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Old 09-07-2019, 17:34   #1
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Macerator Toilet - Paper

We have always stuck very closely to "Marine potty rules", but we never had a macerator toilet before, and we are under contract on a boat with a macerator toilet. So, since everything gets chopped up... will I be able to put Toilet paper in it? Or do we still need to follow the no paper rule?
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Old 09-07-2019, 18:28   #2
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

We have always put paper into our pump toilet and haven’t had a clog yet. The key here is to be smart about it, ie don’t think you can wrap your hand up like a mummy and then flush a 5lb wad of saturated paper mache glue!
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Old 09-07-2019, 18:57   #3
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Macerator Toilet - Paper

I believe ours would eat newspaper, I really do.
You won’t have an issue with regular house toilet paper. Use plenty of water.
Do not of course flush those flushable wipes though, many if not most of those are actually plastic.

We have always flushed paper, putting it in a trash can isn’t something I see as hygienic. Even with our regular heads, just use single ply if you have a normal head, but an electric macerator should eat most anything realistic.
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Old 09-07-2019, 19:08   #4
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

Ditto for just using paper and putting it into the bowl as normal. Don't use a wad and you should be ok. We use the Scott single ply safe for septic systems and it works fine.
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Old 09-07-2019, 19:39   #5
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

From a recent plumbing incident at my four floor office building, I learned from the plumbers that good quality toilet paper can actually be a bit of a problem. The really nice stuff the landlord started supplying did not break down as easily as the old industrial grade cheap stuff. The results were... um... spectacular.

I filed this because I suspect it applies to boat toilets too.
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Old 09-07-2019, 19:55   #6
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

a64 Pilot google “Family Cloth” for something really unhygienic. Reusable cloth adult bum wipes. One sailing blog I was reading keep there’s in a plastic bag and wash them when they can. I thought it was a joke until I googled it and found out it is a thing.
We always put paper down our Jabsco and the kids have not managed to choke it yet......We did have an incident with a wet wipe that bent the macerator shaft and cost me a new pump.
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Old 09-07-2019, 20:25   #7
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

Actually, Scarlet, you can flush TP down your manual toilet as long as it's the cheap flimsy stuff that almost dissolves in your hand if it gets wet AND use it sparingly. So the macerating electric toilet (if you know the make/model I can send you the owners manual for it) on your new boat will have no trouble with it. My rule was always, "only what you've eaten and the TP provided, NOTHING else." And make sure your guests know that "nothing" includes wet wipes. Those things shouldn't even be flushed at home...they're causing millions $$ damage to municipal sewer systems.



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Old 09-07-2019, 20:27   #8
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

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Those things shouldn't even be flushed at home...they're causing millions $$ damage to municipal sewer systems.
I read somewhere recently of a legal action against the manufacturers of one of the disposable wipes for this very reason. Not sure by whom against whom exactly, or what chance it had of success. But yeah, they sure are a problem.

Edit: Ah, found it. Seems they lost the case, but it shows the level of angst.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-...-case/11261688
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Old 10-07-2019, 05:08   #9
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

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. So the macerating electric toilet (if you know the make/model I can send you the owners manual for it) on your new boat will have no trouble with it



--Peggie
Hi Peggie,
So, since the boat isn't ours yet... I don't have the actual specs on the toilet, however, there is a photo that was sent to us that shows a mechanical device and it's labled "Electroscan Raritan"... Since this is a bit new to me... I don't know if that is the name of the actual toilet, or if it is a macerator that was attached... perhaps you know.

Also, I'm assuming that every toilet would have the same, right? and does that electroscan thing attach to every toilet? or is there just one for the whole boat?

Sorry for the ignorance, but I've only ever used manual toilets, and I don't even have basic knowledge how the electric/macerator toilets work.. so I appreciate your time..
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Old 10-07-2019, 05:32   #10
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

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Originally Posted by scarlet View Post
We have always stuck very closely to "Marine potty rules", but we never had a macerator toilet before, and we are under contract on a boat with a macerator toilet. So, since everything gets chopped up... will I be able to put Toilet paper in it? Or do we still need to follow the no paper rule?
On a recent Caribbean charter boat with a macerating head, we were told "if it didn't come out of you, don't flush it", so we also observed the marine potty rule and didn't flush TP Given the amount of charter traffic there, the less material dumped the better i guess.

I have no issue using the flimsy dissolving TP, but many do, and insist on using the same quilt-like TP they use at home, so if that's you, it might be best to keep up with the discipline.

btw, in some CF NDZ threads, it was often brought up that in other parts of the world cruisers dump macerated waste anywhere/everywhere... and that ain't true, at least in the BVIs. Our boat had a small holding tank on each head, and the instructions were to have the dump valve closed while moored/docked/anchored, and to open it only when underway in open water.
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Old 10-07-2019, 06:22   #11
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

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don’t think you can wrap your hand up like a mummy and then flush a 5lb wad of saturated paper mache glue!
LMAO!!!
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Old 10-07-2019, 06:42   #12
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

On a recent Caribbean charter boat with a macerating head, we were told "if it didn't come out of you, don't flush it", so we also observed the marine potty rule and didn't flush TP Given the amount of charter traffic there, the less material dumped the better i guess.

It's not the amount of "material" from charter boats, it's that many charterers many charterers have no idea that what they can flush on land will clog a marine toilet. Today, that's often a wet wipe, but can also include paper towels and/or an overload of TP. And the cost of emergency trips to the boats to unclog toilets can really add up! So a requiring that everything but body waste go into the trash is the only way to prevent or at least cut way down on the emergency toilet repairs.



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Old 10-07-2019, 06:57   #13
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

Scott TP works well. You can test it by putting it in water . It should just fall apart.
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Old 10-07-2019, 07:08   #14
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

Oh boy...the ElectroScan isn't a toilet, it's a device the toilet flushes into that "treats" waste, making it legal to flush directly overboard (except in waters designated "no discharge") instead of into a tank. And no, every toilet wouldn't have the same and it's not attached to every toilet, nor is there just one for the whole boat.

Don't apologize for your ignorance...none of us were born knowing any of this stuff. I'll be happy to help you understand how everything about your sanitation system works and how to use and maintain it, but the best place to start would be my book (see link in my signature--just click on the title).

The title (my publisher's idea) is a bit misleading...'cuz although it does deal with every source of odor on a boat and how to cure, or better yet PREVENT 'em, it's actually a comprehensive "marine toilets and sanitation systems 101" manual that explains the laws, describes all the types of systems and how they work, and will help you start to learn how to operate and maintain your system to prevent 99% of problems instead of having to cure 'em. It'll prob'ly raise as many questions as it answers, and I'll be glad to answer all of 'em. So make plenty of notes as you read through it! And when you're ready, send me an email and we'll prob'ly spend a lot of time on the phone getting you sorted out.

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Old 10-07-2019, 07:58   #15
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Re: Macerator Toilet - Paper

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Originally Posted by peghall View Post
Oh boy...the ElectroScan isn't a toilet, it's a device the toilet flushes into that "treats" waste, making it legal to flush directly overboard (except in waters designated "no discharge") instead of into a tank. And no, every toilet wouldn't have the same and it's not attached to every toilet, nor is there just one for the whole boat.
--Peggie
Ok... So now I'm scared! So I'm guessing that there is no macerator at all attached to any of the toilets... I do think they are electric because in the photos there is no have pump... Is that electroscan a nightmare? Worth it? Can we add a macerator to it? I hate Marine sanitation...
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