Boat Repairs - Replacing Smelly VacuFlush Toilet Lines

[@mikeob2631]

Have to do all this as well on my boat ... took a look at the job this past fall and decided to put off till this year...Great to know someone else is going same thing as I am!!!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Mike Ob Hope this video series will help you. As frustrating and sometimes back breaking as it is, the efforts are well worth it! Our boat/summer home is now back to the pleasant smell that I'm used to :-) Happily, we have only one line left to replace - the one running through the engine room to the (new) holding tank. That should be relatively painless. Be sure to check the other videos I have in the playlist on my Channel, as it includes step by step Vacuflush toilet seal replacement videos (2), Vacuflush pump overhaul & vacuum adjustment, and more, including the major, three part series on replacing our waste holding tank - that was a Big project! Also some other DIY boating projects from fridge removal to generator upgrades. I'll look forward to your comments from some of them, as well :-) Be sure to subscribe for all the new videos (I generally post new ones every week), as well as follow the fun on my Facebook Page (facebook.com/BoatsBeachesAndBars) for daily pics, stories and even Facebook exclusive videos! Cheers, Paul.

[@TraceurDoc1]

Your channel give me tons of inspiration and strength to go get my skipper training and tackle Lake Michigan, a little at a time that is

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Awesome!

[@kellyg46]

I have been in your position a few times on my 40' Regal. I have had to replace the line twice due to holes. The second time around I replaced all the hose with PVC. It was extremely time consuming, but will never have to be done again. A few little hints: Place a warm damp rag over the suspecting smelly hose and leave it here for ~15 minutes If the hose has been permeated, you will definitely smell it, if not, move on the another section. Use a hair dryer or heat gun to soften the hose thus allowing much greater ease of bending and attaching to fittings.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Hi Gary Kelly . Way ahead of you on the wet rag, moving on test. Unfortunately, I am only two lengths of hose away from having replaced ALL the lines on the #boat :-( I will be soon sharing a 30 minute long video I produced that shows, in great detail, how to replace a section running from the day head toilet to the accumulator tank, including completely removing that toilet. Apart from that, I will be doing the line for the other toilet over the coming days. After that, there is only one more section, that of the long one running from the vee where the two toilet outlets converge, back to the holding tank itself. I am particularly looking forward to that one, as it not only runs through a main bulkhead, but tightly behind one of the big 454's tucked into the engine room. Thanks again fro your insights & wish be luck. I'm going back in man!!!!!

[@mebarton]

Is the smell you are getting like a Dirty sock, musky, dirty, locker smell? If so, the problem is the AC system. It called 'Dirty Sock Syndrome' and is caused by a bacteria that collects and grows on the indoor coils of air conditioners. If you cleaning of the evaporator coil with a non-acid coil cleaner. Water and cleaner in a sprayer and then spray the coil should help a lot. When I was in Japan the AC unit got cleaned every 2 month by the apt mgr and even then, by the 7th week the smell would be back. But in Japan the AC run none stop for the start of May till start of Nov and was a heat pump system which get this problem a lot more than a AC only system. being that you are on a boat you may have more bacteria in the air when the windows are open. Hope this helps

[@sailor123ize]

Paul any advice on what to pour down into the holding tank after a pump out? Anything that will neutralize odors from any residue on a new tank? Luis

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

sailor123ize Hi Luis, Anchor Girl uses a product called Cameco RV Toilet Treatment Drop-INS. They are little drop in packets that dissolve in the water. She will flush one down the toilet after each pump out. You should be able to find them in #Florida, as they are made in North Carolina.. Web Site is www.cameco.net.

[@EezeeListen]

Sorry to hear about the nasty smell. May I suggest something I used to use as an alternative to air fresheners in my tour bus and also when I used to drive limousines (air fresheners can be overpowering and annoy passengers/clients). I used to get a pair of very fine mesh tights (!), cut them into 2 legs, double them over and fill each one with filter coffee, tie it off and then hang in the cab overnight. It does remove unsavoury odours and when not in use used to keep them in a plastic bag. However, do not be tempted to use it for coffee after a week or two, oh my! (yuk!)

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

***** The coffee idea sounds great, but our problem had to be attacked at the source. Unfortunately, every effort to try and naturalize the smell were ineffective, leaving replacing the lines as the only solution :-( Upcoming video will delve a little further into the works, with the replacement of one more long line coming from the day head #toilet. After that, The Admiral has made it clear that I am going to volunteer to replace the line on the other toilet, as well. . . And I wonder why we haven't dome much cruising this year!

[@maincalandar7434]

In the over 25 years that we owned boats, any boat with an on board plumbed black water system (not a chemical tank), would every 4-5 years, yes need to have all the sewage lines replaced, unless the system was never used from brand new. It's crappy job, but worth it, especially when you go down to the boat in hot summer and don't get hit with a face full of ass. That smell, along with grey water overflow and stagnation from the sinks and shower, plus any that overflows/accumulates as you say into the bilge spaces. AC condensate that drains into the bilge from AC, Refrigerator/Freezer/Ice-maker evaporators are another huge source of stink. As you said, anything on-board made of porous material, wood, cloth foam, carpet, etc even smooth surfaces (much easier to clean) get that smell on/in them and don't let it go. We used to think it was from Gel-Coat in the voids bilges, and spaces out-gassing, that never cured caused the odoriferous emanation, however we found out differently, just as you did. Even though all the boats we owned, like yours used the better grade sewer hose, it would still break down and begins to leech that ass smell. The only difference between your situation and ours was we never had to replace any of the holding tanks. A proper scrub and deep clean, then resealing any fittings, including the vent, float sensor hole (floats for the level sensors went bad on a few) and pump out/macerator pump line eliminated any further stinky issues..Later on the macerator/pump line were closed off and padlocked per USCG reg's along with the thru hull ball valve, so they didn't contribute to further smell issues On the other hand, the one boat we had (Chris Craft 381 Catalina) that used a Lectra-San system never had any issues, other than the baby wipes and feminine product issues, because just like you, I too failed to stress proper marine toilet use for everyone who came on board. In the future if were lucky enough to own another boat, it will be equipped with an Lectra-San, as no other type marine system in my experiences works as well or is as easy/smell free to operate and maintain. I like the Vacu-flush systems like yours I really do, and had them on several boats, but one big weakness as you experienced is in the parts of the system that can easily out gas that sewer line smell from even a well sealed maintained system, or tank with external ventilation. I even tried pumping out and rinsing with hot fresh water and purpose made chemical/bleach every time we would leave the boat for more than a few days in season, as well as pumping out every 2-3 days when on board for long stays, no dice, and that stink is pervasive as you know, getting into everything, including you and your clothes...Even in winter when it's freezing on board and in storage, that smell can be detected, though no where near as bad as opening the boat up on a Friday after it sat closed up all week during the height of the summer heat in July-August! Once it starts, any hoses in the system have to be completely replaced..and it is never easy, since anything you have to service on a boat likely is tucked away in a space that was only easy to access when the it was being built, not after the fact, especially water, sewer and electrical lines, and they love clamps and zip toes ever 2 feet to hold things in place. The bigger problem is its well nigh impossible to access and cut/release those tie downs when trying to service things!

[@thomasz28l88]

i have 25 hydra sport vector. we get a fowl smell only when under full power. the smell is venting from the anchor closet. we cleaned out that holding area with bleach and it stopped the smell when at low speed. any idea's to help this fowl stench

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Thomas Thomas Although I'm not familiar with your model of #boat , I'm guessing you have a small day head on board?? If so, I'd check the toilet vent line, then the rest of the hoses. You may be experiencing the same issue we had before replacing the lines. Now, after more than a month with the new lines, we have a greatly reduced smell inside the cabin!! The last line I have to do runs from the inside and through the engine compartment (which is accessible from within the salon of the boat). That's gonna be a spring, pre-launch job for me. . . After doing SO MUCH work on our toilet's systems, I've had enough for one year ;-)

[@Mr00destruct0]

Where I work the cleaners use a product for a lot of different odor issues. It works on everything that comes out of either end of any human and other bodies. It permeates into the material just like the stink does. It is usually sprayed but I'll bet after some pre rinsing you could pour it into your toilets and it will work as well. It's called Cast Out by Multi-Mist Products. It is an odorless product that you use after you clean and wash an affected area. Here's how it goes, lets say that a body produces a top end product out of its eating orifice on to your rug (You know what I mean). It gets picked up and the area cleaned. Now it smells like cleaner and the offending fluid. Spray this stuff down and it eliminates the original offending odor and the smell of the cleaner you used as well. that's been my experience with this product. Good Luck.

[@lorenzoruscio]

Hellooooooo Captain!... Nice Work, I have to do the same work for the next month, I'll give you the details as soon as I get in to it...

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Hellooooooooo Lorenzo Ruscio ! Nice work, you say? More like back breaking, smelly work ;-) If you think this one was a good one, I have another one coming up where I replace the line from one of the toilets (our #boat has two toilets) to the accumulator tank. That project included completely dismantling and removing the toilet to get at the line. Bonus part of the video is that I had a couple of differfent cameras getting the action from different angles and one can get a close up look at how to replace the #Vacuflush toilet seal, as well. I will look forward to hearing from you as to how you made out with the lines on your boat when you are done! Cheers, Paul.

[@bigblockcutlass123]

How did the smell turn out, if so how long did it last?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

+bigblockcutlass123 Worked out well. The only line we didn't change was the one that ran through the engine room. That one did emit smell when the engines were hot, on a really hot day, but nothing too extreme.

[@bigblockcutlass123]

BoatsBeachesAndBars Good, I just changed all mine. Couldn't stand the smell the past season

[@SpearDusk]

@14:18 oh boy, I can't escape corona it seems haha

[@THECHUTEFAMILY]

Did this eliminate the smell?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Rob Chute Jr It did by approx 90%. I have one more line to do next spring (I've had my fill of poop lines for this year). That one runs through the engine bay, which is under our salon.

[@capt111]

Yeah, what David Platt said.

[@3CBCO]

Glad I didn't have to do that!!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Trust me, yes you are glad :-/