head without the use of the marina type vac-u-pump out? It appears to me that the unit is basically a porta-potty held in place with a couple screwed clips that has the export hose attached at the back. I am leery to disconnect the hose and remove the unit to dump it as I imagine the waste tank will drain as soon as I disconnect the hose. Blue stained "dirty water" all over the place is not what I want to clean up!

Any suggestions how I can get the majority of the fluids out before I add antifreeze? Would an old wet/dry shop vac get the majority out? Maybe a hand operated bilge pump?

Just looking for some suggestions.

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New To Me!
2009 H260 5.7GXi Volvo Penta

Tom
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

Not sure how full your reservoir is, or how cold it gets where you winter, but have you considered just filling up the tank with winter antifreeze and then pumping it out in the spring? This assumes there is room to add fluid, and the lower the freezing temperature of the antifreeze, the lower the freezing point of the mixture of water + antifreeze.

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Ernie Follis
It'll Do II
Four Winns 348 (2005)

The "clean reservoir" is almost full and the "waste tank" has a few inches in it...

I thought of adding a lot of antifreeze to dilute it to a table mixture, but the winter here in New England can get rather "chilly" (aka below zero for a week at a time and below freezing for a 2-3 months straight.) therefore I'd feel better if I could get the majority out before I add antifreeze. I'll figure it out this weekend but I was just looking for other's ideas.

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New To Me!
2009 H260 5.7GXi Volvo Penta

Tom
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

Can you move the lever to the flushing position and just put a shop-vac hose in there?? Years ago I had a boat with a pump-out portable head and the marina pump out station broke down down just before I was moving the boat to have it boat hauled. This wasn't just water and deodorant so I bought the cheapest shop vac I could find - and tossed everything when I was done. The 25 or so it cost was well worth it.

Even if you can't get everything out, empty enough to add sufficient anti-freeze and you will be fine.

First, all three of the shops I've ever used considered winterization to include both the head and fresh water tank. I've never needed to remind any of them to address them. You might want to make some phone calls to other shops to see what their customary practice is. Note, though, the one drawback to a pumpout head is that you must remember to get it pumped out on the water. No mechanic is likely to have the facilities to do that.

Disconnecting and removing the head would be my last choice. You're right about it being a fairly simple installation but I'd be concerned about future leaks, etc. If we're only talking about clean water, consider a siphon pump from any home improvement store. There are manual models, ones powered by a drill, and ones that have their own power. These heads don't have a lot of capacity so a cheap one should work. Just get out most of the water (into a bucket so you can have a good idea how much you've actually gotten out) then fill with pink RV antifreeze. Placing the bucket down in the floor locker might make the siphoning action work easier/faster if your hose is long enough to reach.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

You can easily remove the top portion with the clean water reservoir without fear of spilling anything. Just open the latches on each side, pick it up and pour the clean water out away from the boat by removing the fill cap and tipping sideways. There are no hose connections to the top part.

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Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

Thanks all...
I looked at it a little closer last night and it appears that I can use an old shop vac to get the majority out of the waste tank easily enough. If I can't get into the upper tank I'll just "flush" till it's empty and take it out of the waste tank. Once the levels are down, I can easily add the pink RV antifreeze and should be good to go.

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New To Me!
2009 H260 5.7GXi Volvo Penta

Tom
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

UPDATE:
So after reading 97_245_sd 's reply above I looked closer and found that the top portion ("clean water" tank) was easily removed & emptied.
With the tank removed, the pump out hose connections were exposed revealing what appeared to be a fitting the hoses clamped to that screwed into the lower tank. Fidgeting with this fitting I found that a quarter turn would allow it to be lifted from the "waste tank" without removing the hoses from the fitting. A clip at the bottom front released the lower unit from the boat. Carefully I removed the lower tank and dumped it into my house toilet. Flushed the unit with a hose, reinstalled into the boat, added a few cups of pink RV antifreeze in the upper tank, a flush or 2 to clear the hand pump of water & fill it with antifreeze.
We're good to go now! And I didn't have to contaminate my shop vac!

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New To Me!
2009 H260 5.7GXi Volvo Penta

Tom
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

I'm glad you did it the easy way instead of mucking up your shop vac. I used to remove ours completely from the boat for winter, it's that easy.

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Terry
Current: 07 Crownline 255 CCR cuddy - 350 Mag MPI/B3 "Casi Cielo"

Previous:97 245 Sundowner 5.7GI/SX

Tow vehicle: 1986 GMC 2500 Camper Special 454/TH400

I bought a wet/dry shop vac that is only used to empty the head fresh water and black water tanks. Its not a fun job but I can do it at home and costs little.

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2006 Sundowner 255, 5.7 GXi, 320 hp
"Simply Irresistible"