Help! Discharge Sanitation Hose Needs Replacing

[dis-patch]

I've been round and round with my head and related problems for 3 weeks now. This forum has been an invaluable resource. I NOW KNOW IT IS THE DISCHARGE HOSE THAT IS THOROUGHLY BLOCKED, from years of PO neglect. I have inherited a mess and need to completely remove and replace the discharge hose from the head to the holding tank. I've already cut it in half and have sewage slung all over my boat. The hose in here now is heavy black sanitation hose that is surrounded by metal wire. It's heavy and a ***** to maneuver and I don't know how to get it out without spilling more sewage in places i will never be able to clean. The stench will remain forever if i spill in these places. How do I get this hose out of a Hunter 376 and give me a patch for easily replacing it? I really need help with this as I'm a new boat owner being stuck with this situation.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I Feel Your Pain .................

I NOW KNOW IT IS THE DISCHARGE HOSE THAT IS THOROUGHLY BLOCKED, from years of PO neglect.

................... and think that most PO's (whoever they are) should be dipped in their own discharge. There should be an open season on these villains. Almost every problem one hears about seems to be traceable back to a PO somewhere. I mean, someone has to take the blame here.

The hose in here now is heavy black sanitation hose that is surrounded by metal wire. It's heavy and a ***** to maneuver and I don't know how to get it out without spilling more sewage in places

But that aside, it sound like this villainous PO used exhaust hose for sewage discharge hose as wire wound is not the norm for this application. This stuff is not fun to work with.

For openers, you can go cheap and buy tapered wooden thru hull plugs and pound these into the open ends of the hose as it now stands. Finish off with duct tape as a final prayer. This should make the work a little cleaner. Perhaps cut the hose into shorter lengths to work with in the removal. Lots of plugs now. Considering the material you're working with, a better choice would be expandable pipe plugs from a big box hardware store to ensure no leakage. I'd much prefer working with pipes in the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactor to dealing with plugged sewage hose in my boat.

Next, try arming yourself with two or more 1500 W hair dryers and have a few people you really dislike heat the hose to 200+ deg. to make it more flexible. Allow for air expansion when heating the hose or you'll create a crap cannon with plugs flying everywhere. This should do the job.

As a final note, check the "search menu" for the best sanitation hose and ensure it's not wire wound in case you have to do this again years down the road. Definitely use the hair dryers when installing the hose.

Good luck on a very sh*t*y job .

 

[Rick D]

Sanitation Hose

Trident 101 is the best stuff around right now, but it does have a wire spiral reinforcement. The new stuff goes on a lot easier than the old stuff comes off, so you do have that relief. I just finished the same project this summer..Everything was so calcified, I even wound up replacing ALL the fittings. See this for the hose:
http://shop.hunterowners.com/prod.php?15970
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[ttac]

I used the black hose with the GREEN strip on it when changing out all our waste hoses. This is not cheep hose! But it is the best! The brand is Shields. It is sold thru West Marine. I think it is about $12.00 a foot.
If the old hose is not held in place where you can not cut it free this will not work. But if it is free moving get a barbed hose connector and put the new hose on the old one and put a screw thru the hose and connector so you can not pull them apart. Now you can pull the new hose thru as you pull out the old! And without the hose clamps getting caught on everything a along the way.
Good luck!

Dean

 

[reraft]

there is an opening at the back side of the aft cabinet on the port side - the hose runs beneath it & with this panel removed you can work out the old hose & get the new one in - also in the wet locker the hose should be spliced to pull it out there at the bottom access port. not easy but it works & i really didn't spill anything.
hope this helps.
Rick

 

[dis-patch]

Everybody keep telling me that there is access at the wet locker, though I have yet to discover it. The locker is solid fiberglass and the wood surrounding shows no screws at all for removing.

 

[reraft]

Maybe the former owner added these two access ports. They are approx 6 inches in diameter

 

[Perfect Excuse]

Not sure if the will work, but it did for me. I used an oil extractor with the largest diameter hose I had to pump out as much of the goop has possible from blocked hose, then plug the end. That will lessen the mess and make the hose easier to handle. Since that time I regularly fill each head hose with vinegar when we are away from our boat. So far this has prevented a reoccurrence. I still maintain that no person should graduate as a yacht designer until they have successfully replaced a blocked head to tank hose! Good luck. Your reward for completing the change will be cruising's most valued title ... "Head Master".

 

[KD3PC]

I use an old 1.5 gallon "wet" shop vac that I picked from the trash just for these types of jobs....works well, rinse it out and set aside for next time.

best of luck

 

[dis-patch]

Problem solved. Thank you all for all the support, advice, and insight. This is the kind of interaction I need as a new be sailor and yachtsman. We ran the good white stuff. One solid run with no couplings. If I maintain it, it should last me as long as i plan on owning this boat and then some after that. Thanks!