[C320-list] HEAD ODOR

[Jeff Hare]

Jack,

What you did is a significant part of the fix for the interior smell. That lack of seal and/or the bizzarre technique the factory used to reduce a 3/4" hose down to 5/8" are the main sources of venting gasses into the boat when flushing.

Then, the next problem with serious smell outside the boat is lack of good unrestricted tank venting, use of harsh chemicals instead of aerobic bacteria food. Ie, care and feeding of the tank and also using fresh water really helps the tank avoid tha anerobics (which are the smelly ones). If the tank is breathing freely it won't drive people out of the cockpit when the head is flushed. The small fuel vent with screen doesn't encourage this (and you don't want this for a fuel tank because of condensation).

So.. factory uses the wrong vent for this application and is easily fixed.

Jeff.

Jack McDonough <mcdonough5 at verizon.net> wrote:

OK, I imagine I'll get some responses saying that what I did won't last or whatever. But for those of you who, like me, are not inclined to spend a whole lot of time trying to do major re-fits, here is my solution to the dreaded Head Odor problem.



There are those 320 owners who are a lot more skilled than I (Jeff Hare, for instance) who installed a larger vent hose from the holding tank and installed a new fitting where the hose exits the boat.



Last fall I decided it was time to do something about that head odor, so, encouraged by Jeff's instructions, I proceeded to disconnect the hoses in the medicine cabinet in the head, drop them down through the holes from whence they came, and remove the cabinet. The procedure also requires removing that plastic "fence" that surrounds the sink area. Otherwise, there's not enough room to remove the cabinet.



I then removed the panel at the rear of the hanging locker in the quarter berth by simply removing a few screws. Easy. This gave me access to the place where the vent hose exits the boat. What I found was that the plastic collar that holds the hose against the hull was not snug against the hull because of the rough surface of the hull wall. That, it seemed to me, was the reason the holding tank fumes were coming back into the boat. What I did, after considering all kinds of solutions, was to buy a package of those Styrofoam sheets that you find in hardware stores that are used behind electric wall outlets to prevent cold air from invading your house. I cut a round hole in a couple of these and used them as a gasket to provide a good tight seal between the collar to the hull. The result is that we had no odor problem this season. Yay !



Incidentally, others who have gone through this exercise tie strings to the hoses when they drop them below the medicine cabinet and haul the hoses back up later with those strings. I found it much easier to crouch in the hanging locker and poke the hoses back up where they belong. They stayed put long enough for me to get back into the head and replace their hose clamps.



Jack

"Sure Bet" #947















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