Sealing Sanitation Lines?

What have you guys done about sealing the barbed ends of sanitation lines? I know that I can use some dish soap to lubricate them to mount the house - or heat them some with hot water - but what about actually sealing them?

Has anyone actually used a type of sealant to prevent leaks at the barbed end?

Thanks,

Sean,
I have never used a sealant of any kind on barbed connections, even on sanitation systems. In my experience all that is required is a proper hose/connection sizing with a stainless steel hose clamp (two for each joint in a through hull connection).
Bob Ells

sealing hoses

I have used silicone sealant for this for years. I always double-clamp over the barb if at all possible.
The advantage is that you can remove the hose in the future if you have to, without having to destroy it as would happen with 3M 5200. BTW, if you need a water-based lubricant when trying to put a reluctant hose on a fitting, the advise from the boatbuilding newsgroups is to use some KY jelly...
Sounds odd, but when you stop laughing and think about it, it is the perfect non-toxic substance for the job!

Hi Sean,

A couple further questions on your project:

1. What brand of hose did you finally settle on?

2. I noticed that there are elbows on the two outlets on the bottom of the original tank. Does your new Ronco tank have these in place already or will you have to put these on yourself?

3. Are you replacing the holding tank pump that sits above/behind the head? If so, what brand and model are you going to use?

Thanks. I'll be starting the replacement of my thunder tank in a couple of weeks.

Andy

Andy -

Here's the poop (so to speak) on the sanitation system:

The hose is the Trident 1.5" premium sanitation from BoatUS. The head is a Wilcox-Crittenden Skipper II also from BoatUS. The Y valve is the good Jabsco model from Fisheries Supply, Seattle. The loop is the big bronze bugger from Groco from Fisheries Supply, Seattle. The pump is the Whale Gusher 10 MKiii from BoatUS (same make/model as before, but without the 5200 on the inlet.

When you get the tank from Ronco, it won't have any fittings on it. I got all mine from Fisheries Supply in Seattle. The only thing I used to secure the fittings was three or four wraps of the teflon (plumber's) tape. Ronco said under no circumstances to use any type of sealant (we'll see...).

If you buy the premium sanitation hose, do yourself a favor, and buy the $20 hard nosed snips also (from Home Depot). The wire that's inside that hose is a real !@#! to cut - and the cutters will help you stay sane! Oh - also: all the hose clamps are 316 grade stainless - no more rusting - at all.

I'll be up dating the project next week - the entire mess gets installed this weekend! Please let me know if you would like to know anything else!

Thanks,

//sse


[Edited by Sean Engle on 02-19-2001 at 10:10 PM]

I was just looking through your whole project, and would like to offer the following:
When I replaced my entire sanitation system except toilet, I was told by the owner of a marine store not to reconnect the sink drain to the same through hull as raw sewage. The principle was that organisms growing in the hosing could cause infection if contacted via the sink, he said he had lost a friend who had been at sea solo and been found drifting several weeks after catching such an infection. My plan to drain the sink is to use a through hull that used to carry a paddle wheel.
I used 3M polyurethane/silicone blend to seal my hosing - it is marketed as giving a better bond than straight silicone, and is removable unlike straight polyurethane (5200).
I agree with all previous replies on the subject of elbows.
Finally, my boat was designed with no vented loops on the through hulls. If Ericson had not corrected that by the time your boat was built, they are essential - without them your boat is liable to flood with raw sewage at best, sink at worst (a friend of mine went out to his mooring late one night to find two feet of water in his boat from exactly that).
Gareth
Freyja E35 1972

Sink Drainage

Actually, my sink is set to drain into/through the same thru hull as the toilet's intake.

It's the thru hull, then ball valve, then a tee (one to the inlet, one to the sink's drain). The inlet line will then transit a screened filter, then to the toilet's inlet.

It's actually not a bad setup, as I can close the ball valve, and then pour a bucket of fresh water in the sink - and clear all the salt from the toilet's lines.

That area below the vanity is a killer though - spacewise!

Thanks,