Raritan Concentrate

[BobM]

A friend of mine heartily recommended Raritan's Concentrate system that tees off the water intake valve for the head. I never leave my water intake open, so this might be reasonable option from a safety perspective. Any thoughts on this system? The hoses on my system have been replaced recently by a PO, but he bought a very cheap head I believe, but there is still a lot of smell. It is a JABSCO manual head.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

I'm not a fan...

The active ingredient in Raritan Concentrate is quanternary amonium compound, which is a highly toxic chemical. It's a relic of the days when toilets were flushed overboard...its purpose was to kill some of the bacteria. Raritan has actually toyed with the idea of discontinuing it, but claims there's enough demand to keep a while longer.

Unless your odor is caused by sea water left sitting in the head intake to stagnate while the boat sits, it wouldn't solve your problem anyway. The easy "test" for that: odor is confined to the toilet and only exists the first time the toilet is used after the boat has been sitting...goes away once all the stagnant water has been flushed out. Even if that IS your problem, there's a much simpler, much less expensive, and a lot more enviro-friendly solution than Raritan Concentrate, the jug and the related plumbing.

If that's not what your odor is, we need to find it and eliminate it once and for all. So...wanna give me more details?.

 

[BobM]

I thought I'd stop sponging on line, so I ordered your book finally.

The PO replaced the holding tank with a 12 gal LDPE tank which runs to a Y-valve to a deck pump out or the macerator and the through hull. The hose is the really thick stiff ribbed white hose, which I think you typically say would be your second choice. He obviously had a hard time making the connections and clamping things. When I remove the lids under the settee cushions there is a foul septic smell. I'm thinking that I need to clean things out well and then either just re-plumb it all correctly or at least check all the attachments and replace what I need to.

I flush with sea water, but the head sees very little use and tends to sit partially filled all season.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Odor may be residual from previous smelly hoses or a spill

If the area still needs to be cleaned, use only a good detergent and water...rinse thoroughly...mop up any excess water. Then spray every surface nook and cranny with a product called PureAyre PureAyre The sbo.com online store has it for a very good price. It's a bit pricy, but the stuff WORKS--the only thing I've found that not only eliminates "organic" odors, but also diesel and smoke.

You said your toilet tends to sit for long periods partially filled with sea water. There shouldn't be ANY water in the bowl! So I think you need to learn to how to use the "dry" mode. Read the chapter "Flush With Success" in my book for advice on how to do that. If it's been at least two years since the joker valve was replaced, replace it...it may be time for a rebuild kit (or a new toilet if the rebuild kit costs as much as the complete toilet). And use the head more...things work better when they're used regularly.

 

[BobM]

Re: Odor may be residual from previous smelly hoses or a spill

Thanks Peggy, will do. Thanks for the PureAyre tip. I have friends who lost an engine filling the cabin with smoke. They had just had their cushions recovered...in white...lucky it was a synthetic leather with a solid surface, so while painful to clean they can clean it. They might be very happy to hear about that product too.

It's not the toilet that sits with water in it, but the holding tank, which is also a no-no from an odor perspective. The Jabsco is only a couple of years old and has probably been flushed only a couple of dozen times.

Your book will be part of my winter reading and I am sure it will enable me to make great strides in boat sanitation. I really appreciate how willing you are to discuss things on here and wish you made more than a pittance per book.