Chemical toilet disposal/cleaning

[airborne1]

I am about to actually take over my boat after I finally retire and am told that it has a chemical toilet fitted. Can someone enlighten me on the following:
1. How many marinas (UK & Europe) have facilities for emptying/cleaning these types of toilets.
2. One of my first jobs will probably to change the toilet for a flushing type. Therefore, which type am I best fitting, in this modern day of anti-pollution control, a straight overboard discharge and hope that all the marinas I use have shore side loos. Or a holding tank arrangement for inshore/marina use
3. How many marinas in UK and Europe have holding tank pump-out/flushing facilities.
I am after proportions not numbers

Thanks

 

[Blueboatman]

Chemical toilets are second to a bucket in terms of simplicity and reliability...they also comply with inshore/waterway directives for a holding tank and can be emptied at sea or into a marina loo.
A 'proper' marine loo with holding tank and two way discharge valves etc is complicated and takes up more space,and thye hoses can smell after a while....West Marine catalogue has pretty good description of a typical installation. I THINK you can assume that any large marina is required to offer some sort of pump out facility though this may takre the form of a big plastic tank,hand pump and hose ,all on a hand cart that trundles along the pontoons !
Hope that helps a bit

 

[Sea Devil]

It varies an awful lot and in most of the med most people use flush/pump toilets. There are anchorages, particularly in the Greek and Turkish areas where people are swimming and it would be objectionable to use a flush in those places. Legally in those countries you are obliged to have holding tanks or chemical... In lots of Greek island ports I have never seen a chemical pump out... In fact stacks of marinas in te wider med do not have them!!!

for the inland waterways of France a chemical toilet will work fine and either that or a holding tank is a requirement. In reality the 'officials' will turn a blind eye to sea going boats..

The most economical type of holding tank is one that is emptied by gravity (it is higher than water level) so you just have to open a valve in deep water and let the contents drop out. Electric pumps are very expensive.

Michael

 

[roly_voya]

If you decide to fit a flush loo I can recomend the lavic type, much simpler and a lot less prone to leaks. All the ones with pump attached I have seen have at some time developed leeks around the pump handle and also seem much more prone to blocking + harder to un-block.

Like the suggestion for a gravity emptying system sounds like the way to go if I do get around to fitting on. In UK this only seams usful for 'night calls' when in a marina though take your piont about anchorages if you have water warm enough to swim in!!

 

[Anonymous]

Despite the absence of pump-outs, local yachts in the Med are required to have holding tanks that are expected to be pumped out when not in harbour. It works quite well in the summer, actually, as people use their holding tanks for a few days at anchor then pump out when they move. Except the British yachts who don't have holding tanks (mostly) and who pump out into the anchorage that is used for bathing /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif If you fit a flush toilet and are coming to the Med (where there is no appreciable tide) do please do the decent thing and fit and use a holding tank.

 

[snowleopard]

The system I designed for my holding tanks cost very little more than a standard overboard discharge. The loo discharges direct to the tank so no extra hardware there. For emptying I have a 2-way valve on the main bilge pump inlet so it will pump from the bilge or the tank. The discharge is to a seacock rather than through the topsides. I also have a T in the line so that the tank can be emptied from a deck outlet (never used to date). The extra cost above a direct system is about £40 per head. I didn't have to pay for a tank as we use the hollow keels, total capacity around 30 gal per side.

 

[andybishton]

Last couple of years I've sailed on boats that had the gravity way of emptying holding tanks, fitted up high behind the heads. The secret with these type seemed to be to use a lot of water when flushing and empty regularly out at sea, if we didn't use enough water the waste seemed to impact in the bottom of the tank and gravity didn't shift it easily. It became a habit when a few miles off to open the valves. Remember to be sailing fast or pop the engine on.

 

[Roach1948]

If you do install a gravity tank try to make sure that the deck pump-out is directly above the bottom outlet to the seacock. I had problems of impacting on a Jeanneau and modified the tank so that both holes lined up. If you get a blockage then its a simple process of clearing from the deck with your least favourite boat hook/broom handle. I would also advise going for the largest outlet at the base of the tank as possible.