Difference between Pump-Out Head and Vacuflush?

[SeaDivot]

Hi Chad,
Can't seem to get enough of this crap. Got a question for the "King".
Just took delivery of my 280DA. Equipped w/ vacu and macerator. She'll be in the water all winter. Before taking delivery, she was winterized (FW tank water emptied and pinked). We don't plan to use FW system or the head until the spring. The day of delivery, I found out two things: black water tank was not empy and sales rep took a piss in the head the morning before we launched to take her home. My question is: Can I simply add a bucket of water w/ say a touch of liquid Tide or bleach into the head bowl and flush to get the rep's piss into the holding tank without having to fill my FW tank? I plan to get her over to the marina pump out next week.
Greg

 

[Asureyez]

Hi Chad,
Can't seem to get enough of this crap. Got a question for the "King".
Just took delivery of my 280DA. Equipped w/ vacu and macerator. She'll be in the water all winter. Before taking delivery, she was winterized (FW tank water emptied and pinked). We don't plan to use FW system or the head until the spring. The day of delivery, I found out two things: black water tank was not empy and sales rep took a piss in the head the morning before we launched to take her home. My question is: Can I simply add a bucket of water w/ say a touch of liquid Tide or bleach into the head bowl and flush to get the rep's piss into the holding tank without having to fill my FW tank? I plan to get her over to the marina pump out next week.
Greg

OKay, I 'm not sure exactly where the system is at this moment.

Given the freezing issue, you want to make sure your lines are empty or are filled with anti freeze (pink stuff)

Concerns are as follows.
The Bowl & Chamber below the ball valve
The suction line from bowl to vacuume pump
Lines from vacuum pump to Holding Tank
Pump up line from tank to deck fitting
Macerator Pump chanmber and lin to through hull brass ball cock

All of these places are subject to freezng, and expansion damage.

While the king O'Crap, I do not have the entire 411 on winterizing this system for in water storage. That said here is what I would do.

I. Mix up some antifreeze in a pail and flush it through the bowl, with the FW system pumps off as we do not want to add fluids to the bowl from ships systems I'd process several gallons through this way to fill and low spot sin line etc, fill the vacuume pump and lines in to the tank.

If the Black water tank is not empty, have it pumped out if you can. If not then you'll just have to risk it by calculating how much pink stuff you need in the tank to keep that from freezing and pump it through.

If your deck pump out line is in doubt, pour some Pink Stuff down the line from the deck, take a good guess on the amount.

If the Y valve to the sea cock or deck fitting has been in the pump out position, there is affluent trapped between the valve and the thru hull ball cock including inside the pump.

You could risk it and hope for the best, or and I say this again, what I'd do in your circumstance, is drump a coulple of gallons of antifreeze in back water tank and open the Y valve to the thru hull and pump out the wast tank for say 60 seconds, sucking anti freeze laden afflunent in to the lines and the macerator pump and the waste lines. then shut the system down, close the thru hull and the Y-Valve.

Pray and vow that next year you'll do this all correctly and empty it all clean it out, charge it with anti freeze and reast easy. A note from OSHA Safety: Do a "Tag Out" proceedure eon the toilet for the winter. Tape a plastic bag over the bowl and close the lid. Place a promininte note under the seat that the system is not to be used.

The heart ache of trying to run a new line snaking through a Sea Ray is not worth the time and expense to not treat the system properly the first time.

 

[SeaDivot]

Thanks King. I'm not concerned about the freezing yet, since we have not had hard freeze. So my plan would be to add a gallon of water mixed with antifreeze, dump into toilet bowl and flush. Then I can pump out black tank. What you're telling me is that when I flush, vacu system will want to pull whatever fresh water and pink from the little I have left in the FW tank, thereby requiring me to add some fresh water and pink to the FW tank before I try to flush?

 

[Asureyez]

Thanks King. I'm not concerned about the freezing yet, since we have not had hard freeze. So my plan would be to add a gallon of water mixed with antifreeze, dump into toilet bowl and flush. Then I can pump out black tank. What you're telling me is that when I flush, vacu system will want to pull whatever fresh water and pink from the little I have left in the FW tank, thereby requiring me to add some fresh water and pink to the FW tank before I try to flush?

We don't worry about the FW side of this issue as it is alrerady protected.

We worry about making sure we get anti freeze solution down to the vacuum pump lines and chambers so they do not freeze and burst.

Adding sufficicent volume in to the boawl will make sure you get a gallon or more through the system and in to the tank. If you can still empty the black watert do it, but do add some antifreeze back to the then empty tank. When you look at the mechanical and emptying methods you want all those lines protected. I discussed a step b y step to do that while still in the water.

 

[SeaDivot]

I think I understand. I'm NOT actually going to "flush" the head, I'm allowing the gallon or two of anti-freeze solution to "gravity" flow into the holding tank just by pouring it into the bowl?

 

[Asureyez]

I think I understand. I'm NOT actually going to "flush" the head, I'm allowing the gallon or two of anti-freeze solution to "gravity" flow into the holding tank just by pouring it into the bowl?

No!

You will turn on the Vacuflash system, you'll fill the bowl with anti freeze and FLUSH it! Do it Again and Flush it

Then shout down the vacuflush system and flush the final about in the blow .

Your system will now have antifreeze anywhere fluids collect including the vacuum pump. Don't over complicate your thinking here.

 

[SeaDivot]

Now I finally got it! thnx