HELP please the heads are blocked

"If that doesn't work then it's a messy smelly dismantling job for you. Keep a brave woman back to empty it all away while you pump it out. Send t he others to the pub, where you will meet them for plenty of well earned drinks and major 'Brownie Points'."

Ariadne, did you really say "Brownie Points"?

I had to unbung a blocked heads on a boat I was delivering. Old cloth and towels around the connections and a bucket handy. Shut the seacocks. If the blockage is in the outlet ball valve you will feel it so a few wiggles back and forth may clear it. If not, ease the jubilee clip connections as there could be pressure behind it and "matter" can go everywhere. Even with rubber gloves it stops you biting your nails for days afterwards. But, seriously avoid handling food for a few days afterwards as well. The bugs can hang around on your skin for a very long time even with hand sanitising liquids.
 
If you can get at the sea cock outlet see if you can shove one of the pipe cleaning rod/springs up, if its a outlet blockage then this just might clear it enough without getting hands too dirty. Depends what access you have but another method is to get a sink plunger onto the end of the pipe and pump away ( word of warning if the blockage isn't going to move this may send S**T under pressure back towards you at extreme velocity) this has worked for me a couple of times when toilet tissue has blocked the pipes. If not, nothing for it but to bail as much as possible, make sure youre gloved up, with bucket of disinfectant. plenty of hot water on standby and take deep breath and start to dismantle. A descale at the end of a season makes sure the pipes are as clear as possible.
Blocked heads - one of the joys of sailing!!
 
Hi Zambant

As you posted this at 8:48 yesterday, I (and I have no doubt other readers) would be interested in the "solution".
How did you fix your predicament. I hope it was without too much of an explosion :-)

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com
 
gerryraby1 said:
Hi Zambant

As you posted this at 8:48 yesterday, I (and I have no doubt other readers) would be interested in the "solution".
How did you fix your predicament. I hope it was without too much of an explosion :-)

Gerry www.sadler32forsale.com
Click to expand...

Boat is currently floating around the Solent with a hose full of ***t and other stuff under PRESSURE ! and a stuck outlet valve - stuck open!

Looks like I will need to either....

1. Lift the boat out and sort the problem - She was due to be hauled out in 2 weeks time to replace the seacocks and valves

or

2. Cut the hose at its high point where it loops well above the waterline and get the wet vac to suck out the mess

Meanwhile - its bucket and chuck it and wait for a marina for any thing more serious than a pee.

Thanks all....................
 
zambant said:
Boat is currently floating around the Solent with a hose full of ***t and other stuff under PRESSURE ! and a stuck outlet valve - stuck open!

Looks like I will need to either....

1. Lift the boat out and sort the problem - She was due to be hauled out in 2 weeks time to replace the seacocks and valves

or

2. Cut the hose at its high point where it loops well above the waterline and get the wet vac to suck out the mess

Meanwhile - its bucket and chuck it and wait for a marina for any thing more serious than a pee.

Thanks all....................
Click to expand...

I think I would try to rod out the blockage from the outside while still in the water, at least it will then have the sea to flush it away. Obviously depends on how far down from the waterline the outlet is but has to be better than freeing the blockage onto the hard standing.

Yoda
 
Not sure if this has been mentioned but a certain forumite sailed around for a while on his shiny new boat unaware there was a holding tank plumbed into the outlet of the heads with the diverter valve set to use the tank. It was only after he'd owned the boat for months, he posted a similar request for help and discovered this fact to much forum merriment and he was subject to much forum p1ss taking (pun intended). So (deep breath), are you sure there's no holding tank installed, full and ready to explode?
 
Yipee................... Its cleared !!

Thanks all for help and suggestions - all now nearly resolved.

I drilled a small hole - 2mm in the waste hose at the top of the loop - no yuk so hacked through it with a hack saw

Found that the pipe going down to the through hull was clear - BUT the side going down to the heads was solid with lime scale looking deposit - so I spent 2 hours with a sink unblocking rod and eventually eureka!!

Now off to force 4 in the morning to get 4 jubilee clips and a joining piece.....

So one last question - is there anything I can safely use down the heads to stop it happening again ?? or is it a case of rodding through once a year ?

Thanks

John
 
B and Q brick cleaner. Burns up the limescale.
Limescale will always happen but if it pee sits in the pipe to the tank because you do not pump enough it gets worse. I belive I onnce canculated that 3 full pumps was 1 litre. work out the volume of the lenght of hose to the tank and then add 3 mor pumps. That should ensure everything goes to the tanks and only fresh seawater sits in the pipe.
 
What is the proceedure with the brick cleaner ? How long do you leave it in the pipe? At what concentration? Thanks.
 
NormanS said:
What is the proceedure with the brick cleaner ? How long do you leave it in the pipe? At what concentration? Thanks.
Click to expand...

B***** thing blocked again - poured 1/2 litre of the stuff down the heads and 30 mins later all the calcite crud came out!

Thanks for the advice.......
 
Prevention: after peeing flush with plenty of water. Not just a couple of quick pumps to empty the bowl because all that does is move the pee into the hose where the problem begins. At least a dozen full flushes before emptying the bowl will do the trick.
 
Dazedkipper said:
Prevention: after peeing flush with plenty of water. Not just a couple of quick pumps to empty the bowl because all that does is move the pee into the hose where the problem begins. At least a dozen full flushes before emptying the bowl will do the trick.
Click to expand...

That depends on the length of the outlet hose. Jabsco recommend 7 pumps per metre. Mine is about 6 metres. Grr.
 
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