Thinking about refit - Sewage Treatment

[GalaxyGirl]

Hello all,

I will soon be to purchase my first boat and I am beginning to think about refit. I would like to get some things squared away now, so that when I pick up the boat I can begin getting stuff done right away. The boat that I am hoping to purchase is a motorboat around 60'.

My question is about sewage treatment. I was thinking a colorless/odorless, automatic discharge unit would be very nice.

Does anyone have one?
What kind?
Are you happy with it?
Ease of maintenance?
cost to install?

I know that there are a million variables depending on boat type etc., but I'm just trying to get an idea.

[hellosailor]

That depends on where you plan to go. In many areas you will encounter No Discharge Zones and if you do not have a proper holding tank on board, they'll lighten your wallet and send you away immediately. There are no "treat and dump" systems that will get you past the requirement for zero discharge, so whatever you get, you may still want to plan for a holding tank.

Plenty of web sites from the various manufacturers & West Marine that explain the choices and options.

[Ocean Girl]

Galaxy, I think you are on the right track. There are some really good waste treatment systems out there. I have zero experience with them except for an old lectrasan that quite two days out on a two week Atlantic passage .
But here are some links for research.
Purisan
Raritan Engineering | Waste Treatment

This ( Peggie Hall) write up is 10 years old but it's stills helps out with the bisics
http://home.online.no/~lha-h/forum/phall.pdf

Cheers, hope all is well

[djmarchand]

There are several ways to deal with recreational boat sewage:

1. Dump it overboard- Illegal within US territorial waters.

2. Treat it with chlorine and dump it overboard. Lectrosan is one device that does this. Ok in some US waters, but not in zero discharge waters.

3. Hold it in a "holding tank" until you can get to a marina and pump it out. Legal in all US waters. ALL US recreational boats should have a holding tank connected to their head.

4. Use a portable, self contained toilet and remove it from the boat for dumping. Not easy to do.

5. Use a semi-dry digesting head. Rare.

David

[Roy M]

Ditto the Peggie Hall reference. Per her guidance I built a holding tank that allowed the sewage to be digested by aerobic bacteria. Brilliant.

[HopCar]

On my little boat everything goes into a holding tank to be pumped out later. If I were to go with a treatment system I would choose the Raritan Electro Scan. They've been making versions of this for many years and seem to have gotten it pretty reliable.
Raritan Electro Scan EST12 Sewage Treatment System, 12 Volt

If you expect to be in no discharge zones, the Raritan Hold-n-Treat combines a holding tank with a treatment system. It allows you to hold the sewage in a tank until you leave the no discharge zone, then treat and discharge it. You could of course use the pump out at the marina as well.
Kind of the best of both worlds.

Raritan Engineering | Waste Treatment | Hold n' Treat

[HopCar]

Read Peggie's book!


Get Rid of Boat Odors by Peggie Hall

[GalaxyGirl]

Thanks everyone for the replies and links. Very helpful. I have been googling this subject for days. Sure would be nice to be able to walk into a marine "Depot" and ask the salesman about these products

[Capt Hugh Wilde]

If you have the room, a Type II unit is great, the downside is they take up more room and also weigh nearly 600 lbs full, but they are nearly fool proof. The discharge could be put into a holding tank in a no discharge area.

Here is a link to the Raritan unit

Raritan Engineering | Waste Treatment | Managerm

[lorenzo b]

Your basic problem here is that you are combining sewage and treatment. The ocean is the most efficient treatment plant imaginable, all you need to do is hold the sewage until you can discharge in deep and legal waters or pump out.To make this as easy and care free as possible you need a 250 gallon holding tank, preferably directly under your only toilet. If you seem to believe you really need 4 bathrooms, one for each private stateroom and all below deck, you will have problems with all the pumps and hoses.
We use a 250 gallon tank, live on our boat full time, have one toilet on the main deck, use a water spray and no paper, and need to pump out every three months or so. If in waters that allow discharge, we discharge.
Keep it simple.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by HopCar

On my little boat everything goes into a holding tank to be pumped out later. If I were to go with a treatment system I would choose the Raritan Electro Scan. They've been making versions of this for many years and seem to have gotten it pretty reliable.
Raritan Electro Scan EST12 Sewage Treatment System, 12 Volt

If you expect to be in no discharge zones, the Raritan Hold-n-Treat combines a holding tank with a treatment system. It allows you to hold the sewage in a tank until you leave the no discharge zone, then treat and discharge it. You could of course use the pump out at the marina as well.
Kind of the best of both worlds.

Raritan Engineering | Waste Treatment | Hold n' Treat

GG, given temps in your harbor... and depending on what pump-out services the marina can provide during winter... and whether that harbor is an NDZ... I suspect the combination approach would maybe eliminate the need to move the boat during winters, eliminate periods where you and the kids may have to use the on-shore facilities until you can get pumped, etc.

Might be useful to simply wait and see, though. If that marina can solve your winter-time pump-outs, maybe you don't need to do anything... or at least have plenty of time to decide what will best suit. That would also give you some time to work out the best required "capacities" based on your specific "crew"

Another aspect might be about engineering the system for your particular boat. A single system for all heads? Separate systems to provide redundant capabilities? Where to fit what? How to run hoses from where to where? And so forth. It's often easier to figure out stuff like that after you've had some experience with the original.

-Chris

[Kenomac]

Most of the time we're dockside, we use the marina facilities. I assume the majority of your time will be spent in marinas. I know this might sound simplistic, but why spend a ton of money on a system that might not be necessary? Wait until you find out what your actualy needs will be. A marina pumpout service might also be a good solution.

[bstreep]

We have a Pursan (Raritan). Only way to go. Found tablets online that are a fraction of the cost (no, they aren't pool tablets).