This weekend we take a look at our head / toilet / MSD / etc. With the exception of an occaisional odor, these pieces of equipment tend to work fairly well. When they do break, look out! You are usually in for something you would rather avoid.....and just go sailing. I will go over a couple of common issues with the marine head and ways to fix them or avoid them.
Issues are usually grouped into two categories: SMELLS and CLOGS
SMELLS: Even though the marine head's job is messy business all around, a properly installed / maintained system should not smell. Smells can originate from many sources, particularly in a saltwater system (newer freshwater systems alleviate some of this), and can be divided into either the salt water supply system or the discharge / head tank side.
Salt Water Supply Smells: When you are using salt water to flush your head you are drawing in a petri dish of living organisms which, if left in your system, die. I believe in most cases the (bad) smell associated with your head is this smell. One way to reduce the size of vegetation and organisms brought into the system is to install a strainer in the suction line (see your manufacturers recommendations for type/size). Without this strainer, organisms and plant matter can get stuck in the flushing holes along the rim of the bowl. As far as the smell from the bottom of the bowl - your best option is to pump the salt water out (dry setting) and then add some fresh water with bleach to remove the smell. For us liveaboards, this in not normally an issue if you are using your head regularly as the water remains fresh. For those that have to leave their boat, the head can provide a nice little welcome back smell if you keep the bowl full of salt water during your absence.
Discharge Side Smells: On the discharge side, not only do you have the salt water issue but you now have it combined with whatever bodily business you added to mix. This can sit in the lines in various places based on system design. The real issue with keeping the smell away on this side is maintaining an air tight / leak free system. A simple visual inspection can identify many of these - key areas to look at are hose connections and gaskets. Anywhere you see signs of leakage you are also identifying a likely contributor to the smell. These need to be fixed immediately - hopefully just a little tightening of a hose clamp followed by a proper cleaning of the area. If not, a hose replacement may be required. Another source of smell is permeation of the hose itself. Modern hoses provide a cure for this ( http://www.tridentmarine.com/stage/sanitation.htm). An easy way to determine if your hoses are permeated is to rub a rag or paper towel along the outside of the hose to see if it picks up the smell; if it does, you need to replace the hoses. Go for the good stuff here since you will hopefully only have to replace them once.
CLOGS: Two main culprits here. Either something was thrown in the toilet that should not have been, or scale and calcium built up in the discharge lines. Hopefully it is not the first because often these can require disassembly of the system to locate the blockage.
Foreign Object: If there is a foreign object, you can get creative to dislodge it (snake, water hose, plunger, etc.) or hope it breaks down over time. Many modern sanitation systems (Vacuflush, Electroscan, etc. ) may limit your options in order to protect the system.
Scale and Calcium Buildup: This can be a real problem with salt water systems, but you can avoid it with a little maintenance. Scale slowly constricts the diameter of your discharge line and can prevent correct flushing (hard to flush, bowl will not empty) and create clogs. If your system is new / clean, a regimen of flushing a pint of white vinegar through the lines once a month will prevent or slow most scale buildup. Move the vinegar through the system slowly: first let it sit in the bowl, then a pump or two to get it into the macerator / pump section, and then move it slowly through the discharge lines.
If you think you have heavy scale build up, the next option is Muriatic Acid (available at your local hardware store - Ace Hardware - Muriatic Acid ). Mix 10% with water and take proper safety precautions - linked item claims to be a "safer" version. This stuff is a miracle worker; it will eat through the calcium deposits like magic. Don't bother scrubbing the toilet, this stuff cleans it to a shining white. It does not hurt plastic or porcelain and only has minor affects on metal after prolonged exposure. The only problem is that it may work too good. In a highly scaled hose, dissolved calcium may get trapped and clog the line downstream. More acid will help to work it through. One good way to make sure you clean all of the discharge side is to close the discharge through hull and take out the vented portion of the vented loop ( Groco - Vented Loop) if you can. Clean the flapper and pour the Muriatic Acid down the discharge hose. If you had calcium deposits you will be amazed at the results.
Clean up with plenty of bleach and call it a day!
Don Casey talks on this subject as well: http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/04.htm
Hopefully this help you out - I just spent a weekend working this issue and, believe me, it was not pretty. But, I was really impressed by the Muriatic Acid (How had I not heard of this before?). So, give it a shot!
Thanks for stopping by!
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