Cut the 8.5" base down - or try a step in front??

On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 17:08:55 -0600, Jerry
wrote:

Been using Grocco HF heads for a number of years only because, at 13.5
inches, they are the lowest height head I can find in any of the
catalogs. However, I'm getting pretty tired of the poor performance,
breakdowns and frequent repairs needed on these units.

In my boat the head sits on a shelf that is already 8.5 inches above the
floor which then slopes down even more toward the midline of the boat.
Even a 1 inch taller head is uncomfortable for this crew of short
legged people.

Anybody know of a low rise head model that is 13 inches high or less?

For full time liveaboard we use a qt a mo in each

On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 18:16:17 -0800, sded wrote:

It's amazing how much good a gallon of vinegar a year does for each head.
Peggie Hall wrote:

sded wrote:
I have two Groco HF heads that have seen nearly 17 years of use. I looked into
other heads, but finally just did a complete pump replacement for the HFs. They
have worked well, only needing a rebuild every year or two. Have you checked
your discharge lines for clogging?

He didn't mention what kinds of problems he's having with Groco...but
it's amazing how many repairs wouldn't be necessary if there was any
preventive maintenance done. But preventive maintenance is something
that never occurs to most boat owners...they assume that because
household toilets don't need any, marine toilets don't either. So the
toilet works fine for about year or two--till it needs some...after
that, it's never-ending battle to fix what breaks but didn't have to.
And, of course, it's always because the toilet is a "piece of junk."

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

For full time liveaboard we use a qt a mo in each

On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 18:16:17 -0800, sded wrote:

It's amazing how much good a gallon of vinegar a year does for each head.
Peggie Hall wrote:

sded wrote:
I have two Groco HF heads that have seen nearly 17 years of use. I looked into
other heads, but finally just did a complete pump replacement for the HFs. They
have worked well, only needing a rebuild every year or two. Have you checked
your discharge lines for clogging?

He didn't mention what kinds of problems he's having with Groco...but
it's amazing how many repairs wouldn't be necessary if there was any
preventive maintenance done. But preventive maintenance is something
that never occurs to most boat owners...they assume that because
household toilets don't need any, marine toilets don't either. So the
toilet works fine for about year or two--till it needs some...after
that, it's never-ending battle to fix what breaks but didn't have to.
And, of course, it's always because the toilet is a "piece of junk."

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

Peggy,

What preventive maintenance do you typically recommend?

I'm also using the Groco HF. Every time I'm through using it for several
days (e.g., at the end of a trip), I flush it thoroughly with fresh water
and run some head lube in it. What else do you recommend to avoid problems?

Thanks,
Alan

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
sded wrote:
I have two Groco HF heads that have seen nearly 17 years of use. I
looked into
other heads, but finally just did a complete pump replacement for the
HFs. They
have worked well, only needing a rebuild every year or two. Have you
checked
your discharge lines for clogging?

He didn't mention what kinds of problems he's having with Groco...but
it's amazing how many repairs wouldn't be necessary if there was any
preventive maintenance done. But preventive maintenance is something
that never occurs to most boat owners...they assume that because
household toilets don't need any, marine toilets don't either. So the
toilet works fine for about year or two--till it needs some...after
that, it's never-ending battle to fix what breaks but didn't have to.
And, of course, it's always because the toilet is a "piece of junk."

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

Peggy,

What preventive maintenance do you typically recommend?

I'm also using the Groco HF. Every time I'm through using it for several
days (e.g., at the end of a trip), I flush it thoroughly with fresh water
and run some head lube in it. What else do you recommend to avoid problems?

Thanks,
Alan

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
sded wrote:
I have two Groco HF heads that have seen nearly 17 years of use. I
looked into
other heads, but finally just did a complete pump replacement for the
HFs. They
have worked well, only needing a rebuild every year or two. Have you
checked
your discharge lines for clogging?

He didn't mention what kinds of problems he's having with Groco...but
it's amazing how many repairs wouldn't be necessary if there was any
preventive maintenance done. But preventive maintenance is something
that never occurs to most boat owners...they assume that because
household toilets don't need any, marine toilets don't either. So the
toilet works fine for about year or two--till it needs some...after
that, it's never-ending battle to fix what breaks but didn't have to.
And, of course, it's always because the toilet is a "piece of junk."

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

I had a vessel with a Groco head. Never had to do "preventative
maintenance" because I was rebuilding it every few months. Hey, maybe that
is Groco's idea of preventative maintenance. Got so I could do it blind
folded. I even modified it slightly near the end of my sad experience with
it.

Bill

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
sded wrote:
I have two Groco HF heads that have seen nearly 17 years of use. I
looked into
other heads, but finally just did a complete pump replacement for the
HFs. They
have worked well, only needing a rebuild every year or two. Have you
checked
your discharge lines for clogging?

He didn't mention what kinds of problems he's having with Groco...but
it's amazing how many repairs wouldn't be necessary if there was any
preventive maintenance done. But preventive maintenance is something
that never occurs to most boat owners...they assume that because
household toilets don't need any, marine toilets don't either. So the
toilet works fine for about year or two--till it needs some...after
that, it's never-ending battle to fix what breaks but didn't have to.
And, of course, it's always because the toilet is a "piece of junk."

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

I had a vessel with a Groco head. Never had to do "preventative
maintenance" because I was rebuilding it every few months. Hey, maybe that
is Groco's idea of preventative maintenance. Got so I could do it blind
folded. I even modified it slightly near the end of my sad experience with
it.

Bill

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
sded wrote:
I have two Groco HF heads that have seen nearly 17 years of use. I
looked into
other heads, but finally just did a complete pump replacement for the
HFs. They
have worked well, only needing a rebuild every year or two. Have you
checked
your discharge lines for clogging?

He didn't mention what kinds of problems he's having with Groco...but
it's amazing how many repairs wouldn't be necessary if there was any
preventive maintenance done. But preventive maintenance is something
that never occurs to most boat owners...they assume that because
household toilets don't need any, marine toilets don't either. So the
toilet works fine for about year or two--till it needs some...after
that, it's never-ending battle to fix what breaks but didn't have to.
And, of course, it's always because the toilet is a "piece of junk."

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

sded wrote:
It's amazing how much good a gallon of vinegar a year does for each head.

A cupful flushed down it once a week is all it takes to prevent mineral
buildup in the hoses. Also helps to retard odor permeation in hoses.
Adding more than that at a time is just a waste of vinegar...it just
gets flushed all the way through the system into the tank or overboard.
And less often than once a week isn't often to prevent buildup, though
it does dissolve at least some of 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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

sded wrote:
It's amazing how much good a gallon of vinegar a year does for each head.

A cupful flushed down it once a week is all it takes to prevent mineral
buildup in the hoses. Also helps to retard odor permeation in hoses.
Adding more than that at a time is just a waste of vinegar...it just
gets flushed all the way through the system into the tank or overboard.
And less often than once a week isn't often to prevent buildup, though
it does dissolve at least some of 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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

Alan Gomes wrote:
Peggy,

What preventive maintenance do you typically recommend?

I'm also using the Groco HF. Every time I'm through using it for several
days (e.g., at the end of a trip), I flush it thoroughly with fresh water
and run some head lube in it. What else do you recommend to avoid problems?

That's a beginning... Once a week, or last thing before the boat is to
sit unused, a quart of clean fresh water, followed by a cupful of white
vinegar will help to prevent mineral buildup and odor permeation in head
discharge hose.

And it's VERY important to keep the pump lubricated. Many people just
wait till the toilet starts to squeak and become hard to pump, then pour
some mineral oil or vegetable oil down it. That’s ok in an emergency,
till you can get home and do it right, but it’s not the way to maintain
the toilet. Not only is this very hard on the toilet, but it’s a
never-ending job because anything poured down the toilet washes out in
just a few flushes.

Why is it hard on the toilet? Because a toilet doesn’t squeak UNLESS it
needs lubrication; that squeaking is the sound of seals rubbing against
the inside of the housing, being worn away. Waiting till it squeaks to
lubricate it is like waiting till an engine starts to smoke to add oil.

There are two ways to approach it...the way you're doing it (the
never-ending job of pouring something down the toilet every week or
two), or you can do it just once a year.

Ever wondered why a new toilet doesn’t need any lubrication for at least
a year? It’s because every toilet leaves the factory slathered with
thick Teflon grease that takes a full season or more to be flushed out.
Replacing it just once a year as preventive maintenance is all it
takes to keep a toilet pumping smoothly. And it’s only a 15 minute
job—just open up the top of the pump and put a healthy squirt of it into
it…pump the toilet a few times to get it all through the pump, and
you’re “good to go” for the entire season. And, by keeping the pump
lubricated this way, you extend the life of the seals and valves,
reducing the need for rebuilds and repairs.

Believe it or not, most people don't know how to flush a marine
toilet...they stop pumping as soon as the bowl is empty, which leaves
whatever was in the bowl sitting in the pump and hose..each flush pushes
it a little further while adding another "batch" behind the last one.
They're afraid to flush longer because they think that'll fill up their
holding tanks too quickly. That's because they don't know how to use the
dry mode. What they don't realize is, any marine toilet that's working
even close to factory specs can move bowl contents up to 6' in the dry
mode...that it's really only necessary to bring in flush water to rinse
BEHIND the bowl contents...and rinsing out the discharge hose is
important to prevent clogs.

And finally, no matter how careful you are about keeping the toilet
lubricated and keeping the head discharge hose rinsed out, sooner or
later every pump has to be rebuilt. You can either wait till the bowl is
full and won't go down (which is what most people do), or you can do it
on a schedule as PREVENTIVE maintenance. A toilet that's kept well
lubricated and flushed out should be rebuilt about once every 4-5
years...the joker valve replaced every 2 years. It's much more pleasant
job if you do it when the toilet is clean and dry than it is to take a
pump apart when the bowl is full, plus it all but eliminates the
potential for clogs and backups.

There's a lot more information that should go a long way toward
preventing most "head aches" in my book (see link in my sig)...but those
are the basics.

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html