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[Irish Rover]

This is a not very well taken photo of the holding tank on my boat. It has 4 connections. The 2 you can see are the deck pump out and the vent pipe. There are 2 at the bottom as well . One is the discharge pipe with a valve on it and the other is the inlet from the head. Does that make any sense having the inlet at the bottom of the tank.View attachment 69096

 

[Irish Rover]

Bloody photo is sideways. I have no idea why. What you see on the left is the top of the tank.

 

[Irish Rover]

I made some mess of that - never finished writing the thread title either.

 

[Tranona]

Common setup. There is a stack pipe inside the tank so the fluid is pumped to the top then cascades down the side. The alternative is to have an external pipe and atop inlet, but this usually increases the height of the installation and introduces bends to turn the flow through 180 degrees. So bottom inlet is easier, more compact and arguably freer flowing.

 

[Irish Rover]

Common setup. There is a stack pipe inside the tank so the fluid is pumped to the top then cascades down the side. The alternative is to have an external pipe and atop inlet, but this usually increases the height of the installation and introduces bends to turn the flow through 180 degrees. So bottom inlet is easier, more compact and arguably freer flowing.

Thank you. The starboard head has no tank so I need to install a similar arrangement. I need to check if I can get someone in Turkey to make a tank for me.

 

[macd]

The starboard head has no tank so I need to install a similar arrangement. I need to check if I can get someone in Turkey to make a tank for me.

There's a very good place in Marmaris. Can probably root out the details if you wish.

 

[Tranona]

there is very useful information on holding tank design on www.tek-tanks.com Expect you will find somebody in Turkey to make one of similar material, but suggest you contact Loupe in Corfu www.top-tank.com or loupe@otenet.gr who makes similar tanks. He made one for me a few years ago.

 

[Irish Rover]

Thanks guys. I should be able to get it done in Kuşadası and if not I will definitely find a place in Izmir which is only 80 Km from me.

 

[Daydream believer]

Why not buy a standard Vetus one. They do 2-3 sizes
Must be other standard makes as well

 

[Irish Rover]

Why not buy a standard Vetus one. They do 2-3 sizes
Must be other standard makes as well

I had a quick look earlier at Vetus on the marintekstore.com website and the smallest they have is 61L which is a bit big for the wardrobe I’m going to use. I’ll call them when I get back. Seems reasonable around €115. Fountaine Pajot quoted me €135 for delivery of a 40L tank which they were practically giving away for €1,300.

 

[Tranona]

Why not buy a standard Vetus one. They do 2-3 sizes
Must be other standard makes as well

In my experience standard size tanks rarely fit the awkward spaces where holding tanks are retrofitted and if they do space is not fully utilised and so capacity restricted.

 

[Daydream believer]

I had a quick look earlier at Vetus on the marintekstore.com website and the smallest they have is 61L which is a bit big for the wardrobe I’m going to use. I’ll call them when I get back. Seems reasonable around €115. Fountaine Pajot quoted me €135 for delivery of a 40L tank which they were practically giving away for €1,300.

61 litre is pretty small. I suggest that you check to see how much water you need to pump through to ensure that a piece of paper goes from the bowl to the tank. Disconnect the pipe & try it. Then add 50%. I would not want to leave any detritus in the pipe after use so that would give some idea of how many uses you might get within the 60 L . Then of course there are the " non solids" uses. If not regularly cleared things can soon get un-hygenic. I know you have 2 heads but you need to consider how often you will be able to discharge. Will you discharge at sea or will you have to pump out?
Do you just want the container for marina use to save walking to the wc block or are you using the system in a canal?
All these points will govern tank sizes. But then if you do not have the space then you are stuck with what you have. You may be able to get inflatable tanks.

 

[Irish Rover]

Discharge valves will be permanently open except at anchor and in the marina where we generally don’t use the heads. I’ll be rigging bidet hoses so paper only for drying delicate places and binned. I wouldn’t really bother with the second tank if it wasn’t for the blue card bollocks in Turkey. We’ve resolved to collect plastic every day we’re afloat to party balance our abuse of the environment.

 

[sailaboutvic]

61 litre is pretty small. I suggest that you check to see how much water you need to pump through to ensure that a piece of paper goes from the bowl to the tank. Disconnect the pipe & try it. Then add 50%. I would not want to leave any detritus in the pipe after use so that would give some idea of how many uses you might get within the 60 L . Then of course there are the " non solids" uses. If not regularly cleared things can soon get un-hygenic. I know you have 2 heads but you need to consider how often you will be able to discharge. Will you discharge at sea or will you have to pump out?
Do you just want the container for marina use to save walking to the wc block or are you using the system in a canal?
All these points will govern tank sizes. But then if you do not have the space then you are stuck with what you have. You may be able to get inflatable tanks.

50/60 lts is about what most boats have , as Irish rover said no one I know close their sea cock while at sea, and only use the tank while at anchor or in a Marina ,
an 50 lts tank for two/three people for just a poo will last quite a while before needs empty.
Paper is a no go, a small bin in the heads does the jobs nicely. .

 

[Norman_E]

Thank you. The starboard head has no tank so I need to install a similar arrangement. I need to check if I can get someone in Turkey to make a tank for me.

If you are in Marmaris, or can get there, there is a firm on the road into the Saniye that makes good plastic tanks and can make one to your specification and in a size and shape to fit whatever space you have. It does not have to be a simple rectangle.

EDIt: Beaten to it by macd!

 

[Caladh]

Common setup. There is a stack pipe inside the tank so the fluid is pumped to the top then cascades down the side. The alternative is to have an external pipe and atop inlet, but this usually increases the height of the installation and introduces bends to turn the flow through 180 degrees. So bottom inlet is easier, more compact and arguably freer flowing.

Don't know about a "common" setup. On our oldish Malo, the inlet and the outlet use the same union on the bottom of the holding tank (no internal stack pipe - and even if there was, how does the discharge work other than thru a shore pump out?). I am in the process of changing the heads inlet to the top of the tank.

 

[Tranona]

Don't know about a "common" setup. On our oldish Malo, the inlet and the outlet use the same union on the bottom of the holding tank (no internal stack pipe - and even if there was, how does the discharge work other than thru a shore pump out?). I am in the process of changing the heads inlet to the top of the tank.

The op's existing tank is a gravity tank and has a separate outlet - hopefully with an inspection hatch above it for access to clear any blockages.

Don't know how yours works with a bottom inlet and no stack pipe as that means you will have the whole contents of the tank held in by the joker valve on the toilet. Think about it before you assume you have no stack pipe!

 

[Irish Rover]

I hadn't considered a stack pipe when I looked at the setup and started the thread and felt a bit stupid when I read Tranona's reply because it's so obvious when someone points it out.. It certainly saves space having the inlet at the bottom. The tank has a threaded inspection hatch on the front and the deck pump-out is also directly above the outflow so ideal for rodding if necessary.

 

[Caladh]

The op's existing tank is a gravity tank and has a separate outlet - hopefully with an inspection hatch above it for access to clear any blockages.

Don't know how yours works with a bottom inlet and no stack pipe as that means you will have the whole contents of the tank held in by the joker valve on the toilet. Think about it before you assume you have no stack pipe!

The Malo setup is absurd. There was a T union seacock on the main seacock outlet. One coming direct from the toilet bowl and the other coming from holding tank. To actually use the holding tank you were meant to turn this to the correct direction. To use the toilet "normally" the T was directed straight to sea. So yes the inlet to the holding tank and outlet used the same pipe. There was an on/off valve at the bottom of the holding tank. Now changed to feed in from the top (with a Y changeover valve) and have a separate seacock for the tank to empty. Yes I know it's another hole in the boat but it was just easier to do it this way.