Quote:
Originally Posted by northwestsailor
This issue here for me is to remove the ability to pump out from the boat not the ability to vacuum out the holding tank. I plan to install a direct connect between the deck fill and the tank and bypass a Y valve just in case pump out proliferate world wide.
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Hi Victor,
If I understand correctly you are talking about removing the capability of emptying your holding tank except through the deck pump-out opening using a 3rd party facility with an operational sewage vacuum pump.
If we did that we would end up hauling our [50 gallon] tank full of effluvia for weeks (or even months) on end, rendering the holding tank useless [non-existent] during that period. [I can also think of more desirable cargo to stow under my berth...] We have found it very tough relying on 3rd party pump-out stations [availability, functionality, etc.], so I would be very reticent to remove the capability of emptying it at sea... [although I like eliminating through-hulls when I can...]
To that end, I am planning to re-plumb our
Lavac [with holding tank] in the near future. The new approach will use one pump [electric, non-macerating i.e., quiet- with manual back-up] to flush the toilet and, with the flip of a Y-valve, empty the holding tank
overboard. This will eliminate one through-hull; the one dedicated to the
current macerator pump that empties the holding tank, as the new set-up shares one [existing] through-hull for both toilet
flushing and holding tank emptying... Of course, as required by the USCG, the holding tank can still be emptied through the deck fitting using a pump-out facility.
Related to this discussion is why we decided to replace one of our two
Lavac heads with a desiccating Airhead unit. This was done fairly recently, and our preliminary impressions are favorable.
We now have have the option of using the Lavac
head [which has fresh or
raw water flushing] and pumping
overboard or to the holding tank- which can be emptied overboard when at sea or pumped-out, as appropriate...
Or we can use the Airhead, which is
legal to use anywhere worldwide, and is also the guest head. Yes, we have reduced the opportunities and methods guests employ to decommission heads during their stay... And real-world testing was completed a couple of weeks ago: we had a
family of 6 onboard for 8 days... While they were welcome to use either head, they chose to mostly use the Airhead [no pumping was cited as a primary decision factor...] and it handled them very well with only 1 minor incident: the liquid container was allowed to overflow... once (early teenager...) A new level of diligence was infused by the parents afterward and it never even came close again... ]
Just sharing our approach, experiences, and thinking; we wouldn't expect our choices to suit everyone...
Cheers!
Bill