Vacuum Toilet Maintenance
It just takes time until calcium scale starts building up inside the pipe work of a vacuum toilet system. The flow reduces and eventually the system blocked. It is not always easy to locate, let alone solve these blockages. Getting access to the pipes often takes demolishing elements of the vessel’s interior and always means downtime in the toilet system and all the additional inconvenience that results from it.
The most common solution is to avoid blockage by the periodic cleaning of the system. As this involves taking out of operation lines of toilets, it is obvious that the cure is often worse than the problem. The disconnected line may be saturated in diluted acid (which does not only disrupt the services on board, but may also cause damage by leakage) or re-circulated in a closed loop, which is more effective, but may have the same negative effects.
In consultation with the officer or engineer in charge boroscoop inspections are performed at different locations in the vacuum line. After examining the video recordings an approach is planned. There is a choice to either just descale the main pipe of the vacuum system or also clean the secondary pipes from the toilets to the main pipe. Depending on the level of scaling and the customer’s wishes, Cee-Bee™ Dual Digital Dosing Units are installed at different locations in the vacuum system.
The innovative design of the Cee-Bee™ MR Dual Digital Dosing Unit includes two integrated solenoid valves, digital timer units with LCD screens offering true digital time cycle programming, suction pipe, tank connector and transparent supply hose.
The timers can be programmed to open the solenoid valves at given intervals for a pre-determined duration, ensuring accurate and controlled dosing routines to be maintained. When the solenoid valve is open, the pressure differential in the vacuum pipe will allow the Honey Bee™ MR 120 Scale Remover Liquid to be drawn into the vacuum system. The extra air administering solenoid valve allows for air to be dosed into the system. The periodic air flush simulates a toilet flush, without water, that moves the Honey Bee™ MR 120 Scale Remover Liquid and distributes it over the inside surface of the vacuum pipes.
The Cee-Bee™ MR Dual Digital Dosing Unit was developed after extensive trials, together with our UK distributor, MRH Marine Ltd, and has already successfully cleaned the pipework on two Royal Navy ships where the pipe bore was down as little as 10 mm on some places. We advise any type of Cee-Bee™ MR Dosing Unit or Dosing pump at the end of every vacuum line in order to keep all lines free from urinary scale.