Need advise

[Carol]

We have a 2001 380Hunter and have used only fresh water to flush with from day one.We have had no problems with odor so far. We are planning an extended 8 month cruise this winter and would like to conserve our fresh water as much as possible.Would we increase our chances of odors forming if we used a gallon container filled with sea water to flush our head? I feel this would be preferable to opening the seacock to flush as it would not allow sea critters to enter the rim of the bowl. Any thoughts?? Also, when we use a dockside pumpout, does it matter if our seacock is open or closed? We always have it closed but I thought I read somewhere to open it when pumping out. Thanks.

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

Seacocks have nothing to do with pumpout

It doesn't matter whether they're opened or closed...only whether the tank vent is unobstructed (read the article "Tank Vent Maintenance" in the Head Mistress forum reference library). However, since open seacocks can flood the boat with sea water, for safety's sake, they should always be kept closed except when actually being used. As for flushing with sea water from a bucket...yes, it'll keep sea water out of the intake, but that's doing it the hard way, and you don't gain that much. It's only when sea water sits in the head intake long enough (days/weeks) to stagnate that there are odor problems. As long as you're aboard and the toilet is being flushed several times every day, you aren't likely to have any more odor problems from the intake than from sea water in the head discharge hose.However, there may be other issues that haven't even occurred to you... Is your toilet manual or electric? If it's electric, is it designed to use pressurized water or sea water?

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Peggie's the expert...

...but I can tell you from experience that the answer to your question is yes, freshwater reduces the odors. I got the idea on this website earlier this summer and switched to great satisfaction.

 

[Garry]

Seawater

We use seawater and have no troblems. I have added a wire strainer to the seawater intake which keeps out anything bigger than a pinhead.

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

If toilet is electric, designed to use raw water

Flushing with the intake seacock closed may damage the toilet if the intake pump runs dry. At the very least, running dry will fry the impeller in the intake pump...completely disintegrating it in a very short time. Over time, dry friction heat can damage the pump housing and can cause the motor--which is the same one that flushes the toilet--to overheat, damaging the motor.

 

[Terry Cox]

I FOLLOW PEGGIE'S ADVICE...

and the boat now smells sweet. We have electric heads, so while cruising I keep the head intake seacocks closed until we need to use the head. After our return from cruising I flush each head with a gallon of fresh water with the intake seacocks closed. I flush and pump out the holding tank until I get clean water (usually three times). I also give the vent scupper a spray of water to make sure it remains clear. Then I finish with Odorlos per the manufacturer's directions.If we were on an extended cruise the heads would get frequent use, and the holding tank pumped out every few days, so I would not worry about sea water sitting in a line long enough to stink up the boat.Regards,TerryS/V Belle-Vie