Exploding loo!!!

lumphammer

lumphammer

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The electric pump on our lavac toilet has been quietly pumping away but nothing has been moved from the bowl. When I switch to the holding tank the pump sucks away quite merrily and everything works. So I have a blockage between the diverter valve and the stop cock. The manual holding tank suction pump that connects to the stop cock through a Y connector is obviously pumping against a back pressure. My problem is that I'm afraid I have pressurised this section of pipe work so that when I start on the lovely task of clearing the blockage there is going to be a sudden release of pressure with the accompanying spraying of nasty matter all around.

Any suggestions on best way to proceed gratefully received
 
Wrap yourself in clingfilm which you can discard once you've completed the job, oh, and don't forget to set up some sort of camera to video the whole operation in order you can post it here for our merriment.
 
lumphammer said:
The electric pump on our lavac toilet has been quietly pumping away but nothing has been moved from the bowl. When I switch to the holding tank the pump sucks away quite merrily and everything works. So I have a blockage between the diverter valve and the stop cock. The manual holding tank suction pump that connects to the stop cock through a Y connector is obviously pumping against a back pressure. My problem is that I'm afraid I have pressurised this section of pipe work so that when I start on the lovely task of clearing the blockage there is going to be a sudden release of pressure with the accompanying spraying of nasty matter all around.

Any suggestions on best way to proceed gratefully received
Click to expand...

The first thing to do is to check that the outlet "stop cock" is actually open.
Presumably it is cone type sea cock, a gate valve or a ball valve.

Any chance of drying out for a tide and having a bit of a poke with a stout bit of wire from outside,
 
VicS said:
The first thing to do is to check that the outlet "stop cock" is actually open.
Presumably it is cone type sea cock, a gate valve or a ball valve.

Any chance of drying out for a tide and having a bit of a poke with a stout bit of wire from outside,
Click to expand...

No drying out I'm afraid. We are afloat for the winter, and if we move we will loose our ideal spot as someone is bound to grab it.

I've worked the ball valve open and close a few times to make sure nothing stuck in there with no change.
 
If the pressure doesn't release when the pump stops, you're stuck with the messy reality of undoing the hose clip and trying o contain whatever's stuck inside the hose. Lots of rags about the place to absorb the crud, plastic bags to put them in and a marked route to the shower block is about the best that can be done.
 
In my limited experience of mending loos, the job is usually nowhere near as unpleasant as might be feared - if that's any consolation!
 
Leave it for as long as possible (several days) before releasing the pipe. There is usually sufficient seepage round the pipe to allow the pressure to drop.
 
saltylegs said:
As Vyv says, but I think he means that the handle may be worn away, can you remove the handle and get a small spanner (my guess is 6 or 8mm) or a shifter on it and make sure it is actually turning?
Click to expand...

You can't even rely on that test. I had one where the handle turned the shaft, with a sensible amount of resistance, but it didn't turn the ball. The shaft to ball connection was broken inside the valve. (This on a boat I had just bought and the survey said "all seacocks operate satisfactorily.")
 
saltylegs said:
As Vyv says, but I think he means that the handle may be worn away, can you remove the handle and get a small spanner (my guess is 6 or 8mm) or a shifter on it and make sure it is actually turning?
Click to expand...

When I wrote 'stem' I didn't mean 'handle':) The connection between the stem and ball is a small squared end that can suffer dezincification and become rounded.
 
Thanks everyone for all the answers as pvb said it wasn't as exciting or hard as it could have been. By working the diverter valve backwards and forwards a few times, it released any pressure in the outlet. It turned out to be a blockage in the stop cock after the ball valve, so with a length of 1.5 in tube to act as a coffer dam I could open the valve and poke the blockage out from the inside. Problem solved!!
 
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