Sewage treatment

[jmcdboater]

Want to have two heads on a 42' powerboat set up on a sani-flush or Lectra-San sewage treatment system. Are these two the only options? How difficult to install? I'm about a 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 for a do-it-yourselfer, so I'm not intimidated by trying it myself...... Or isn't better left to a professional? How muchto purchase/install? Do I need two systems, or can run two heads into one?

Thanks a bunch.......

[bobconnie]

Im 6ft2 240 lbs and have installed Lectra-Scan-San units on two vessels 1 42 ft sail boat and a 44 ft power boat. both were hooked to two heads. and were pretty easy to install if ya have the room to mount the unit properly as per the guide lines from the Makers. I had no problems with either installation ! Just this old guys 2 cents

[Astral Blue]

The LectraSan is very easy to install. It is roughly the size of a group 29 battery and can be connected to either an above-the-waterline or below-the-waterline thru hull for discharge. As long as the two toilets are within six feet of the LectraSan unit, one unit will easily serve two heads. I've seen installations further than 6 feet apart; it just depends on the pump. The LectraSan does not have a pump itself; it is simply a macerator and treatment device. Make sure your pump can pump the waste through it and out of the thru hull.

Just remember, you will not be able to use the LectraSan unit in fresh water, unless you have an external supply of salt water. Some parts of Puget Sound also have low salinity levels in the ocean; and people with Lectra San units have been unable to successfully treat waste. I would recommend PuraSan over LectraSan, as it uses chlorine tablets to treat the waste instead of electrolysis.

As far as you abilities are concerned, someone with a 6.5/10 knowledge base should have very few concerns about installation. The process is straightforward; and the plumbing is going to be the most difficult part if your space is limited.

Best of luck! Hope this helps.

[jmcdboater]

Astral Blue- Hello!
My wife & I spent five years enjoying the CA delta out of Sacramento a decade ago, best five years of my life!!! We're going to live aboard in five years in the Delta when I retire. I'll keep my eyes out for you......

Thanks for the reply,
Jim

[Astral Blue]

Hi Jim... I'm at Hidden Harbor Marina, where Steamboat Slough and the Sacramento Deep Water Channel meet. The Delta is a great place to be at. Feel free to drop me a PM when you're around.

[HopCar]

The folks at Raritan are super nice. If you have any questions about installing their Electra Scan, they're glad to help. If you are going to buy a new one, I'd love the chance to quote on it.

[HopCar]

The Electra Scan by Raritan is a newer version of their Lectra San. It uses less power than the Lectra San. They both work by breaking down salt in seawater to get clorine which steralizes the "stuff". To use it in fresh or brackish water you need to hook a brine tank to it. Raritan also makes the Purasan that is designed for fresh or brackish water. It uses clorine tablets to do the work.

[jmcdboater]

Thanks for the clarification... Will certainly be in touch when I'm buying... If my two heads are 30' apart, can I use an auxiliary pump so I only need one system?

[HopCar]

I've never been asked that, I'm not sure. My gut feeling is that thirty feet of hose will hold a lot of water and offers a lot of opportunities for clogs to form. I think you'd be asking for problems. Don't forget you don't want sewage sitting in the hose. You want to flush long enough that the black water has all moved into the treatment device. Call Dale Weatherstone at Raritan's Ft. Lauderdale warehouse and ask him.

[jmcdboater]

Will do that, HopCar, thanks a bunch.

[Morrissey]

Originally Posted by jmcdboater

Will do that, HopCar, thanks a bunch.

I'll be interested to hear what you learn, as potential clogs are best avoided! I have just a small holding tank in bow which takes two heads as well as two showers and a washing machine, if used. There is currently a macerator pump to a through hull.

I am contemplating installing one or more larger tank in the stern and use the macerator pump to transfer stuff to them. I'll have a bit over 30 ft of 'transfer' hose. Then I'd install an Electra Scan unit in the stern, to end up with something like the "Hold 'n Treat" units, but with a lot larger storage capacity. Any thoughts on this set-up?

An alternative I'm toying with is to separate the grey water, so that the shower and washer sumps pump to the new aft tanks. Then add a "Hold 'n Treat" to the existing waste tank but use this system for sewerage only. One problem with this alternative is that I would also have to add greywater treatment of some kind as well.

[ronbo1]

Greywater treatment? Why, is that mandated in Australia?

[HopCar]

I'm with ronbo1 on this one. I've never heard of a requirement to treat grey water. If there is no local law requiring it, I'd plumb the shower, washing machine and sinks directly overboard.

[Morrissey]

Thanks for comments on grey water. Attached is a link to where I think things are heading (but each State is a bit different). EPA South Australia :: Grey water (marine waters)

It wont be long before a Code of Practice like this becomes mandatory, and I'd like to plan for it now.

But in any event I expect to spend a lot of time in no discharge zones, of which Queensland seems to have an enormous number. So large holding tankage will be needed. They even rate systems like Electra Scan as only Grade C, with more limited discharge rules than full treatment Grade A systems. I've yet to check those out, but dont think I can fit in a 1200 mm high aeration tank of at least 250 litre capacity.