Don't put white vinegar down a Jabsco head

[vyv_cox]

Yes, that is the right stuff but rather on the strong side. My comments about the absence of damage done to toilets by it refer to more diluted versions. Brick acid is about 10%, European supermarket stuff seems to be mostly about 20%, where it says anything at all. It is superb at cleaning troublesome stains. We had marks on our enamelled sinks that resisted every detergent and abrasive cleaner we tried. Two minutes with HCl removed them completely. Well worth treating your toilet with it.

 

[sailorman]

dumb question coming up.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydrochloric-Acid-36-2-Pure-5-Litre-5L-/140573774735

When people talk about putting Hydrochloric Acid down the heads - do they mean such as sold in this ebay link?

Our new (to us) boat has a dirty toilet that has, apparently, sat on the hard with water in the pipes and something in the holding tank for at least 2 years. It's utterly disgusting. We are going to have the tank emptied, but would I then be advised and safe to pour this product straight down the bog and into the holding tank before flushing out?

yes it is also used in swimming pools.try your local builder`s merchant or b n q

 

[pvb]

The secret to a trouble-free toilet is to flush it copiously - scale build-up only happens when the toilet isn't adequately flushed. Ordinary seawater won't cause pipes to scale up, otherwise our engine cooling systems would be in a dreadful state. I've never had to put acid in the toilet, and suspect I never will.

 

[VicS]

Yes, that is the right stuff but rather on the strong side. My comments about the absence of damage done to toilets by it refer to more diluted versions. Brick acid is about 10%, European supermarket stuff seems to be mostly about 20%, where it says anything at all. It is superb at cleaning troublesome stains. We had marks on our enamelled sinks that resisted every detergent and abrasive cleaner we tried. Two minutes with HCl removed them completely. Well worth treating your toilet with it.

Take care with enamelled surfaces. Some ( esp things like baths ) are resistant to the alkaline nature of soaps and detergents etc but will be severely damaged by strong acids.

OK on glazed porcelain like toilets though.

 

[agurney]

.. in the marina nothing but pee, water and white vinegar goes into it..

that's unusual, our marina doesn't allow pee, or indeed anything, to be be pumped from the heads

 

[macd]

The secret to a trouble-free toilet is to flush it copiously - scale build-up only happens when the toilet isn't adequately flushed. Ordinary seawater won't cause pipes to scale up, otherwise our engine cooling systems would be in a dreadful state. I've never had to put acid in the toilet, and suspect I never will.

That's fine (and indeed the Jabsco manual suggests you to do something along those lines, and even how many pumps are best per metre of hose). But it's of limited value with a holding tank unless you're on a mission to fill it quickly.

 

[pvb]

That's fine (and indeed the Jabsco manual suggests you to do something along those lines, and even how many pumps are best per metre of hose). But it's of limited value with a holding tank unless you're on a mission to fill it quickly.

The OP made no mention of a holding tank.

 

[macd]

The OP made no mention of a holding tank.

He didn't mention the Moon, either, but I'm pretty sure it exists.

The OP's experience seems to be so atypical that no-one seems to be drawing any lesson from it. But the anti-scaling remedies mentioned in the thread have clearly aroused a wider interest. I'd suggest its up to individual readers to make use of information, or not, as they see fit.

 

[GrahamHR]

Hydrochloric acid as in household bleach?

NO NO NO NO. Maybe someone has answered already, but do not mix the two. The mixture will Will release loads of chlorine gas, very unpleasant as a minimum, very unhealthy as the next step. You'll just smell it to begin with , then bang, you'll start coughing. ! Wasn't it used as a poison gas in WW1, before they started to use phosgene ?

 

[SailorBill]

NO NO NO NO. Maybe someone has answered already....

They have.

 

[Jamesuk]

I put Caravan blue in with some vinegar - Does the trick, been doing it for years. (I close the seacock too when not in use for August)

 

[nigelmercier]

(I close the seacock too when not in use for August)

It can't be good for you holding it in for a month.

 

[GrahamHR]

They have.

Good.

Unfortunately ( fortunately?) not everyone has the time to check every post of every thread before replying with important information relating to safety. I apologise if I have sinned, much the same as posters have apologised about posting after posting jokes someone has posted before, even though others who have never heard them before find them amusing..

 

[SailorBill]

No need to apologise.

 

[GrahamHR]

Not an apology, a statement of fact.

 

[SailorBill]

Good.

Unfortunately ( fortunately?) not everyone has the time to check every post of every thread before replying with important information relating to safety. I apologise if I have sinned, much the same as posters have apologised about posting after posting jokes someone has posted before, even though others who have never heard them before find them amusing..

No need to apologise.

Not an apology, a statement of fact.

Whatever you say Graham

 

[GrahamHR]

Thank you Bill !

I wondered even now why I wrote what I did !

A lot of stress in the last month or so with ageing, seriously ill and dying close relatives I'm afraid,
no excuse though.

I am truly sorry to to have caused you any offence or upset !

Graham

 

[SailorBill]

Thank you Bill !

I wondered even now why I wrote what I did !

A lot of stress in the last month or so with ageing, seriously ill and dying close relatives I'm afraid,
no excuse though.

I am truly sorry to to have caused you any offence or upset !

Graham

Absolutely no offence, upset or anything else caused!

You have my sympathy for what you are coping with. I guess many of us have to deal with similar at some point in our lives.

 

[jimbaerselman]

The OP's experience seems to be so atypical that no-one seems to be drawing any lesson from it. But the anti-scaling remedies mentioned in the thread have clearly aroused a wider interest. I'd suggest its up to individual readers to make use of information, or not, as they see fit.

Variations which haven't been mentioned are temperature and salinity. In the cool fresh waters of the Baltic, scale is trivial. In the cool salt waters of tidal Europe, it's a mild problem. In the warm, highly saline waters of the Med it's a problem which has to be addressed.

No wonder opinions vary . . .

But it does look as though the OP's damage was nothing to do with anti-scaling measures

 

[RogerLS]

I think Its worth putting in a bit of chemistry. Urine undergoes slowish bacterial decay to ammonia which gives the pong. Ammonia is very alkaline and reacts with calcium bicarbonate in seawater ( the sea is saturated with the stuff - think about the White Cliffs..) The ammonia reacts to give ammonium carbonate and leaves calcium carbonate which is the deposit in the loo lines. Certainly copious prompt flushing will help.
Acid of any sort will react with calcium carbonate to dissolve it but you need as much acid as you have calcium carbonate ( in molar terms) . This assumes the reaction is allowed to complete and you dont flush out unreacted acid to sea. If you have a few metres of output pipe reduced from 38 mm. to 12 as a friend of mine did, then you will need a lot of acid.
I use citric acid in my Jabsco but have not stripped the pump and proved that no problem occurs. Citric acid is cheap and harmless to people - it occurs in fruit.Citric acid can be found on the net. It is advertised as useful for bath-bombs; whatever they may be.
I'm interested in what Vyv says about hydrochloric acid and brass/bronze. I was more used to the concentrated stuff which as everyone says is very nasty. I would be a little worried in case the hydrochloric acid got onto the stainless steel pump rod as it certainly affects stainless at some concentrations. However the pump rod SHOULD only contact sea water.
I'm also puzzled as Vyv is about "corrosion" of rubber parts. The only materials I would expect to affect rubbers are organic solvents and oils. I use olive oil to lubricate the pump as even opening up the pump and putting in a fair amount of grease only seems to last for a months use. Mineral oils might perhaps affect rubber.