Foreign country Pump out systems

[northwestsailor]

Does anyone know if pump out stations in countries other than US and Canada are of the vacuum variety or the boat must supply the pumping into their tank?

I am sure this is a loaded question but I want to simplify my system if all or most are of the vacuum variety. Obviously one can just go three miles offshore and dump (at least in US) but that is not always practical or desirable.

[colemj]

I have never seen a pump out station outside of the US and Canada. They certainly don't exist throughout the bahamas, caribbean, south or central america. Or if they do, they are extremely few and very far between.

Mark

[Kenomac]

I have only seen one pump out station in Europe, it think it was north of Palma. Looked brand new and unused. Honestly, I wouldn't even know where to find one outside the U.S. and Canada.

Don't bother with any modifications to your boat. The silly things are only used in a few areas in North America and Turkey of all places.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by colemj

I have never seen a pump out station outside of the US and Canada. They certainly don't exist throughout the bahamas, caribbean, south or central america. Or if they do, they are extremely few and very far between.

Mark

+1. Never seen one in the W Carib, though RAM Marine on the Rio Dulce was supposed to install one (don't know if they ever did).

[SVRapture40]

They are spreading in Mexico now - but all are the vacuum type so nothing to worry about.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by SVRapture40

They are spreading in Mexico now - but all are the vacuum type so nothing to worry about.

Oh they have been in Mexico for years...seen them in 2007-2012. They never worked of course and then when they did pump you out, we watched the marina crew empty the pump out system on the other side of the marina break water...

[colemj]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

when they did pump you out, we watched the marina crew empty the pump out system on the other side of the marina break water...

He did say they were spreading…

Mark

[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.

[Kenomac]

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.

I wouldn't worry about it, it's really just an issue in the U.S. And Canada, nothing is going to change worldwide.

On our Hunter in California, we went to the pump outs all the time. We had to because of the way the waste system was designed. Since we've been on the Oyster, we've never used a pump out station. On this boat the system uses gravity to do the work, no macerator or vaccum required.

[northwestsailor]

If you have a fiberglass hull you can flush the head into a storage tank above the waterline. Then to empty you just open the seacock.

My tanks are integral to the hull i.e. built in to stiffen the welded aluminum hull so gravity drain is not possible.

Nevertheless your point is well taken in that after US and Canada we can forget about the issue all together.

[S/V Alchemy]

The universal method is to sail out beyond the three-mile limit (or motor, as it's a good time to make water and charge batteries, I suppose), pump yourself out, and sail back after a good rinse cycle.

Pumping out at a poop deck is, statistically, an aberration in terms of the rest of the world.

[tdoster]

Yes, there are a few in Mexico, but the fact remains that a great deal of the raw sewage created inland is sent right into the bays and ocean. We are closely looking at the Electro Scan as that seems to treat it better than most countries treat their own sewage before shipping it off and the last boat I crewed on that got boarded by the CG they liked the setup and passed it with flying colors.

[Lucky]

Sweden has introduced legal requirement to emty out at dockmounted pumpout stations, illegal to dump in swedish territorial waters. Same goes for Finland. Spain has also very strict rules, non confirmed claim from someone who picked up a yacht down there was that they had to empty the tank before going out of the marinas, a certificate was said to beissuedand had to be produced if approached by the coast guard.

Seem like this requirement is spreading!
Happy lead free sailing from Lucky

[wrwakefield]

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.

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

[northwestsailor]

[QUOTE=wrwakefield;1885683]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.


Bill, Thank for your reply.

1) We also have Lavac heads with both electric and manual pumps. Manual pump is rarely used but hesitant to remove them.

2) No we would not remove the ability to flush overboard just a dedicated hose from the deck fill to the holding tank would be added and three way removed. This simplifies addition plumbing because right now we can pump out through the deck fill but using a vacuum system commonly found would mean the potential to suck the diaphragms out of the pumps. That and elimination of three way valves is my main goal here.

3) Through hulls for me are not an issue since they consist of stand pipes that rise above the water level. (Another advantage of metal boats)

Enjoy!
Victor