Head Odor

[playhard]

Our 61 Hatteras forward head always stinks.It does not matter if we are using the holding tank or going overboard.All the rest are fine. It is the lowest head in the boat. All new hoses and new galley maid macerator/ pump

[SKYCHENEY]

Maybe try a pool chlorine tab in the strainer basket.

[Sailor John]

I'd check your tank vent hose(s). Often over looked, they can be blocked, or 'seep' smelly stuff.
SJ

[MikeP]

Are the heads fresh or raw water? (Oem GMs are raw but GM have a FW "option" available)

Is the head used very much?

If the answers are 'raw' and 'no' then I suggest the problem may be lack of use. Our 53 has the oem GM heads. They do not smell at all when they are regularly used. However, if you do not use one of them - any of them - for a period of time, the RW in the head/intake plumbing will ferment (or whatever it does) and stink whenever you flush. This will happen through several flushes before it will clear.

We don't have any trouble with that under normal conditions because we use all the heads regularly but if the boat sits for a week or two, that's when it happens. I run several looooong flushes through the heads and then toss a dollop of clorox in the head. From then on, assuming regular use, no issues or odor..

I have never tried the tab in the strainer as Sky suggested but it sounds like it could totally solve the problem if the issue is related to the "fermenting" RW as opposed to a hose or a vent issue.

[bobk]

That chlorine tab might play havoc with rubber components of the system that are not designed to tolerate chlorine which is a strong oxidizer.

Bobk

[Bob Bradley]

If it is RW, the residual water that remains up under the rim and in the "works" of the toilet may be the cause. The micro organisms in the water die and will stink if not flushed regularly. My head always smells for the first couple flushes when I've been away from the boat for more than a couple days. If the RW inlet line is accessible, you could put a 3-way valve in it and run some white vinegar thru the toilet every week or two.

[SKYCHENEY]

That chlorine tab might play havoc with rubber components of the system that are not designed to tolerate chlorine which is a strong oxidizer.

Bobk

If it's a GalleyMaid, there is nothing there but a rubber stator and hoses. I can't see how some chlorine would do much to that. Its not a long term solution, just a once in a while thing. It would probably only take one tab to take care of the problem. Once its gone, it may be odor free for some time. That's probably the quickest and most simple thing to try.

[MikeP]

Further re the tab...

The GM waste treatment system (we have 2 on the boat) uses calcium hypo pool tablets for the source of chlorine which runs through the GM pump and into the waste stream so I would ASSUME that there is no adverse affect on the GM system if oem-type hose is used for all the plumbing. I replaced all the oem hose a few years back with the white sanitation hose and within a year had permeation odor so I pulled all that junk and went back to the hose that Hatt had originally used with no further problems.

Whether the sanitation hose had an issue with the chlorine or the stuff is just cr@ppy hose (NPI) to stet with, I don't know.

[jim rosenthal]

What was the original hose that Hatteras used in this application? Mine is overdue to be changed out.

[SKYCHENEY]

OEM hose in 1985 was the Shieldflex green stripe sanitation hose.