Unblocking a bog tip.

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burgundyben

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In the 1980's I looked after the fleet at Westerley Sea School, unblocking bogs in the busy times was a weekly task for me, sometimes twice a day.

I had a piece of plywood, sized the same as a Fulmar washboard that I could slot into the boat, fitted on the board was a big Henderson manual bilge pump and two lengths of hose. Suction side went into the cabin and along to the heads, fitted in the end was a hose tail sized to fit into the bog outlet hose.

Undo elbow from bog pump, remove elbow from hose, connect bog outlet hose to Henderson hose.

The Henderson outlet went overboard.

Pump the blockage back the way it came, through the Henderson and overboard.

Never failed.
 
I've only once had marine toilet block up. Fortunately it occurred on a flotilla boat in Greece so I was able to summon assistance from the maintenance engineer.
 
I know someone who is able to use almost a full toilet roll at one visit. You can imagine my angst when it was reported the loo was blocked as a result ! After it was cleared a full instructional on how to use loo paper was delivered !!!
 
superheat6k said:
I know someone who is able to use almost a full toilet roll at one visit. You can imagine my angst when it was reported the loo was blocked as a result ! After it was cleared a full instructional on how to use loo paper was delivered !!!
Click to expand...


Its why I use cheap biodegradable paper that falls apart in water ... a

Also a general rule passed on to those who sail on my tub :

Wipe - Pump - Wipe - Pump ....... to avoid building up a mass of 'paper' to clear ...

But of course I do have a Royal Baby Blake ... pretty hard to block one of those !!
 
burgundyben said:
In the 1980's I looked after the fleet at Westerley Sea School, unblocking bogs in the busy times was a weekly task for me, sometimes twice a day.

I had a piece of plywood, sized the same as a Fulmar washboard that I could slot into the boat, fitted on the board was a big Henderson manual bilge pump and two lengths of hose. Suction side went into the cabin and along to the heads, fitted in the end was a hose tail sized to fit into the bog outlet hose.

Undo elbow from bog pump, remove elbow from hose, connect bog outlet hose to Henderson hose.

The Henderson outlet went overboard.

Pump the blockage back the way it came, through the Henderson and overboard.

Never failed.
Click to expand...
Does that work with a black water tank?
 
On my Hanse, which is a typical AWB the soil matter goes from the pan to the tank. It is fed in the top & drops down. Then the outlet is at the bottom. If the seacock is open the waste matter drains out free fall provided there is no blockage. If the seacock is closed the tank fills up & it can be pumped out from a deck filling hose. There is a vent to the deck so that when the seacock is closed the soil can enter the tank & displace the air.
If one were to try to pump as suggested one would just draw free air via the vent. However, one could block the vent then it may draw the contents of the pipe from the seacock to the tank back into the tank. That would be a plus
The other issue is that with modern heads the pipe goes from the loo pump into the GRP suround so it is not a simple case of disconnecting the pipe. It would have to be disconnected & withdrawn back into some position where one could actually get a connection to it. Of course one might get a connection where the pipe joins the black tank & clear just the last bit of the system.
But by then one might just as well disconnect in the usual way.
So whilst a good idea in some ways, ( engineer on a charter fleet)I am not sure I would want to carry a pump attached to a piece of ply plus 15 ft of hose all curled up somehow & stored somewhere on the boat.
 
superheat6k said:
I know someone who is able to use almost a full toilet roll at one visit. You can imagine my angst when it was reported the loo was blocked as a result ! After it was cleared a full instructional on how to use loo paper was delivered !!!
Click to expand...
That must have n been an interesting discussion!

Ink
 
I delivered a Match 35 from East Germany to Latvia ..... (we'll not go into how bad a boat they are ... )

Anyway - it was fitted with a holding tank with no bypass .... and of course being ex charter boat - tank was full and blocked.
Where is the tank ? Aft Stbd where Nav station is - behind the inner cabin moulding between inner and outer hull. We tried all sorts to try get that tank unblocked ... even one guy trying to get his hand and arm in via the access hatch. No success at all.
We had to resort to 'Bucket and Chuck-it' ......

Once boat was at destination - new owner had to get suction gear into the tank to remove most ... then a flexi high pressure water in to try break up the bottom blockage. Finally it freed up. But I know that he had trouble with design .. it just was not thought out well enough ...... I suppose Bav thought - why bother on a 'Race Boat' ?? TBH - just about 'Matched' rest of the design !!
 
While on subject of bogs ........... I know most people know this - but worth a post :

Winter storage ? I always save about 1 litre of Anti-Freeze from when I run through my engine raw system. That 1 litre is then poured into bog ... and pumped out leaving a small amount in bowl bottom ...

No way do I want to find my Blake Royal cracked !
 
Refueler said:
While on subject of bogs ........... I know most people know this - but worth a post :

Winter storage ? I always save about 1 litre of Anti-Freeze from when I run through my engine raw system. That 1 litre is then poured into bog ... and pumped out leaving a small amount in bowl bottom ...

No way do I want to find my Blake Royal cracked !
Click to expand...
I just undo the plug in the side of the bowl of my Jabsco & drain all fluid out of it.
 
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