67rway
Member II
Greetings All,
I've been putting in some long hours getting my recently purchased Olson 34 race ready, and have had her out for the last two casual Sail on Sunday races on the Columbia River here in Portland. Super fun!! At some point I hope to blog my work on previous projects, but for now I thought I'd share my current one and draw from your experiences. There are many deferred maintenance/repair items aboard, but this pertains to the sanitation system. While we're in an inland waterway, it's important to me that the whole system be functional, as we plan to do some offshore duty. The Admiral would further explain that things which don't work drive me...crazier.
First: I notice that the pump overboard hose elbow fitting (pic) leaks when the thru hull valve is opened. It can't simply be tightened as there is insufficient clearance between it and the sink cabinet, so a short brass elbow and hose fitting (ka-ching) were necessary after cutting the old one off.
Next: From the time of purchase the overboard Whale Gusher 10 sanitation pump handle has been separated from the bellows where the eye-bolt meets the clamp plate. I spent the requisite time removing/disassembling/cleaning the pump, which was chocked full of white crystalline substance (struvite and salt water?), and ultimately decided that there was too much corrosion in the pump body for new seals to work. Enter a new Whale Gusher 10 Mk3.
I get it installed (knowing at some point I'll need to replace the old green hoses, etc), open the valves and give it a few pumps. A few pumps is all it'll do, then it won't pump. Half an hour later, the same few pumps, and it won't pump. Figuring I've got hoses clogged as bad as the pump I come back a few days later with more implements of destruction to remove/clear the lines, but try the pump again beforehand. She's willing to pump a few more times, but now I hear 'water' spraying in the lazarette which turns out to be from both of the cracked tank outlets (surrounding crud says from long ago, pic attached), and the tank swollen like it's going to explode. It was a bit like Robin Williams in "RV", as I used the deck plate to relieve tank pressure (vent line must be clogged).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgRmR024BE
I thought I must have reversed the lines, but they simply aren't long enough to have been switched; leading me to the conclusion that the lines were likely installed backwards in 1989. I believe it explains why the pump pin had broken off the bellows, why both tank pump out fittings were broken, why the vent is plugged, and possibly why the toilet seals were all shot and pump housing cracked. I set up temporary hoses to test pump operation with the hoses reversed, and voila. Any chance Whale changed their input/output of a Gusher 10 over the years???
The plan is to replace the whole system much like Loren outlined here:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...6251-New-Holding-Tank-Piping-amp-Valves/page2
- new 18 or 20 capacity tank (now 15 gal)
- new hoses (Trident 101?)
- Y-valves to allow for direct overboard when offshore
A few questions:
- I don't see any vented loops on the supply nor discharge lines. Is that because the whole system is always above waterline on an O-34, or because one always opens/closes the thru hulls?
- Loren specific question: pic 3 (of 4) on post #22 shows a couple of elbows/lines between the Y-valves in the sink cabinet. Is there a reason it's not a straight shot between them?
Thanks to all in advance,
I've been putting in some long hours getting my recently purchased Olson 34 race ready, and have had her out for the last two casual Sail on Sunday races on the Columbia River here in Portland. Super fun!! At some point I hope to blog my work on previous projects, but for now I thought I'd share my current one and draw from your experiences. There are many deferred maintenance/repair items aboard, but this pertains to the sanitation system. While we're in an inland waterway, it's important to me that the whole system be functional, as we plan to do some offshore duty. The Admiral would further explain that things which don't work drive me...crazier.
First: I notice that the pump overboard hose elbow fitting (pic) leaks when the thru hull valve is opened. It can't simply be tightened as there is insufficient clearance between it and the sink cabinet, so a short brass elbow and hose fitting (ka-ching) were necessary after cutting the old one off.
Next: From the time of purchase the overboard Whale Gusher 10 sanitation pump handle has been separated from the bellows where the eye-bolt meets the clamp plate. I spent the requisite time removing/disassembling/cleaning the pump, which was chocked full of white crystalline substance (struvite and salt water?), and ultimately decided that there was too much corrosion in the pump body for new seals to work. Enter a new Whale Gusher 10 Mk3.
I get it installed (knowing at some point I'll need to replace the old green hoses, etc), open the valves and give it a few pumps. A few pumps is all it'll do, then it won't pump. Half an hour later, the same few pumps, and it won't pump. Figuring I've got hoses clogged as bad as the pump I come back a few days later with more implements of destruction to remove/clear the lines, but try the pump again beforehand. She's willing to pump a few more times, but now I hear 'water' spraying in the lazarette which turns out to be from both of the cracked tank outlets (surrounding crud says from long ago, pic attached), and the tank swollen like it's going to explode. It was a bit like Robin Williams in "RV", as I used the deck plate to relieve tank pressure (vent line must be clogged).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgRmR024BE
I thought I must have reversed the lines, but they simply aren't long enough to have been switched; leading me to the conclusion that the lines were likely installed backwards in 1989. I believe it explains why the pump pin had broken off the bellows, why both tank pump out fittings were broken, why the vent is plugged, and possibly why the toilet seals were all shot and pump housing cracked. I set up temporary hoses to test pump operation with the hoses reversed, and voila. Any chance Whale changed their input/output of a Gusher 10 over the years???
The plan is to replace the whole system much like Loren outlined here:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...6251-New-Holding-Tank-Piping-amp-Valves/page2
- new 18 or 20 capacity tank (now 15 gal)
- new hoses (Trident 101?)
- Y-valves to allow for direct overboard when offshore
A few questions:
- I don't see any vented loops on the supply nor discharge lines. Is that because the whole system is always above waterline on an O-34, or because one always opens/closes the thru hulls?
- Loren specific question: pic 3 (of 4) on post #22 shows a couple of elbows/lines between the Y-valves in the sink cabinet. Is there a reason it's not a straight shot between them?
Thanks to all in advance,
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