Pump in vented loop needed for direct to sea pee

[wgerstmyer]

We are installing a desiccating (aka “composting”) toilet on our cruiser. We will have a pee container for the rare times we are in a marina. But otherwise our pee (which I understand is sterile once it leaves the body) will go directly into the sea, via a T in the head sink waste line.
The hose will have to rise up, I believe, to get above any heeled-over waterline so I’m wondering about a 12v on-demand pump to sense when there is pee in the line that needs to get pumped over the high bend (where we need a vented loop?) and out to sea. Does anyone have clarifications for me on the above “verbal diagram”? Many thanks

[fourlyons]

If the discharge remains above the waterline, why would you need a vented loop? How would it back siphon? Otherwise it sounds workable, and something I've been considering. I wonder if you will need to have a lockable diverter valve to satisfy the CG.

[wgerstmyer]

The through hull is at the bottom of the boat. A straight hose goes up to the head sink drain. The head sink height is high, above the waterline, so the sink is not a hazard for us sinking. However, the toilet seat and pee diverter is low. To try to pipe it, gravity-wise, to the sink waste line would put the T very low, below the waterline. So therefore I need the pee waste line to go up first before attaching it to the sink drain line. But I do agree that a vent in that upward loop may not be necessary.

[bensolomon]

Sterile or not, that counts as overboard discharge which is illegal for inland waterways. You will need to be able to lock it off. You can urinate off the bow into the water, and you can urinate in the water.....not illegal. We don't make the rules.

Seems to me you will need a small "holding tank" like a sump box with a small, horizontal bilge pump that can empty into your sink drain line, but.....your head will smell like urine due to the connection. The sink drain line isn't a sanitation hose and is quite permeable to odor.

[wgerstmyer]

Great point about the non-sanitation hose. My next thought is to use the existing hose, with vented loop, that the macerator is on. If I connect an intermediate, larger diameter hose big enough to hold one person’s pee, then switching on the macerator should take it overboard.
For the sake of this discussion we will assume we are always 3 miles out. But here in Maine with 4,000 lobstermen out every day with no holding tanks on their boats, reality lies somewhere else.

[peghall]

Simplest, albeit illegal (but no more so than what you want to do) solution: collect urine in the jug included with the "composter," installed according to directions. Empty it into the sink, run water to rinse the sink and sink drain. You can either empty it after each use or wait till it's full. Shower drain, followed by a lot of water is another option another equally illegal option, but no more so than all the jugs that are just poured over the side under cover of darkness.


Understand that I'm not recommending any of the above illegal solutions, only describing them.


--Peggie

[wgerstmyer]

Thanks, but the ideal is not to collect anything.
We’ve had the Little John and Little John with Lady J adapter for years.

[Manateeman]

In Mali, children run behind cows to wash in their pee because water is so valuable.
News flash. Pee is NOT totally sterile.
News flash. Manatee habitat is protected by Federal Law.
Like the yellow flag (ain’t that a hoot) says...
Don’t PEE on ME.
Something like that.
Since science is just an opinion. Forget what we said and enjoy your kiddy litter box without reservations.
The manatees.

[Junglebike]

We plumbed a small 12v pump and a valve from our pee tank to the sink drain. Vastly better than dumping pee into the sink. Fill the tank & when you're in a legal spot just open the valve & pump overboard - takes 30 seconds.

Technically the valve needs to be lockable as I understand it. I'm sure I could rig something up if I needed to but nobody's bothered us about it to date.

[wgerstmyer]

Yes, the world suddenly is different, authorities say, once you are 3 miles out.
Yes, I agree that pee is not 100% sterile. I have read that there are trace amounts of bacteria (just like there are trace amounts of bacteria on and in every part of our body) and other substances like sodium, etc. Could you point me to a link that portrays our pee as more dangerous to the seas than this suggests? Thanks

[wgerstmyer]

Jungle bike,
Thanks, I appreciate that a holding tank has its merits as does the Y valve. I think we’ll avoid putting any pee in contact with non-sanitary hoses (as mentioned in a response above, they are likely to collect odors over time) and we have a sanitary hose through hull in the piping of our system already so that seems to be a no-brainer.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by wgerstmyer

Could you point me to a link that portrays our pee as more dangerous to the seas than this suggests? Thanks

The pee from a small number of cruisers on one yacht is likely inconsequential.

The pee from many cruisers in an anchorage or from a commercial luxury cruiser might be a different matter. I doubt that the commercial luxury cruisers return their sewage to shore facilities.

Remember that Ayurvedic traditional medicine has long had a place for imbibing a glass of the golden liquor each morning, preferably donated from a healthy teenager IIRC. Reported to be very calming.

Teenage hormones! Elixir of youth.

https://www.winchesterhospital.org/h...icle?id=161688

https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-be...drinking-urine

https://www.healthline.com/health/drinking-urine#safety

[wgerstmyer]

I wish people would read. We are rarely at docks (1 day out of 110 days last summer and that was only because we arrived too late to use the pump out). We are typically anchoring and in remote places. Our original questions were about the layout / diagram and that is where people could be helpful. Thanks

[Chotu]

It’s early. Barely comprehending the thread. But going to throw an idea out there anyway. Would a check valve be appropriate?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

Since science is just an opinion. ....

Science is study based on data collection. The scientist's conclusions include opinion based on data.