New head for Black Dog

[Comodave]

I am pretty sure that most members that have read any of my posts in reference to heads know how I feel about Vacuflush heads. Our Formula came with one and of course it leaked vacuum. My wife asked me how I was going to fix it and I told her with a new Raritan Marine Elegance head. So this winter that is my largest project. The head in Black Dog is right behind the forward cabin on the starboard side. The discharge hose runs aft behind the starboard engine to the vacuum tank and then aft to the vacuum pump. Then the hose proceeds aft to the transom, across the transom and then forward to the holding tank on the port side. Not an ideal run because of the length. The hose is exposed in the refer compartment which is 8’6” aft of the head. Then it disappears over the fuel tank, inaccessible, about 11’ to the vacuum tank.

That was the old setup. The Marine Elegance head uses 1” discharge hose. I am running it a shorter, a bit, path that is 36’ total. In the refer compartment I cut the old hose where it goes behind everything both fore and aft. I started the process by using OC Divers cleaning process on both the old discharge hose and holding tank using Sodium Perconate and Tide laundry soap. After I cut the old hose we ran a sewer camera forward and aft through the old hoses and saw no obstructions. So my plan was to run the new 1” SaniFlex hose, OD is 1.375” though the old ID 1.5” hose. I planned on using a 1/4” nylon line to pull the hose through while lubricating it with wire pulling lube.

So today was the big day to pull the new discharge hose. We loaded the car with 40’ of hose coiled up in the back. Radar, our Black Dog, immediately made himself comfortable on the hose while we drove to the barn. 3 of us, plus Radar, did the work. It worked excellently! The lube made the hose so slippery that it just slid through the old hose almost effortlessly. All total it took 57 minutes to run the 40’ of hose. It actually is a 36’ run but I ordered some extra so I would not be 6” short. I have been loosing sleep for several weeks worrying that it wouldn’t work.

The head is 24 volts and will be powered off the bow thruster battery bank that is about 6’ forward of it. The controller is Bluetooth so it doesn’t have wiring to run. So my project is off to a great start.

The photo is of Radar taking care of the new hose on the way to the boat.

 

[Mac2]

Nice to hear your technique worked! I will log it away for future reference.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Did you then pull the old hose out? Or just leave it there/

pete

 

[Comodave]

I left them in and used them as a conduit. It would have been almost impossible to run the new hose without major surgery to the galley cabinets and the section above the fuel tank was just inaccessible.

 

[HopCar]

Very clever!

 

[Comodave]

Very clever!

Don’t know how clever but it was just about the only way to run it. And it turned out easy. Only thing was I had no idea how much wire lube I needed so I bought 2 gallons so I wouldn’t run out and have the lube dry out and the new hose stick in place short of where I needed it. But I only used maybe a quart and a half. So I have enough wire lube to last me the rest of my life…

 

[SteveK]

Executed well, but 40 feet of hose. Whoever designed that run should be taken out back behind the shed. Either the flush remains in the hose or too much clear water fills the holding tank prematurely.
I am a fan of the marine elegance and have replaced both concrete mixer sounding heads the boat came with.

 

[Comodave]

The actual run was 36’ but I bought 40’ just in case. The old run was at least 10’ longer and 1.5” ID hose. With 1” ID hose it won’t take as much water to flush the stuff into the holding tank. So it is better, not great but as good as possible.

 

[SteveK]

Vacuflush, never had one. Does it empty the bowl and the hose each flush, so only the bowl contents travel the length. A 36 foot one inch hose holds about a gallon of water. The 46 foot 2 inch would hold about 4.5 gallons. That is what I was thinking about the long run.

 

[Comodave]

It will hold just under 1.5 gallons. That is acceptable to me since we have a 50 gallon holding tank and pump out frequently. The Vacuflush head was a maintenance nightmare in our boat. Formula very conveniently put the vacuum pump in a location that is very difficult to access. So now all the maintenance items will be right in the head itself. Very easy to access.

 

[koliver]

Dave
I am impressed by the brilliance of that method!
Talk about thinking that is unconstrained!
This is an example of what we need you to stick around for.

 

[rslifkin]

I wouldn't worry too much about clearing it fully with every use. Just before leaving the boat or maybe at the end of the day. Worst case, if the hose starts to permeate or clog up beyond repair in 5+ years, it sounds like it'll be easy enough to change it out.

 

[koliver]

OK, I will be the guy who asks:
What happens to the Wire Pulling lube after it has been sitting between your newly pulled hose and your old, possibly not pristine on the inside, hose? Especially if you need to pull it out after 5 years?
Of course Dave, with your habits, that will be a problem for the next owner or the next after him, but still, do you have thoughts on that point?

 

[Comodave]

The pulling lube dries out. Whether or not the hose I put in will be able to be pulled out is an unknown. But I used SaniFlex hose. It has a 10 year warranty. In 10 years I will be 79 and most likely not boating. This is our last boat. I know I have said that before, actually 2 times before but this time I mean it…

 

[rgano]

This is our last boat. I know I have said that before, actually 2 times before but this time I mean it…

SURE! At 75, I am still thinking about the maybe next boat. hahahaha

 

[Comodave]

SURE! At 75, I am still thinking about the maybe next boat. hahahaha

But I have spent too much money on this one, nothing left for another one…

 

[HTurner]

The actual run was 36’ but I bought 40’ just in case. The old run was at least 10’ longer and 1.5” ID hose. With 1” ID hose it won’t take as much water to flush the stuff into the holding tank. So it is better, not great but as good as possible.

Let us know how it works after a pound of cheese, 22 ounce Porter House steak and very large Idaho potato.

 

[SteveK]

Let us know how it works after a pound of cheese, 22 ounce Porter House steak and very large Idaho potato.

But eat that first. Remember nothing goes in the head unless it was digested first, except TP.

 

[rgano]

You can't take it with you!

 

[Comodave]

Since it is a macerating head, those things will not be an issue.

 

[MichaelD]

muchas gracias

But I have spent too much money on this one, nothing left for another one…

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing that hose run technique.
As for last boat.... I'm just coming onto 78, have a current boat stuck in Canada for repairs after hitting a reef, and am still thinking about what's the next boat.
"still crazy after all these years"

 

[Comodave]

Oh, I think about the next boat too. But then reality sets in and I acknowledge that we have a great boat and that I am getting too old to do all the work a new boat entails.

 

[SteveK]

What a great idea! Thanks for sharing that hose run technique.
As for last boat.... I'm just coming onto 78, have a current boat stuck in Canada for repairs after hitting a reef, and am still thinking about what's the next boat.
"still crazy after all these years"

You sir are an inspiration to us yunguns

 

[mickand]

You are smart - and even smarter for using Raritan Sani/Flex hose - it's the best with an impermeable interior coating and the ability to bend almost on itself without kinking.

 

[Comodave]

Yes, I love SaniFlex hose. I have used it for bilge pump hose because it is smooth bore and so flexible. It is more expensive than the PVC hose but the flexibility more than makes up for the extra cost.

 

[ronobrien]

The pulling lube dries out. Whether or not the hose I put in will be able to be pulled out is an unknown. But I used SaniFlex hose. It has a 10 year warranty. In 10 years I will be 79 and most likely not boating. This is our last boat. I know I have said that before, actually 2 times before but this time I mean it…

A friend's father said the same thing many times. He sold his last boat at 91. I think he is truly done now although he still sails with us (and last year did the bright work) on my friend's boat. He says you just have to keep going.

 

[Darlin]

Big job, is it quieter than the standard Raritan "growler"? I recently replaced my master suite Raritan with a Dometic. Much better, it is still noisy but better bowl, seat and flush flow. My master suite toilet goes to a Raritan Electro Scan processor.