Replacing the Head, Hoses clogged

T

TJM

Member
Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
RO Number
2909
Messages
498
My forward head on the boat needed to have the electric motor replaced every other year. This got old and expensive so I went to a manual head. When I went to swap out the head I noticed the the Ø 1.5" diameter hose was 95% clogged with "stuff", Yuckety yuck.
Being a damn Engineer I am now looking into the failure mode of this backup. There is no telling how long it has been building up, but I would imagine there is a restriction, a reducer etc... somewhere down stream.
My question to BE is the hose is run through some pretty tight corners and I am afraid that I may not be able to remove the old one and even worse feed in the new one. The old hose is pretty stiff being stuffed with granular type waste.
Is there a chemical, like drano that I can run down the hose to dissolve and break up the clog. I also fear that a snake type tool will loosen / remove debris and 100% clog the system towards the end.
 
When you flush, you need to flush for at least 3 seconds, in order to move the material all the way into the tank.

Replace the hose with PVC pipe wherever you can, it is cheaper, doesn't let the stink permeated it and will last the life of the boat.
 
The stuff is a mineral build up from urine and minerals in the water. It's amazing how it can build up over the years to where there is almost no open space in the hoses. Really makes you realize just how well most heads break stuff up as you flush. Because if they didn't your head would have ended up plugged up a long time ago.

I assuming your heads are using salt water to flush with? Because most fresh water flush heads don't seem to get that kind of build up.

You can pump say muratic acid into the hoses and let it sit to eat out the deposits. You'll have to do it multiple times to work. I have also banged on the hoses to break the deposits up. Works very well. But you may end up with a clog at the outlet. But that can be cleared in a couple of ways.

You can remove the end of the hose that goes to the final outlet and put it in a bucket if you have the space. So the broken up pieces end up there and you can dig out a clog at the hose end if need be.

In the future pour straight vinegar into your heads once a month and pump it into the lines and let it stand in there at least over night. That will slow down or perhaps eliminate future build ups.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Capt. Bill1

The stuff is a mineral build up from urine and minerals in the water. It's amazing how it can build up over the years to where there is almost no open space in the hoses. Really makes you realize just how well most heads break stuff up as you flush. Because if they didn't your head would have ended up plugged up a long time ago.

I assuming your heads are using salt water to flush with? Because most fresh water flush heads don't seem to get that kind of build up.

You can pump say muratic acid into the hoses and let it sit to eat out the deposits. You'll have to do it multiple times to work. I have also banged on the hoses to break the deposits up. Works very well. But you may end up with a clog at the outlet. But that can be cleared in a couple of ways.

You can remove the end of the hose that goes to the final outlet and put it in a bucket if you have the space. So the broken up pieces end up there and you can dig out a clog at the hose end if need be.

In the future pour straight vinegar into your heads once a month and pump it into the lines and let it stand in there at least over night. That will slow down or perhaps eliminate future build ups.

Click to expand...
All great advice! I would recommend when you are ready to replace what you have with a fresh water head system.
Bill
 
this solution may or may not fit your needs, but I might suggest installing fresh hose on one end with a solvent weld coupling and a cap on the other end. then bring in a commercial sewer clearing service that has a pressure washer cleaning head. it uses high pressure water from one end and flushes the debris out the same end. this solution will work only if the hose has enough life left in it to hold up some pressure. if not the hose needs to come out, even if in pieces. I suspect based on the amount of build up the hose is permeated by now and really does need to come out.
 
Some great ideas to try over the weekend.

Will the muriatic acid do any harm to my other components in the system ?
I want to try this first while the pump out boat is still actively in service in the Marina.
 
If you decide to replace the hose, and it's hard to reach the areas where it runs, mate the new hose to the old. I did it with a short piece of appropriately sized PVC pipe stuck inside the old and new hose ends. Clamps will catch on things, so I drilled some holes and drove screws through the hoses into the PVC, then wrapped the whole thing with some gorilla tape. Then you pull on one end, push on the other, and repeat about 500 times. In my case there is always some liquid that is in the hose due to a low spot, but that's no problem with this method since it just transfers from the old hose to the new.
 
two things that help in pulling new hose, yellow electrical pulling fluid and hair dryer. the pulling fluid is a lubricant that wont hurt the hose and will evaporate over time. the hair dyer will soften the ends when you have to make your connections or bend the hose in tight areas.
 
Here is an update on my clogged hoses.

The Muriatic Acid did the trick. It took about 6 cycles of dumping a quarter cup in the hose, letting it sit for a few minutes then flush with fresh water.

Thanks Capt. Bill !
 
Maybe you should start using this by Raritan
CHsmall.png
 
Does anyone have a history with this product? Would love to know how well it works.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top