Peter Knight - wrote:
A couple of years back, I managed to pick up a Lectra San unit at a
nice price (it has already been fitted of course prior to Nov 2005 -
see below) and recently contacted one our local Marine sanitation guys
and said "Hi, I have this unit. I want you to help me plumb it in
along with the new holding tank."

After a pause, he asked why and proceeded to advise me that I had an
expensive spare anchor:

He must have been VacuFlush dealer...they do everything possible,
including lie, to discourage owners from installing any treatment
device, but especially the Lectra/San.

- Lectra San has lost its licence in Australia

I'll have to check on that, but the rest is baloney!
- the acid wash rots out the glue

What glue? Muriatic acid has been widely used by owners AND yards for
decades to dissolve sea water mineral buildup in sanitation, engine
intake and exhaust hoses. When used as directed to clean the Lectra/San,
it does no damage whatever to it or the toilet.

- the electronics board only lasts a year or so and costs mega bucks
to replace

99% of electrode pack failure can be laid directly at the feet of owners
who install it incorrectly and/or ignore warning lights. Insufficient
salt or dirty electrodes, and especially low voltage, will damage the
electrodes. Install, operate, and maintain according to directions, and
it'll give you decades of trouble-free service.

- it's horrendously power hungry

1.7 AH/flush does sound like it...but in fact, only equates to less than
20 AH/day for a cruising couple. It doesn't use any while at sea where
you can bypass it and flush directly overboard.

etc

I know all the "etc's"...

Q2 - This is the first time I've heard such bad things about L Sans.
I realise they chew a bit of power, but then don't plan to be using it
that often. What of the other things?

As I said above...install it, use it, and maintain it according to
directions, you'll have no problems with it.

Q3 - If Oz is getting snotty about L San, what's happening overseas?

Europe is starting to "get snotty"...more and more of their waters are
going no discharge, but I've heard nothing about Asia...toilet waste
goes directly overboard in most places. On the west coast of the US and
Canada, most of SoCal is "no discharge," but there's only a very few,
and very small "no discharge" harbors north of Santa Barbara--the only
one in US waters is small harbor off SF Bay...in Canadian waters,
several of the provincial park anchorages in BC. Everywhere else, the
discharge of treated waste is legal.

What are the overall rules where you live? Frankly, is it worth
fitting the L San or visiting ebay to see what i can get for it?

That depends more on how old your L/S is. If it's an MC model, install
it. If it's older than that, put it on eBay.

The man recommended a VacuFlush and 170ltr holding tank instead.

Aha! A VacuFlush dealer. SeaLand is one of the major "no discharge"
lobby supporters.

can see his point - even with my cooking, at ½ a litre a pop that
gives lots of capacity.

IF that's all the flush water a VacuFlush really needed. It's not. Yes,
it CAN use that little if only urine is flushed, but it needs
considerably more with solids and TP. In fact, in actual practice, a
VacuFlush needs as much flush water averaged out over a week as most
other toilets.

But it's been an absolute paradigm to have
the L San for so long, it's hard to walk away from.

I wouldn't want to either. The discharge is cleaner than the water it's
going into in most coastal waters and any marina. And it's MUCH easier
to maintain than a holding tank...plus, no need to find a pumpout or be
faced with a bad choice if you can't find one and the tank is full.

Help - I don't know what to do.

You have it...install it, along with a small holding tank for use where
you can't use it. Worst case, you'll have to use the tank more than
you'd like to.

And I'll see what I can find out about OZ.

--
Peggie
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Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304