Just bought a 1993 Hunter 23.5. Don't know anything about the head, eg. how to flush, how to drain the effluent, proper care. Thanks, Elec
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Head 101
It has a pump to develop "head" (that's why it is called a head BTW) so the effluent is pumped into the holding tank. There are two positions on the pump, dry and wet. Dry is for liquids and wet if for more solid "stuff". Never put anything other than TP or something that has come out of your body into the head. Wet wipes and other stuff will just give your grief. To operate the head you have to first open the seawater supply thru-hull. You can trace the hoses, one will lead to a tank and one will lead to a valve in the hull. This supplies the water to do a wet flush. There is a lever near the pump body that allows you to switch between wet and dry flush. For a dry flush you just pump till the bowl is dry, for a wet flush you just need to pump till the solids are gone. Over pumping only causes your holding tank to fill up faster with sea water. Once the tank is full you need to dump it in the bay! Just kidding, you need to find a pumpout station and suck the tank dry. The guy at the station will show you how to do it.
It has a pump to develop "head" (that's why it is called a head BTW) so the effluent is pumped into the holding tank. There are two positions on the pump, dry and wet. Dry is for liquids and wet if for more solid "stuff". Never put anything other than TP or something that has come out of your body into the head. Wet wipes and other stuff will just give your grief. To operate the head you have to first open the seawater supply thru-hull. You can trace the hoses, one will lead to a tank and one will lead to a valve in the hull. This supplies the water to do a wet flush. There is a lever near the pump body that allows you to switch between wet and dry flush. For a dry flush you just pump till the bowl is dry, for a wet flush you just need to pump till the solids are gone. Over pumping only causes your holding tank to fill up faster with sea water. Once the tank is full you need to dump it in the bay! Just kidding, you need to find a pumpout station and suck the tank dry. The guy at the station will show you how to do it.
I need to know what you have to be able to tell you how to use it.
'Cuz on a 23' boat, your toilet is more likely to be a self-contained system--a "portapotty" that may have a portable tank that must be carried off the boat to be emptied...or it may be a model that's plumbed for pumpout--than marine "head" and holding tank. So what does it look like--a "box" that has a tank below a bowl? Or is it a china bowl with a pump sitting next to it? Do you know the brand name? Bill...I think you need my book!
(See link below) The name "head" has nothing to do with any pump head pressure. A marine toilet got that name because that's where the earliest toilet facilities were located--at the bow or "head" of the ship. It consisted of a plank with outhouse size holes in located near the waterline..sailors had to crawl onto it. And in cold water, it was NO fun at all! The dry mode isn't just for urine only and the wet mode for solid waste only...you need at least a little flush water for either one. But you are right that ONLY body waste and quick-dissolve TP should ever go into a marine toilet. To use a manual toilet, first make sure the intake seacock (valve the opens and closes a thru-hull) is open. Pump the toilet once or twice in the wet mode to prime it and wet the bowl. For urine only--no solids or TP--switch the lever to the dry mode, and pump enough times to move the bowl contents ALL the way to the tank...then switch back to wet mode for a couple of pumps to rinse the bowl...back to dry to pump the rinse water all the way to the tank. Marine toilets are not designed to hold water in the bowl...so for solids and/or TP, add water to bowl with a cup...then follow the same procedure described above. Do NOT stop pumping as soon as the bowl is empty. Unlike household toilets that utilize a siphon to pull waste out of the bowl and on to the sewer, marine toilet pumps PUSH bowl contents to the tank. When you stop pumping, whatever is in the system between the toilet and the tank stops moving...and sits in the discharge hose to permeate it with stinky gasses. So it's very important to pump long enough to move the bowl contents ALL the way to the tank, and then rinse out the system behind the waste. Pay close attention to how full your tank is getting, and pump it out before it overflows out the vent. Make sure the tank vent never becomes blocked.
'Cuz on a 23' boat, your toilet is more likely to be a self-contained system--a "portapotty" that may have a portable tank that must be carried off the boat to be emptied...or it may be a model that's plumbed for pumpout--than marine "head" and holding tank. So what does it look like--a "box" that has a tank below a bowl? Or is it a china bowl with a pump sitting next to it? Do you know the brand name? Bill...I think you need my book!
(See link below) The name "head" has nothing to do with any pump head pressure. A marine toilet got that name because that's where the earliest toilet facilities were located--at the bow or "head" of the ship. It consisted of a plank with outhouse size holes in located near the waterline..sailors had to crawl onto it. And in cold water, it was NO fun at all! The dry mode isn't just for urine only and the wet mode for solid waste only...you need at least a little flush water for either one. But you are right that ONLY body waste and quick-dissolve TP should ever go into a marine toilet. To use a manual toilet, first make sure the intake seacock (valve the opens and closes a thru-hull) is open. Pump the toilet once or twice in the wet mode to prime it and wet the bowl. For urine only--no solids or TP--switch the lever to the dry mode, and pump enough times to move the bowl contents ALL the way to the tank...then switch back to wet mode for a couple of pumps to rinse the bowl...back to dry to pump the rinse water all the way to the tank. Marine toilets are not designed to hold water in the bowl...so for solids and/or TP, add water to bowl with a cup...then follow the same procedure described above. Do NOT stop pumping as soon as the bowl is empty. Unlike household toilets that utilize a siphon to pull waste out of the bowl and on to the sewer, marine toilet pumps PUSH bowl contents to the tank. When you stop pumping, whatever is in the system between the toilet and the tank stops moving...and sits in the discharge hose to permeate it with stinky gasses. So it's very important to pump long enough to move the bowl contents ALL the way to the tank, and then rinse out the system behind the waste. Pay close attention to how full your tank is getting, and pump it out before it overflows out the vent. Make sure the tank vent never becomes blocked.- Status