sea toilet

theguvnor

theguvnor

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Been toying with prospective purchase of new (ish ) boat. The spec says 3 heads,
one sea toilet with macerator & holding tank.

Its to be used mainly on the Thames so what modifications will be needed for a BSS ? ( What is a macerator and why is it needed if a holding tank is fitted ?)
 
Sadly none. The Spec says "can be rendered inoperable" - some Duck Tape across the lid should do it.

This is one thing they could have achieved with the BSS and failed miserably.

A good friend of mine (who is an examiner) has lost count of the number of boats still discharging into the river.
 
If the sea toilet has a holding tank then there should be no snags on the Thames as you can dischage at the various EA and marina pump out facilities. There needs to be a change-over valve on the sea toilet which directs 'it' either to the tank or overboard. The addition of the macerator implies that there is also the facility to dischaarge from the tank to overboard. i.e. whatever is stored up while in the marina or up river, can then be dischaarged when at sea. The macerator would be linked to a pump, the macerator bit chopping up all the stuff so that it will run thru the pump as it is discharged overboard. Not sure what the other 2 toilets are unless they just go to the holding tank. The system sounds fine for the Thames, just check that the tank is fitted for discharge to shore as well as to sea.
 
Hi,

Three heads mean it should have three toilet compartments! which means its a big boat!
The sea toilet will be sealed by the Thames officials before you can enter the upper non tidal Thames. Under no circumstances must this loo be used in non tidal areas.
The sea toilet with the macerator will pulp the waste before pumping it to the holding tank therefore saving space!, when the said tank is full you must have it pumped out, at a cost of course. There are various stations along the Thames which will do this, mainley self operated! lovely job!
The third option may well be a chemical loo, this has a small tank under it which you put chemical blue into, this dissolves the waste and makes it smell sweeter! this will only take a couple of days to fill for a family of four, but you can empty it at no cost at the same stations that have a pump out for your holding tank.

Regards Barry
 
Barry is quite right, but I have never had anyone check that my changeover valve is set to the holding tank rather than sea when coming back up river. Some valves do however have the facility to padlock the lever in position so that there is some control even though this would be exercised (in theory) by the skipper.
 
A macerator is essentially the same thing as a blender...it "purees" solid waste and TP. Many electric toilets have built in macerators. There are also macerator pumps which are used to dump a holding tank at sea. The description "sea toilet with macerator" doesn't make it clear which is on the boat...or even whether a misguided owner has installed a separate macerator pump in the toilet's direct overboard discharge line.

The specs say 3 heads--which can mean there are 3 head compartments ("bathrooms"), only one of which actually has a toilet installed--which would be very strange...or--more likely, 3 toilets, only one of which is plumbed to discharge directly overboard...the other two may be self-contained or flush only into the tank. Do the specs include a complete list of equipment by type/brand/model? If not, if you can get more information I'll be better able to help you sort it all out.

As for securing a toilet that has the capability to flush directly directly overboard--and/or a tank that can be dumped at sea--a closed seacock on which the handle has either been removed or wire-tied closed should satisfy any legal requirements. If there's a y-valve in the toilet discharge line that provides a choice of flushing overboard into the tank, turning it toward the tank and wire-tying the handle should be adequate.
 
I don't follow the logic.

Why would you not put puree of poo into the holding tank?

It would be easier to pump it out then. No?

I honestly thought that my muncher was between the bog and the tank. Never really looked properly but will obviously do so now.
 
If your muncher is twixt loo and tank, what switches the muncher motor on and off?

That would be a rare set up. Loos with integrated muchers are quite common, eg the luvverly Tecmas. But a freestanding muncher in the line twixt loo and tank is pretty rare. Would work, but too much hassle normally - switching it on an off at the right time is complex. Also these freestanding munchers are a bit noisy so loo flushing would be a noisy affair (tcm dont comment on my vacuflushers here!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Why would you not put puree of poo into the holding tank?

It would be easier to pump it out then. No?

[/ QUOTE ]

No need to puree it before it goes into the tank, because a) solid waste is 75% water to start with, b) it's broken up as it goes through the plumbing to the tank (making "floating cigars"--at least from boats--a myth...although, there can be small "chunks"...and so c) it dissolves completely in the tank within hours.

So there's really no need to macerate waste going into a tank, only that going directly overboard from the toilet. In fact, many sailboats don't have macerators to dump the tank...they have manual diaphragm pumps. SeaLand and Jabsco make electric diaphragm pumps for tank dumping.

Adding a separate macerator in the head discharge line between the toilet and the thru-hull or tank is highly problematic ...'cuz if the flow of water from the toilet isn't sufficient, the impeller wears out very quickly...running a macerator dry for more than few seconds "fries" the impeller immediately. If a guest should ever flush anything they shouldn't--or even too much TP at once...or the macerator can't move anything through it for any reason, the toilet will back up.

So there are only two places for a macerator in the whole system: in a toilet designed to include one...and in the line to dump the tank at sea--and that one doesn't have to be a macerator pump, just a pump that can pull liquid through it and push it overboard.
 
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