Sanity check on toilet plumbing

[JCrespo]

Hi everybody,

I apologize in advance for both my lousy drawing skills and for posting about a subject that has been covered before.

I'm completely new to boat plumbing and even though I've been searching throughout the forum/Web I'm still at a loss on how to proceed.

I am renovating an 80s sailboat and I now realize I haven't taken enough pictures of how things were before I started ripping (almost) everything apart.

The picture attached shows how the bathroom was before and I'd like to ask for your wisdom, help and experience to improve where you guys see fit.

I have a few questions:

1) I assume, considering the layout, that the eletric pump is only for deck discharge and the toilet manual pump is for discharging into the holding tank or out to sea depending on the Y valve position?

2) Contrary to what I've seen in the forum, this layout had no loops whatsoever. Should I consider loops and where?

3) I also have a 3/4" seacock that I can't remember what's for. Could this be for the sink outlet, for example?

Each and every suggestion is welcome and I thank you in advance for all the help! Happy sailing

[Dockhead]

You must have anti-syphon loops. Yikes!

[JCrespo]

Thanks for your reply. Where would you place them and how high?

[Dockhead]

Refer to Nigel Calder's book, and do it exactly to standards, is my advice. If you make a mistake you can sink your boat.

[Nord Sal]

Waste discharge (Tank inlet) should be at top of holding tank!

Water inlet thruhull should be away from waste discharge thruhull to avoid admitting discharged waste.

Vented loop is not required if toilet is installed above the tank inlet and the (heeled) waterline.

[JCrespo]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Refer to Nigel Calder's book, and do it exactly to standards, is my advice. If you make a mistake you can sink your boat.

Got it, thanks.

[JCrespo]

Originally Posted by Nord Sal

Waste discharge (Tank inlet) should be at top of holding tank!

Water inlet thruhull should be away from waste discharge thruhull to avoid admitting discharged waste.

Vented loop is not required if toilet is installed above the tank inlet and the (heeled) waterline.

Thanks. But there's also an inlet required for the bathroom sink tap. There are 3 thru hulls in the bathroom. If one of those is for toilet discharge I wonder what the other two are for?

[peghall]

Answer to question #1
You're assuming correctly, but the electric pump for deck discharge was an idea Jabsco tried in the '70s that didn't last long...and unless a PO has replaced it on your boat, you have a deck fitting that looks like this one that I nicknamed the "Jabsco Poop Shooter."



It was designed to connect the deck pumpout hose to the larger fitting for dockside pumpout...an electric macerator pump sent the tank contents overboard out the smaller one. It worked fine for dockside pumpout, but shooting tank contents out a deck fitting was "problematic" to put it mildly. You had to make absolutely certain that the fitting was on the LEE side of the boat and prayed the wind or even the slightest breeze didn't shift, and anyone on deck had to be very careful to remain upwind of it. Recognizing that this was a problem, Jabsco tried moving the fitting to the hull below the toe rail...that just splattered tank contents all over that side of the boat...Jabsco finally had to give up and discontinue it. I come across one now and then.


--Peggie

[peghall]

Answer to question #1
You're assuming correctly, but the electric pump for deck discharge was an idea Jabsco tried in the '70s that didn't last long...and unless a PO has replaced it on your boat, you have a deck fitting that looks like this one that I nicknamed the "Jabsco Poop Shooter."



It was designed to connect the deck pumpout hose to the larger fitting for dockside pumpout...an electric macerator pump sent the tank contents overboard out the smaller one. It worked fine for dockside pumpout, but shooting tank contents out a deck fitting was "problematic" to put it mildly. You had to make absolutely certain that the fitting was on the LEE side of the boat and prayed the wind or even the slightest breeze didn't shift, and anyone on deck had to be very careful to remain upwind of it. Recognizing that this was a problem, Jabsco tried moving the fitting to the hull below the toe rail, which is where the one in the photo was...that just splattered tank contents all over that side of the boat...Jabsco finally had to give up and discontinue it. I come across one now and then.


--Peggie

[peghall]

2) Contrary to what I've seen in the forum, this layout had no loops whatsoever. Should I consider loops and where?

A vented loop is definitely needed in the toilet intake, but assuming you'll go with a manual toilet, not in the line between the thru-hull and the pump but between the pump and the bowl, which will require replacing the short piece of hose the mfr used to connect them with two hoses long enough to mount it where it belongs...at least 6-8" above waterline AT MAX HEEL, which on most sailboats puts it at 2-3 feet above the bowl. A vented loop is not needed in the toilet discharge line if the toilet ONLY flushes into a tank...one is needed if the toilet will also flush directly overboard. I'd put it immediately after the toilet, before the y-valve. It also needs to be the same height above the bowl.

#3. A 3/4" thu-hull could very well be the sink drain. If so it'll be very close, if not directly below the sink. 3/4" is the right size for toilet flush water intake.

Is your holding tank metal or plastic? If metal, it should be replaced...urine is so corrosive that it can turn even 316 SS into a colander in just a few years.

If you'd like my help in guiding you through what you need to know to end up with a trouble-free, odor-free system send me a PM...I'll be glad to help you.


--Peggie

[JCrespo]

Many thanks Peggie. Knowing that you are an authority in the matter, I really appreciate your guidance!

[JCrespo]

Originally Posted by JCrespo

Hi everybody,



I apologize in advance for both my lousy drawing skills and for posting about a subject that has been covered before.



I'm completely new to boat plumbing and even though I've been searching throughout the forum/Web I'm still at a loss on how to proceed.



I am renovating an 80s sailboat and I now realize I haven't taken enough pictures of how things were before I started ripping (almost) everything apart.



The picture attached shows how the bathroom was before and I'd like to ask for your wisdom, help and experience to improve where you guys see fit.



I have a few questions:



1) I assume, considering the layout, that the eletric pump is only for deck discharge and the toilet manual pump is for discharging into the holding tank or out to sea depending on the Y valve position?



2) Contrary to what I've seen in the forum, this layout had no loops whatsoever. Should I consider loops and where?



3) I also have a 3/4" seacock that I can't remember what's for. Could this be for the sink outlet, for example?



Each and every suggestion is welcome and I thank you in advance for all the help! Happy sailing

Updated diagram of "as is" situation.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by peghall

Answer to question #1
You're assuming correctly, but the electric pump for deck discharge was an idea Jabsco tried in the '70s that didn't last long...and unless a PO has replaced it on your boat, you have a deck fitting that looks like this one that I nicknamed the "Jabsco Poop Shooter." . . .

It looks to me as if the macerator pump ONLY pumps overboard; the deck pumpout seems to be t-ed into the line BEFORE the macerator pump, which would not he a "poop shooter".

I think that's fine except for the lack of vented loop, which is essential unless he's on a motor yacht or catamaran with toilet well above heeled waterline. He says "80's sailboat".


P.S. From the photo it looks like he's got some manky brass fittings in there, maybe a plain galvanized elbow, and some plain plastic unreinforced single-clamped hose. To the OP: good time to replace all the underwater fittings with proper bronze ones (or plastic), and the hoses with proper reinforced double-clamped. Brass underwater fittings, especially the chrome-plated ones, are extremely dangerous because they corrode from the inside, so that you can't see the deterioration until they fail and sink your boat. Underwater fittings and hoses are things you want to do right, fanatically right.