I was first taught to place the
pump out hose in the water (bay) to prime it before putting it in the discharge of the boat. I have also read
Pump Out instructions that use the same technique. It immediately occurred to me that this technique defeats the purpose of having a
holding tank, as you are introducing sewage and bacteria into the Eco system (admittedly a very minor amount). In fact, I would think it's probably illegal. In addition, I didn't understand how this was priming the system, as you would break the prime by moving the hose from the bay to the boat. I guess you could close the valve on the hose, but this wasn't what I was shown. I soon figured out that if I topped of my
holding tank with fresh water, I could "prime and
pump" in one step, and keep the hose out of the Bay. In addition, this method dilutes the
holding tank, which I assume makes pumping more efficient (certainly can't hurt). Am I missing something, or is this the way most people
pump out?