Galley Maid head stink

[spincycle]

Had galley maids head installed new in 2002, works fine, good flush, motor sounds good. It s the forward head on a 54 ED, all new waste lines were put in in 2002 also, but boy does that head stink, i clean it, wash it, flush it everyday and it still stinks like sewer. all other heads on the boat are non-stink, is there a seal in these heads that needs to be replced from time to time? any ideas. Pascal ,it is the head you said works great on the boat but it has recently started to stink and i mean alot, it's so bad, I have to keep the door to the head closed all the time or i stink up all the forward cabins.

Spincycle

 

[garyd]

Is it using salt water or fresh? The salt water smells a lot like sewer. Fresh water mold and mildew buildup can get the same way. In other words the stink may be coming from the supply side.

Good Luck


garyd

 

[spincycle]

they are salt water heads, the other two heads on the boat smell great, but this one!!!!!! hold your nose.

Spincycle

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I've heard of dropping a chlorine tablet into the the strainer basket for the pickup. I don't know if it would work, but it might be worth a try. I used to get odor from my GM toilets as well. Ever since I switched to freshwater(tank water) flush, I have had no odor at all.

 

[garyd]

I agree with sky had salt water heads in previous boat stink like all get out. Fresh water no problemo...

garyd

 

[spincycle]

strainer basket, is that the piece with the screw off top behind the toilet on the water inlet side?

Spincycle

 

[Angela]

Isn’t that the darndest thing! I have four heads, all GM salt water flushing. I have ONE that stinks like that. It never stunk until I replaced all the hoses, rebuilt that head, refurbished the strainer, and replaced the pump with a brand new one. From that point on, it stinks. I did all my heads like this around the same time period and just this ONE is stinky now (it wasn’t before). Can’t explain it. Should have left well enough alone, I guess.

The strainer basket Sky's talking about is the sea strainer which is probably attached to the seacock on the water inlet side.

 

[Traveler 45C]

If you’re flushing it everyday it is unlikely that the salt water in the lines have a chance to get foul, unless it's a long supply line and you’re not getting all the water through.

My salt water heads will stink if they are not used frequently. The first flush will run ya' out of the boat. After the system has been flushed and all the foul water out of the supply lines, the heads are fine.

 

[Hold Fast]

Good afternoon

Not sure if this helps or is applicable but anyway:

I changed out the motor on my Raritan II this weekend. There is a rubber piece that acts as a check valve between the waste line and the motor. Raritan has a name for this check valve (but I can't remember from the directions what they call it). On the Raritan model, the valve is located between the plastic hose column that attaches to the motore and the waste hose. My new motor included a new valve so I replaced it. My point it that the old one was hard, dry rotted and didn't appear to seal well. As best as I can tell, the valve is the only thing that prevents fumes from the holding tank from backing up in the bowl.

You may want to check to see if your head has a smilliar check valve. If so, and it's bad, that may be why you're getting fumes from that head but not the others.

Hope this helps

Billy
HOLD FAST

 

[Angela]

I can clean, and clean, and clean, and flush, and flush, and flush that head...come back in an hour or two, and it stinks all over again. I just don't get it!!! Before I made everything new again, it could sit for weeks and never smell - really! The other heads I have but don't use on a regular basis don't stink. I just don't get it.

I'm going to try the chrlorine tablet and see if that does the trick!

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Billy,
The GM heads have no joker valve, just an S-loop in the discharge that has a little hose to break the vacuum there. That hose is routed back to the bowl and could be the source of the smell. I doubt that's the problem, but you never know.

The Raritans have a joker(check) valve to keep the waste from backing up into the bowl after you flush. When they go bad, you usually will know it because the clean water in the bowl will slowly become not so clear.

 

[MAKANA]

Change the supply line. That solved my smell in salt water

 

[spincycle]

can i open up the large turn cap on the supply T fitting behind the toilet or do i have to shut an other value first, to put in my clorine tablet.

Spincycle

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Follow the supply line down to the strainer where it hooks into the thru-hull fitting. Close the valve at the thru-hull and open the top of the strainer. Pull the basket out and clean it. Then put a chlorine tablet or two into the basket and close the lid back up. Lastly, open the valve at the thru-hull and check for leaks.

 

[Pascal]

i dont' recall that head smelling, maybe on the firs flush boat not after that. odd... did you check the strainer? could there be some "stuff" in there.. old algea, dead jelly fish or something?

 

[post42]

I am having the same problem with my two GM heads. I am in the process of changing all the hoses and converting it to fresh water. Hope this does the trick. Actually this reminds me -- when talking to GM on the phone they said you need to use exhaust hose from the head to the motor because of the size of the hosing( sanitation hose does not come in that size). Does anybody know if there are different grades of exhaust hose and which one is best for use as sanitation hose?
________
Bondage movie

 

[Nonchalant1]

Had galley maids head installed new in 2002, works fine, good flush, motor sounds good. It s the forward head on a 54 ED, all new waste lines were put in in 2002 also, but boy does that head stink, i clean it, wash it, flush it everyday and it still stinks like sewer. all other heads on the boat are non-stink, is there a seal in these heads that needs to be replced from time to time? any ideas. Pascal ,it is the head you said works great on the boat but it has recently started to stink and i mean alot, it's so bad, I have to keep the door to the head closed all the time or i stink up all the forward cabins.

Spincycle

What, where and when does it stink?

Is it the actual commode and flushing that stinks, or is it that ROOM? Maybe there's a leak in the line and it has made a stinky pool of water somewhere, so working on the head itself won't do anything?

Also, maybe that head is near the vent line or there's a leak in the vent line so stinky gas is escaping there?

Just some thoughts.

Doug

 

[Hold Fast]

Sky

Good morning and thanks for the info.

Billy
HOLD FAST

 

[spincycle]

just got to the boat and that head smelled like piss. I flushed it twice before I left on tuesday. but the water in the toilet bowl looked like six day old piss and smelled like it too. it stunk up the whole boat. I will check the strainer today and let you know what i find. All other heads were just fine, no smell at all and no discolored bowl water.

Spincycle

 

[SKYCHENEY]

just got to the boat and that head smelled like piss. I flushed it twice before I left on tuesday. but the water in the toilet bowl looked like six day old piss and smelled like it too. it stunk up the whole boat. I will check the strainer today and let you know what i find. All other heads were just fine, no smell at all and no discolored bowl water.

Spincycle

Maybe someone is using it while you are gone . I've heard those homeless sure are getting to be a problem in the Tampa area.