Head Grief

[WorldWind]

Give me a diesel engine or a paint gun and I'm good to go.
I just can't seem to figure this head system out.
5/8" line from thru hull intake to a tee fitting,1 line running through to sink drain.Tee branches off to head,water intake),head San line runs to Lectrasan unit.
Can't seem to get raw water into the system.
Does the head sink not act as a vent?
Help!!
This is driving me nuts.
Where an I going wrong.
Tried search with no results related.

[nigel1]

Dont know the Lectrasan head type, but the set up you described sounds like PO has 'T' eed in a line from the sink waste to the head in order to flush the unit with fresh water from the sink (avoids leaving sea water in the inlet hose which can lead to that head smell.
Seems like they missed out a valve, I would think there should be valve between the T and the sink waste.
Have you treid to disconnect the sink waste hose and temporarily plugged it to see if you can get suction from the raw water side

[rtbates]

Yes, the sink drain needs to be blocked or no vacuum will be created to suck in the water...

[Bash]

You've got a non-standard system, probably the result of the PO trying to plumb in fresh-water flushing on the cheap. You can probably flush the head when the sink is full of water, but not when it's empty. It's an okay system for a boat that always stays at the dock, but not for a boat that wants to go places.

On the other hand, putting a stopper in the drain will most likely work wonders.

[WorldWind]

I tried running the 5/8" line right from the thru hull intake to the head...
Same result ,no raw water...
Head problem?,gaskets?,time for a new one?
Head bowl is at WL....
Confused......big time

[tager]

Didn't your mom ever tell you not to play with poop? Get a bucket.

[peghall]

Seems to me that the solution is simple: put a plug in the sink when you want to flush the toilet. If you don't have a plug, they're about $1.50 at any hardware store. You do NOT want a valve in the system, it'll drive you crazy trying to switch back and forth when you want to use the sink or the toilet.

Fwiw, most head intake lines are 3/4" ID. It's tank vent lines that are 5/8"...leading me to question which line you relocated to the head intake thru-hull.

There's nothing strange or arcane about the way your system is plumbed...in fact, several boat builders plumb to use the same thru-hull for both sink drain and head intake 'cuz it eliminates one hole in the boat and also saves 'em the cost of a thru-hull and seacock. It also provides a safe source of fresh water to rinse all the sea water out of the system before the boat sits, eliminating odor from stagnant sea water (it's not intended as a way to have fresh water flushing "on the cheap") and also to add antifreeze. It's an excellent system for a boat that always stays at the dock, and for boats that want to go places.

However, if you keep running the Lectra/San without supplying adequate salt to it, you'll destroy the electrode pack (if you haven't already done so). If you don't have an owners manual for it, I suggest you download and print one from the Raritan site: Raritan Lectra_San MC manual

[WorldWind]

Thx peghall for the link and write up.
Yes,that is correct,the line is 3/4" not 5/8".
Have not used the Lectrasan yet.Just purchased it,and I'm just going through the head plumbing as we haven't used it since the purchase of the boat.Getting things ready here for cruising' soon
I'll try the plug in the sink drain and see how that works.

[HopCar]

It seems to me that if the T is below the waterline you shouldn't need to plug the sink. Peggy, am I correct on that? If the T is above the waterline you would need to plug the sink. Since you tried connecting the hose directly to the seacock, it sounds more like a toilet problem to me. Does water flow into the boat when you pull the hose off the T? Is there a blockage in the intake hose? What kind of toilet is it?

[nautical62]

Add a new through hull for either the sink or head, so each has their own.

A short term solution could be to add an inline valve to the branch going to the sink, so when turned off you effectively just have a dedicated line going to the head.

[WorldWind]

Thanks for all the inputs.Much appreciated.
It works now.
The problem was the tee was above the WL.
Moved it just above the thru hull,and she works great.
Another job off the list.
Ok... Back to polishing.

[peghall]

Add a new through hull for either the sink or head, so each has their own.

Why? That only adds another hole in the boat. Several boat builders plumb head intake and head sink drain to the same thru-hull to eliminate one hole in the boat...others are installing sea chests to eliminate as many thru-hulls and seacocks as possible, which is what most people want. So why would you want to ADD another hole?

[peghall]

The waterline in the drain line isn't static...it can be higher on one tack than on another. So whether the tee is installed below resting waterline doesn't necessarily eliminate the need to plug the sink.

[STG]

I had the same problem. As others said, a cheap plug from the hardware store worked great.

Having the "T" is nice to allow you to close the seacock and pour vinegar into the sink to flush the bowl periodically, or to flush with fresh water when leaving for a spell.