Smelly heads

[single]

I seem to have cured that stagnant smell in the heads by using a tiny drop of blue chemical toilet stuff when i leave the boat, but is it damaging the seals etc? or is there anything better to use before i buy more?
Its just a normal pump out sea toilet.
View attachment 40938

 

[maby]

I'm surprised that it's making much difference - the bulk of the bad smell from marine toilets comes from sea water in the inlet hose going stagnant - it's nothing to do with the outlet side.

 

[TonyBuckley]

I'm not sure what's in that stuff but one of them can even be put down septic tanks without destroying the bacteria yet it still kills smell.

Used it with lots of portapotties and the valves and pumps on those "look" no different from whats on boat.

 

[single]

I'm surprised that it's making much difference - the bulk of the bad smell from marine toilets comes from sea water in the inlet hose going stagnant - it's nothing to do with the outlet side.

Its just the water in the bowl stinks the first time its used after its been left for a week or more.

 

[maby]

Its just the water in the bowl stinks the first time its used after its been left for a week or more.

Exactly, but that is water in the inlet pipe - flushing some disinfectant is only going to hit the outlet pipe.

There's a new device around that I have it in mind to try - it comes with a long, thin pipe that you thread down the inlet pipe to near the skin fitting and it adds a measured dose of disinfectant to the water as it enters the pipe - hence killing the bacteria in the entire pipe and stopping them creating the bad-egg smell.

I do find that I can eliminate most of the smell by pumping a lot of water through it with the toilet lid down - it limits the amount of smelly gas that escapes into the boat.

 

[Mistroma]

Exactly, but that is water in the inlet pipe - flushing some disinfectant is only going to hit the outlet pipe.

There's a new device around that I have it in mind to try - it comes with a long, thin pipe that you thread down the inlet pipe to near the skin fitting and it adds a measured dose of disinfectant to the water as it enters the pipe - hence killing the bacteria in the entire pipe and stopping them creating the bad-egg smell.

I do find that I can eliminate most of the smell by pumping a lot of water through it with the toilet lid down - it limits the amount of smelly gas that escapes into the boat.

+1 We had problems with forward head and always had hydrogen sulphide smell with first use. I did try treating the outlet side before working out that it came from inlet side when pumping. Final answer was to split the inlet pipe and put in a T and valve on the basin outlet. I can now flush inlet side with fresh water or anything else (e.g.hydrochloric acid, disinfectant etc.) via the basin drain whenever I want to treat the whole system.

I accept that systems do vary though, the aft head has never had a problem with smells and has not been modified.

 

[l'escargot]

Its just the water in the bowl stinks the first time its used after its been left for a week or more.

Easiest solution is just pump the head through as soon as you get on the boat.

 

[oldvarnish]

Easiest solution is just pump the head through as soon as you get on the boat.

Congratulations! There have been many threads on this subject but that's the best advice I've read yet. Give it a pump, it stinks a bit, for all of five minutes, and then its gone.

 

[maby]

Congratulations! There have been many threads on this subject but that's the best advice I've read yet. Give it a pump, it stinks a bit, for all of five minutes, and then its gone.

That's OK in the summer when you can have all the haches wide open - it's a bit of a pain mid-winter when you want everything closed up to give the Eberspascher a chance to get the temperature up!

 

[l'escargot]

That's OK in the summer when you can have all the haches wide open - it's a bit of a pain mid-winter when you want everything closed up to give the Eberspascher a chance to get the temperature up!

That's why I do it when I arrive at the boat. You only need to do it that once if you are staying on the boat, air it through then get the heating on.

 

[Dougie_the_Mate]

I seem to have cured that stagnant smell in the heads by using a tiny drop of blue chemical toilet stuff when i leave the boat, but is it damaging the seals etc? or is there anything better to use before i buy more?
Its just a normal pump out sea toilet.
View attachment 40938

We always put a couple of Milton nappy cleaner tablets down the toilet before we leave the boat and she always smells quite fresh even after a couple of weeks absence.

 

[tolhurstorganic]

You need to pump more water through after use at least 15-20 pumps when you leave the boat, it works by flushing what is left of dodgy material in outlet pipe, this breeds bacteria and makes not so nice smell! Save yourself lots of money and just keep pumping, seawater is free!

 

[maby]

You need to pump more water through after use at least 15-20 pumps when you leave the boat, it works by flushing what is left of dodgy material in outlet pipe, this breeds bacteria and makes not so nice smell! Save yourself lots of money and just keep pumping, seawater is free!

The smell really is nothing to do with sewage in the outlet, it's seawater festering in the inlet pipe. Try it - get an empty bottle, half fill it with sea water and keep it in a dark place for a week - then open and smell.

I'm not claiming that your holding tank and outlet pipe will smell as sweet as a rose, but they are vented to the outside world. When you arrive in the boat after a week or two unused and walk into the heads, the smell does not knock you back - it's when you start pumping that it smells - that is coming from the water you are pumping in, not from the outlet.

 

[NormanS]

You need to pump more water through after use at least 15-20 pumps when you leave the boat, it works by flushing what is left of dodgy material in outlet pipe, this breeds bacteria and makes not so nice smell! Save yourself lots of money and just keep pumping, seawater is free!

Hmm! Believe it or not, our outlet pipe is 6m long. Jabsco recommend at least 7 pumps per metre. Now that we know this, we pump a lot. Me, I pee over the side whenever it's convenient. She is jealous.

 

[JumbleDuck]

The smell really is nothing to do with sewage in the outlet, it's seawater festering in the inlet pipe. Try it - get an empty bottle, half fill it with sea water and keep it in a dark place for a week - then open and smell.

Did you see Vyv Cox's report on another thread of doing precisely that as a test for one of the mags? Result: no smell at all. It's sewage that does it. Pump, pump and pump again before you leave and all will be sweet.

 

[single]

Did you see Vyv Cox's report on another thread of doing precisely that as a test for one of the mags? Result: no smell at all. It's sewage that does it. Pump, pump and pump again before you leave and all will be sweet.

Maybe its just my system? After pumping out, the bowl backfills to about 2'' deep. Its never dry. Isn't that normal?

 

[richardbrennan]

That sounds like a joker valve that needs replacing, you should not be getting any back fill on that scale. It's probably worth fitting a "twist and lock" pump assembly whilst you're at it.

 

[Mistroma]

Did you see Vyv Cox's report on another thread of doing precisely that as a test for one of the mags? Result: no smell at all. It's sewage that does it. Pump, pump and pump again before you leave and all will be sweet.

I've long made a habit of pumping enough times to completely flush out the outlet side. I've never had problems with calcification inside the pipes or on joker valve so that seems to work. However, I was still getting smells from inlet side.

I assumed that this was most likely due to partial re-cycling from the outlet. The inlet and outlet aren't very far apart and it seemed reasonable to assume some small particles might be sucked into the inlet from time to time. I have also seen small bits of weed in the inlet as well. It makes sense that's what's providing food for the bugs to grow.

 

[dslittle]

Did you see Vyv Cox's report on another thread of doing precisely that as a test for one of the mags? Result: no smell at all. It's sewage that does it. Pump, pump and pump again before you leave and all will be sweet.

I read that. Whilst I would not dream of saying what happens on other boats, we have one heads that has NEVER had ANYTHING solid passing through it. If we leave the boat for a week, I need to flush through copiously to get rid of the bad egg smell. This does vary dependent upon the time of year and ambient temperatures. I know that on our boat the smell emanates from the inlet pipe - nothing to do with our sewage of the outlet side.

 

[nigelmercier]

I read that. Whilst I would not dream of saying what happens on other boats, we have one heads that has NEVER had ANYTHING solid passing through it. If we leave the boat for a week, I need to flush through copiously to get rid of the bad egg smell. This does vary dependent upon the time of year and ambient temperatures. I know that on our boat the smell emanates from the inlet pipe - nothing to do with our sewage of the outlet side.

Exactly the same as on my boat.