Changing Sanitation Hoses - how big of a job?

Take a warm damp cloth and rub it along a couple feet of your poop hose. Then smell the rag. If it stinks, your stank as permiated thru the hose. They need to be changed out.
 
Thanks - I'll try that this weekend because we have some odor we can't seem to get rid of. It's not too bad yet.
 
quote:

Originally posted by yzer

The $15 hardware store heat gun will be your best friend. Use it to soften hose ends prior to removal or attachment. I never had to use lube with a heat gun handy. Double clamp those hoses. You can find all-stainless hose clamps a lot cheaper at the hardware stores than the marine shops. Same goes for nylon or ABS hose fittings. Some of the hardware stores will stock Shields white sanitation hose cheap, but if want better you'll want to hit the marine stores.






I agree with the heat gun, it makes the job sooo much easier...now if I could just get mine back from a dock mate........I was lucky enough when I did mine a couple of years back to get the Aussie hose....too bad it's no longer available in the states..I did two heads by myself and what I thought might be a 3 hour job, turned out to be more like 6 or 8.....but being in a house boat I took a little more time and made sure all lines had a slope to them, so nothing would stand in them...
 
I will be re-hosing all of our sanitation hose in the next month or so. I need to re-route most of it to make it easier to work on things in the engine room. I am thinking about re-hosing everything, from the head to the tank to the pump and to the overboard valve. I know it isn't easy, mainly cause of how hard the hose is to get onto the fittings. But I think I am going to pull it all out, measure the old stuff, then cut and put together, then just grunt the hose ends onto the fittings.
 
rduhon, if you have any fairly long, straight runs, you might want to consider using rigid PVC pipe for those runs, rather than hose.

The pipe is relatively easy to work with, won't EVER permeate the odor through it, and the fittings can be easily glued together. About every 6 or 8 feet however, you'll need to add a flexible rubber coupling (FERNCO coupling, available at any Home Depot or Lowe's store) to dampen any vibration when the boat is running, so that the pipe doesn't crack from vibration.

For bends, try to use (2) 45 degree elbows, spaced several inches apart, rather than a single tight 90 degree elbow. All bends should be as gradual as possible, to avoid chances for clogging.
 
That is a good idea... Most of my hose is in the engine compartment. I only have about 2 ft. in the cabin area.
One long straight piece of PVC along the side of the boat will take care of about 3/4 of the run.
How do you connect the hose to the pipe? Does it fit over the pipe or do you need a fitting?
 
There are hose barbs made for PVC (Home Depot too). Remember, however, that if you use the heat gun trick to slip over a PVC barb you can't get the hose too hot because it will soften the barb once you slide it on.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Vic Willman

rduhon, if you have any fairly long, straight runs, you might want to consider using rigid PVC pipe for those runs, rather than hose.

The pipe is relatively easy to work with, won't EVER permeate the odor through it, and the fittings can be easily glued together. About every 6 or 8 feet however, you'll need to add a flexible rubber coupling (FERNCO coupling, available at any Home Depot or Lowe's store) to dampen any vibration when the boat is running, so that the pipe doesn't crack from vibration.

For bends, try to use (2) 45 degree elbows, spaced several inches apart, rather than a single tight 90 degree elbow. All bends should be as gradual as possible, to avoid chances for clogging.






AMEN!!!!!

But want to offer a slight suggestion, for 90 degree bends, consider using "sweeps". They are not approved for household plumbing but they do work and offer an option to using two 45 degree bends. Sweeps are found in the electrical section at Home Depot, Lowes and other places. Note, the sweeps are gray in color to mark them for electrical conduit usage rather than plumbing. They are made of PVC.

I used sweeps on my boat this year when I went to all PVC pipe.

Foggy
 
We used masking tape as a method of identifying bad hoses....wrapped tape in various locations of hoses, let stand 24 hours, then take the tape off, mark the location it came from on the tape, then take the tape out into clean air, allow your sense of smell a chance to calibrate, smell the tape, and identify which sections of hose need replacement...
 
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