tinny tim
Member
No I liked the style and price of the toilet in question, but ant porter loos hand pumped as well
marine boat toilet
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tinny tim
Member
Forgot to ask; do these toilets use the blue chemical?
tinny tim
Member
Do you think the cheaper toilet paper disolves better?
Boathook
Well-known member
I wouldn't call a marine toilet a proper one unless it is an expensive one. Most marine toilets are a compromise over size and function.
Boathook
Well-known member
The sellers know how they are used, but on a boat there are to many variables so it is down to the buyer to work out whether it is a suitable, one.
Tectanks make waste tanks to size but they are expensive.
What is the cost to empty a tank and how will the person doing the emptying access the tank ?
tinny tim
Member
Pat has a porter loo in his yard, says a man comes round with a small truck and pumps it out for £15
Dellquay13
Well-known member
It’s more that it doesn’t hold together than actually dissolve.
Unlike a household toilet with 100mm pipes and an S bend water lock, these marine toilets have to pass everything through the pump body, 38mm pipes and a 38mm joker valve, normally 3 sided, which rarely opens up to anything like 38mm. Posh strong quilted paper doesn’t always break down enough to pass through the valve, or completely clear of it.
If you have good supply of water to flush and a suitable holding tank with a system for emptying it then there is no reason why you can’t fit one in a trailer.
Jabsco are popular and spares easy to source, and not overly expensive. There’s plenty of YouTube videos about fixing them too.
Marine hand pump toilets need to be used as per their instructions, and need periodic servicing.
I would use some form of blue (or more eco green) fluid if using a holding tank, not necessarily every flush, but enough to maintain the holding tank.
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Tranona
Well-known member
Please read the OP. He is not intending fitting it in a boat, but in a "large trailer".
You don't say how often you intend using the toilet between pumpouts, but remember the 2-3l a flush. For boats also remember that the supply of flushing water is almost limitless, but a large waste tank is difficult to fit. 70l will only give 20-30 flushes so you will need to think about the size of your feeder tank in relation to holding tank capacity. It would make sense to have it independent of your sink supply.
As I said earlier the flush volume is partly dependent on the length of pipe as you need to flush all waste so that the pipe only has fresh water held in it. Tanks are not difficult to source or have made, but custom made are expensive so design around a standard size tank such as these tek-tanks.com/plastic-tanks/series-c-tanks/. This company is probably the major supplier in the UK and there is lots of information on the site on design of tank systems and hardware. That particular tank style is top entry and exit and you need three lines, entry, exit (both 36mm) and vent usually 19 or better 25mm) to air. In marine applications there is a standard pumpout fitting but you will need to find out what sort of fitting your pumping service uses.
Hope this helps
These are the Jabsco toilets jabscoshop.com/marine/marine-toilets/toilets/manual-toilets/ you can usually find them retail at 10-15% lower. The compact model (like the Seaflo) is smaller than a domestic toilet and many of us of normal build prefer the larger standard size, although in many boats there is limited space and the smaller one is more common.
You don't say how often you intend using the toilet between pumpouts, but remember the 2-3l a flush. For boats also remember that the supply of flushing water is almost limitless, but a large waste tank is difficult to fit. 70l will only give 20-30 flushes so you will need to think about the size of your feeder tank in relation to holding tank capacity. It would make sense to have it independent of your sink supply.
As I said earlier the flush volume is partly dependent on the length of pipe as you need to flush all waste so that the pipe only has fresh water held in it. Tanks are not difficult to source or have made, but custom made are expensive so design around a standard size tank such as these tek-tanks.com/plastic-tanks/series-c-tanks/. This company is probably the major supplier in the UK and there is lots of information on the site on design of tank systems and hardware. That particular tank style is top entry and exit and you need three lines, entry, exit (both 36mm) and vent usually 19 or better 25mm) to air. In marine applications there is a standard pumpout fitting but you will need to find out what sort of fitting your pumping service uses.
Hope this helps
Plum
Well-known member
I've never needed to do either. You may have a problem with your heads.
tinny tim
Member
So the less complicated and easyer it is to attach toilet to tank the less water you will use?
tinny tim
Member
They look identical to the one i posted but twice as much
Tranona
Well-known member
Yes, but they work. Despite being on the market for many years the Seaflo has never really caught on because everybody understands the Jabsco and with such a critical item people tend to make conservative choices.
Making things look identical is what copiers do - but it does not mean they are identical!
tinny tim
Member
Do you know people that have had problems with them in the past?
justanothersailboat
Active member
The Jabsco and the other are very similar, but you can easily get service kits and replacement parts for the Jabsco - less so the cheaper model. That makes them a better bet longterm. These things (all makes) need a particular set of sealing parts changed out quite often (every couple of years on leisure boats that aren't used all the time...) to stay working properly. Given the cost of everything else on a boat and the difficulty of dealing with a plumbing emergency at sea, not many boaters go for the very cheapest toilet. Your situation may be very different.
Although new installs should all have tanks, these toilets seem to have been originally designed to answer the problem "how can we get waste outside when there is nowhere to sit above the waterline and the weather and sea-state outside is too bad to allow the use of a bucket". The tradeoff for this ability is being relatively high maintenance. I think this is why campervans usually use something different. I suspect sea toilets have one of the worst ratios of plumbing effort to, er, "relief" given, of all forms of facilities known to man.
You could probably make one work on a trailer. You would definitely NOT need an anti siphon loop - those are for installs below the waterline, which is not a problem for a trailer.
Although new installs should all have tanks, these toilets seem to have been originally designed to answer the problem "how can we get waste outside when there is nowhere to sit above the waterline and the weather and sea-state outside is too bad to allow the use of a bucket". The tradeoff for this ability is being relatively high maintenance. I think this is why campervans usually use something different. I suspect sea toilets have one of the worst ratios of plumbing effort to, er, "relief" given, of all forms of facilities known to man.
You could probably make one work on a trailer. You would definitely NOT need an anti siphon loop - those are for installs below the waterline, which is not a problem for a trailer.
PetiteFleur
Well-known member
Porta Potti is perfectly ok in a trailer - very simple to use and all self contained and much cheaper than the sort of system you're proposing. Waste cassette easily emptied into domestic toilet and as mentioned spare cassette easily available. I suggest you investigate them fully before you start on your proposal.
KevinV
Well-known member
To the OP - have you actually sat on one of these boat heads - you may revise your opinion of how much of a "proper loo" they are (they're tiny). I don't like porta-pottis either, but they exist for good reason - the lack of plumbing required being foremost. You do need to get past the squeamishness of dealing with the cassette, which isn't as horrid as one might think.
Out of interest, are you talking about a horsebox type of thing, or some kind of accommodation? Your mention of a man coming to pump it out suggests something quite permanent. The knowledge may help in giving better directed advice.
Out of interest, are you talking about a horsebox type of thing, or some kind of accommodation? Your mention of a man coming to pump it out suggests something quite permanent. The knowledge may help in giving better directed advice.
Tranona
Well-known member
No, perhaps because I have never seen one in use . Almost all boats are fitted with Jabsco, although there are other types of marine toilets which operate in a different manner and even less suitable for your use.
As already mentioned the common size for both makes is very small and uncomfortable, but tolerated on a boat because most toilet compartments are cramped. However if you do have the space as I do on my boat then the larger "standard" Jabsco is the same size as a domestic toilet and much more comfortable. If you are going to use this regularly surely worth getting the best rather than penny pinching on the most important bit which in itself is only a fraction of the cost of the whole installation
tinny tim
Member
It would be first interesting to know if the sellers of these cheaper ones give say a years warranty with them or not? If not then I would say walkaway!
tinny tim
Member
No I have not! But it would be nice to look at one before buying. As for size well I was given the messurment and for the standard size they appear to be very simuler to that of a house hold toilet
No! mine is a 45'/ 13 meter box trailer that I am in the middle of converting in to accommodation. Its parked up and parked on the road side for a long time until the council want it moved on
Thanks
tinny tim
Member
That is what I though! that the standard size toilet of the cheaper one in question was the same size as a regular toilet and the compact one was a lot smaller. Have a look at the images I have attached; they have come from the seller
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