Peggie Hall wrote:

krj wrote:
Peggie Hall wrote:

krj wrote:

I figured 1 quart white vinegar to 5 gal. water
was 140/5= 28 quarts.

Read it again (the third time it HAS to sink in)...I didn't say FILL the
tank...I said, "fill the tank 1/4-1/2 full ..."

The solution is 1 quart vinegar to 5 gal WATER, NOT 1 quart vinegar to
the total amount the tank can hold.

So you fill the tank 1/4 full of this solution? or do you just use 5
gal of water for any size tank?

If we filled our tanks 1/4 full, that would be 50 gallons, so it would
be 10 quarts of vinegar (??)

When we used to use fresh water flush it wasn't connected to the
toilet at all - we just used the shower head to flush the toilet with.

So you fill the tank 1/4 full of this solution? or do you just use 5
gal of water for any size tank?

Put enough in the tank to get it into all the plumbing. If only 5 gal.
is enough to do that, then 5 gal. is all you need.

When we used to use fresh water flush it wasn't connected to the
toilet at all - we just used the shower head to flush the toilet with.

It has nothing to do with toilet flush water, Rosie...unless you care
whether the toilet flush water smells/tastes like chlorine or antifreeze.

However, using the shower head to put water in the bowl is not good for
the toilet pump...'cuz what's in the bowl is only passed through the
bottom part of the pump, leaving the rubber parts in the upper part of
the pump dry, which deteriorates 'em. If you have the typical electric
macerating pump, closing the seacock and only putting water into the
bowl causes the intake impeller to spin dry, which "fries" it with the
first flush and then will destroy the intake pump housing. If you've
done that, if you ever open the intake seacock again, water will flood
the bowl--overflowing it, if it's below the waterline--because there's
no longer anything left of the impeller to block it.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304

The way the fresh water flush on my boat works is via the head sink.
The drain hose on the sink has a diverter valve, and in one position it
goes out via an above water thruhull, in the other, it drains into the
line that feeds the head pump. The line leading down to the raw water
line for the head is also vented, so that it can't siphon back out to
the sink.

Works really well, but I do have to remember to fill the fresh water
tank, which is fairly small on my boat, before a longer trip.

SD

On 2006-07-20 16:58:21 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

This business about not connecting FW systems to sanitary plumbing
reminds me of a USPH required and approved arrangment for FW flushing
systems.

It's called an "Air Gap" and is basically just a funnel with a pipe
outlet a few inches above it. The funnel goes to the tank for fresh
flush water. The valve can either be manual or perhaps controlled by a
float in the flush water tank. If something goes wrong with the
sanitary system, the water just backs up and overflows the funnel with
no way to get into the potable water.