jabsco loo questions

Robin

Robin

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2 loos, all working fine but couple of questions please:-

1) one 'squeals' on pumping flush water in, seems to come from bowl (rim?) area not pump which is new anyway.

2) limescale builds up in one bowl,maybe surface scratched by over enthusiastic cleaning in past ownerships. What can I use to clean it that will not harm loo seals or holding tank system if it got that far? Bleach not good as it only covers the colour not remove the scale itself. Could I use a cleaner like Harpic with limescale remover and then flush with multiple gallons of fresh water? I suppose a new bowl would be perfect solution but I'm mean.

TIA
 
Robin said:
2 loos, all working fine but couple of questions please:-

1) one 'squeals' on pumping flush water in, seems to come from bowl (rim?) area not pump which is new anyway.

2) limescale builds up in one bowl,maybe surface scratched by over enthusiastic cleaning in past ownerships. What can I use to clean it that will not harm loo seals or holding tank system if it got that far? Bleach not good as it only covers the colour not remove the scale itself. Could I use a cleaner like Harpic with limescale remover and then flush with multiple gallons of fresh water? I suppose a new bowl would be perfect solution but I'm mean.

TIA
Click to expand...
Pour a couple of litres of your cheapest vinegar in the bowl. Leave overnight and the limescale will be soft and you can wipe it off. Repeat as required. You’ll be amazed ��
 
We use standard domestic cleaning products in our Jabscos. Harpic works to keep limescale in the bowl and “bend” at bay: put in overnight and flushed in the morning. Toilet Duck or similar daily to keep things fresh. And that’s with us using the boat as a live aboard for six months at a time. Annual service consists of new pump o ring and new joker valve, new flap valve and pump head kits as required perhaps every three or four years. So the Harpic and Toilet Duck don’t seem to be causing a problem, either with the heads or the holding tank.
 
drydog said:
Pour a couple of litres of your cheapest vinegar in the bowl.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the undeniably good theory but surely a couple of litres won't fill the bowl so except at the bottom, is it going to be more effective than a wipe over? And "cheap vinegar" isn't really that cheap. Perhaps my view is coloured by not having a car to drive out to vinegarmart on the out-of-town industrial estate and then not having any spare locker space to store a barrel of it. It's not much less than 80p a litre in the normal stores I have access to
 
Lidl W5 descaler is amazingly good on taps, sinks, kettles etc. Not tried it in a Jabsco, but wouldn't think it'd hurt the seals. It dissolves limescale before your eyes, no need to leave it overnight.
 
Robin said:
1) one 'squeals' on pumping flush water in, seems to come from bowl (rim?) area not pump which is new anyway.
Click to expand...

Robin, I assume we are talking manual loos here.

I would be surprised if the squeal is coming from the rim. I serviced both of my loos at Easter. On reassembly, one of them squeaked as you describe. I took off the cover in which the plunger is mounted, removed the pump and gave the cylinder a liberal spray of silicone spray. Then the seal on the plunger too. Reassembled. I now have two non-squeaky loos once more, rather than just one.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Lidl W5 descaler is amazingly good on taps, sinks, kettles etc. Not tried it in a Jabsco, but wouldn't think it'd hurt the seals. It dissolves limescale before your eyes, no need to leave it overnight.
Click to expand...
If there is a holding tank and if the waste pipework is lime scaled is there a risk from gas generated by the chemical reaction ?
 
Angele said:
Robin, I assume we are talking manual loos here.

I would be surprised if the squeal is coming from the rim. I serviced both of my loos at Easter. On reassembly, one of them squeaked as you describe. I took off the cover in which the plunger is mounted, removed the pump and gave the cylinder a liberal spray of silicone spray. Then the seal on the plunger too. Reassembled. I now have two non-squeaky loos once more, rather than just one.
Click to expand...

Silicone spray again , works very well , although you will have to do it again some weeks down the line
 
MartynG said:
If there is a holding tank and if the waste pipework is lime scaled is there a risk from gas generated by the chemical reaction ?
Click to expand...

The holding tank should have a breather or it couldn’t be filled.

Grease on the plunger should last half a season, olive oil down the pan to last a week and silicon spray somewhere in between. We use standard loo cleaners with limescale remover - and squirt it often.
 
+1 for hydrochloric acid. It’s labelled “spirits of salts” at the hardware shop where I get it. I wouldn’t leave it in the bowl for more than an hour or so before brushing and rising away the softened deposits. Very effective.
 
philwebb said:
+1 for hydrochloric acid. It’s labelled “spirits of salts” at the hardware shop where I get it. I wouldn’t leave it in the bowl for more than an hour or so before brushing and rising away the softened deposits. Very effective.
Click to expand...
But needs to be diluted - it's nasty stuff as it comes out of the bottle. 1 part acid in 10 parts water would be about right, but wear gloves, old clothes (I ruined a pair of trousers with a couple of splashes I didn't notice) and eye protection.
 
laika said:
I appreciate the undeniably good theory but surely a couple of litres won't fill the bowl so except at the bottom, is it going to be more effective than a wipe over? And "cheap vinegar" isn't really that cheap. Perhaps my view is coloured by not having a car to drive out to vinegarmart on the out-of-town industrial estate and then not having any spare locker space to store a barrel of it. It's not much less than 80p a litre in the normal stores I have access to
Click to expand...

We have no transport either but do get white vinegar delivered from asda at 39p/ 500ml. 500ml does't go far. it did a good job on the gsgalley sinks combined with baking soda to clear weedy growths in the drain from those. it works after a fashion in the bowl but might take 20 bottles to fill. perhaps coca cola would do the trick.aswell as be a deserved disposal route.
 
RupertW said:
The holding tank should have a breather or it couldn’t be filled.

Grease on the plunger should last half a season, olive oil down the pan to last a week and silicon spray somewhere in between. We use standard loo cleaners with limescale remover - and squirt it often.
Click to expand...

will grease the plunger but the noise seems from the rim of the bowl or the base not the plunger on the pump which I replaced complete just a month ago. I'm wondering if the feed in the rim is scaled up or has weed in it ( we see weed as we sare in a locked basin and slimy wed is abundant). I think i'll try a standard loo cleaner with LS remover and lots of flushing through. I keep the holding tank on that loo empty and open to gravity drain as it is above the waterline, only used for night piddling so no hassle to flush it well after cleaning the bowl which keeps it totally smell free. but not squeak free
 
Stemar said:
But needs to be diluted - it's nasty stuff as it comes out of the bottle. 1 part acid in 10 parts water would be about right, but wear gloves, old clothes (I ruined a pair of trousers with a couple of splashes I didn't notice) and eye protection.
Click to expand...

Hydrochloric acid as sold in Spain, France, Italy and Greece is intended for direct use in domestic drains and bought by millions of housewives. It is sometimes labelled as being about 30%, but this is the dilution of the concentrated acid, which is itself 37% HCl dissolved in water. More recently the bottles we have been buying in Greece are labelled 6%, which is pretty much the same stuff. This is the w/w (weight per weight) designation that is far more meaningful. Diluting this by 10:1 would make it very weak indeed.

We have been putting HCl down our toilets on a regular basis for many years. The reaction emits CO2 for 5-10 minutes, by which time it is all over. The resulting compound, mostly magnesium chloride, is a component of seawater and therefore acceptable to pump overboard.
 
vyv_cox said:
Hydrochloric acid as sold in Spain, France, Italy and Greece is intended for direct use in domestic drains and bought by millions of housewives. It is sometimes labelled as being about 30%, but this is the dilution of the concentrated acid, which is itself 37% HCl dissolved in water. More recently the bottles we have been buying in Greece are labelled 6%, which is pretty much the same stuff. This is the w/w (weight per weight) designation that is far more meaningful. Diluting this by 10:1 would make it very weak indeed.

We have been putting HCl down our toilets on a regular basis for many years. The reaction emits CO2 for 5-10 minutes, by which time it is all over. The resulting compound, mostly magnesium chloride, is a component of seawater and therefore acceptable to pump overboard.
Click to expand...

I just ordered this to test.https://groceries.asda.com/product/toilet-cleaner/harpic-limescale-remover-toilet-cleaner/2039155


https://groceries.asda.com/product/toilet-cleaner/harpic-limescale-remover-toilet-cleaner/2039155
 
The Lidl descaler contains phosphoric acid. A wipe around the taps and stainless sinks leaves them very clean and shiny, works very well in the kettle, descales while you wait, none of that overnight messing around.

Don't know how well it works on toilets, don't use it on my Lavac, but worth having onboard for the other stuff alone.
 
PaulRainbow said:
The Lidl descaler contains phosphoric acid. A wipe around the taps and stainless sinks leaves them very clean and shiny, works very well in the kettle, descales while you wait, none of that overnight messing around.

Don't know how well it works on toilets, don't use it on my Lavac, but worth having onboard for the other stuff alone.
Click to expand...

would be nice but our LIDL is a £20 taxi ride since they don't deliver.:disgust:
 
I often find that the squeak settles and goes away after a while. For many years we have cruised Baltic, and back via the Dutch canals. Our loo can be guaranteed to start squeaking as soon as we get to the less saline Baltic or Dutch fresh water but for the squeak to disappear as soon as good healthy North Sea water is pumped through. My theory is that the particulates and plankton provide lubrication. For the OP, I would say that a quick dose of olive oil will establish that it is the pump, and a better solution can then be applied as required.
 
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