"Sea Smart" toilet system sanitizer?

[PaintedKite]

Does anyone have experience with this system for sanitizing the entire water system of a marine toilet: https://www.seasmartmarine.co.uk/index.html?

It seems to have been around for 10 years or so, but I can't find many reviews, and a search for "SeaSmart" turns-up nothing here on CF.

This system injects a chemical sanitizing agent into the raw flushing water, right at the thru-hull fitting. It does this with a battery powered control unit that drives a metering pump, which delivers the chemical agent through a catheter-like tube. The idea, then, is that the pipes and tank remain free of microorganisms. This stops the portion of head system odors that come from the water side.

Sounds like a novel idea! And, as I say, since they've been around a while, they MUST have some satisfied users.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueler...?

[tkeithlu]

Stand by, Painted Kite. Peggy Hall, the Princess of Poop and resident expert on all things smelly and post-intestinal, will be with you shortly. You hope.

[peghall]

It's a somewhat more sophisticated version of the inline chemical devices that have been around forever. One version flushed the toilet automatically every few hours when no one is aboard...they advised putting a y-valve in the toilet discharge to allow the flushes to go directly overboard to avoid filling up the holding tank with flush water.


Most of 'em had refillable/replaceable chemical cartridges--a messy job that distributed blue dye everywhere...they were also expensive. None of them actually work very well, but the worst thing about them--and this one too--is that the "critter" killing chemical also kills the good bacteria in a properly maintained holding tank. (They claim that the bacteria in urine and fecal "neutralize" their disinfectant. NOT saying that's impossible, but it's definitely a new one to me!)



If that weren't enough to convince you that you don't need this, the price should....at today's rate of exchange they range from $130-$190--and include a version for use in toilets that use onboard freshwater (why would you need it?) and chemical refills are $30.



That's my $0.02 worth anyway...but it's your boat and your money.



--Peggie

[PaintedKite]

Thank you, Peghall! I suspected as much.

With no unicorns likely to happen by, we plan to convert to freshwater flush (to eliminate seaborne bacteria, etc, building up in the lines, then maybe swapping from the electric flush we have now to a vacuum flush in order to save water.

But that second decision will depend on whether we draw the freshwater flush from our existing potable tanks or install a separate, small flushwater tank. Our black tank is only 12gal (unfortunately), so we sure don't need a ton of flush water.

[We'd looked at doing this same scope of work a couple of years ago, but the supplier couldn't really tell me exactly what he was going to do. So I couldn't say "Yes" to him.]

[peghall]

If by "vacuum flush" you're referring to a VacuFlush toilet, you won't save enough flush water to notice if you use enough to rinse out the duckbill valves and pump bellows...at least 80% of the problems with it are a result of using too little water.



What you really need is a larger holding tank...and Ronco Plastic is your best source. They make TOP quality thick-walled water and waste tanks for a very reasonable price and have more than 400 shapes and sizes, over 100 of which are non-rectangular, and they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank. There are retailers who sell Ronco tanks, but Ronco sells direct for a much lower price...and they're great to work with. Their current marine catalog is here https://ronco-plastics.com/product/w...-holding-tank/ However most people find their previous catalog a lot easier to search https://ronco-plastics.com/product/w...-holding-tank/



I'll be glad to help you sort out how to find a good location for it and spec out the fittings locations.


--Peggie

[PaintedKite]

Peggie, you're a gem! It's a pretty simple tank arrangement ... just awfully small. It's mounted in the outboard of the shower stall. Fortunately, the shower's huge, so there's room to expand. Of course, I'll need to build a new door/box to cover a bigger tank. Here are some pix of the tank in-situ (hope this works):


It's 21"w x 21"h x 8"d. I'll go to Ronco right away and see what they've got.

[peghall]

Glad to be of help. You're welcome to give me a shout via email if you'd like some one-on-one help with this project.


--Peggie