Heads inlet critter nuking

cardinal_mark

cardinal_mark

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The heads on Viking have suddenly developed a gut wrenching stench. At the weekend I flushed through the 'exit' side of the system and checked the pipes for permeation - both proved negative so I'm assuming there's some kind of contamination on the inlet side. Having searched 'headmistress' and read her suggestions it looks like a fresh water flush through of the inlet hose should do the trick.

What I'm not entirely clear on is what to add to the fresh water to ensure the little critters responsible for the smell are nuked out of existence without damaging the hoses etc. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Cheers

Mark
 
No need to nuke the animal or vegetable life...it's already dead and decaying, which is why it stinks.

Disconnect the head intake hose from the thru-hull (close the seacock first!) and stick it in a bucket of clean fresh water...flush the whole bucketful through the toilet. If it works, you should see a lot of black flecks in the bowl. Continue flushing buckets of clean water through till no more black flecks. Follow with a final bucketful to which you've added at least a quart of white vinegar.

If that doesn't cure the odor problem, replace the intake hose. If THAT doesn't cure the problem, it means that more decaying remains are trapped in the channel in the rim of the bowl than just flushing can dislodge. You'll have to remove the bowl and set it on the dock to blast out the channel with high pressure water (not something I'd try with the bowl in place in the head).

If this is likely to be an ongoing problem, a strainer in the head intake line would be a good idea.
 
You can buy a filter which goes between the pump and the bowl.

Alternatively a peg on the nose, and flush through well when first on the boat, before you need to use it at sea.
 
After a period of use, and before a week or so without use, the heads in Harmony are flushed through thoroughly and then the residual water in the bowl is treated with a splash of supermarket pine disinfectant and a splash of vegetable oil, flushed out completely and valves turned off. No smells, and the pump works sweetly, too. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Any tips on stopping the heads stinking after the first flush when we have been off the boat for a few weeks?

[/ QUOTE ]

If it's odor that knocks you off your feet when you flush the first time after being away from the boat, it's caused by sea water left to sit and stagnate in the head intake and pump. I wouldn't recommend a filter in the intake line...too easily clogged with sea water minerals etc. Nor any chemical cartridge, especially chlorine, 'cuz chlorine will destroy the rubber parts in a toilet and break down hose resistance to odor permeation. Pouring anything into the bowl doesn't help intake odor either...'cuz nothing that's poured into the bowl is recirculated through the intake...only through the bottom part of the pump and the discharge hose. So if disinfectant poured down the toilet eliminates odor, it isn't intake odor, but odor from the head discharge hose...which shouldn't escape into the bowl unless the joker valve is worn out (if it's been more than two years since you replaced it, it IS worn out).

The simplest way to eliminate intake odor is very easy to install on MOST boats--except for those on which the toilet and head sink are on opposite sides of the keel: tee the head intake line into the head sink drain line. When closing up the boat, after the seacocks are closed, fill the sink with clean fresh water...flush the toilet. Beccause the seacock is closed, the toilet will pull the water out of the sink...rinsing all the sea water out of the ENTIRE system, including the head intake line, pump and channel in the rim of the bowl.

This has the added advantage of eliminating one hole in the boat. In fact, several US sailboat builders use the same through-hull for both the sink and the toilet to eliminate one thru-hull.

It is necessary to keep the sink plugged to flush the toilet...otherwise, the toilet will pull in air through the sink that will prevent the pump from priming.

Cheap, simple, and it works.
 
we have a 2-way valve on the sink waste/ loo inlet, it works very well with the Lavac. also easy to break the loo seal after flushing + leave on "sink" with the loo outlet closed & the loo is isolated at sea /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
How did you test the hoses aren't permeable?? Dont think you will see anything oozing out.
Heads where the inlet is close to the outlet - as ours are - are going to be worst as you constantly re-feed a small amount of waste into the system.
It's probably build up of gunk inside the pipes which harbours the bugs which make the smell - dont think they are dead its just the gas they give off as a by product of thier metabolism (same as too many beans!!).
The bugs are likely to be salt-water adapted and to cure this we alway flush our heads thro' with fresh water several times before we leave and then fill with a little fresh when we leave.
Can also soak and flush with white vinegar occasionally to break down the scale. Also some veg oil to keep it lubricated.
Finally we spray the ouside of the heads bowl etc and surrounds w bathroom spray (with bleach) when we leave. And it all smells alot better since adopting these procedures - even SWMBO is fairly happy with it!!
Hope this helps!
 
Sanitation hoses ARE permeable, though some take longer to permeate than others. And there is a test for it: clean off a section of each hose to remove any odor that may have attached itself to the outside of the hose. Wet clean rags in HOT water...wring out and wrap around the hose. When the rag has cooled, remove it and smell it. If you can smell the same odor on the rag, that hose has become permeated...if you can't smell anything on the rag, the hose is fine. Use a clean rag for each hose section.
 
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