[C320-list] Head smell discoveries

[Jack McDonough]

Jeff:

Excellent. That's encouraging and I'll take a crack at it. Thanks again.

jack


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeff Hare" <catalina at thehares.com>
To: <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 11:51 AM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Head smell discoveries


> Warren,
>
> Jack's boat is different than your boat. Jack only needs to remove the 
> medicine cabinet to do the whole job. The vent is right there staring him 
> in the face and the hose drops nearly straight down to the top of the 
> tank.
>
> Were he to only replace the vent hose and wash off the outsides of tank 
> and hoses with 409 or other sanitizing cleaner, that would solve this 
> season's issue.
>
> Don't do the filter, it creates an anaerobic environment since air won't 
> freely vent on its own.
>
> Also, i'm pretty sure you won't find a 3/4" fuel vent anywhere. The 
> largest is for 5/8" hose and mounts in a 3/4" hole. You want a vent for 
> the 3/4" (inside diameter) hose matching the fitting on the tank. Those 
> fittings mount in a 7/8" hole. It was very easy to enlarge the hole by 
> 1/8" and just used a bead of silicone to seal it .
>
> The fitting was easy to reach from the deck by yourself. Wouldn't hesitate 
> to do this job on a mooring. With help you could have the whole vent job 
> done in an hour.
>
> -Jeff
>
>
>
>
> Warren Updike <wupdike at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Jack, the cabinet and upper panel, the one with the AC outlet, must be
> removed to access the vent hose and thru-hull. Both are just below the
> deck.
>
> Fred's approach, route hoses to the hanging locker and mount the filter
> there is the only approach I would use if mounting a filter. Having to
> remove the stuff in the head to replace a filter is unacceptable to me.
>
> Assuming your hoses are not emitting any odor, were you to replace the 
> vent
> with a 3/4" or larger hose and thru-hull, and flush only with fresh water,
> you should be well on your way to an odorless head. Which brings me to the
> matter of additives. Several years ago we switched to Odor-los rather than
> any deodorant type products. Without anything scientific to back up my
> claims, I believe it has vastly helped our odor problem. Masking the
> situation with deodorants isn't attacking the issue. Odor-los and other
> enzyme products that encourage the growth of aerobic bacteria are far more
> effective, IMHO, than deodorants. This problem can be solved!
>
> Warren & Pattie Updike
> 1994 C320 #62 "Warr De Mar"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred LEcuyer [mailto:fred.lecuyer at live.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2011 4:43 PM
> To: Catalina320list Catalina320list
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Head smell discoveries
>
>
> I just changed all hoses connecting to the tank or toilet, including the
> vent hose which is behind the medicine cabinet. I added a charcoal filter
> which I mounted to the cedar back of the closet, cut an access hole for
> future canister changes and the odor is now completely gone.
>
> Fred
>
> First Light
> #926
>
>
>> From: mcdonough5 at verizon.net
>> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>> Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 16:35:30 -0400
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Head smell discoveries
>>
>> Jeff, Warren et al:
>>
>> The mother of my children is obsessed with the head odor problem and
> demands
>> that I pump it frequently, which may help a little but is not the answer
> to
>> the problem.
>>
>> When I look in the head medicine cabinet I see two anti-suction (?) hoses
>> but not the vent hose from the holding tank. Will I find that tank vent
> hose
>> if I actually remove the cabinet? Then, are you saying that a larger
>> diameter hose with a modified (larger) hull vent will do the trick?
>>
>> Some say a charcoal filter is an added solution while others say forget
> it.
>> If it's worth the effort, is there room for such a filter behind the
>> bulkhead in the head?
>>
>> Jack
>> #947
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Warren Updike" <wupdike at hotmail.com>
>> To: <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
>> Sent: Thursday, June 30, 2011 7:03 PM
>> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Head smell discoveries
>>
>>
>> > Jeff, when I did our holding tank upgrade I replaced the vent with a
>> > stainless model from our boat store catalog, about $25. The old one was
>
>> > blocked with stuff. Sorry, I can't tell you which one it was. It has a
>
>> > ss extension that is curved downward on the inside of the hull that was
>> > 3/4" and matched the hose I used. The tank vent fitting was 3/4" as it
>> > came from Catalina. I've not had any trouble with odors. I use
> Odor-los
>> > for tank treatment and no other additives. I can send you a picture of
>> > the installation behind the cabinet in the head. Let me know.
>> >
>> > BTW, I considered a charcoal filter. A dock mate made one with PVC. The
>
>> > problem I saw is that if the tank is full and pumped, the filter 
>> > becomes
>
>> > fouled and has to be renewed.
>> >
>> > Warren & Pattie Updike
>> > 1994 C320 #62 "Warr De Mar"
>> >
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Jeff Hare [mailto:catalina at thehares.com]
>> > Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 9:46 PM
>> > To: c320-list at catalina320.com
>> > Subject: [C320-list] Head smell discoveries
>> >
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > We have hull #809. Flush with fresh water and only this season after
>> > commissioning had bad smells whenever the head was flushed. Even after
>> > just one pump.
>> >
>> > Pulled the medicine cab, opened the compartment with the holding tank
> and
>> > started experimenting.
>> >
>> > Poured a gallon of fresh water in and pumped one time. The first area 
>> > to
>
>> > stink was behind the medicine cab. Nothing smelled near the tank itself
>> > and the hoses themselves didn't smell.
>> >
>> > From behind the med cabinet you can very easily reach the vent fitting.
> It
>> > wasn't very loose and the hose didn't seem to be loose either but 
>> > showed
>
>> > minor signs of leaks. I should add that our vent is the small black
> capped
>> > version, not the chrome fuel vent style.
>> >
>> > The inner nut holding the vent in is quite unusual and looks more like 
>> > a
>
>> > 2" plastic jar lid with a threaded hole in the center. But it can't 
>> > form
>
>> > any real seal with the rough fiberglass wall. The outside has a plastic
>> > washer but barely covered the entire hole. So, long story short, 
>> > because
>
>> > of the covered cap, the vent was venting gasses back towards the boat,
> but
>> > since there wasn't much of a seal it was blowing back inside the boat a
>> > little.
>> >
>> > To make matters worse, the hose is about 1" OD/ 3/4 ID but the vent
>> > fitting is only 1/2", so they stuck a smaller diameter hose inside the
>> > large hose and clamped them. I bet that was part of the problem.
>> >
>> > Anyway, with the new vent hose left long and fed out the head hatch for
>> > testing, pumping the head left no smells inside the boat anymore. (I
> heard
>> > the neighbors running away outside however :)
>> >
>> > So the question, can I just use a small open thru-hull fitting here 
>> > that
>
>> > has a 3/4" opening (kinda like the propane or cockpit transom drain) so
>> > that I dont have to mickey mouse the hose fittings? I can't find anyone
>> > that makes a thru hull fuel vent larger than 5/8".
>> >
>> > The only downside I can think of offhand is bugs making nests in there.
>> > There may be screened versions.
>> >
>> > Thanks for any insight here. The boss said fix it. My suggestion of a
> new
>> > boat wasn't the correct answer apparently so now i'm asking you guys.
> Get
>> > me out of jail.
>> >
>> > --jeff
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>
>