Marine Toilet Lubrication

[CLP]

Hello all Toilet experts!
Can anyone suggest an oil that can be bumped through a toilet to make its pumping action easier? The toilet is only 3 weeks old but is incredibly stiff to pump.
Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

I use the cheapest cooking oil on sale in the supermarket and keep some in an old toilet cleaner bottle. In the meantime, I can vouch that olive oil and groundnut oil (our usual cooking oils) work perfectly! About one dessertspoon is all you need, two at the most every couple of weeks (we liveaboard and the toilets are in daily use) BUT ***Don't flush it into a holding tank or you will cause foul-smelling anaerobic bacteria to grow, and will stink you out.*** I oil the toilet when it is flushing overboard. It that should happen, flush a little bit of washing up liquid into the tank over several tankfulls and it should clear - mine did, anyway.

 

[nedmin]

Forget the oil.take out the plunger and put some silicon grease on it and it will last a season.Dry plunger and piston first.

 

[Piddy]

Try a small dose of cooking or olive oil. Makes our run smoothly and stops the squeaking.

 

[Robin]

Forget all about oil and take Headmistress Peggie's advice, remove the plunger and grease copiously with a teflon gease, it will usually last a season. I did ours last year with waterproof grease for stern glands too (I ran out of Teflon grease) and it is still OK this year. Headmistress is a poster on the forums from the USA who is an expert in marine sanitation, even I believe written a book on it. Well someone had to....

 

[LORDNELSON]

I agree, Teflon grease is the best solution.

 

[alant]

Cooking oil works, especially that nuisance squeak & is useful as a stopgap when underway, until a proper job can be done with Si grease.

 

[mirabriani]

Good advice Robin, Headmistress is the expert in this field.

I wish we had her advice a few days ago. We were a little overloaded and notice forward head filling, so we turned off sea cocks. This left stern heads only, shortly after I used it (number one) it blocked, your truly got the blame.
We later found remains of paper knicks in it---I do not wear them!
So five days of bucket and chuckit ("NOT UPWIND")
Ohh how we laughed!

Regards Briani

 

[mainshiptom]

I always use virgin olive oil !

But silicon would be best if you have the time !

On our Vetus electric toilet all you need to use in vingar once a season !

 

[squidge]

Y not eat Olive oil with every meal ?
wouldn't that make it self lubricating?

 

[muchy_]

I use silicone grease. Works well and is available from your local plumbers merchants.

 

[eyupdougdown]

Pump a bottle of coke through and leave overnight to dissolve all the crap in the system. Then pump vegetable oil through for that oh so smooth action as your turd finds its slip slidy way into the vast blue yonder.

 

[HeadMistress]

Only 3 weeks old, and already stiff? I don't think the problem is lack of lubrication....'cuz all new toilets leave the factory slathered with thick teflon grease that should last at least a season...certainly a LOT longer than just 3 weeks.

When you say "stiff"...does the pump squeak and feel as if there's friction?

Or is what you're really feeling more like backpressure?

Does the pump shaft fight going down and rise again on its own?

Do the bowl contents go out and stay out? Or do they seep back into the bowl between uses?

Does it happen in both the wet and dry flush modes, or is it worse in one than the other?

What make/model is the toilet?

Do you flush directly overboard, or into a tank?

I need the answers to ALL the above questions and any other details you can think of to help me narrow down the problem.

Btw, Doug, before you pour another bottle of CocaCola down the toilet, put a joker valve or other soft rubber bit down to soak in it for a while and see what it does to the rubber.

 

[PaulR]

we use cooking oil every now and then and seems to help-have heard it suggested that we should pump through some vinegar and leave to soak to clear all the pipes and holding tank-anyone know if that is good advice ?

 

[HeadMistress]

A cupful of undiluted white vinegar flushed down the toilet once a week will dissolve and prevent sea mineral buildup in the discharge hose, but won't do a thing for the holding tank (which doesn't suffer from any mineral buildup).

Flush the vinegar all the way through the system in the "dry" mode...do not leave it sitting in the bowl...for two reasons: 1) it accomplishes nothing sitting in the bowl...2) although vinegar passing through the pump and joker valve in the head discharge won't damage any rubber bits, when soft rubber is left to soak in vinegar, they swell up and distort.

If you're gonna pour oil down the toilet, make it mineral oil (baby oil IS mineral oil, btw)...and be sparing with it. Cooking oil is ok...but it can get gummy and turn rancid in hot weather.

 

[arto]

You mean baby oil isn't made out of real babies?