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Old 26-06-2019, 13:55   #31
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

seawater. vinegar negates urine and negates seawater. makes salt vanish also. love the stuff.
odorlos is awesome breaker down of the other items making reek ... also keeps build up in hoses to a wonderful minimum.
yes i have a sea water head.
if i wanna flush with fresh i add the cats water dishes...hahahahaha just enough to get thru the system once. let it sit to help dissolve wayward salt crystals
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Old 26-06-2019, 14:15   #32
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

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Originally Posted by Freedom45 View Post
We use fresh only.
Yes, one might have less odor but more important to me is no build up that develops in the discharge hoses and holding tank.

Us too
No water maker but we do have 5000 litre/1300 gallon water tanks.
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Old 26-06-2019, 14:32   #33
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

I use salt water exclusively. Because I rinse and empty after each use few if any critters are left in the hose to rot. If leaving the boat for weeks I might flush with fresh water but probably not. Any odors caused by rotting material in the hose will go away after the head is used but I have never noted a problem after 10 days of disuse.
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Old 29-06-2019, 16:11   #34
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

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Originally Posted by tarian View Post
The Calcium Problem
Everyone who owns a boat with a seawater toilet knows about The Calcium Scale Problem. Urine mixes with saltwater in the plumbing system and produces calcium scale that builds up in the lines
You can eliminate the calcium buildup in your pipes by putting a suitable amount of white vinegar in the bowl and just emptying the bowl. The vinegar will eliminate the deposits and the smelly, dirty job of removing and cleaning the outlet pipe is also eliminated.

Vinegar also works to clean your SS.. Won’t break the bank either.
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Old 29-06-2019, 17:59   #35
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

Vinegar in the head
https://marinehowto.com/vinegar-in-t...-does-it-work/
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Old 29-06-2019, 21:44   #36
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

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I tried my own little test. I had an elbow that had a lot of hard calcium build up. I pounded it with a screwdriver and got some out, but I could not get it all. Since I had a replacement, I put the new one on. The old one I put in a container in white vinegar. Left it for a few weeks. Most all of the calcium was dissolved with the little bit left easy to remove with a screwdriver.
So I think regular use leaving it in the lines for a few hours is probably useful, easy and cheap.
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Old 30-06-2019, 05:20   #37
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

Although our installation will do nothing to reduce calcium buildup, we have installed Commoderators on all three heads in our boat. They are all salt-water flush, electric heads. The Commoderator is an in-line cartridge that contains chlorine tablets. Each time a head is flushed chlorinated water comes into the bowl. There is a mild chlorine smell, but it keeps the heads smelling fresh all the time. Even when the water remains in the bowl for several days without a flush there is no foul odor.

The cost for installation in all three heads was a total of approximately $800. I had someone do the installation for me because I was away from the boat for an extended period of time. Virtually anyone could DIY for about half the price. I have read very little about Commoderators, which surprises me because it works very well.
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Old 01-07-2019, 07:05   #38
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

Fo those of us who are coastal cruisers, not living aboard, I think it makes sense to use fresh water. We just installed an entirely new waste system in our Coopers Yachts Prowler and in hindsight, we should have switched it over to fresh water, but that is going to be done in the next few weeks. We only use the tank water for washing anyway and our drinking water comes from a 5 gallon water jug. Our water tank is 250 liters. I'm confident that the check valves will keep the black water out of the water supply, but maybe one of you has specific info about that not being the case? After all that, I tell my friends that unless we are out for a long period of time without access to shore facilities, they should pretend it costs $50 to drop a number 2 on our boat, but pee is free.
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Old 01-07-2019, 07:16   #39
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

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Originally Posted by Paul L View Post
I tried my own little test. I had an elbow that had a lot of hard calcium build up. I pounded it with a screwdriver and got some out, but I could not get it all. Since I had a replacement, I put the new one on. The old one I put in a container in white vinegar. Left it for a few weeks. Most all of the calcium was dissolved with the little bit left easy to remove with a screwdriver.
So I think regular use leaving it in the lines for a few hours is probably useful, easy and cheap.
Much quicker than vinegar is hydrochloric acid. You can buy weak acid in most european supermarkets. Stronger acid is called brick cleaner in the UK and agua fuerte in Spain.

I put a calcified NRV into HCL and it takes about 30 mins for all the crud to fall off. HCl does not damage plastic - after all it comes in a plastic bottle!

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Old 01-07-2019, 07:20   #40
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

Tudorsailor, I'm curious about what effect vinegar has on the waste breakdown process in the tank. Seems like if anything, it would help..
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Old 01-07-2019, 07:20   #41
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

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Originally Posted by windlass79 View Post
I'm curious do you use fresh water or salt water to flush?
We use fresh water.
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Old 01-07-2019, 07:23   #42
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

as Peggy would say: never connect any hose from a drinking water tank to a sanitary system or toilet.
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Old 01-07-2019, 07:25   #43
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

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Originally Posted by Coast Wanderer View Post
Tudorsailor, I'm curious about what effect vinegar has on the waste breakdown process in the tank. Seems like if anything, it would help..
I am afraid that I cannot answer this! As HCl produces a lot of bubbling gas when in the system, I only treat a toilet if the holding tank is open to the sea. Once the bubbles stop I flush and flush again

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Old 01-07-2019, 07:30   #44
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

Only salt water in copious amounts without a holding tank unless near a swim area.
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Old 01-07-2019, 07:53   #45
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Re: Fresh Water or Salt Water to flush the toilet?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Woodall View Post
Although our installation will do nothing to reduce calcium buildup, we have installed Commoderators on all three heads in our boat. They are all salt-water flush, electric heads. The Commoderator is an in-line cartridge that contains chlorine tablets. Each time a head is flushed chlorinated water comes into the bowl. There is a mild chlorine smell, but it keeps the heads smelling fresh all the time. Even when the water remains in the bowl for several days without a flush there is no foul odor.

The cost for installation in all three heads was a total of approximately $800. I had someone do the installation for me because I was away from the boat for an extended period of time. Virtually anyone could DIY for about half the price. I have read very little about Commoderators, which surprises me because it works very well.
I had trouble googling commoderator! It is in fact Commoderizer
www.commoderizer.com
Looks a great way to prevent calcium build up
TS
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