Toilet hose replacement - how to avoid a boattful of unpleasantness?

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NickTrevethan

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So the next job on the to do list is to swap out the sanitation hose on the boat.

The runs are quite long to the holding tank and the forward head has become decidedly not pleasant now I have the eberspacher running, and the area beneath the head, where the hose and the hot air duct both run, warms up.

The hose snakes through a couple of holes in floors and bulkheads, that fit fairly snugly. I want to extract the hose with minimal unpleasantness and leave a mousing line to help threading the new hose.

The plan, unless someone has a better (proven) idea, is to flush the hose as best possible, close the Y valve to the holding tank, removed the jubilee clips and get the hose off, and over a bucket, paper, cloths etc.

Next plant ot stugg carrier bags etc into the hose a foot or so, followed by spray foam, then some more carrier bag, then more spray foam. Probably go to town with some duct tape and drill a hole though and attach the mouse line.

At the other end, some spray foam and duct tape, and then snake it out through the window in the head.
 
Sounds like a plan. If you stuff some rag hard into the hose both ends it should keep most of the rubber glove stuff inside I reckon; not sure I'd bother with foam - it'll either leak or go so stiff as to stop the hose coming out? Attaching the mouse line to the new hose will be the problem - it will have to be tough enough to pull through the tight holes? I would pay out for the best new hose that money will buy (ASAP sell it?) and make sure it doesn't touch the eber ducting if possible - the ducts can get very hot. Is your eber ducting insulated? It might help to keep the sanitation hose cooler if it is. Good luck.
 
I replaced the two hoses on a Moody 44, (no holding tank). There was no rubber glove stuff in either. It may NE different if you have a holding tank.
 
Not sure that mousing lines will be effective as they'll always be pulling from the direction of the next hole rather than in line with the one you're trying to get through. May help position the end though so you can push it through.

If you pump enough water through the hoses before you start, there shouldn't be anything unpleasant in the hoses anymore, although they may still smell a bit as they have had effluent leaching into them over the years.

Rob.
 
I really wouldn't worry too much about the content of the hoses. Flush through with water, then pump dry and there will be little or no liquid inside them to get about the place. If you want, stuff a wad of kitchen paper into the end, followed by an appropriately sized soft wood bung; no need to use foam or anything like that, which will probably create more mess than you've sealed into the pipe.

Forget mousing. You will have to feed the pipe through each cut out by hand with someone to help feed it through to you, as the pipe is very inflexible and fun to work with. The most taxing job I did on Rampage before setting off was fitting the holding tank: no intellectual strain, just very hard work getting the piping runs done.

Final tip. When it comes to fitting the hose to the tank and valves, soften the end by putting it into a container of water as near to boiling as possible. This will soften the end and allow you to push it fully home. Given the fact that you generally won't be able to rotate the hose as you push it onto the connection tail, this is the only way I've found of doing the job.

Enjoy.
 
Last year I was having problems with my toilet hose blocking. This has now been cleared with the use of a flexible rotating drain cleaner device, (Lidle or Aldi), and the use of Hydrochloric acid drain cleaner. However, at the time I did contemplate replacing the hose. The toilet compartment is a moulded unit, and so there is no access under or around it. From there, the hose wanders about, across to the other side of the boat, then under the (fixed) galley sole, through the bulkhead and then under the moulded battery box, into the engine space, to the seacock. The only part of the hose which is accessible is the bit in the engine space.
My plan was to use a piece of wooden dowelling, and csk screws, to join the new hose to the old one. I hoped that by pulling from one end, and pushing from the other, I might manage to renew the monster. It seemed like a better idea than a mouse line, but thankfully, I haven't had to do it.
 
When mine needed replacing due to a blockage that could not be released I resorted to delegating the task to the local boatyard. Returning to the boat a week later with the task complete I was happy to pay the bill. A valuable investment, I thought.
 
I found mouse line helped to line up the pipe and pull/push it to the next hole.

Two holes opposite each other in the end of the hose, a loop through the holes, mouse tied to the loop - it then pulls evenly/centrally.
 
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