Cleaning the Bowl ?

What is the best way to keep the bowl clean? I also have a blader tank. What chemicals would be best for this system?

Thanks in advance

*

Tony B

A simple, spherical-headed, dunny brush and no chemicals, frankly in my view. It is just too easy.

Avoid ALL household chemical bowl cleaners, and most other household cleaning products--bleach, any that contain bleach, pine oil cleaners, Lysol, any petroleum based products. They're all damaging to rubber and break down hose resistance to odor permeation.

A SMALL amount of Comet or other liquid abrasive on a brush, sponge or paper towel is ok.

Peggy, I am surprised you didn't mention CP. It is expensive but the only thing we use to clean the bowl. We have on occasion used Soft Scrub W/O bleach. Chuck

I didn't mention it because he's in Australia...it's not available there.

I think the OP is in Kemah, Texas, or at least it looks that way. Is there any cleaner available that would also add a bit of lubricant? Most cleaners we have used actually seem to strip the lubricants we use in the head. Chuck

Only manual toilets need to be kept lubricated. Electric toilets, except for manual toilets to which a motor has been added that only replaces the pump handle--don't need it. If you do have a manual toilet, any lubricant thin enough to be poured into the bowl will wash out in just a few flushes even if only water goes through it.

Every manual toilet leaves the factory with a big glob of thick synthetic teflon grease in it...which is why new toilets rarely need any lubrication for at least a year, sometimes every longer...and it's a 10 minute job every spring to replace it. Buy a tube of thick Teflon grease....SuperLube is the best...Ace Hardware usually has it...if not, these folks do http://www.aaaindustrialsupply.com/superlubesyntheticgreasewithptfeteflon21030-.aspx Take the top off the pump (Jabsco and a couple of others) or remove the pump from the base (Raritan, just requires removing 4 screws)...stick the nozzle into the pump and give it a HEALTHY squirt. Close up the pump again...pump a couple of times to spread the grease all over the inside of the pump cylinder...you're done till next year.

Or, you can spend the rest of your life pouring veggie oil down the toilet every couple of weeks. It doesn't do much good, but people still do it for the same reason my grandmother always one end off every loaf of bread she baked...because HER mother did. Come to find out, her mother only did it because her bread box was too small. People still pour oil down the toilet because the original manual toilets didn't have rubber parts, the internal o-rings, gaskets etc were LEATHER...and leather absorbs oil, so a half a cup down the toilet a couple of times a year kept all the flexible parts in a toilet flexible. Rubber doesn't absorb oil (or any other lubricant), it just washes right on out...but that doesn't matter to those who are content to keep pouring it down their toilets...they're gonna keep right on doing it.


-- Edited by HeadMistress on Thursday 6th of October 2011 07:25:57 PM

Hi Peggie,

You've heard stupid questions before right? Well does RV (pink) AF affect electric heads in any negative way?

Nope, it doesn't hurt a thing. If your toilet uses raw water, disconnect the head intake line from the thru-hull (it's prob'ly a good idea to close the seacock first), stick it in a jug of antifreeze...flush the whole jug through the toilet. Do not reconnect the intake line to the thru-hull. If more antifreeze is needed in the tank, pour it down the toilet. If you have an overboard discharge pump, turn the y-valve and VERY BRIEFLY run the pump to pull antifreeze through it and that plumbing.

If your toilet uses onboard pressurized flush water, winterizing the fresh water system also winterizes the toilet. Remove any water in the bowl. Put any antifreeze needed in the tank into it through the toilet.

After the boat comes out of the water (if it does), open all seacocks to let any water in the lines drain out. Make sure your bilge is dry.

Btw...if you're thinking of using vodka in the fresh water system as an alternative to the "pink stuff," vodka only works if the temperature stays above freezing. Before someone squeals...UNCUT vodka won't freeze to at least -10...but even a 90-10 cut with water will freeze above -0- So unless you vacuum ALL the water out of the tank, you'd need more than 10 gallons of vodka for every gallon of water left in it...and if you DO vac all the water out, you don't need antifreeze OR vodka, 'cuz it's ice that does freeze damage, not cold temps...and if no water is left in the tank to freeze, there can't be any ice.

Thanks so much Peggie. Willy has a fresh water head and soon I'll pump out as much water as I can and then put in the pink stuff. Run all systems (including the hot water tank) and save the head for last to get max AF concentration.*

Vodka! I don't even drink that stuff. Not much Else either now.*

Eric--- Just curious. Can you not keep heat on your boat in the winter? It doesn't take much to protect the water system from freezing. If I recall correctly you use your boat during the winter, don't you? If so, a single heater--- we use the electric oil heaters that look like small steam radiators--- should be enough to protect your boat. Where is your water tank (or tanks)? If it's in the engine space putting a heater down there will protect the tank and water system as well as help keep the damp out of the cabin up above AND make it easier to start your engine on cold days.

We keep one of these heaters in our engine room on the lowest of the three settings with the thermostat halfway up. This keeps the engine room at about 50-55 degrees.

Don't fill the hot water heater with anti-freeze, drain it completely and use a bypass on the fresh water lines. Chuck

http://trawler-beach-house.blogspot.com/2010/12/winterizing-boat-again.html


-- Edited by Capn Chuck on Saturday 8th of October 2011 10:53:32 AM

Chuck,

Thanks and VERY informative and clear. Don't know how to get the water out of the hot water tank though. I'll look for a drain. I'd forgotten how wonderful your blogs are and will browse some more later.*

We have two 50 gallon water tanks in the lazarette and hot water tank in the engine compartment. The head is traditionally just ahead of the helm. When we keep the boat in operational status I have two 130W "driers" in the lazarette, one 750W electric heater w thermostat in the engine compartment and 2 "driers" in the head. I cover up the commode w plastic to keep the heat from the driers around the commode. Another 130W drier goes under the sink w the door shut. At around 10 degrees or less I turn everything on and around 28 degrees I turn everything off and run certain heaters only at various temperatures in between. We're very close to the harbor (and everything else in town) so I'm 99% on top of the situation all through the winter but it gets a bit old about the third week in January. Probably costs over $500 to run those electric heaters too. $.23KWA. We like to have the boat handy to go to parties and visits down the bay especially at Christmas time. But we can always dump the skiff in and go if there is'nt too much ice. Went to a Christmas party the 1st year we were here and it blew at least 50 knots at 5 degrees on our way home. The bay was smok'in. Could have spent the night though. We were in someone else's 25' Aluminum OB boat. I scraped ice 100% of the time on the inside while the boat owner steered. Don't know what we'd have done if the outside iced up so we could'nt see ??? This year I'm going to do the pickling but I may go out in about a week. They say it's to blow 50 later today and it's been raining hard much of the morning and blow'in about 20. There's a marathon (running) starting now out on the road (we live across the street from the school) and it looks like the usual turnout is there. Seems to always be in terrible weather. Anyway that should give you some scope of my winter existence up here and how I tend our boat.