Head adventure

[Sven]

On our return from Catalina the head plugged up. We had been too careful about not filling the holding tank with water ... big mistake !

So, the dreaded job for the Memorial Day weekend was to unplug it ... obviously man's work. I'd had almost two weeks to plan it out and dread it so I was all prepared



It turns out that the job worked really well. I got all suited up and hermetically sealed, not knowing what explosive wonders might greet me when I disconnected the hose at the lower end. I had hoped to disconnect from the upper end but as far as I can tell the tank is built into the cabinetry and there is no way of getting to it without actual structural dis-assembly.

I bought 10' of about 1/4" rigging wire for a grand total of $9 and carefully wrapped the end in plastic electrician's tape to keep it from having any sharp strands that might catch. I also taped up the head so nothing would get on the cabinetry or into the bilge. Finally I had the cordless drill ready if jamming the wire into the hose wasn't going to be enough, but I never needed it.

Two weeks of thinking and probably no more than 10 minutes of actual work and it was all done with no damage

From now on we'll always have a spare Tyvek suit on board and a clean 10-foot 1/4" SS rigging wire ... just to make sure we never need any of it !


-Sven

 

[WBurgner]

Clogged Head

Better to be prepared, Sven. Some boat jobs are just bluer than others. Ask anyone who services the lavs on the airliners. It takes days to get the blue dye off if you are unlucky enough. (Yes, personal experience)

What model toilet is that you have?

I am in the process of investigating the installation of a Lavac in my E381. Anyone have one installed in their Ericson?