The deep joy of Heads.

capnsensible

capnsensible

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 Mar 2007
Messages
49,492
Location
Atlantic
Visit site
Well, after geting the old Lavac up and running again at full on, now the outlet pipe is very blocked. Hoorah, tommorow task is to get wetsuit on, and with appliances (various) poke the pipe and swim quickly.
It's a good thing I like boats.....
 
agua fuerte

i used some of this to eat away at the internal limescale in ze pipes which i bet is helping clog. I think wd poke to open the outket a bit below sealevel, then switch inlet water off and pump all water through, then dump in agua fuerte and pump that all the way down the system and praps leaving it a little 10 mins, then water back on and pump out wiv water. Plastic bottle for aqua fuerte and plastic pipe so all ok of course.
 
We have done this job on a variety of boats and sadly the real cause as I'm sure you know is the furred up outlet pipes. We just had to change ours on our current boat and the blockage was entirely down to scale that had come loose and jammed across what was down to micro bore piping, about 15mm of the original 38mm. You might find it wiser to forego the wet suit pleasures and go straight to phase 2 and replace the pipe?
 
Cheers everyone. Well, tried ammonia down outlet pipe, tried unjamming from outside but have just bitten bullet and got new hose. Third time in 9 years so not too hard to bear.
For anyone in Spanish places, its 'mangerra de bate'. Also the magic word Vetus helps!! 4 metres, 48 euros.
 
ok. tho Agua fuerte is hydrochloric acid, and will leave a nice clean hose. Perhaps try a bit on the old hose to see? I just know you've kept it back from those dreadful skip-rats....
 
I pumped Agua Fuerte down a recently fitted pipe and there was a HUGE burbling and gurgling.... it was definitely doing something.

My fear, with the old pipe on our other loo, is that it dislodges some of the thick scale, which blocks the whole caboodle.... which is why I had to replace the pipe referred to above.

having said that, I didnt use agua fuerte on the first one, just 100% Limescale remover.... which bubbled away, but didnt produce a HUGE burbling and gurgling.
 
To descale our coffe machine, we use vinsgar. Anyt use in dosing the heads with vinegar from time to time, before limescale reaches agua fuerte proportions?
 
I thinks is merely an issue of how strong yer hydrochloric acid actually is: the limescale removers like say Viakal are less strong than agua fuerte, which is pretty darn concentrated.

Replacing the pipe is certainly the most effective fix but means no playing with interestingly dangerous chemicals.

I can say that using suplhuric acid (which u can buy in France at diy shops) to clear waste pipes is defiitely NOT recommended, as it seems to rip chrome off sink plugs and produces quite horrible gaseous nastiness or the "arg run away to avoid instant death" variety. I fully understand why H2SO4 isn't available in UK with twats like me likely to buy it and experiment with it...

You can however use plenty of Viakal, calgon and the like. However, caution needed in non-tidal marinas: I had a massive sesion at sinks and loos a while back, got carried away and used four bottles of viakal. Next morning there's loads of dead fish floating around the boat. Sorry fish. I must have er de-scaled them?
 
re agua fuerte.. I did some expeirments on the old hend mk5 pump and hose after changing to a whale gusher..
it took a tad of paint of the plastic parts of the pump, but didnt seem to damage the rubber after soaking the pump overnight in a bucket of the stuff lol !.

as for the crud in the pipe, it really did work, but ONLY on the first 1/4 of a mil or so of crud.. much hissing and gurgling etc...
From this, I would hurriedly conclude that it WILL work, if used frequently, but not work at clearing built up crud.
The biggest problem we had was the outlet valve design on the Mk5.. hence hte reason to change.
Intersting that Sensible got the pipe in Spain, we ended up ordering from the UK as the pipe here is 40mm, not 38mm.
Joe
 
I have Jabscos but the problems is the same, scale caused by ammonia from decomposing urine precipitating calcium carbonate from the seawater onto the pipes. Every week or so I fill the toilets to the brim with warm fresh water. Add one teacup of HCl Agua Fuerte Hydrochloric acid (not Viakall etc.) and pump out until the bowl is empty and all the acid is in the pipes. Leave for a few hours or overnight and pump through. I fitted new pipes in August 2004 and everything still seems fine - no sign of scale when I service toilet every nine months to a year.
 
[ QUOTE ]
scale caused by ammonia from decomposing urine precipitating calcium carbonate

[/ QUOTE ]

Simlar at home - 2 troglodytes leave decomposing urine, and we live in a hard water area (calcium carbonate?), which is also metered and costs a fortune. Popeye's already done the hydrochloric acid thing, but might now try regular "gentle" methods.
 
Interseting stuff David, and seems to confirm my rushed experiments.. the key would seem to be to use it OFTEN, in small quantities.. we didnt.. mucho problema !... the new pump design seems to overcome the outlet vavle syndrome... and with a bit of luck, the strong warer should solve the rest.. we also tried (Successfuly I think) adding a small quantity of olive oil to the monthly warm water flush (Vinegar at the time), now Agua Fuerte.... seemed to help general lubrication, but could be a figbox of my lack of imagination..... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Yes, oil is essential for a Jabsco to keep it running smoothly. I just buy the cheapest oil available in the supermarket and keep it in old Harpic bottles in the toilet compartments for a quick squirt when needed. BTW rather than buy Viakall etc. I have an old Harpic bottle that I fill with tapwater and 10% hydrochloric. Ideal for descaling general stuff and the cost is close to zero. Cillit Bang is still best for the bathroom tiles and sink, though.
 
There is a product - Sol, I think - that pretends to be based on citrus fruits and smells orangey. When you look at the H&S info you discover that it is only white spirit with some citrus essence! Might be worth trying the white spirit - mind you, I am VERY careful about what I put on the inflatable. Materials science is a complex subject and I only put genuine inflatable boat cleaners onto it. Out of ignorance, I suppose, but I am ignorant about that subject.
 
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

hmmm, yup, me too !.. ignorant of the art of rib cleaning, but stubbonly refusing to let the "marine" badgers get me- AGAIN !.... right, where was I, ah yes.. well, we tried every bloody "product" carrefour had !.. we could probably have bought propriety dinghy cleaner for years for the cost !.. nothing worked, and YES, we tried white spirit, spirits of LONG dead Spanish heroes who killed the English (Maria Pita et al).... even teh best back street potions didnt do the "job"...

so yes, you are probably right for the wrong reasons lol...

cheaper just to BUY the real stuff....

sniffle..... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

UK-WOOZY
Autoterm 4kw heater was blowing smoke out into the cabins
Replies
19
Views
500
UK-WOOZY
UK-WOOZY

Share this page

Top