Noisy Toilet pump

[HowardB]

I'm new to the forum, so apologies if this is an old chestnut. I've recently bought a Sealine S37, which has the noisiest electric pump in the loo, presumably because it has a macerator for the 'lumps'. (I know this 'cos I've had to dismantle to retrieve cotton wool. Enough said!!) Great if you want to be woken at regular intervals, but otherwise pretty annoying. Does anyone know of a quieter pump, or am I going to have to ditch the lot and resort to elbow grease and manual pumping?

 

[mainshiptom]

Howard

I have to manual pumps which where noisy and hard to opreate but some one on this fourom suggested to put a table spoon full of cooking oil down and this was the end of the noise and the stiffenss went as well.

I think the cleaners taht we use on toiltets dry up all the seals and rubbers making it noisy !

Have a go !


Tom

ps I used olive oil !

 

[jfm]

Those loos always make that grinding noise, from the macerator. Only solution, apart from fitting manuals (yuk), is to fit vacuflush loos, which can be done but very expensive.

Re cooking oil, I have heard that too, that it lubricates manual loos and reduces blockages. Seems a good idea. But it wont remove the macerator grinding noise

 

[BarryH]

Plenty of curries, soft diet and loads of beer! That'll soften all the lumps and the thing wont have to work so hard.

Does it make the same noise when not under "load" as it does when its got to deal with a "load". A bit of lubrication won't go amiss, use olive oil or a vegetable oil, much kinder to the enviroment! If pumping raw sewage out can be kind.

 

[ccscott49]

Try some soluble oil, from a machine shop, or from a chandlers, sold as toilet oil, but at a horrendous mark up. your local machine shop will probably give you a small bottle full, keep putting it down at regular intervals, its not a one time treatment, I also use it for manual loos, far better than cooking oil, virgin olive or otherwise! It is also enviromentally friendly, they use it for breaking up oil slicks aswell.

 

[HowardB]

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes it does make a huge amount of noise even when not under load. ie just water. I guess it is a noisy motor as well as macerator. I'll have to look/ listen to another similar to compare, Meantime I'll have a go with the oils. Thank again to all.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by HowardB on 21/01/2003 14:26 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[DavidJ]

Howard
Just got back from a week on my S37 (based in Sardinia) Yep the electric toilet you have is probably the conversion from the manual one. I did the conversion myself some 6 months ago. They are incredibly noisy because of the masurator but a million times better than hand pumping. If it's any consolation you can't really hear it outside of the boat if the window is shut.
Bear with it or buy the quiet conversion for about £400+
best of luck with the S37...great aren't they
David

 

[KevL]

I have heard that it's not a good idea to use if you pump into a holding tank cos it floats on the top and stops the biochemicals doing there job. Could be an old wives tale.

KevL

--
It may be the early bird that catches the worm but its the second mouse that gets the cheese.

 

[tcm]

Unless the things makes a wild screaming noise (which means that an olive stone is in there) then as seen below, that's how they are, unfortunately.

I have the vacuflush ones which seem okay, especially at a demo. This is cos the demo includes nice flush and water going away...but not the noisy slurp and gurgle that the things does 10 seconds later, which would wake everyone up in the dead of night, but is indeed v quiet in normal daytime.

Not sure the manual ones are a better altrnative - the massive pumping makes a bigger racket.

good ideas include

a) Encourage Swmbo etc to get involved in evening merrymaking to ensure that they sleep very soundly.

b) Stop quietly sneaking off to the loo. Make a big noisy deal out of getting up to check lines, clomp about a bit, and it'll be fine to use the loo once they are all nicely woken up.

c) if it's other people going to the loo and waking you up, turn off the fuse that makes the loo work and turn it on in the morning. They won't do it twice!

 

[HowardB]

Thanks, I like the ideas. As you rightly assessed though, it is Swmbo who objects to the noise, so sedatives may be cheaper. Fortunately I'm her GP!! (or would that be taken as 'poisoning'? Worried reminders of Harold Shipman etc)

P'raps the fuse option is better.

 

[tcm]

Fuse option: swmbo\'s, novice crew and lectrics

Note that hardly anyone understands marina lectrics. So, the fuse can be cut and choose the story from either:

a) The whole marina has moved on to Economy 7, which is cheaper overall. So, there's only 35 amps for central heating available at night, but the normal 3 or 5 amp feed has been cut. Everything else is off the batteries, which obviously can't handle the masive power needed for the toilets. See? (Anyone (specially anyone who has just laid massive log) will say oh um yeah I see)

OR

b) It unsafe to have high-power motors available at night, so the main control box shuts them down. New EU directive, and the system has had to be upgraded recently. Free, from the EU and has been done by the marina. BUT - Downside is no bog at night. Sorry. Bear in mind we have at least 100+ gallons of diesel on board, so it's not that stupid, dear. It automatically cuts motor-driven utlities at night. We *can* override, but takes a while to re-set and then we might have no bog during the day! Note for example that hardly anyone runs an engine or genny at night, except if overidden. See? Hey- don't complain to me - I don't set the rules. Easiest is to wee off the side.