Toilet woes

Paul_S123

Paul_S123

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Not needing to eat prunes...as the title may suggest, but having some issues with the toilet in the master. Since buying the boat, there's been an odour coming from the holding tank as soon as it gets about 25-30% full...so requiring frequent emptying. Now it has started making a hell of a racket when you initially flush...sounds like a loud grinding, until the waste water hits the macerator and it runs quieter.

Not sure if it's related or not....but I tried turning the valve so it empties directly through the hull, after a couple of hours, water starts seeping out around the toilet base and trickles over the bathroom floor.

Not sure if the above problems are related or just a few separate issues.
 
What toilet ?

Flush a bucket of water down it and take it to bits.

There is probably something on the impeller in the lacerating part.

Re the smell. There are 2 ways of blocking smell. Water in the bowl or one way duck valve oe Similar..

Is the smell coming from wc or holding vent ? If vent you can put a carbon filter on it.

Most holding tanks don’t really smell that bad. Clean it out with hydrocloric acid then fill from deck exit with hose until water runs clear ( head to sea or pump first having filledcwith clean water so you are just rinsing not filling the marina with s&&&. )
 
1. Throw away the toilet and replace with Tecma or Planus (near identical, Italian but easily available in Uk , the best there is for this size boat).
2. Change to freshwater flush if not already
3. Throw away the pathetic white pvc piping that Uk boat builders use and replace with the grey butyl (from ASAP supplies or aquafax)
4. Use T series sealand pump out not a macerator type. I’ll post you one for free if you are 24v not 12v and can wait a week or 2 (my stock is in a different location from where I am!). I don’t use them anymore having switched to gianneschi.
5. Can’t comment on tank smell @ 1/3rd full. If the tank isn’t leaking the problem isn’t the tank. Check the air vent is clear.
All imho + experience of boat loos!
 
As a minimum fit a service kit.
As said - flush with fresh water.
Use some chemicals - but do not mix different chemicals. I have been using Elasn Blue which is very effective but highly toxic so will be trying something different in due course . Perhaps Odorless or something like that.
 
simonfraser said:
Flush with fresh water and napsan, cleans the inside better than just water.
Get the gloves on :)
Click to expand...

Do you use Napisan (or similar) instead of chemicals specified for marine/caravan toilets ? If so it seems an economical alternative.
 
I find these boat loo threads interesting in a kinda educational kinda way having never actually experienced the stuff I read about .
The fresh flush sealand vac flush in the Porto 35 neeed a replacement duck bill job which Sunseeker did within 24 hrs ( there priority call out with bogs in the SoF , the techs come straight away ) when it was aged 8 .
The Itama has a Tecema Loos x2 gravity feed ( the deep V helps guys and raised wooden floors / cabin soles ) have been univentful .
No odours , no hassle etc . Feels like and acts less like a normal bog in a land property tbo .

Many years ago I did spend some time in the “machinery room “ AKA engine room of a Riviera sport boat .
As well as the VP - 74 P,s install, I noticed the holding tank and apparatus was higher then the saloon cabin ( and heads ) floor .
I wondered “ that’s gravity defying “
The sum of all the parts did not add up .
 
Could be a blocked vent. When the tank starts to fill, it would create pressure that could force the smell and ‘liquid’ back though a toilet?
First thing I’d check anyway.
 
So I currently have jabsco on my prestige 500. What benefits would I see by changing to planus/tecma? Quieter? More reliable? This has come up before as on my 'next boat must haves' I have noted planus/tecma toilets and that must have come from this forum :). Not sure I would change them now but could be convinced. Or maybe change when I start having issues.
 
I have tecma.

1 they are like a house wc. Others are small and don’t look right
2. The way they macerate is key to non blockage. I have had it in bits as I have had others. The difference is see is waste flows over the macerated as opposed to through it. As such this stops blockages

To balance it mine are the silent plus and silent that are not.
 
I have just noticed this thread and hope I am not too late.
Having had a few "experiences" with my Sealand toilets, life has improved considerably since using silicone grease upon reassembly. A persistently leaking toilet ball valve was even cured simply by pumping the toilet dry and wiping said grease on the ball valve and visible parts of the seal at the bottom of the bowl without any disassembly.
Having said that, my T series pump out pump is rather weak and does not sound too good so jfm, if you still have one available, I would be very interested.
 
No problem. Find the cheapest you can online and I'll sell for 50% of that delivered. Brand new in box. Please note - I only have 24v. Not 12v. If you get address to me by midday tmrw it will be posted tmrw, else will be couple of weeks (due to my travel). I'll pm bank ac and sort code.
Just to be clear- what I have are brand-new-in-box pumps bought new by me as spares 5 yrs ago and never used. Now I have got rid of all T series pumps on my boat so I don't need the spares.
 
A very fair offer. However, I rushed to pull mine off this morning for a last look at it and found immediately that one of the duck bill valves was so distorted, it was a wonder it ever pumped at all. After new valves (I always keep spares on board) and a good clean, it pumps like a “good un” and even sounds better!
I trust your travel is successful and thanks again.
 
Funny thing is, I finally stopped the leaking with a seal kit, smell remained, kept checking and found a couple of bad batteries cooking away and giving off a rotten egg smell in the Lazarette and basically spreading through the bilge area. You might ask how we confused the 2 smells...but in my defence, I am a vegetarian and perhaps the holding tank might smell a bit different from a carnivores :disgust:
 
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