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Grey water tank / Deck Wash
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Author:  Blood Vessel [ Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Grey water tank / Deck Wash
Ok, so I’ve checked my Grey water tank and all hoses leading to it have all been capped off.
Meaning the Galley, Head & Cockpit sinks including the shower waste get directly pumped out overboard via the sump pump outlet.

Now, instead of removing the Grey Water tank or leaving it there dormant, I was thinking of adding an extra pump and converting it into a Fresh Water Deck wash tank so I can wash the boat down after each outing.
As we spend anywhere from 4 - 7 days onboard each time, the fresh water tank simply doesn’t hold enough water as it is to service our needs and water refill stations are not often close by to keep refilling the fresh water tank.

Has anyone done this kind of conversion before?
Any input or thoughts are most welcome.
Author:  babbot1 [ Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Grey water tank / Deck Wash
I don't see why you couldn't do it. Cleaning it out might be a chore to get all the scum out. At least it's not a black water tank. :D
I am not an expert but I don't think you can reuse that tank for anything other than cleaning the boat and maybe the head. You might be able to call an expert to sanitize the tank though, I am not sure.

You should be able to install a 12 volt pressure pump and plumb a line or 2 where you need it with pex or the marine equivalent, I think Whale is the brand. All you would need is a vent on the tank that should already be there and a filler. The filler is probably the hardest because it's gravity fed and you need to probably drill a hole on the deck somewhere for the filler inlet.
Where is the grey water tank located, and what boat model?
Author:  Blood Vessel [ Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Grey water tank / Deck Wash
babbot1
I’ve got a 358 Vista.
There already is a filler / pump out cap next to the Waste pump out on the starboard side already and there’s also a grey water vent there too.

As for the build up of scum in the tank I’m sure there is some kind of bio degradable detergent out there that will break the scum down over time.

As we use our boat in Salt waters, I was also thinking of plumbing another hose into the anchor well to wash the rode when it’s on it’s way up.

Grey water tank is located in the Aft sleeper under the cushions.


Cheers Charlie
Author:  Surface Interval [ Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Grey water tank / Deck Wash
Your ideas should work well. It might be a little challenging to route the washdown hose to the bow, but you will appreciate having it there. I did something similar on our 268. We are in fresh water, and my system draws in lake water. I used a 4gpm 60psi pump tee'd into 3/4 ID hose to the bow and stern. I have a washdown coiled hose in the front anchor locker and another coiled hose in the stern storage compartment. We use the bow washdown for the anchor, rode, and even the fore deck. The rear washdown is handy for rinsing the swim platform and any water toys, or even to rinse the sides of the boat. We trailer our 268. I don't have the grey water tank, but I have refilled the potable water tank when possible so I can hook a 25 foot garden hose and nozzle to the transom shower hose to rinse the sides of the boat when its on the trailer. It works reasonably well, but that water pump is a lower pressure and doesn't have quite as much power. I unscrew the transom shower head and connect the shower hose and garden hose together with a plastic plumbing fitting. I think it is 1/2 inch pipe thread to garden hose. Works great.
Author:  babbot1 [ Thu Jan 10, 2019 7:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Grey water tank / Deck Wash
Agreed, sounds like you are good to go then, just have to install the pump and plumb where you want the hose.

Also, get yourself a good 50' shrinking garden hoses if you don't have one, it takes up very little room and you can reach anywhere on the boat. You can't use those for potable water which it sounds like you aren't going to do anyways.

If you want to get really creative, you could plumb the pressure pump with a valve to pick up sea water OR from your grey water tank. It's really useful for washing off items where you don't want to waste fresh water and salt water will not harm it. Or a prewash to get the heavy grime off and then a quick blast of fresh water to get the salt off. Just a thought...

Like Surface Interval said the pressure pump for the main system doesn't have much pressure. Mine I think has about 30psi which is good for conservation but doesn't have the pressure to pull off grime like on an anchor.
Author:  chris268 [ Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Grey water tank / Deck Wash
This is a good idea!
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