Wonderful Bank Holiday Weekend!!

[lockedout]

Halfway up the River Wey, looking forward to a nice long weekend when the bl**dy toilet stops working!

 

So, turn round and back to base.

 

Just spent a 'pleasant' afternoon stripping down the macerator on a Vetus toilet.

 

Now for some dinner.....

 

(still, I think I have fixed it - need to reinstall tomorrow and keep my fingers crossed)

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Well, They do say 'Shxt Happens'

Hope you washed your hands before dinner !

[lockedout]

Well, it certainly happened here!

 

I thought I had better wash the hands - but you know its funny. No matter how many times you wash, there is still a lingering smell - I think it is clinging on to my nose hairs.

 

At least I now know how a Vetus toilet works, so next time it breaks (and you know it will) I know how it all goes together.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Well you will be getting a PM from me when mine breaks then, as I've got the same model !.

Touch wood,it's been fine for 6 years though.

At least I would supply the Marigolds, Nose plugs and copious amounts of Detol.

 

Dare I ask what the problem was ?.

[lockedout]

Ok - so how do you spell FRUSTRATED!!

 

Put it all back together this morning - really pleased with myself for getting it done on deck before the rain started - lugged it down the steps refitted it, replacing some of the jubilee clips, turned it on and....

 

The macerator spun twice then stopped again.

 

Present state - - still broken.

 

The whole shooting match obviously hasn't been touched since the boat was built about 10 years ago, the inside of the chamber was an absolute mess, looks like previous owners were used to flushing some strange items! The whole system is/was very badly calcified.

 

My best guess is that the 'gunge' in the chamber has put too much strain on the motor and caused issues somewhere, possibly bearings, possibly brushes. I know have to decide whether to get the motor out and strip it down to see if it something simple to replace, or to replace with new. I tend to think that once these things start to go wrong, they will continue to cause problems until they eventually die completely, so I will probably replace the macerator unit.

 

Going forward, I need to work out how to stop this happening again. Water softener maybe??

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Oh dear,

I've never had this calcium build up, or any problems with the loo, (I flush mine on fresh drinking water straight from the main tank, that's made by my Water maker & Purification system, maybe that's why, dunno !) but I suppose a periodic dose of Lemon juice, or such might help reduce the build up !

[lockedout]

We live Darn Sarf and our water is dead hard, so we always get problems with calcification.

 

We just fill the tank from the tap.

 

I think I might look into fitting a water softener.

 

Some people recommend vinegar as being a good thing to flush down every now and then, when I either get it working or get a replacement I will strip it down every couple of years and clean it out - probs when we get re-blacked so I don't forget...

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

I see you say you're on the South Coast,What part of 'The Ard Country' do you live !

(I'm just being Nosey)

[Grace and Favour]

We live Darn Sarf and our water is dead hard, so we always get problems with calcification.

 

We just fill the tank from the tap.

 

I think I might look into fitting a water softener.

 

Some people recommend vinegar as being a good thing to flush down every now and then, when I either get it working or get a replacement I will strip it down every couple of years and clean it out - probs when we get re-blacked so I don't forget...

Soak the (non-electrical) components in phosphoric acid solution - that's the active ingredient of a number of decalcification treatments

[lockedout]

We were wondering about using some kind of acid - Mrs 'Er Indoors is a pharmacist so she knows these things (allegedly), we are wondering how to make the best use of some sort of acid based solution without it becoming too dilute by having flushing water added.

 

Mrs 'Er Indoors scares me by saying putting any kind of acid down may end up in a chemical based disaster of Torrey Canyon proportions!!

 

We may subscribe to the little and often philosophy. Definitely gonna look at Water Softeners though...

 

Paul - The boat is moored at Pyrford on the Wey Navigation, we live down on the coast, near Chichester. (you're not a stalker are you??????)

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

No, not a stalker, well not since my last injunction !.

 

I asked because I'm West Country Born, West Country Bread, Strong in the arm, and Thick in the Head, as they say. & I've cruised a bit of the South Coast. Before I headed North, And now I'm back on the South Coast yet again, at Littlehampton, To the East of you a tide. (I'm on the members Map), and if you was local, you could have popped in for a Cuppa as the Kettles always on.

Over the next few weeks, I'm thinking of going to Bembridge I,O,W again, on a last Cruise before taking my boat out of the Water as she is up for sale (in the For Sale and Wanted Section) and has to be 'Beutified' for the occasion as she isn't looking her best.

 

BTW try Cilit Bang !

Edited April 21, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[Tony Brooks]

Absolutely no help to you at all but please keep posting these incidents. Makes me feel I got it right in electing for a dump though

[lockedout]

You know what?

 

When I posted this, I thought I bet this thread turns into a cassette Vs. pump out argument.

 

It took 12 posts, but here we are!

[Tony Brooks]

Er - no. A dump through has a holding tank and is pumped out. What it does not have is an electrical system to break down or run out of battery.

[lockedout]

Ahhhhh - ok.

 

Sorry, I am hard of reading...

 

How does that work then? Is it gravity driven, or is there some form of pump?

 

Do you find it more difficult to pump out?

 

Just that, if we have to replace the whole macerator unit I might as well consider all the alternatives.

[bigcol]

Bembridge. Lovely place, but they've put in new visitor pontoon. I remember when it was just a bit at the top by the bridge.

 

Don't they have quite a few liveaboard berths on the other side, near the road??

 

 

Col

[Theo]

Hm...

 

Tempted. But no. I will resist. It's time to replace the Portapotti after 7 years.

 

N

[Tony Brooks]

Ahhhhh - ok.

 

Sorry, I am hard of reading...

 

How does that work then? Is it gravity driven, or is there some form of pump?

 

Do you find it more difficult to pump out?

 

Just that, if we have to replace the whole macerator unit I might as well consider all the alternatives.

 

The holding tank is placed directly under the toilet so the pan is in effect on a plinth but they are of the correct height for this.

 

The bowl has a foot operated level on the side that does three things.

 

1. When lifted with a toe it allows water into the bowl.

 

2. When pushed down it opens a flap so, as you say, gravity drops the load through.

 

3. At the same time water is let in around the rim to flush the bowl.

 

The flap is that is actually a sort of half ball device runs under a rubber seal that is supposed to retain water in the bowl between uses but unless you regularly take the bowl off its plinth (just one bug jubilee clip type thing), clean the seal and regrease it with silicon lubricant it often does not (hence the lift up level position).

 

If the tank vents (note plural) are not large enough and do not run correctly you can get a smell wafting up as the flap opens but a fan in one vent pipe of a roof fan plus a squirt of air freshener sorts it. It is also a good idea to use one of the bio tank treatments rather than ordinary blue. This helps break down the waste and one product (Newblu) seems to break most of it down so for much of the pump out you are only pumping out almost clear "water".

 

The only time it may be difficult to pump out is if some clown has put anything other than toilet paper their own waste down the loo. Sanitary product and baby wipes will probably cause your maccerator as much trouble as they would my pump out hose. The only things that caused problems on the hire fleet were bars of soap and other items that should never have been put down there in the first place. But having worked on the hire fleet taking the bowl off and racking about in the tank is no great problem tom me. At least now its my own and my families waste.

[lockedout]

It actually sounds like a pretty good system, following the KISS principle. I think there would be too many structural changes needed to retro fit one to our boat.

 

How big is the holding tank? Not as big as the tank on ours I guess?

 

Having spent many years on yachts racing offshore I am used to getting "involved" with marine toilets and it never ceases to amaze me - no matter how much instruction you give, people still get it wrong and either can't work the things properly or put stuff down the pan that really shouldn't be there (and then deny all knowledge...)

[Tony Brooks]

My tank runs back through the toilet bulkhead and under the bed. You can have them pretty much as large as you have room for.As my boat is an ex hire 6/7 berth it is a large tank and will last us maybe three weeks or more. It is far larger than the plastic things I see at Leesan and on the Vetus website.

 

In fairness a stupid 1/4" breather as fitted from new does the smell department no favours so in high summer we usually pump out ever week or so but in the winter the tank may last the whole winter of short visits to the boat and the odd weekend.

[lockedout]

In order that gravity can do its stuff, your tank must be quite low profile, is it the same size in plan as the bed?

 

It must also drop into the bilges and sit on the base plate??

[Tony Brooks]

In order that gravity can do its stuff, your tank must be quite low profile, is it the same size in plan as the bed?

 

It must also drop into the bilges and sit on the base plate??

 

No because it is a double bed. It is maybe 14 inches high, about 6 ft long and maybe 2 ft wide.

 

It probably sits on the base plate. In fact some boats use the base plate and hull side as part of a welded in fabricated tank.

 

There are probably hundreds of inland boats about with this type of set up. It is only in fairly recent years that vacuum and macerator toilets have become common.