Sanitation tank filter-gctid803604

[Mariner156]

My thru hull vents for my sanitation tank are plugged up with salt and etc, so I replaced them this morning. In the process I noticed there is an inline sanitation tank filter on one of the hoses leading to one of the vents. I looked at replacing the filter as I am sure it is atleast 4 years old and discovered they are pretty expensive which leads me to wonder if I should eliminate the filter. Do they actually work and is it worth replacing?

Thanks. Jamie

[Ahaua]

Jaime,

From talking to a very experienced buddy of mine, the filters do work at eliminating odors; he actually fabricated one out of PVC and filled it with carbon, (much cheaper than buying one). I have one installed in my 3988 and I'm also wondering if I should replace it or eliminate it. If you read Peggie Hall's, (The Headmistress), book, she's against anything that restricts the tank vent and is not a fan of these filters. She even recommends increasing the size of the vent line; a blocked vent line is one of the worst things for your sanitation tank. If you haven't, you should pick up her book; it's excellent information. It's available on Amazon. Good luck!

[Mariner156]

Thanks Ahaua. I'll definitely pick the book up. She does make a good point. I may just bypass and if I have an odor problem I can easily put it back.

[Uncle_Bob]

Mine is over 10 years old. No need to replace it unless it gets wet.

[Mariner156]

I took it off and inspected. It definitely was obvious the tank was over filled at some point prior to me buying. I just replaced the vents and all the lines.

[WhiteRockMike]

Easy to tell if you really need it: have someone flush one of the heads while you stand outside by th vent. You'll know soon enough.

It's amazing how the activated carbon filters take away all the smell from the vent. As someone has mentioned, you can take your old filter, cut, modify And refill it for about $15. Lots of threads on this. Parts from Home Depot and charcoal from a pet store.

The other alternative is something like Noflex digester, which is a great treatment for holding tanks.

[ken51k]

I have a 28 gallon tank in my boat with a one inch vent line and I never have a odor issue.

I also us Noflex digester.

[Pacrimrat]

If you haven't looked at the tank vent fitting you might want to check it.

This is a photo of mine.

[Woodsea]

I took our filter out to modify with replaceable carbon. While it was out We really did not notice a difference. That was over a year ago. We use noflex and all seems to be well. I've got it ready to go to reinstall if necessary.

[weiss]

I also use NoFlex Digestor and it really does work well. I replaced the inline charcoal filter with a reusable { replaceable charcoal } from " The Big Orange "

https://bigorangefilter.com/

I like the design in that it has a bypass valve to allow for air to flow when using a pump out. I added larger hoses and a simple 3/4 inch mushroom vent fitting.

Best of all , the company in in Canada, so for my northern brethren , the wimpy $Can buck goes further.

Cheers, Gary

[boatworkfl]

The head 1" hose for electric toilets often gets plugged with calcium, I just run a hand crank drain pipe cleaner and crank away until it hits the holding tank, then work it back and forth, this knocks all the calcium out with-out buying a new hose and the trouble of installing a new hose.

[Ahaua]

I currently have an in line carbon filter installed and have been concerned about damaging the holding tank when pumping out due to the filter restricting air from entering the vent. I just looked at the Big Orange filter Gary posted and I really like that it has a by pass valve that can be used at pump out; I'm going to buy one and replace mine...thanks for posting Gary!

[Uncle_Bob]

The filter is designed for air flow as long as it never gets wet from overfilling.

[diveguy]

I made one of those filters and it didn't make any difference. Tried the No Flex and that didn't work either. Regular flushing of the tank and the blue rv treatment seemed to work best.

[Framedtrash]

I too installed a big orange in my 3055

Worked instantly, no more dirty smells

My favourite mod to the boat