Head question

[Sweet T]

I am the new owner of a 1976 36' Trojan. I freely admit I know nothing about boats. I think there is a problem with the head. The toilet bowl part sits on top of a box like thing. The top of this box is cracked and has been "repaired" with some caulking like stuff. When sitting on the bowl, it obviously leans toward the cracked area. I fear that this will continue to crack, and cause the bowl to fall in. Does anyone understand what I'm talking about? Better yet, can anyone tell me what we need to do?
Thanks!

[prowlersfish]

Can you post a photo of the head or a make and model # . You find these boats with a lot of different heads , so to give a good answer I / we would need more info .

[captainmaniac]

Sounds like one of the original Monomatic recirculating heads, but pics will help. The fix is likely to replace the head.

[prowlersfish]

Sounds like one of the original Monomatic recirculating heads, but pics will help. The fix is likely to replace the head.

Thats what I was thinking , But I want to know what we have before answering , so I could give a correct answer .

[Sweet T]

I hope to have a pic or model number info to post tomorrow.

[Sweet T]

Here is a photo of the label on the back of the toilet.

[Sweet T]

And here is a photo of the nasty "repair"

[prowlersfish]

Looks like the built in holding tank is cracked . I don't know if you can find replacement tanks for that head. On my F36 I installed a new head and used a remote holding tank . Its was a lot of work and some $$ . For me that was the only way to go . the other option is to try and do a repair , but that may be short lived . Or replace it with another unit with a built in tank . Or maybe even a composting type head ? Not my choice but I believe someone on hear has one and likes it .


Anyone else have some other Ideas ?

[Nancy]

Yuck. You definitely need a new tank, if available, at a minimum. Have you tried contacting Dometic/Sealand to see what the scoop is on this unit? http://www.dometic.com/enie/Internation ... o-SeaLand/

[P-Dogg]

Of course I haven't seen or smelled it in person, but I'm not sure that you need to replace it. My inclination would be to stop-drill the ends of the cracks, sand the area, clean it with an appropriate solvent, and reinforce the area by laminating a patch over it. For $50 and two hours, you could find out if you could get a few more years of service out of it. If it doesn't hold-up, then you could always go the replacement route.

I'm not sure what the material is, but even if it is a difficult-to-bond high surface energy material like polypropylene, you can flame treat it (be sure to do the patch too) and use a urethane adhesive like this one from McMaster-Carr.http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/3390/=nf1dtt They would also have any material that you would need for a patch. I live in central Maryland. I can order form MMC at 6:00 pm, and the goods are on the doorstep when I get home the next day.

You can find a flame treating demo here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTiCWp0unjs

Lest us know what you decide and how you make out.

PS: If you use the adhesive I called-out, you might consider a stopwatch or someone keeping an eye on the second hand for you. Let me just say that stuff sets-up fast, and you don't want to get behind the cure curve.

[Muskokan345]

Yuck is right. I have the same head that I pulled out of my 270, and replaced with a new head and remote holding tank, which IMHO is the best way to go. If you are interested, I have the head for sale on KIJIJI for $50.00. I could split it and send just the tank or the whole unit. No idea how much to ship, if you are interested, lemme know and I'll look into shipping costs. I know these units are over $500 at W.M.
Again, IMO the BEST fix is a new head with remote tank.

[prowlersfish]

DO NOT FLAME TREAT !!!!!!!!!! That tank may contain methane gas ( comes from waste )


Maybe after removeal and a good cleaning and venting

[Sweet T]

Yuck is right. I have the same head that I pulled out of my 270, and replaced with a new head and remote holding tank, which IMHO is the best way to go. If you are interested, I have the head for sale on KIJIJI for $50.00. I could split it and send just the tank or the whole unit. No idea how much to ship, if you are interested, lemme know and I'll look into shipping costs. I know these units are over $500 at W.M.
Again, IMO the BEST fix is a new head with remote tank.

Thanks for the offer, but if we're going to have to replace the tank, I think going with a complete new system would be the route we'd rather take.
Do you have a link to the tank you purchased to replace your old one with?

[Sweet T]

DO NOT FLAME TREAT !!!!!!!!!! That tank may contain methane gas ( comes from waste )


Maybe after removeal and a good cleaning and venting

Thanks for the warning. I just can't imagine flames being a good thing on a boat anyway.

[P-Dogg]

tank may contain methane gas ( comes from waste )

Not to mention it is probably on a gas boat. I never dreamed that it would be done in situ. Does one really have to go into the safety minutia on every job, like wear your safety glasses and tuck in loose clothing when working with rotating tools? For $50, I'd go with a a new-used tank myself. Best of luck with the changeout. People often don't realize the value of the head until it doesn't work.