Muriatic Acid and Marine Heads

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by Bergovoy

btw: I am sure folks have heard the expression, A DROP IN THE BUCKET, or pi$$ing in the ocean... and basically intent to describe perspective/proportion...

but...

how many people are there in the world? 7 billion something???? how many is that? Is it enough that if all the folks in the western hemisphere jumped up at the same time, and all those on the eastern side landed at the same time, would they move the earth?

if they all screamed at the same time? if they all flushed their toilets? or Pee'd inthe ocean, or flushed with HCL??

I heard the statistic broken down the other day.. and tried to save the link and will continue to look for it... but...7 billion people would fit into Los Angeles SHOULDER TO SHOULDER...

they all could have a house and fit it into Texas...

every single one of us...

to think that we (at this time), can affect something is crazy... the only possible 'problem' would be one of our own infrastructure... and or something toxic or self sustaining... i.e. ozone/cfc...

anyways, just sayin'

What if they all are breathing earth's atmosphere at the same time...oh wait a minute they are...24 hours per day and 7 days per week and emitting the dreaded greenhouse gas, CO2.

[tamicatana]

y'all might want to check the year this thread was actually in debate...

[OB Thomas]

So, if I am in the head and no one else is around to hear me pour muriatic acid in the head does it still make a sound?

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

y'all might want to check the year this thread was actually in debate...

Good catch on the date because I just read the entire thread with fascination and missed that it was old.

Being a freshwater sailor I did not even know this issue existed until we got to Germany (about a year in salt water) and the head became plugged due to narrowing by the scale. This happened to us in 2011.

We purchased a gallon of muriatic acid and applied several high potency treatments (diluted it 1/2) letting it marinate in the plumbing. Lots of bubbling and gas at first. Loose scale came out. Not so much on the second treatment. I moved it slowly through the system during application.

I knew how to do the mixing from college days (chem major also) add the acid to the water to minimize the splash danger. I put on a swim suit and a dive mask (eye protection) to mix this stuff on the dock and to put it in the head. It was 40 or 50% concentrate to start with.

Subsequent maintenance with vinegar and we never had another problem.

[ErikFinn]

Dear folks,
is this muriatic acid I picked up from the local hardware store?
Label says "HCL" (I presume to be meaning hydrochlorid acid) and "Mosaic cleaner". I have never heard of mosaic cleaner and the label says nothing about muriatic acid. So, you salty guys and gals who were not sleeping during the chemistry classes; is this muriatic acid or not?
8% makes it not so strong am I correct? Stuff sold in US is about 30% strong?
The cashier said if I mix this with water it will explode.. Kind of scary idea if I want to clean my toilet bowl.. Will it explode? Or something lost in translation rather..? Also do I need to dilute this somehow? How? Can I just pour a quart in to the toilet bowl even if there is water still in there?

[donradcliffe]

Don't add water to the acid. Add the acid to water.

[LakeSuperior]

Wear a SCUBA mask when diluting or pouring the acid into the head. Eye protection when working with acids is absolutely critical.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

Bingo! Absolutely correct. A little costly but absolutely worth it.

Once the lines are cleaned out get in the habit of keeping a squeeze bottle with a mix of Saltaway and fresh water in the heads. A little squirt in the bowel and pumped into the lines once the bowel's been thoroughly evacuated will help prevent the built-up of salt/calcium carbonate.

FWIW...

My bowel is self cleaning and I use it every day.
The toilet bowl might benefit from it though.

[robert sailor]

If you want to avoid using acid so often start pumping a lot more water thru your head. Your pee mixed with salt water and coating the pipes should not be happening. Every head has a manual that tells you how far each stroke of the pump will move the waste water. Do the math, measure the waste pipe and add a couple of strokes to be sure. The head we use most of the time has a fairly short pipe but it needs a minimum of 15 strokes to completely clear the thru hull. Once you operate your head properly most of your problems with clogged pipes will disappear.

[a64pilot]

I just replaced all the hoses and tank on my boat, they were at least 15 yrs old and not scaled at all, and at least one is very long, I have wondered about where all this build up comes from myself, I have assumed it comes from trying to stretch the time between pump outs?