Holding Tank Repair

[skip]

Removed my holding tank after noticing slight discharge in bilge area.    Wanted to see if it had experienced a crack on the support beam.     The good news is the tank is fine, however one of the female threaded fittings on the tank has a split in it and needs to be replaced.    It appears to be welded on so I ground off the original and now can replace with a specially fabricated female fitting.

Has anyone replaced this?  and if so should it be epoxied to the tank?   I have an 89.

Thanks, Skip

[Ron Hill]

Skip : Not so easily repaired. 
This came up about 10 years ago.  You need a special hot air weld that melts a "plastic" welding rod.  I didn't keep any of the particulars, but maybe someone else did and will answer.  As a just in case you might ask Catalina the $ of a new tank and look for a plastic repair company in your area and present the problem to them. 
I just don't think epoxy will "stick".   

[Rick Johnson]

Skip,

A few years back I had to have the plastic bodywork on several of my motorcycles repaired.  The results were very good (some prettier then others but all held just fine) I would bet they could weld your holding tank also.  It's not really a DYI job (more art then science), but it certainly wasn't very expensive at the time.  Of course a holding tank may be a different matter (yuck)!  I would suggest calling a few bike shops in your area.  With all the plastic on new motorcycles, there are lots of people who do this kind of work now....

Cheers,

Rick

[Jon Schneider]

Wouldn't it be possible to drill out the hole and replace the fitting with a standard or elbowed thru-hull, sealed with 5200?

[Ken Juul]

When it comes to holding tanks and plumbing questions ask the expert.  The Head Mistress, Peggy Hall.  She moderates a forum on Catalinaowners.com.  From the forum menu select expert forum, then select Head Mistress.    If I remember correctly there is a replacement fitting that can be installed.  The flanges are oversized, cut out the old, install the new.  I don't think welding is required.

[Craig Illman]

A B-179 tank from Catalina is about $200 plus freight. You need to evaluate the value of your time if you have to remove/replace the tabbing if the repair fails in a couple years. Plus, with the age of your boat, the tank may be starting to smell a bit anyway (or close to it). But I appreciate that everyone has budgets and priorities. Hey, at least it's not an aluminum tank behind a fixed bulkhead that I've heard some H***** sailboats have!

Craig

[skip]

Fellow Captains-

Thanks for the insight, information and sensitivity to my budget.   After discussing the relative merits of saving dollars through a repair versus the risk and smell of continuing to use the old tank, our noses won out.     The plastic on the old tank has definitely picked up a smell that was not removed by cleaning with a cleaner and closer inspection also revealed that the vent fitting had a split too.     Apparently these might have been overtightened or stresses from flexing finally took their toll.

With the tank and all the hoses replaced, I'm looking forward to a sweet smelling cabin.  While the tank is out I will probably install a tank monitor that has been on my list of potential upgrades.

Skip