Raritan Electro Scan

[Geoduck]

Anyone out there have any horror stories about this unit?
I'm tempted to buy one and get legal for once in my life!
My friends at the yacht club give me dirty looks when I dump my bucket over the side!

[Sailmonkey]

Not legal in no discharge zones

[S/V_Surya]

I was trying to blank it out of my memory. (shudder).

[keyspc]

i used to see them by dumpsters all the time in key west, now that i want one in melbourne FL everyone thinks thier worth a fourtune
If anyone has one i need it! BAD!!!

[bobconnie]

Come on seamonkey everthings Ilegle in a no discharge area !! LOL Just sayin Bob and Connie

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Come on seamonkey everthings Ilegle in a no discharge area !! LOL Just sayin Bob and Connie

Other than being a "feel good" thing I can't see a point in spending money on one of these things.

[roverhi]

We had the predecessor (LectroSan) on our boat. Worked without a problem for three years of liveaboard cruising. Still working when we sold the boat after 10 years of ownership. Don't know whether the subsequent owners kept it or how long it continued to function.

I hate the stinking outhouse on the current boat. Have bought a NOS LectraSan to install in it and get rid of the cesspool.

[Geoduck]

Somebody told me these things made it legal to dump anywhere - supposed to treat sewage better than the city does.
So what's the story?
The REAL story? Until I'm convinced otherwise ---
I think I'll stick with my BLACK BUCKET!!!

[peghall]

The only "Horror stories" are from owners who failed to install, operate and/or maintain according to directions. However, when they are properly installed operated and maintained according to directions, they're great and will work for years.

If you're in fresh or brackish waters, or have a toilet that uses onboard fresh water, or in very cold waters, the PuraSan Raritan Purasan would be a better choice because, unlike the LectraSan/ElectroScan, it doesn't need salt.

No...they aren't legal in NO DISCHARGE waters--which would explain why you saw in dumpster all over Key West after the Keys became an NDZ. But there isn't a NDZ within 500 miles of your waters, Geoduck, so that's not an issue for you.

Now that I think about it, I guess a device that eliminates the need to to turn your boat into a honey barge and also eliminates the accompanying hassle of maintaining tank...AND means that you'll never again be faced with a choice of either "find a pumpout NOW" or dump the tank illegally WOULD be a "feel good thing." 'Cuz getting rid of all that sure would make most people feel great!

[Geoduck]

Puget Sound is NDZ from what I read which is ridiculous. As it is in the Keys.
I read that the treatment from Electro Scan is better than the standard city water treatment - what more could you want? Why isnt this legal everywhere?
What the hell do they want from us???!!!!!!!!
The regs say no dumping raw sewage within 3 miles on one page and no dumping in Puget Sound on the other. So, I guess I have to go out beyond Cape Flattery to dump out - or sneak into Canada?
Who the hell is in charge of these laws?
Isn't there such a thing as common sence anymore?
How about if I build a fire in a metal bucket and tow it behind me on a float?
Probably get arrested for air pollution!! Probably illegal to dump the GOD DAMN ASHES!!!!!!!!

[peghall]

Simmer down... You've confused the regs pertaining dumping tanks and/or flushing directly overboard with NDZ designation. It's most definitely illegal to dump a tank or flush directly overboard in Puget Sound--in fact, the Strait is the only place in the whole San Juans where it's possible to be at least 3 miles from any land or island in any direction. But that doesn't mean that Puget Sound or any other coastal waters in WA are NDZ.

Puget is most assuredly NOT an NDZ... there's only one on the whole west coast north of Santa Barbara: Richardson Bay, which is a very small harbor off SF Bay. The discharge of treated waste from the Type I or II is legal in all the coastal waters of WA (and OR too), even on Lake Union in down town Seattle. See the complete list of coastal NDZs on the EPA site here (they do keep it up to date): EPA NDZ list Notice the WA isnt' even on the list because there aren't any NDZ in WA!

Install your ElectroScan and enjoy the freedom from draconian practices it'll provide.

[roverhi]

LectraSan/ElectroScan systems macerate the sewage then treat it with a chlorine compound made from electrically breaking down sea water. The resultant effluent is a sludge that has all the bad guys killed by the chlorine compound. The chlorine compound returns to it's original composition, seawater. You are pumping harmless fish food overboard with no additional compounds. It is as safe, if not safer than city sewage systems but does not meet the particulate standards for drinking water.

The EcoNazi's are now saying, Lectra/Electro devices must be banned because of the particulate matter. The truth is every municipal sewage system in the country dumps more completely untreated sewage in to surrounding waters every year because of weather/equipment failure than the entire boating community could do in a century if not a millenium. In short boats supply an insignificant amount that does not effect the environment in any measurable way. Non point source pollution (your lawn among other things) are the real problem in pollution. It's not pollution of harmful virii or bacteria but nutrients that find that mess up the balance of the ecosystem.

In any case, almost all harmful organisms are rendered null and void after very short immersion in salt water. NDZ's in salt water, in almost cases, are a politcal ploy to make the local politicians look like they care, not a health issue. Fresh water is another story as the harmful bugs can and do survive. Type 1 and 2 sewage treatment systems serve the necessary sanitation functions in fresh water as long as the manufacturers specifications are followed, typically adding salt to the effluent.

In short, we don't need to turn our boats into floating outhouses if we'd all install type 1 or 2 treatment systems.

[Sailmonkey]

Do away with NDZ's so I don't need the type I/II MSD and a holding tank and I'll go the lectroscan route. Otherwise (other than the current draw) this would be a great device.

[Geoduck]

Originally Posted by peghall

Simmer down... You've confused the regs pertaining dumping tanks and/or flushing directly overboard with NDZ designation. It's most definitely illegal to dump a tank or flush directly overboard in Puget Sound--in fact, the Strait is the only place in the whole San Juans where it's possible to be at least 3 miles from any land or island in any direction. But that doesn't mean that Puget Sound or any other coastal waters in WA are NDZ.

Puget is most assuredly NOT an NDZ... there's only one on the whole west coast north of Santa Barbara: Richardson Bay, which is a very small harbor off SF Bay. The discharge of treated waste from the Type I or II is legal in all the coastal waters of WA (and OR too), even on Lake Union in down town Seattle. See the complete list of coastal NDZs on the EPA site here (they do keep it up to date): EPA NDZ list Notice the WA isnt' even on the list because there aren't any NDZ in WA!

Install your ElectroScan and enjoy the freedom from draconian practices it'll provide.

OK! OK! I give up!
After ranting & raging, I looked up the regs myself - coast guard and state - and I read the fine print.
I surrender. I'll buy one of the damn things - if I can make it fit.
(I do have a holding tank - I just like to raise hell now & then - especially when I have to pump it out!!!)

[Jolly Roger]

I did a lot of research when I was deciding how to replace the two disgusting manual HPIII’s which came with my boat. After 35 years the 56 gallon aluminum holding tank was more like a colander, so that was no choice. Without going into great detail here, I bought two Raritan Elegance electric toilets and their Purasan system, which have worked fine for nine months so far. You can read about the installation and results on my website Schooner Britannia, a Brigantine Schooner being renovated..