Peggie, I have a problem with head here. We have a Raritan PHE II and all works well with it in general. We're liveaboard users, and it's handled the frequent use really well. The problem is the hose. We replaced the hose in September with some Shields Series 148 Multi-Purpose Hose. I'm looking at the picture of it in the West Marine Catalog and am comparing it, pretty much as I type, and it's the stuff in the picture all right. In the past week or two, we've noticed "the funky bad smell is back." The Fiance opened the locker underneath the small sink by the head, through which the piping runs on its way o/b, and the smell about knocked us out. He told me he also performed the "wipe test", and informed me the results also greatly suggested it was time to change out the hose. What I want to know is... what is the Best of the Best Hose out there. Reason being, I am perturbed we're replacing this after six months. And second reason being, that the last time around the Fiance damn dropped the old hose when he went to get it out of here. You can see I'm excited for the smell to go away but not to need to repeat the process real often. We have a number of boats between the two of us that we maintain or assist maintaining, so the answer does technically concern more than just the one boat. Thanks! Kristen
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Same thing happened to me
The good news is, it has a 1 year warranty against odor permeation...the bad news is, you'd prob'ly have to replace it with the same hose. The best hoses on the market today are Trident 101/102 http://www.tridentmarine.com/stage/sanitation.htm and SeaLand OdorSafe...both of which are about $9/ft. And there are issues with both...SeaLand OdorSafe is stiff as an ironing board, requiring inline radius fittings to get around any bends. Trident 101/102 is a double walled rubber hose that's cosnidrably softer and easier to work with, but has a chemical odor of its own that can make it unsuitable for use in hose runs that are in the cabin. Neither are 100% bullet proof against odor permeation, but both do have a 5-year warranty. To prevent odor permeation it's essential that waste and sea water not be allowed to sit in the hose...at least not for very long. Bowl contents should be followed by enough flush water to rinse out the hose...at least once a day--and especially before the boat will sit, even for the time you're away at work--the hoses should be rinsed out with clean fresh water.
The good news is, it has a 1 year warranty against odor permeation...the bad news is, you'd prob'ly have to replace it with the same hose. The best hoses on the market today are Trident 101/102 http://www.tridentmarine.com/stage/sanitation.htm and SeaLand OdorSafe...both of which are about $9/ft. And there are issues with both...SeaLand OdorSafe is stiff as an ironing board, requiring inline radius fittings to get around any bends. Trident 101/102 is a double walled rubber hose that's cosnidrably softer and easier to work with, but has a chemical odor of its own that can make it unsuitable for use in hose runs that are in the cabin. Neither are 100% bullet proof against odor permeation, but both do have a 5-year warranty. To prevent odor permeation it's essential that waste and sea water not be allowed to sit in the hose...at least not for very long. Bowl contents should be followed by enough flush water to rinse out the hose...at least once a day--and especially before the boat will sit, even for the time you're away at work--the hoses should be rinsed out with clean fresh water.
One More Question
I'm going to look into that hose. I don't mind the price, so long as we're not doing this so often. It's not a fun job. My next question is... the locker thru which that piping runs down and overboard has always smelled to some degree; I've never stored anything in it myself because of this--even the toilet paper holder is mounted on the inside of the locker door and I just keep it on the counter. Now the locker particularly reeks. The boat is technically for sale, so I'd really like to get this up to par if possible, once the hose replacement event happens. The Fiance has frowned on Clorox usage on board since it can be particularly damaging to certain materials. What can I use to kill the odors in this locker, or does the smell permeate the wood as well? I keep some odor eaters in there momentarily. Thanks! Kristen
I'm going to look into that hose. I don't mind the price, so long as we're not doing this so often. It's not a fun job. My next question is... the locker thru which that piping runs down and overboard has always smelled to some degree; I've never stored anything in it myself because of this--even the toilet paper holder is mounted on the inside of the locker door and I just keep it on the counter. Now the locker particularly reeks. The boat is technically for sale, so I'd really like to get this up to par if possible, once the hose replacement event happens. The Fiance has frowned on Clorox usage on board since it can be particularly damaging to certain materials. What can I use to kill the odors in this locker, or does the smell permeate the wood as well? I keep some odor eaters in there momentarily. Thanks! Kristen
Buy some Raritan K.O.
And get it anywhere but West Marine unless you want to pay double the list price for it. Put a trigger sprayer on the bottle...liberally spray every surface, nook and cranny in that locker. Don't rinse...let it dry, leaving the locker door open so plenty of fresh air can circulate for at least 24 hours. If you can aim a fan at it, even better. That should get rid of all the left over odor permanently. If it doesn't, you missed a spot. Your finance is right...bleach has no place on a boat except to recommission fresh water system.
And get it anywhere but West Marine unless you want to pay double the list price for it. Put a trigger sprayer on the bottle...liberally spray every surface, nook and cranny in that locker. Don't rinse...let it dry, leaving the locker door open so plenty of fresh air can circulate for at least 24 hours. If you can aim a fan at it, even better. That should get rid of all the left over odor permanently. If it doesn't, you missed a spot. Your finance is right...bleach has no place on a boat except to recommission fresh water system.
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