Poor Man's Upgrade of a Manual Head

[Ocean Roads]

I have a manual head in my new to me boat I am about to live on.

I am worried that when I #2, the paper may not flush. Not a big fan of paper in the trash can.

I was wondering if I can install a macerator pump directly after the head where the hose goes to the holding tank.

The question is when I #1, can I pump the head as usual(will water still flow past the macerator pump?), and for #2 flip on the pump as well for extra boost?

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Ocean Roads

I have a manual head in my new to me boat I am about to live on.

I am worried that when I #2, the paper may not flush. Not a big fan of paper in the trash can.

I was wondering if I can install a macerator pump directly after the head where the hose goes to the holding tank.

The question is when I #1, can I pump the head as usual(will water still flow past the macerator pump?), and for #2 flip on the pump as well for extra boost?

As you have stated the problem your solution probably won't help. If TP is going to get stuck, it's going to get stuck in the valves in the head. If it makes it to the hose it will get to the holding tank without needing any further assistance.

If you want a macerator for the head it needs to be built in:

37245 Series Quiet Flush Electric Toilet - Seawater > Electric Toilets > ITT Flow Control - Engineered for life.

The only time I've had paper stuck in the head, was when a guest used paper towels instead of letting me know we were out of TP.

John

[cabo_sailor]

Hi,

First, unless you use a LOT of paper, it should flush. That or do "courtesy" flushes along the way.

Yes, you can depending upon the make and model of the head you can install a macerator pump. The fabulous Peggy Hall on this site is the expert but if that's the route you wish to take I'd consult with her. From the most recent posts on the CF the Raritan Marine Elegance is the top in the market. With something like that you do what you gotta and push the button. Ta Da! I'm tempted to look into one myself.

Give her a shout as a pm unless she sees this and responds. I would not do anything to change our sanitation system without consulting her.

Have fun,
Rich

[sarafina]

We installed an after market macerator on an older manual head when we added the tank. Worked fine but you still have to coach the ignorant about using 3 sheets of tp only at a time!

[peghall]

You rang??? <g>

I'm not a fan of installing a macerator pump inline after a manual toilet...'cuz macerator pumps move about 12 gal/min, so you'd have be a very fast pumper to keep up...if you don't, you can have a back up. Besides, it's not necessary....'cuz any manual toilet that's working anywhere near factory spec can swallow solid waste...the stuff is at least 75% liquid to start with and breaks up in the pump. Adding a pint or so water to the bowl with a cup will not only help, but also greatly reduce skid marks and therefore the amount of water needed to erase 'em. And any toilet that's working anywhere near factory spec can also swallow quick-dissolve TP with no problem. In fact, even an overload of the quick-dissolve stuff is no cause for panic and pipe wrenches, 'cuz it'll dissolve on its own in an hour or two at most.

You don't have to spend the money for "marine/rv" TP...it's just very cheap almost-dissolves-in-your-hand-TP that you can find at the grocery or Sams or Costco for half the price or less. If you're in any doubt about whether any TP is suitable for use aboard, tear off a sheet and put it in a jar of water...come back in an hour or two and stir the water. If it's milkly and all you see is snow, bingo--you've found the same TP the marine/rv merchants are packaging. But if it's still an intact, or mostly intact, sheet, keep testing.

You can actually accomplish at least as much by replacing the joker valve in the toilet annually as you can by installing a macerator pump...'cuz it's the joker valve that creates the vacuum that sucks the waste out of the bowl and pushes it down the discharge line.

[HopCar]

Ditto to what Peggie said and no you could not pump #1 through the macerator pump with out turning it on. There is a rubber impeller behind the chopper blades in a macerator pump that would block the flow.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Flush early. Flush often.

Pics to follow...........

[witchcraft]

We live aboard full time for nine years now. Our manual head has been in place since we replaced when we purchased the boat. Although we have a stock of replacement bits...we have never so much as had to replace the joker valve. No problems with plugging, backing up or so on. No macerator pump either.
Fair Winds

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Flush early. Flush often.

Pics to follow...........

no that's OK

[Hudson Force]

I've heard of toilet paper clogs, but over the forty years we've lived aboard, much of that time with our two children, we've never had such an event. All are waste moves directly to holding tanks from our two Raritan PHII manual heads through about four feet of hose that maintains the uniform diameter from the head effluent and without a macerator. I do find that I need to replace the hoses at approximately five year intervals due to the bulid up of scale deposited inside the hoses and at these times I soak some of the head parts in an acid solution to remove this same scale. I would expect any restricted passage from the head to the holding tank might be due to scaling deposits rather than the fault of the toilet paper.

[peghall]

A cupful of undiluted distilled white vinegar (WHITE vinegar, not cider) flushed through the system weekly--that's weekly, not "every few months"...not "a couple times a year"...WEEKLY--will prevent the mineral buildup in the hoses. Flush it ALL the way through, don't leave it sitting in the bowl or the pump. Rinse after an hour.

[Cheechako]

fill the bowl with as much water as your particular head will do before #2. Then it all goes down well.