Sewage Hose or PVC Pipe ?

[Cotemar]

Cruisers,

I wanted to share my experience replacing my sewage hose on our Catalina 380.
We purchased this boat used. It was only three years old, but the head really smelled bad. After we purchased her, most locals said that they had looked at the boat but it smelled, so moved on to look at other boats without issues. We negotiated a better price based on the head smell problem.

Now, what’s the solution?
Hose is simple to install but will have the same problem in a few years as the hose permeates with urine & sulfurous malodors over time.
Better sewage hose like a SeaLand's OdorSafe Plus sanitation hose is very expensive and gives you a few more years, but will still odor permeate.

PVC house hold pipe is cheap and will never odor permeate, but takes more time to install.
We went with the PVC. We sold the boat after six years. Never had any plumbing problems and the boat always smelled great. The boat sold in one week.

1) This is standard PVC 1-1/2 inch house piping
2) Cut piping with a hack saw and small wooden miter box
3) Dry fit the whole system together
4) Put timing marks on each pipe and fitting with a black magic marker
5) Start at one end and glue and align your black timing marks as you put the pieces together.
6) At the toilet use a 1-1/2 coupling with a compression fitting on one side to connect to the toilet. Works great and never leaks and can be taken apart for servicing.
7) At the deck fitting I used just a short piece of hose since this will only be exposed to sewage for short periods of time.

I thought it was a good do it yourself job and will do it again on my current new boat in the near future when needed.

Mark

[Cotemar]

It’s all about “Boat Smell”.
Boat manufacturers do not use high grade sewage hose.
This thread was started to address “Boat Smell”, by using a permanent PVC pipe solution.
A lot of cruisers just deal with having a progressively smelly boat then changing the sewage hose when it becomes almost unbearable to take the bad “Boat Smell”.
The common theme with this “Boat Smell” problem from reading other post is that it should have been replaced a few years ago or I can not sell by boat “WHY”
Over time most boat owners have no idea that their “Boat Smells”, because they are on it all the time or the miss’s has sprayed or has candles burning.
Of coarse your friends or guest will not tell you, but you had better know they talk about it together or to others.
It takes years, but over time all “Boats Smell” because of poor grade sewage hose.
Most of you can remember boat shopping and getting on a few boats with this “Boat Smell” problem. Those boats stay on the market for a really long time.
The only reason one would go with PVC piping verses sewage hose is to address the “boat smell problem” over a long time. Changing the sewage hose a few times will work also, but most do not.

As a side note: I left a 3 foot piece of the old sewage hose in the woods behind my house for over a year. It still smelled as bad as the day I removed it from the boat.

With first hand experience using PVC pipe over sewage hose over the long haul and as a DIY project, it was easier than I had envision when I started the project.

With this problem addressed I could move on to other concerns without worries.

Mark

[erps]

Looks good. It would probably take me 50 trips back and forth for fittings. How many hours do you figure you have into the refit?

[Jeff_H]

On the other hand, the last time I looked, the use of rigid PVC pipe does not meet ABYC standards and so could invalidate your insurance if something went wrong. Before doing this you might want to check with ABYC and your insurance company.

[mitiempo]

Jeff is right. The macerator shown will move a bit on its mount and the hoses have to be flexible to accomodate this and other slight movements that have to be expected on a boat.

[Cotemar]

Ray,

It took me 4 hour to install. Purchased more fittings than I would need and returned the unused ones.

You will here the ney sayers here, that's just the nature of these forums.

My PVC sewage system was installed and ran for years without a problem and no BOAT SMELL.

I would not post anything that did not work for me or anyone else.
This is just posting my REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE and the outcome.

This boat also wintered in the water.

Mark

[tommays]

Well

While it works for you they are (surverys and Insurance) real fussy about below the waterline materials and will do silly things like make people change hoses to ones with the correct markings

[erps]

I have been thinking about going the half and half route, with a mix of PVC in low areas and easy runs with high quality hose in the hard to do areas. I did not considered problems with insurance companies and surveyors though. Nutz, more homework.

[AboardIndigo]

I don't know anything about the ABYC standard (because I'm too lazy to look it up), but Nigel Calder touts rigid PVC as a solution to the 'boat smell' problem. He furthermore highlights the fact that the worst offending portion of the flexible hose equation being where effluent is left standing due to routing/design.

I can see erps' 1/2 'n' 1/2 solution as being the best of both worlds - use rigid PVC where effluent may be left standing, with flexible hose judiciously used only wherever a flexible connection (to a unit, tank, whatever) makes sense from a 'we don't want it to crack due to flexing between components' insurance perspective.

[boatpoker]

Up here in the Great White North we use ABS (not PVC) for household plumbing. I have used ABS on my boat for 15 years using only 6" of sanitary grade hose at each throughull/toilet/tank connection (for vibration protection)and have never had a smell or a problem.

ABYC makes no mention of ABS or PVC as hose replacement and there is nothing in the standards which would even suggest they not be used. Like everything else on your boat installation method is important.
PS I am ABYC Standards Certified.