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
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". :cry4`
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
Wouldn't it be possible to drill out the hole and replace the fitting with a standard or elbowed thru-hull, sealed with 5200?
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.
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
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