Toilet Paper for use with Holding Tanks

[Seajet]

When I had a boat with a sea toilet, ( SL 400 ) I tried everything I could think of to give a polite but firm briefing on guests especially ladies, how to use it and the bags for sanitary wears hung up next to it - ' donated ' by hotels -; I got the impression none of the ladies took a blind bit of notice and I was just lucky to get away without a blocked, overpumped loo explosion.

 

[Bilgediver]

Tesco Value. No value except ability to dissolve on contact

You pontificate too long between clean and dispose

 

[Ripster]

We adopt the "if you have eaten it, it can go down the loo" rule - very strict on our boat. I had a blockage once on a previous boat due to paper - not again. We also provide a lined small bin and scented nappy sacks too. Not had an issue since. Pleasant aloe vera bum wipes are also available in a colourful small dispenser on the sink console

 

[SamanthaTabs]

Likewise, if it doesn't come out of you it doesn't go the loo! 4 loos onboard, 3 manual and 1 electric. Guess which one is the only one that has blocked??

 

[jimbaerselman]

Visitor pumping in forward toilet: "It's very stiff today"
Loud Bang!
Visitor: "Gawd, What a stink!". Stumbles out of heads compartment.

Didn't go to sea that day. Diagnosis 3 hours later. Holding tank had filled. Floating toilet paper had blocked breathing pipe. Tek tank had split along top weld seam discharging a small amount of contents into bilges.

Conclusions.
1. Thank heavens it wasn't a bottom seam that went
2. Check tank contents more often
3. Remove breather gauze which trapped paper fibre
4. Allow 8 hours to remove loo, table, floors in loo and main saloon, scrub out bilges with bleach
5. Don't do (4) until you've nipped out of harbour to empty the holding tank.
6. Repeat 4 to remove second spill caused by ignoring (5). Only 3 hours needed this time.
7. Remove tank, inspect, flush with hydrochloric acid, scrape calcified paper deposits out, send for repair
8. After seeing the amount of paper sludge, vow never again to send paper through loo
9. Next spring, remove wasp nest from breather pipe
10. Eight further years aboard with annual HCl flushes, and no further problems

 

[maby]

We use the Thetford stuff made to work well with holding tanks and have never had a problem. When I'm filling the fresh water tanks, I usually whip off the pump-out cap and put a couple of gallons of fresh water through.

 

[alant]

I agree. However, for the squeamish, I also provide those scented nappy sacks for the used papers. Tie it up and put in pedalbin.

How do you dispose of those 'plastic nappy bags', if sailing offshore?

 

[mjcoon]

How do you dispose of those 'plastic nappy bags', if sailing offshore?

Put 'em on the pushpit BBQ?

Not many forumites, I imagine, sail so far offshore that storage for food either before or after digestion is much of a problem!

Drink, now, might be another matter...

Mike.

 

[Woodlouse]

Makes me glad not to have a holding tank.

 

[ChiPete]

Slight thread drift, sorry!

The macerator on our holding tank is no longer macerating. I believe the pipe leading to the unit is blocked. I've tested this by closing the sea cock and switching on the macerator; if it is able to pump through, the circuit breaker will pop as the macerator motor comes under strain (yes, I did find this out by accident!).

So, do any of my esteemed forum celleagues have any tricks to unblock the pipe? Have I just got to man up, get the gloves and respirator on, remove the inspection panel and get going with a stick?

Oh, and I've already told SWMBON to ditch the Andrex; we're going Izal...

 

[maby]

Slight thread drift, sorry!

The macerator on our holding tank is no longer macerating. I believe the pipe leading to the unit is blocked. I've tested this by closing the sea cock and switching on the macerator; if it is able to pump through, the circuit breaker will pop as the macerator motor comes under strain (yes, I did find this out by accident!).

So, do any of my esteemed forum celleagues have any tricks to unblock the pipe? Have I just got to man up, get the gloves and respirator on, remove the inspection panel and get going with a stick?

Oh, and I've already told SWMBON to ditch the Andrex; we're going Izal...

Try poking through with a set of cable mousing rods- very similar to drain rods but much thinner and more flexible. You should be able to get some from any large electrical outlet like CEF

 

[hartcjhart]

I have a Jeanneau 409 with a holding tank. The tank blocked recently, probably because we used luxury toilet paper. What make paper is least bad? I know many would say "nothing should go down that hasn't been eaten," but we would like to use toilet paper, if possible

so hows about after your meal you eat the loo paper,also has the benefit of wiping on the way out

 

[Rigger Mortice]

so hows about after your meal you eat the loo paper,also has the benefit of wiping on the way out

It might cause a blockage between your stomach and....errr...the outside world?

 

[Bosun Higgs]

For even more delicacy, we use individual nappy sacks per visit and put those in the bin. But deflate them before tying up, else the bin fills up quickly!

.

Do you suck the air out somehow?

 

[mjcoon]

Do you suck the air out somehow?

Yes, we are all expert Pétomanes (http://http://www.wordwebonline.com/search.pl?ww=6&w=petomane)

Mike.

 

[Cymrogwyllt]

As for the paper. There is only one thing to consider.



Does the finger go through it?

 

[neil1967]

We have a holding tank on one yacht, but not on the other (but will be fitting one), and have the same rule on both boats - toilet paper or wet wipes go in the toilet sanitary bin. Never had a hint of a blockage in 6 years.

Neil

 

[clyst]

How do you dispose of those 'plastic nappy bags', if sailing offshore?

Or indeed inshore ?

 

[clyst]

Ve have vays of making you poo....

Visitor pumping in forward toilet: "It's very stiff today"
Loud Bang!
Visitor: "Gawd, What a stink!". Stumbles out of heads compartment.

Didn't go to sea that day. Diagnosis 3 hours later. Holding tank had filled. Floating toilet paper had blocked breathing pipe. Tek tank had split along top weld seam discharging a small amount of contents into bilges.

Conclusions.
1. Thank heavens it wasn't a bottom seam that went
2. Check tank contents more often
3. Remove breather gauze which trapped paper fibre
4. Allow 8 hours to remove loo, table, floors in loo and main saloon, scrub out bilges with bleach
5. Don't do (4) until you've nipped out of harbour to empty the holding tank.
6. Repeat 4 to remove second spill caused by ignoring (5). Only 3 hours needed this time.
7. Remove tank, inspect, flush with hydrochloric acid, scrape calcified paper deposits out, send for repair
8. After seeing the amount of paper sludge, vow never again to send paper through loo
9. Next spring, remove wasp nest from breather pipe
10. Eight further years aboard with annual HCl flushes, and no further problems

Ref No5 Ithought the idea of a holding tank was to reduce pollution and use shoreside pump out stations. Seems that holding tanks are full of bull ****e

 

[Mad Pad]

Isn't it great..any new thread on loos goes viral.I totally agree with if you havn't eaten it it should not be in the loo.Paper is the worst polluter and blocker after kitchen towel and cotton wool,fish will snap up the poo in no time but the paper does not biodegrade.If any of you have a problem with a smelly breather on the holding tank(butyl rubber) fit a Leesan charcoal filter in line.I also had a problem with a niffy flexible holding tank last year...niff of old boots not poo.Flushed tank out so you drink from it ,still same smell so it was the tank not the contents.I use Elsan fluid in the holding tank and no chemical cleaners whatsoever.Our other loos(electric) discharge overboard and now and again I put a Harpic tablet on the pan and give the switch a quick press so it does its work in the outlet pipe.For the inlet again I use a Leesan cartridge in line on the inlet pipe.......Oh to get back to the smelly holding tank I gave it 3 coats of Coelan,job done.Hope this helps some of you younger members.PS Use the best quality pipes for the loos and still you will prabably have to change these every 5 years.