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Cleaning Sanitation Hose


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Replaced our toilet system yesterday including the hose between bowl and cassette tank. We've had problems over the past few months with it blocking on occasions and needing a flexible rod pushed down the pipe so had assumed that there had been some buildup of limescale mixed with the other stuff over the 10 years of use but was really surprised how much there was when I cut the hose in the middle. A 38 mm hose reduced to 20 mm so not surprising it blocked at times.

Is there a proven method of cleaning the pipe? 

20171006_100727.jpg

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4 minutes ago, pearley said:

Replaced our toilet system yesterday including the hose between bowl and cassette tank. We've had problems over the past few months with it blocking on occasions and needing a flexible rod pushed down the pipe so had assumed that there had been some buildup of limescale mixed with the other stuff over the 10 years of use but was really surprised how much there was when I cut the hose in the middle. A 38 mm hose reduced to 20 mm so not surprising it blocked at times.

Is there a proven method of cleaning the pipe? 

Replace the pipe, they are only designed to last around 5 years.    You may notice a musty smell from the pipe (run a rag over the pipe with vinegar (I think its vinegar?) and then smell the rag), if so defo replace!   Rigid pipe is better.

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1 hour ago, ianali said:

Except for frequent walks to empty cassettes..

Ian.

I have 3 cassettes and like the fact that, once 2 have been filled, I know I have to empty them. Usually empty the part used one as well, so I have 3 to go at.

It's not really a chore to motor to the Elsan and, if I can't moor nearby, it's easy enough to pop them on the trolley.

Would I prefer a huge tank needing a pump out at less frequent intervals - no idea, not had one. I do like the idea that my toilet facilities are removeable/replaceable without too much effort.

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Having been where you are now Pearley, I can only say go for replacement. Trying to clean those pipes is a nightmare, you could try taking them off and whacking them about to loosen the scale, but if you are doing all that you may as well just put fresh pipe in.

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3 hours ago, pearley said:

Replaced our toilet system yesterday including the hose between bowl and cassette tank. We've had problems over the past few months with it blocking on occasions and needing a flexible rod pushed down the pipe so had assumed that there had been some buildup of limescale mixed with the other stuff over the 10 years of use but was really surprised how much there was when I cut the hose in the middle. A 38 mm hose reduced to 20 mm so not surprising it blocked at times.

Is there a proven method of cleaning the pipe? 

20171006_100727.jpg

My boat is 10 years old, but has only been used for leisure use.

The previous owner left a partly used bottle of Leesan Toilet Descaler on board when I bought the boat, which he advised he used twice a year. 

I have continued this and to date no scale problems. 

However when the Leesan runs out I will try this as you get five times as much for a similar price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Saniflo-Descaler-Cleanser-1085-5L-Limescale-Remover-Macerator-Fluid-Toilet/191315481769?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D08f71293ced04c5d863da3b660782ca6%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D231905529408&_trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598

 

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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

My boat is 10 years old, but has only been used for leisure use.

The previous owner left a partly used bottle of Leesan Toilet Descaler on board when I bought the boat, which he advised he used twice a year. 

I have continued this and to date no scale problems. 

However when the Leesan runs out I will try this as you get five times as much for a similar price.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Saniflo-Descaler-Cleanser-1085-5L-Limescale-Remover-Macerator-Fluid-Toilet/191315481769?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D08f71293ced04c5d863da3b660782ca6%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D231905529408&_trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598

 

Or this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-LITRE-PHOSPHORIC-ACID-DESCALER-RUST-REMOVER-85-5000ML-5L-/192259743411?epid=541120322&hash=item2cc392deb3:g:sVkAAOSw9N1VsUEz

5 litres of 85% phosphoric acid for £20. The descaler is around 8% so dilute it down 10:1 and get 50 litres.

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41 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

But a 'normal' (Thetford) cassette system has a direct 'drop' into the cassette - no pipes connecting the bowl to the cassette, nothing to get blocked.

But we wanted a cassette that was divorced from the tank (so my wife couldn't complain about any smell) with a china  bowl with a seat height the same the one in the house. The Dometic Vacuflush Cassette system gave us all that (and doesn't need any blue) I know some people have had trouble, as have we, but nothing I couldn't cope with. I was offered a complete, brand new system for £200 and, given that it hasn't been made for 8 years took the opportunity to renew it and gut the old one to give me enough spares for the next 10 years. 

But from the answers above replace the connecting pipe after 5 or 6 of them. 

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I had a complete blockage of a sea toilet with calcium in Ibiza in 1977, a much wider pipe system.   Vinegar dissolved it and it was all pumped out easily aftterwards.   Far cheaper than special treatments and I used it ever since with olive oil to lubricate any seals.

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3 hours ago, pearley said:

But we wanted a cassette that was divorced from the tank (so my wife couldn't complain about any smell) with a china  bowl with a seat height the same the one in the house. The Dometic Vacuflush Cassette system gave us all that (and doesn't need any blue) I know some people have had trouble, as have we, but nothing I couldn't cope with. I was offered a complete, brand new system for £200 and, given that it hasn't been made for 8 years took the opportunity to renew it and gut the old one to give me enough spares for the next 10 years. 

But from the answers above replace the connecting pipe after 5 or 6 of them. 

I have the same toilet system which is now 12 years old (liveaboard). I recently gave it a full service, chucked out the old cassettes (which aren't really serviceable) and replaced them with 2 new ones. The cassettes had some scale inside but nothing like what you've shown in your photo. Anyway, after servicing it's now back to how it was when it was new. My cassette docking unit is also connected with about 3m of Vetus flexible sanitary barrier hose but it's still fine, doesn't smell and when I looked it wasn't blocked at all. I don't put toilet paper down my toilet so perhaps that's the reason? 

I'm not sure where the 5 year lifespan of sanitary barrier hose comes from but mine is still the original 12 year old length and it's still fine.

LeeSan recommend putting a little biological laundry liquid down the toilet if left for more than 2 weeks. 

Edited by blackrose
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8 hours ago, Robbo said:

Replace the pipe, they are only designed to last around 5 years.    You may notice a musty smell from the pipe (run a rag over the pipe with vinegar (I think its vinegar?) and then smell the rag), if so defo replace!   Rigid pipe is better.

It's cloth with water not vinegar. If you wipe the pipe using a cloth soaked in vinegar you will just smell vinegar! :lol:

Where does your 5 year lifespan figure come from please? Genuine question. Thanks

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21 minutes ago, blackrose said:

It's cloth with water not vinegar. If you wipe the pipe using a cloth soaked in vinegar you will just smell vinegar! :lol:

Where does your 5 year lifespan figure come from please? Genuine question. Thanks

 

27 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I have the same toilet system which is now 12 years old (liveaboard). I recently gave it a full service, chucked out the old cassettes (which aren't really serviceable) and replaced them with 2 new ones. The cassettes had some scale inside but nothing like what you've shown in your photo. Anyway, after servicing it's now back to how it was when it was new. My cassette docking unit is also connected with about 3m of Vetus flexible sanitary barrier hose but it's still fine, doesn't smell and when I looked it wasn't blocked at all. I don't put toilet paper down my toilet so perhaps that's the reason? 

I'm not sure where the 5 year lifespan of sanitary barrier hose comes from but mine is still the original 12 year old length and it's still fine.

LeeSan recommend putting a little biological laundry liquid down the toilet if left for more than 2 weeks. 

Lee Sanitation give an 8 year life to the hose. They said that whilst it does not leak, smell can permeate through the hose. 

I imagine the amount of solids deposited in the hose depends on hose length, dips and bends, hard or soft water, etc. The photo is from about the middle of the hose. The ends had hardly any deposits. 

We have 4 cassettes which are rotated in use. I have 2 new ones, bought from Australia, stored in our sons shed and now have another new one from the kit I just bought. From new they weigh 3.5k, after some months of use they have put on a kilo no matter how well I flush them. 

Edited by pearley
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30 minutes ago, pearley said:

Lee Sanitation give an 8 year life to the hose. They said that whilst it does not leak, smell can permeate through the hose. 

I imagine the amount of solids deposited in the hose depends on hose length, dips and bends, hard or soft water, etc. The photo is from about the middle of the hose. The ends had hardly any deposits. 

We have 4 cassettes which are rotated in use. I have 2 new ones, bought from Australia, stored in our sons shed and now have another new one from the kit I just bought. From new they weigh 3.5k, after some months of use they have put on a kilo no matter how well I flush them. 

Is that 8 year lifespan for the LeeSan hose or Vetus hose?

I've never had any blockage in the 12 years I've been using mine so I don't think mine can have the sort of build up shown in your photo.

There's no way my cassettes increased in weight by a kilo. The 12 year old ones just had a very thin layer of scale.

Edited by blackrose
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Ok, but he changed his pipe because he was having a problem with smell leaching from it. I'm still using the original length of Vetus sanitary hose I installed 12 years ago and there's no smell from the pipe. I can't help thinking that perhaps some people aren't following the Vetus instructions and may be installing the pipe incorrectly, exceeding the minimum pipe bend radii, etc, which will compromise the barrier properties of the pipe. 

Anyway, it's no big deal. If the pipe starts to smell after several years you just change it - job done.

Edited by blackrose
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18 hours ago, blackrose said:

Is that 8 year lifespan for the LeeSan hose or Vetus hose?

I've never had any blockage in the 12 years I've been using mine so I don't think mine can have the sort of build up shown in your photo.

There's no way my cassettes increased in weight by a kilo. The 12 year old ones just had a very thin layer of scale.

Leesan list 2 different hose. Their own brand and one from Dometic at twice the price but whilst the mors expensive might not leach smell through it wouldn't make any difference to limescale build up. My new one actually came from Midland Chandlers and looked identical to the one I removed. 

Just to be a bit anal I've weighed my cassettes. The new one is 3.4 kilo. The 3 year old one 4.1 and the two 10 year old ones 3.6 and 3.9. I've tried putting in the descale that Leesan sell in sachets but doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. Get the most crap out by putting a few kettles full of boiling water in them. 

Perhaps come winter if we can more near an elan I'll remove the inlet valve (the bit with the O ring in) and fill it with a solution of bleach or the descaler  mentioned earlier and leave it to soak overnight. 

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1 hour ago, pearley said:

 . 

Perhaps come winter if we can more near an elan I'll remove the inlet valve (the bit with the O ring in) and fill it with a solution of bleach or the descaler  mentioned earlier and leave it to soak overnight. 

I wouldn't advise that 

"Descaling agents can sometimes include hydrochloric acid, which, if mixed with bleach can create chlorine gas – a toxic substance used to kill during the First World War."

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1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wouldn't advise that 

"Descaling agents can sometimes include hydrochloric acid, which, if mixed with bleach can create chlorine gas – a toxic substance used to kill during the First World War."

Ummm... he said “or” :)

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14 hours ago, rustydiver said:

I was told that the rubber hoses behind the toilet should be replaced 5 yrs or so. Mine was cracking up outside and started to stink fitted a new set and no smells. The smell was leeching through the rubber.

Which hoses are you talking about? If your sanitary hose was cracking on the outside after 5 years it can't have been very good quality. My Vetus sanitary barrier hose is still fine after 12 years.  

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