Black water in bilge

I noticed today that I had a few gallons of water in the bilge. After chasing hoses and camps I found it coming from my forward head. I put a little dish soap in head and within a few minutes of flushing I had bubbles in the bilge.
I have not started working on the head but it looks like it has to come out to get to the hoses. I cant see any problems with the hoses or clamps thats in sight. I guess I will take the unit up and see what I can find.
Not looking forward to this project.

Anyone had this problem?

Thanks

No, and honestly I am glad I never had this peoblem... Good luck with fixing it.

"o ****"

Time for a really good wet vacuum.

And leaving a batch of Peggys bugs in the bilge to help eat the remainder.

Who is Peggy and what kind of bug does she have.

Google Peggie Hall and How to get rid of boat odors .......or close to that title. Icon of the boating internet! The "Headmistress"

Treat the black water in your bilge with chlorine and I don't see why it wouldn't be legal to pump it overboard with the bilge pump as long as you're not in a no discharge zone. Basically, a crude electra san substitute.

Nice book.
Thanks

Group9 said:

Treat the black water in your bilge with chlorine and I don't see why it wouldn't be legal to pump it overboard with the bilge pump as long as you're not in a no discharge zone. Basically, a crude electra san substitute.

Click to expand...

Group9 said:

Treat the black water in your bilge with chlorine and I don't see why it wouldn't be legal to pump it overboard with the bilge pump as long as you're not in a no discharge zone. Basically, a crude electra san substitute.

Click to expand...

I did use a little when I found out what it was.

I have not started working on the head but it looks like it has to come out to get to the hoses. I cant see any problems with the hoses or clamps thats in sight. I guess I will take the unit up and see what I can find.

There's an easier way: put about a quart of water and some red food coloring in the bowl and flush it. You'll see red at any connection that's leaking.

The average working life of any hose--water, fuel, waste, exhaust--is about 10 years because rubber and plasticizers dry out, causing the hose to become hard, brittle and prone to cracking. So if yours are anywhere near that age, don't limit your search for red to just the connections... check all sections of the hose for red stains too. It may be time for new hoses. If so, this isn't the place to go cheap if you only want to have to do this job once.

It appears to be the main hose in the one spot you can't see. Now have to go pump and and hope things dry out and then replace the hose. Going to replace all the hoses while I'm at it.
Thanks everyone for the help.

Going to replace all the hoses while I'm at it.

Wise decision. As I said in my previous post...sanitation hoses are one place you don't want to go cheap...cheap hoses permeate with odor in no time. The two best are Trident 101/102 (identical except for color...102 is white) Trident #101 Sanitation Hose and Raritan SaniFlex Raritan SaniFlex hose. Trident 101/102 has been on the market for more than 20 years without a single reported odor permeation failure, but it has one drawback: it's as stiff as an ironing board, which makes it a less-than-ideal choice for hose runs that have a lot of bends because those require inline radius fittings...it averages $7-8/ft. Raritan put their Saniflex hose on the market 8-9 years ago, no reported odor permeation failures nor have I ever heard of any. Price is in the $13/ft range, but as you can see from photos on the webpage, it's so flexible that you can bend it like a hair pin...making the job a LOT easier on most boats.

Btw...I've meant to ask: what's the make/model/age of your toilet?

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

Don't forget disposable plastic bags, tarps, sandwich baggies and high quality duct tape. Sandwich bags duct taped on to seal the old hose ends being removed.

If you think black water in the bilge is nasty imagine it on your soft goods and cabinets. A tyveck suit is not overdoing it.

Good luck

Changing hoses does not have to be a nasty job! Step 1: Flush gallons of clean fresh water through the system to get clean out the toilet and the hoses. Step 2: Pump out and thoroughly rinse out the holding tank, macerator and plumbing to it.

Now you're only dealing with clean water

Remove the higher end of each hose first (and btw, it's a lot easier to get them off fittings if you warm the ends a bit with a blow dryer)...cover that end with tape or a baggie. Put a disposable aluminum pan under the connection at the other end to catch any spills. Cover that end and remove that piece of hose from the boat! If you have a long run through an inaccessible area, pull new hose in as you pull old hose out. Buy a male-male hose connector and some pvc cement... cut the end of both hose as cleanly as possible and cement both hoses onto the connector, butting 'em tightly together...you want the smoothest unbroken line you can create. When you have the old hose out and the new hose through, cut off the new hose right behind the connector.

Only one major drawback to doing it this way: it doesn't leave you with any "chemical warfare" stories to tell.

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

fishpcb said:

Nice book.
Thanks

Click to expand...

;-) and you are now in Peggie's personal hands. She's a lifesaver to many (before the Admirals grab them by the neck).

CPseudonym said:

Don't forget disposable plastic bags, tarps, sandwich baggies and high quality duct tape. Sandwich bags duct taped on to seal the old hose ends being removed.

If you think black water in the bilge is nasty imagine it on your soft goods and cabinets. A tyveck suit is not overdoing it.

Good luck

Click to expand...

I just did this job and found that the 2 inch pvc pipe end caps fit over the end of standard sanitation hose pretty well. Then lots of electrical tape to seal them on and I only got a little sewage water on me.

I did the fresh water flush thing, too. The water still smelled.

That and double nitrile gloves.

Someone said the hot tub hose is the same. Is this true? The Lowe's kind.

No no no on the hot tub hose. It will smell very quickly. Breakdown also. Removed some from my boat that the previous owner used. It was only 3 years old. Stunk to high heaven and tore as I pulled on it. Go with Peggy's recommendations.

I found the Saniflex online for half of west marines price. Going to order tonight.

fishpcb said:

Someone said the hot tub hose is the same. Is this true? The Lowe's kind.

Click to expand...

Roger is right. People don't realize that all hoses are not created equal. Hot tub hose LOOKS like "standard" sanitation hose (sched 148 flexible PVC, which is the cheapest marine sanitation hose), and costs even less which lures people into buying it... but it's not the same and will permeate even faster. Nor is it rated for below-waterline connection, which if your tank is set up to be dumped at sea, is another reason it's a bad choice.

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

fishpcb said:

I found the Saniflex online for half of west marines price. Going to order tonight.

Click to expand...

Where and how much???? That's valuable information...don't keep it a secret!

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

I've surveyed only three President 37's. Unfortunately all three had aluminum holding tanks. You may have a much bigger problem than some bad hose.

One fiberglass and one plastic tank. The plastic one is new with all new hoses.

Defender has the santiflex for $9.90.
West marine is $18.49 a foot

fishpcb said:

One fiberglass and one plastic tank. The plastic one is new with all new hoses.

Click to expand...

Lucky you

fishpcb said:

Defender has the santiflex for $9.90.
West marine is $18.49 a foot

Click to expand...

Raritan's list price is $15.00, making $9.90 a very good price. As is all too often true, WM's price is 20% above list. It pays to shop!

fishpcb said:

One fiberglass and one plastic tank. The plastic one is new with all new hoses.

Click to expand...

There should be writing on the new hoses...it will tell me whether it'll last a while. Still curious to know the make/model/age of your toilet(s)

I just redid my entire system (two heads) with Trident 102 hose. About $400 for fifty feet from Go2Marine. I hope I don't have to do that job again for a while. Less than $8 a foot.

Your Go2marine order has shipped!



Items Shipped
The following items have just shipped:
3/20/2017
SKU
Description
Qty. Shipped
268167
Trident, 102 Series, Sani Shield Sanitation Hose, 1-1/2" x 50'
Price


361.95
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Subtotal:
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Total:
394.33