Replacing a pump out toilet

[SarahB]

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

 

As well does anyone have any top places for buying showers, sinks, toilets etc?

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

[romarni123]

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

 

As well does anyone have any top places for buying showers, sinks, toilets etc?

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

We had an old pump out tank where the loo sits on top (VILE) we had it cleaned out and i put a crowbar underneath to see if moved or was welded in ,it just lifted out, with three blokes and loads of swearing.we got our shower and tray from focus because it was shorter than others we had seen.

[Bob the welder]

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

 

As well does anyone have any top places for buying showers, sinks, toilets etc?

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

hi. how big is the tank and is it steel ?will it go out the door or will you need to cut it up .?? bob

[SarahB]

hi. how big is the tank and is it steel ?will it go out the door or will you need to cut it up .?? bob

 

Hi Bob

 

I don't know the answers to those questions just yet! I guess that's probably got to be the start of the investigations eh? I'm going to guess its not that big considering how often it needs to be pumped out

 

Rom - Thanks I'll take a look at Focus. Does your shower fit into a corner or does it have to fit in the central part of the room because of height issues?

 

I possibly have the smallest bathroom in the world so we're thinking about making it walk through to gain more floor space and storage area.

 

Argghh I know this is going to be a job that takes far longer than we're planning!

 

Sarah

[David Schweizer]

I removed the pump out toilet from our boat about five years ago, and replaced it with a standard Porta Potti. The original intention was to install a casstette toilet, but the Porta Potti has ben fine so I saved some money.

 

Your pump out tank will probably have been installed after the boat cabin and doors were completed, so unless someone has undertaken modificatiion since then, it should come out the same way it went in. The main problem you are likely to encounter is that the tank will have a lot of solid residue in it and will be much heavier than an enpty one, it may also be necessary to turn the tank to remove it so mak sure that all openings are securely sealed before maouvering it.

 

The other issue will be blanking off the pump out and ventilation openings in the hull or cabin sides. I made up a steel disc with srew holes that matched those on the skin fitting and sealed this down where the fitting had been located. Of course you could just leave the pump out fitting in place, but you don't want some bright spark removing it or worse still putting a hose in it by mistake, so I wouid remove it and seal the hole.

 

The benifit of removing the pump out was that it gave us a lot more storage space in the back cabin where the tank had been located under the bed.

Edited January 16, 2010 by David Schweizer

[bottle]

SNIP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

 

I am sure you will but think very carefully about getting a smaller calorifier, less hot water available at any one time for showers.

 

Instant hot water is OK for sink or bath use but unlikely to give a satisfactory flow for a shower.

 

Someone will now pop up and say their shower works OK of their instant hot water heater.

[MoominPapa]

Someone will now pop up and say their shower works OK of their instant hot water heater.

Our shower works OK on a Morco instant hot water heater It's not as good as running it from the calorifier (we have one of those too) but it's certainly OK, and much better than running it from a calorifier full of cold water.

 

MP.

[alan_fincher]

Our shower works OK on a Morco instant hot water heater It's not as good as running it from the calorifier (we have one of those too) but it's certainly OK, and much better than running it from a calorifier full of cold water.

 

MP.

Ditto,

 

Exactly so!

[bottle]

See, told you so.

[romarni123]

Hi Bob

 

I don't know the answers to those questions just yet! I guess that's probably got to be the start of the investigations eh? I'm going to guess its not that big considering how often it needs to be pumped out

 

Rom - Thanks I'll take a look at Focus. Does your shower fit into a corner or does it have to fit in the central part of the room because of height issues?

 

I possibly have the smallest bathroom in the world so we're thinking about making it walk through to gain more floor space and storage area.

 

Argghh I know this is going to be a job that takes far longer than we're planning!

 

Sarah

[

From what I remember we built a small platform to put slimeline shower base on and to take shower fittings.O urs is in corner headroom in boat is about 6' 6".You could just make shower if you are stuck for headroom by having three sides ply and a shower door and tray and tiling it .Am sure someone can be more teccy about how to do this with pictures.We have walk through its much better than the small bathroom we had before

[Midnight Rider]

There might be a blindingly obvious answer to this, but why has no one come up with a pump out toilet that can be switched over to cassette when required?

 

Tony

Edited January 16, 2010 by Midnight Rider

[mrsmelly]

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

 

As well does anyone have any top places for buying showers, sinks, toilets etc?

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

 

Wise decision

There are many different types of proper boat toilet out there including pota potti, cassettee, remote cassette, plastic ceramic etc etc suffice to say whatever you buy is a big upgrade from any pump out system. You may have problems getting old tank out that will greatly depend on access to it and what the silly thing is made of.

A smaller slimmer calorifier simply means less storage capacity of hot water and yes you can run a shower quite well enough from an instant water heater.

Try buying domestic bathroom fittings from such as B and Q etc etc as they are cheaper to buy and you have more choice, again this is going to depend on your boat space.

Good luck, its all dooable.........

[TerryH]

I am sure you will but think very carefully about getting a smaller calorifier, less hot water available at any one time for showers.

 

Instant hot water is OK for sink or bath use but unlikely to give a satisfactory flow for a shower.

 

Someone will now pop up and say their shower works OK of their instant hot water heater.

 

Sorry to be a pain, but yes we have instant hot water heater and it's great. However, would also like a calorifier. I am also thinking of fitting out the bathroom. Currently, we have 4 inch deep shower trap which we empty, using pump, once we have finished showering. Are the B & Q shower trays deep enough?

Edited January 16, 2010 by TerryH

[romarni123]

Sorry to be a pain, but yes we have instant hot water heater and it's great. However, would also like a calorifier. I am also thinking of fitting out the bathroom. Currently, we have 4 inch deep shower trap which we empty, using pump, once we have finished showering. Are the B & Q shower trays deep enough?

Just had a look our shower tray is 2ins on the out side it never over flows. we run pump while in the shower

[johnjo]

Hi Bob

 

I don't know the answers to those questions just yet! I guess that's probably got to be the start of the investigations eh? I'm going to guess its not that big considering how often it needs to be pumped out

 

Rom - Thanks I'll take a look at Focus. Does your shower fit into a corner or does it have to fit in the central part of the room because of height issues?

 

I possibly have the smallest bathroom in the world so we're thinking about making it walk through to gain more floor space and storage area.

 

Argghh I know this is going to be a job that takes far longer than we're planning!

 

Sarah

 

Denham Yatch Marina in Uxbridge Middlesex have a corner shower enclosure [Quadrant] with sliding doors, height is 1600 plus the height of the tray [£335]. They have a base which is 800 x 800 [£135]

 

I have some pics somewhere if you need them.

[andywatson]

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

 

As well does anyone have any top places for buying showers, sinks, toilets etc?

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

 

A large tank can be got out of the boat despite limited access/egress if you cut it up in situ . I have seen a large P/O tank cut up into manageable segments, with a grinder, in the boat over a couple of days.

This one was only a couple of years old so there wasn't too much (how do I put this)... colateral splattering..

If you are going to attempt this with an old tank I'd get ready to clean up yourself and bathroom up.

 

You could cut a big access hatch to the tank at the start of this project then clean out as much as possible first.

[RobinJ]

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

You need to pump it out first (obviously), but if it is a spearate tank, raising the end fathest from the hull on some blocks temporary before pumping out might make it safer and easier to lift out afterwards!

[SarahB]

Thanks everyone! It's definitely going to happen at some point soon. I dislike the bathroom so much now that it's got to be an improvement!!

 

Any suggestions for where to buy a new toilet so I can get an idea of sizes, choice and costs?

 

I have a feeling that the hip bath will possibly be out be the weekend...

 

Thanks again

 

Sarah

[Midnight Rider]

There might be a blindingly obvious answer to this, but why has no one come up with a pump out toilet that can be switched over to cassette when required?

 

Tony

Is this a silly question or does no one know the answer?

 

Tony

[MoominPapa]

There might be a blindingly obvious answer to this, but why has no one come up with a pump out toilet that can be switched over to cassette when required?

I think that the successor to the Thetford C200 has this option. (The one that's "only available to caravan/motorhome builders"). Certainly I've read details of at least one somewhere.

 

MP.

 

Edited to add: yep, here it is Thetford clicky. "Waste Pump-Out System: transfers waste from the waste holding tank into the vehicle’s larger waste tank" "For now, the C-250 is only available for manufacturers of caravans and motor homes."

Edited January 18, 2010 by MoominPapa

[ditchcrawler]

A large tank can be got out of the boat despite limited access/egress if you cut it up in situ . I have seen a large P/O tank cut up into manageable segments, with a grinder, in the boat over a couple of days.

This one was only a couple of years old so there wasn't too much (how do I put this)... colateral splattering..

If you are going to attempt this with an old tank I'd get ready to clean up yourself and bathroom up.

 

You could cut a big access hatch to the tank at the start of this project then clean out as much as possible first.

Maybe a jig saw would be a better bet, I know a chap who cut a narrowboat in half to lengthen it with a jig saw.

 

I'm seriously considering ripping out my current bathroom and replacing everything to just bring it in the right century! One of the things I'd love to do is get rid of the pump out but I wondered what sort of issues need to be considered? How easy is it to "rip" out the holding tank or if that is a nightmare what are the alternative?

 

Has anyone been through it (not the holding tank) and have any wise words from experience?

 

As well does anyone have any top places for buying showers, sinks, toilets etc?

 

I'm also looking at replacing the calorifier with something but I'm not sure about the instant water solutions more because I'm not sure where it would go! Is there a sleaker, smaller calorifier available these day rather than my huge lug of a thing taking up about 1/4 of the space in the bathroom at the moment?!?

 

Sorry lots of questions and I'm sure I'll think of more

Could you mount a calorifier some where else, maybe a horizontal one under the bed

[Edders]

Could you mount a calorifier some where else, maybe a horizontal one under the bed

 

We have a 28 gallon calorifier under the bed, which is great in winter when we leave the immersion on overnight. In summer, we only turn the immersion on in the morning for a few hours and the hot water normally lasts all day.

 

Edders

[Midnight Rider]

I think that the successor to the Thetford C200 has this option. (The one that's "only available to caravan/motorhome builders"). Certainly I've read details of at least one somewhere.

 

MP.

 

Edited to add: yep, here it is Thetford clicky. "Waste Pump-Out System: transfers waste from the waste holding tank into the vehicle’s larger waste tank" "For now, the C-250 is only available for manufacturers of caravans and motor homes."

Thanks MP

 

I would have thought that an option of pump out / cassette would have been a winner if possible & as stated poo goes to the cassette & when full you have the option to empty or transfer to the holding tank.

 

Tony

[deletedaccount]

I'd warn against one of those small horizontal calorifiers you can fit in the engine bay. You can barely get a shower out of one before running out of water and it constantly gets colder as the shower progresses. My gf has had one on both boats she's stayed on and hated it.

 

I've got a great big upright one and I'm really happy with it. I'd rather have that+a roof box than crappy half cold showers.

 

Oh, and I'm not sure replacing your toilet with a fancy bucket qualifies as bringing it up to the 21st century :lol: