Ditto the "Lavac" recommendation. I would have no other. Well, I'd go for a
composting head if I didn't need to carry mountains of peat moss and it fit
the same space as the Lavac, but such a creature doesn't exist.

--
Karin Conover-Lewis
Fair and Balanced since 1959
klc dot lewis at centurytel dot net


"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Ytter" writes:

I am in a process of refitting my head/shower area on my sailboat.
I want to change head for something reliable,manual,not terribly
expensive.
snip

Lavac, it has no equal, IMHO.


--
Lew

S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the
Southland)
Visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett for Pictures

Karin Conover-Lewis wrote:
Ditto the "Lavac" recommendation. I would have no other. Well, I'd go for a
composting head if I didn't need to carry mountains of peat moss and it fit
the same space as the Lavac, but such a creature doesn't exist.

Composting toilets also need power 24/7, Karin, to run the blower and
evaporator. Also a means of draining off liquids that exceed what can be
evaporated, which in coastal waters means some kind of container for
'em...'cuz they can't legally be drained overboard. Composter are an
alternative worth considering on a large powerboat on inland "no
discharge" waters, but IMO are totally impractical on any boat in
coastal waters.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detai...=400&group=327

Peggy,
Have you ever heard of the following setup:

The waste tank is ABOVE the water line with a bottom drain to a seacock.
There is a second drain from the top of the tank to the deck pumpout.
The head pumps up to the top of the tank.
Close the seacock in protected water to keep the bad stuff aboard and then
open the seacock when you get out.When offshore, simply leave the seacock
open to drain as you go (so to speak).

Real simple if you have the freeboard.
I wouldn't worry about carrying the weight so high because the tank would
always be empty out to sea.

--
Dennis Gibbons
dkgibbons at optonline dot net
"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
Karin Conover-Lewis wrote:
Ditto the "Lavac" recommendation. I would have no other. Well, I'd go
for a
composting head if I didn't need to carry mountains of peat moss and it
fit
the same space as the Lavac, but such a creature doesn't exist.

Composting toilets also need power 24/7, Karin, to run the blower and
evaporator. Also a means of draining off liquids that exceed what can be
evaporated, which in coastal waters means some kind of container for
'em...'cuz they can't legally be drained overboard. Composter are an
alternative worth considering on a large powerboat on inland "no
discharge" waters, but IMO are totally impractical on any boat in
coastal waters.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detai...=400&group=327

Dennis Gibbons wrote:
Peggy,
Have you ever heard of the following setup:

The waste tank is ABOVE the water line with a bottom drain to a seacock.
There is a second drain from the top of the tank to the deck pumpout.
The head pumps up to the top of the tank.
Close the seacock in protected water to keep the bad stuff aboard and then
open the seacock when you get out.When offshore, simply leave the seacock
open to drain as you go (so to speak).

I'm not crazy about that set up. When the seacock is closed waste has to
sit in the line to thru-hull, permeating the hose...any sludge in the
tank will end up in that hose, so if you're in coastal waters very long,
that can cause problems...and I can't see any reason to go through a
tank at sea instead of flushing directly overboard. If the tank vent
should become blocked, you'll have problems flushing the toilet due to
the backpressure. Worst case would be a blocked tank vent AND a clogged
overboard discharge hose at sea in 8'+.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

Dennis Gibbons wrote:
Peggy,
Have you ever heard of the following setup:
The waste tank is ABOVE the water line with a bottom drain to a
seacock.
There is a second drain from the top of the tank to the deck pumpout.
The head pumps up to the top of the tank.
Close the seacock in protected water to keep the bad stuff aboard and then
open the seacock when you get out.When offshore, simply leave the seacock
open to drain as you go (so to speak).

That is _nearly_ exactly the set-up that I have, with one important
modification, see after Peggie's comment.

Peggie Hall writes:


I'm not crazy about that set up. When the seacock is closed waste has
to sit in the line to thru-hull, permeating the hose...any sludge in
the tank will end up in that hose, so if you're in coastal waters very
long, that can cause problems

Right. So what I did is to have a PVC ball valve right at the drain,
then go with sanitation hose (the good one, of course) to the
seacock. Both the PVC ball valve and the seacock are usually closed
and only open off-shore for draining the tank. Thus, the hose ONLY
ever contains sea water (or antifreeze, in winter), except for brief
periods during draining. And after draining the tank I would pump
enough sea water through it (using the existing pump, i.e. through the
head) to make sure it is clean before closing both valves again. Just
like you pump fresh water into the tank when pumping it out.

Of course, I have never done it so far since I was always within 3
miles.

...and I can't see any reason to go
through a tank at sea instead of flushing directly overboard.

Oh, reason is options, and simplicity. I can sail legally in coastal
waters and without problems off-shore. True, having some construction
with Y-valves, or additional pumps and dip tubes would also work (and
actually have some advantages), but this setup is far simpler.

If the
tank vent should become blocked, you'll have problems flushing the
toilet due to the backpressure. Worst case would be a blocked tank
vent AND a clogged overboard discharge hose at sea in 8'+.

--
Peggie

OK, this part I don't understand. Why would a second drain block the
vent(s)??

--Ernst

brain wrote:

...and I can't see any reason to go
through a tank at sea instead of flushing directly overboard.

Oh, reason is options, and simplicity.

"Options?" What options? It offers none...all the waste has to go
through the tank, no way to bypass it. It also means that waste has to
go uphill to the tank, leaving the head discharge hose full of standing
waste. So you have two hoses begging to become permeated. And in your
case, a ball valve that prob'ly won't work because you don't sail
outside 3 miles often enough to keep it from seizing.

A pump in one of the tank discharge lines, a y-valve in the head
discharge line...not much more complicated, and now you have options.

OK, this part I don't understand. Why would a second drain block the
vent(s)??

It wouldn't...one has nothing whatever to do with the other. But Murphy
was an optimist who prob'ly based his law on the typical boat owner's
approach to marine sanitation system maintenance. Tank vents,
especially on sailboats due to waste running out them when heeled, are
highly prone to clogging if owners don't backflush 'em regularly--which
few do (and when the tank pressurizes, it's last thing owners think
of...they think it's due to a clog in the discharge line, often with
disastrous results). Nor do many owners ever flush out their tanks to
eliminate sludge buildup. Worst case would be a blockage in both lines
occurring simultaneously...no escape for displaced air in either
direction--out the vent or down the discharge.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

brain wrote:

...and I can't see any reason to go
through a tank at sea instead of flushing directly overboard.

Oh, reason is options, and simplicity.

"Options?" What options? It offers none...all the waste has to go
through the tank, no way to bypass it. It also means that waste has to
go uphill to the tank, leaving the head discharge hose full of standing
waste. So you have two hoses begging to become permeated. And in your
case, a ball valve that prob'ly won't work because you don't sail
outside 3 miles often enough to keep it from seizing.

A pump in one of the tank discharge lines, a y-valve in the head
discharge line...not much more complicated, and now you have options.

OK, this part I don't understand. Why would a second drain block the
vent(s)??

It wouldn't...one has nothing whatever to do with the other. But Murphy
was an optimist who prob'ly based his law on the typical boat owner's
approach to marine sanitation system maintenance. Tank vents,
especially on sailboats due to waste running out them when heeled, are
highly prone to clogging if owners don't backflush 'em regularly--which
few do (and when the tank pressurizes, it's last thing owners think
of...they think it's due to a clog in the discharge line, often with
disastrous results). Nor do many owners ever flush out their tanks to
eliminate sludge buildup. Worst case would be a blockage in both lines
occurring simultaneously...no escape for displaced air in either
direction--out the vent or down the discharge.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

Dennis Gibbons wrote:
Peggy,
Have you ever heard of the following setup:
The waste tank is ABOVE the water line with a bottom drain to a
seacock.
There is a second drain from the top of the tank to the deck pumpout.
The head pumps up to the top of the tank.
Close the seacock in protected water to keep the bad stuff aboard and then
open the seacock when you get out.When offshore, simply leave the seacock
open to drain as you go (so to speak).

That is _nearly_ exactly the set-up that I have, with one important
modification, see after Peggie's comment.

Peggie Hall writes:


I'm not crazy about that set up. When the seacock is closed waste has
to sit in the line to thru-hull, permeating the hose...any sludge in
the tank will end up in that hose, so if you're in coastal waters very
long, that can cause problems

Right. So what I did is to have a PVC ball valve right at the drain,
then go with sanitation hose (the good one, of course) to the
seacock. Both the PVC ball valve and the seacock are usually closed
and only open off-shore for draining the tank. Thus, the hose ONLY
ever contains sea water (or antifreeze, in winter), except for brief
periods during draining. And after draining the tank I would pump
enough sea water through it (using the existing pump, i.e. through the
head) to make sure it is clean before closing both valves again. Just
like you pump fresh water into the tank when pumping it out.

Of course, I have never done it so far since I was always within 3
miles.

...and I can't see any reason to go
through a tank at sea instead of flushing directly overboard.

Oh, reason is options, and simplicity. I can sail legally in coastal
waters and without problems off-shore. True, having some construction
with Y-valves, or additional pumps and dip tubes would also work (and
actually have some advantages), but this setup is far simpler.

If the
tank vent should become blocked, you'll have problems flushing the
toilet due to the backpressure. Worst case would be a blocked tank
vent AND a clogged overboard discharge hose at sea in 8'+.

--
Peggie

OK, this part I don't understand. Why would a second drain block the
vent(s)??

--Ernst

Dennis Gibbons wrote:
Peggy,
Have you ever heard of the following setup:

The waste tank is ABOVE the water line with a bottom drain to a seacock.
There is a second drain from the top of the tank to the deck pumpout.
The head pumps up to the top of the tank.
Close the seacock in protected water to keep the bad stuff aboard and then
open the seacock when you get out.When offshore, simply leave the seacock
open to drain as you go (so to speak).

I'm not crazy about that set up. When the seacock is closed waste has to
sit in the line to thru-hull, permeating the hose...any sludge in the
tank will end up in that hose, so if you're in coastal waters very long,
that can cause problems...and I can't see any reason to go through a
tank at sea instead of flushing directly overboard. If the tank vent
should become blocked, you'll have problems flushing the toilet due to
the backpressure. Worst case would be a blocked tank vent AND a clogged
overboard discharge hose at sea in 8'+.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html

Peggy,
Have you ever heard of the following setup:

The waste tank is ABOVE the water line with a bottom drain to a seacock.
There is a second drain from the top of the tank to the deck pumpout.
The head pumps up to the top of the tank.
Close the seacock in protected water to keep the bad stuff aboard and then
open the seacock when you get out.When offshore, simply leave the seacock
open to drain as you go (so to speak).

Real simple if you have the freeboard.
I wouldn't worry about carrying the weight so high because the tank would
always be empty out to sea.

--
Dennis Gibbons
dkgibbons at optonline dot net
"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
Karin Conover-Lewis wrote:
Ditto the "Lavac" recommendation. I would have no other. Well, I'd go
for a
composting head if I didn't need to carry mountains of peat moss and it
fit
the same space as the Lavac, but such a creature doesn't exist.

Composting toilets also need power 24/7, Karin, to run the blower and
evaporator. Also a means of draining off liquids that exceed what can be
evaporated, which in coastal waters means some kind of container for
'em...'cuz they can't legally be drained overboard. Composter are an
alternative worth considering on a large powerboat on inland "no
discharge" waters, but IMO are totally impractical on any boat in
coastal waters.

--
Peggie
----------
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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detai...=400&group=327