when and where to dump the black tank ?

BartW

BartW

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www.amptec.be
the thread from LJS gave me the trigger to post this question,

Our black tank is just (or just not) big enough to keep toilet holding for one day.
Normally we always’s dump the tank when leaving a marina / anchorage,
But sometimes we stay multiple day’s in one place,
Usually swmbo dumps the tank on the anchorage or in the marina before she goes to bed (pump command switch with a timer)
And sometimes she forgot

We just finished a holiday period during witch we had a couple of weeks with a full boat,
the tank was often full before the end of the day,
so we had to make sure to dump the tank, when no-one wants to swim, or move to another anchorage, and dump during the trip..
which was enoying sometimes..

when / where do other med boaters dump their black waste ?
any good tips ?
 
I'm surprised you cant hold for more than a day. You must have a lot of crew. For 4 of us on a 34 foot boat we can hold for about 8 days continuous use. I dont pump out on anchorage but normally make a quick stop on the return journey to pump out. I once had a problem with a stuck mascerator pump and took my chance while at anchorage a couple hundred yards from the next boat to clear it. Wouldn't you know, just as I cleared it and it started to work I heard a shriek from outside. I popped my head out from the engine bay to see our neighbours had swum over bearing gifts. The embarrassment was tangible, dont go there!
 
Don't know why but i always thought it was illegal to pump out unless you were 12 miles from shore.:ambivalence:
 
BartW said:
the thread from LJS gave me the trigger to post this question,

Our black tank is just (or just not) big enough to keep toilet holding for one day.
Normally we always’s dump the tank when leaving a marina / anchorage,
But sometimes we stay multiple day’s in one place,
Usually swmbo dumps the tank on the anchorage or in the marina before she goes to bed (pump command switch with a timer)
And sometimes she forgot

We just finished a holiday period during witch we had a couple of weeks with a full boat,
the tank was often full before the end of the day,
so we had to make sure to dump the tank, when no-one wants to swim, or move to another anchorage, and dump during the trip..
which was enoying sometimes..

when / where do other med boaters dump their black waste ?
any good tips ?
Click to expand...

Bart, I don't believe I'm writing this, but as I understand it, the average amount of water passed by a person per day is between 1 and 2 litres. So if you have 10 people on board they should only be passing 20 or so litres per day (plus solids!). Therefore I'm wondering if you're toilets are using too much water when flushing the loos?
 
BruceK said:
I'm surprised you cant hold for more than a day.
Click to expand...
Me too. He must have guests onboard who shit a lot. All that Belgian beer I suspect;). Personally, I have never dumped our holding tank overboard in an anchorage and only ever do it when we are well offshore. I am always lecturing guests though on the use of the electric toilets to try to ensure that flushing water usage is kept to a minimum
 
petem said:
Bart, I don't believe I'm writing this, but as I understand it, the average amount of water passed by a person per day is between 1 and 2 litres. So if you have 10 people on board they should only be passing 20 or so litres per day (plus solids!). Therefore I'm wondering if you're toilets are using too much water when flushing the loos?
Click to expand...

Deleted User said:
Me too. He must have guests onboard who shit a lot. All that Belgian beer I suspect;). Personally, I have never dumped our holding tank overboard in an anchorage and only ever do it when we are well offshore. I am always lecturing guests though on the use of the electric toilets to try to ensure that flushing water usage is kept to a minimum
Click to expand...

we have the old fashion "Sanguineti Chiavari" toilets onboard (marine model that looks the closest to a standard home toilet) flushing with sea water,
we still prefer these instead of the one Tecma toilet I have in the day toilet,
I advice my guests to flush very well in order to ovoid obstruction in the pipes,
and I think they take this very litterally. They have to "hold" the flush button untill the bowl is empty, just a bit of water remaining.
I guess that one flush is close to 10 liters of water,
and I notice that we all visit the toilet much more often than at home,
something todo with the amount of food perhaps or the wine,
at least for me, not the Italian beer,
the Belgium beer is reserved for the marinero's
 
GSL said:
I would only ever pump out directly into the sea if at least 3 miles from the shore.

Graham
Click to expand...

yes that is our wish and ideal scenario where we aim for,
but what happens to all the other crewed boats that are stucked in the marina during bad weather, or in winter ?

in summer we are often 8 peeps onboard, on occasions 10 (one occasion 11)
(75ft 5cabin boat)

she used to heave a 400+ liter black tank,
we wanted to lower the floor in the utility room, to have standing hight there,
and therefor we replace the tank with a custome made model, volume just over 300l

details here page 556 and 592
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...ld-thread/page56&highlight=blue+angel+rebuild

I realise that a bigger thank is the best solution,
in order to use maximum available space / volume, how about making one in the bilge with marineply, fibremat and expoxy,
I need Vas for this
 
BartW said:
I guess that one flush is close to 10 liters of water
Click to expand...
Wow, no wonder your holding tank fills up quickly! We have the Tecma freshwater toilets on our boat. First it is possible to flush the toilet without flushing water so a strict rule is not to use flushing water if you just want to flush away pee. For flushing solids, my guess is that the Tecma uses less than 5 litres

the Belgium beer is reserved for the marinero's
Click to expand...

A traitor to your country;);)
 
BartW said:
.................
but what happens to all the other crewed boats that are stucked in the marina during bad weather, or in winter ?
...............
Click to expand...

Apparently it's extremely bad for shell fish, which may go a long way in explaining why boats in the marinas adjacent to my estuary berth do not suffer from barnacles and mussels the way we in the river do
 
BartW said:
I advice my guests to flush very well in order to ovoid obstruction in the pipes,
and I think they take this very litterally. They have to "hold" the flush button untill the bowl is empty, just a bit of water remaining.
I guess that one flush is close to 10 liters of water,
Click to expand...

Bart, you need to tell your guests....

"If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."!
 
but what happens to all the other crewed boats that are stucked in the marina during bad weather, or in winter ?
Click to expand...
A lot of the big boats have sewage treatment systems on board. Not all though judging by whats floating around in Antibes
 
Ours feels huge ,it sits between the engines deep in the V and has lasted ( two of us nearly a week ) .
It’s dumped always far out at sea never in a marina or anchorage .
I,can’t believe what I,am reading ^^^^^ .But credit to Bart for fessing up and raising the issue .
If I had that boat or any boat it would be a priority job to ensure the black tank lasted 3 days min at full capacity with peeps on board .
 
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