Pump-out toilets

[Callista]

Hi all,

 

I need to change my toilet system from the casette toilet to a pump-out due to disability. This is new territory for me so I would appreciate any advice that can be given.

 

 

Many thanks,

Gill.

 

[ditchcrawler]

I have a very simple drop through where the toilet sits on top of the tank. nothing to get blocked or jam up and its easy to see how full the tank is. The pumpout point in on the gunwale so its only a short straight pipe to the tank. This means I can feed a water hose down the pumpout point to the very bottom of the holding tank and give it a good blast every few years. The only downside to this is you have to bee the right side to the bank to get pumped out.

[John V]

The "dump thru" system that ditchcrawler describes is probably the cheapest and easiest system to retrofit providing you can have access to a large enough floor area for a sufficiently large tank.( there is also virtually nothing to go wrong)

If you cannot find the space in the loo for this type and have to go for a macerating toilet that pumps through to a remote tank I would give a vote for a Tecma toilet, Ours has been in operation for about 12 years now and has been very reliable providing fed a regular diet of white vinegar (to prevent scale) We had one major breakdown when a visitor dropped a miniature scent bottle down the loo and then FLUSHED IT !!!

 

ETA to transpose two words

Edited September 18, 2014 by John V

[Kwacker]

On my boat, the tank runs from under the bed at the rear, through a small void area where all the pipework connects then into the toilet, there the "dump-through" loo just sits on top of it. Simple and reliable.

I presume the tank is baffled, as (thankfully) we never hear any sloshing noises. Connections for suction and rinsing are on the edge of the roof.

[Tony Brooks]

As both above AND it requires no electrical supply so unlike other systems you can use it with flat batteries.

 

However the holding tank ideally needs two BIG breathers, one at each end of at least 1" diameter but the larger the better. It also helps a great deal if you can make up a housing to allow the installation of a computer fan in one breather. Thai helps clear smell form the tank before flushing. (I control mine by a pneumatic Push button timed light switch).

 

Personal view is to avoid blue like the plague except the biological stuff from the New Blu Toilet company. Many use Odourlos or similar.

[SamKingfisher]

Don't get a macerator. More trouble than it is worth.

He says, contemplating having to strip his down again

[John V]

Don't get a macerator. More trouble than it is worth.

He says, contemplating having to strip his down again

 

totally different opinion.......

we are liveaboard and as in my post 12 years and the only reason a new pump was needed was due to the visitors perfume bottle that removed bits from both the pump vanes and the macerators blades.

What has been causing yours to go wrong?

[carlt]

totally different opinion.......

we are liveaboard and as in my post 12 years and the only reason a new pump was needed was due to the visitors perfume bottle that removed bits from both the pump vanes and the macerators blades.

What has been causing yours to go wrong?

Could you remove your offensive and infantile signature please?

 

It is childish and uncalled for.

[SamKingfisher]

 

totally different opinion.......

we are liveaboard and as in my post 12 years and the only reason a new pump was needed was due to the visitors perfume bottle that removed bits from both the pump vanes and the macerators blades.

What has been causing yours to go wrong?

People putting stuff down it...

[John V]

People putting stuff down it...

 

 

[Foss62]

Just a quick question,ive just bought a boat with a pump out toilet,whats chemical is safe to go into the tank to keep any smells at bay or is it best left neutral.

Is the blue liquid from portable site loos any good or a bad idea....what a lovely subject for a monday morning

 

Russ

[Tony Brooks]

You have basically two choices.

 

A preservative that does its best to ensure the solids do not break down. It may also be a biocide to kill dangerous organisms. This type is typified by Elsan Blue and usually smells of formaldehyde. In my view they really start to pong within a week in hot weather. This may be or maybe not what they use in site loos.

 

The alternative is to use nothing or to add a product that encourages the aerobic bacteria in the effluent and thereby discourages the anaerobic ones. The anaerobic ones are the ones that cause bad smells as they break the effluent down. For this approach to work well you need two very large tank vents so there is always plenty of oxygen around the effluent for the aerobic bacteria. You also need enough liquid in the tank to submerge any solids. The liquids often contain some form of "detergent" to assist the disintegration of toilet tissue and the bugs will further break the tissue down. If you are using this system you should not use strong cleaning chemicals like Harpic because they could kill the aerobic bugs and leave the smelly anaerobic ones alive.

 

There are a number of substances people use in this system from years, thorough biological washing powders to stuff designed for the system. Just to confuse the matter The New Blu Loo Company who I understand operate site loos sell a product that is the same colour and a very similar perfume to Elasn Blue but is a biological additive.

 

There are a variety of other products like Biomagic and Odourlos plus some that others will undoubtedly list in a short time.

 

One thing to be aware of is if you want to change from the first system to the second you can expect a smelly few weeks while the last traces of the blue are washed form the tank

[Nightwatch]

We use odorlos in our tank. We are not getting the result that we first anticipated. As mentioned above, you have to get rid of any trace of blue before this product works.

 

We recently had a pump out at UCC in Brounston. Thankfully they have a bent pipe on the end of their hose for rinceing and they sprayed the top of the tank for us. This has,so far, improved the action of Odorlos.

 

Time will tell.

 

Tempted to try the bio washing powder. Any opinions.

 

Martyn

[Kendal]

When we first got our boat the holding tank was completely clean as it had never been used before (brand new boat). We started using Biomagic which is, as it's name suggests a biological chemical. The tank was a bit smelly but we persevered hoping that it might take a while to 'work'. After 4 months we gave up and started using Elsan Blue as we just couldn't put up with the pong any longer. Ever since then we have been pong free.

 

It's a shame as I would have rather used something more environmentally friendly, but I'm not prepared to put up with a whiffy boat

Edited November 3, 2014 by Kendal

[OldGoat]

Elsan Blue is nasty stuff and relatively expensive.

It probably won't bother you (after all out of sight, out of mind), but FWIW where I moor the marina had a reed bed system - very eco friendly. However, too many folk started using Blue and it completely killed the system. Result - they now have to have a great big lorry to remove the waste which is classed as hazardous and that is expensive.

 

We use Odorlos which works well until the tank gets 3/4 full, then pongs a bit. From another post here - I now add some yeast as well and that delays the pong for a while.

If the boat is static for any length of time, I find a stir with a 'pointed stick' helps to reduce the smell for a while.

 

 

[Woodstock]

I used odourlos without any problems until a few warm weeks this year when I did notice a smell- but I dont think it was from the tank. I added some more odorlous and have checked that you can use the ecover rim cleaner with biological solutions and you can- and it worked.

 

I think also as we aren't liveaboards, there may have been liquid left in the pipework before the tank, so before leaving the boat- I now always flush with clean water and then leave some ecover and water in the loo- I think this has helped make the pipes less wiffy

 

Other reccomendations, I have heard are biological washing liquid (but wouldn't this foam?), brewers yeast tablets and natural yoghurt. Remember if you go down the biological route, don't use anything like bleach or general cleaning solutions that will kill the enzymes or good bacteria

[Bettie Boo]

We also use Odorlos, and are quite happy with the results. Tank is under the bed in the main bedroom and only faint smells start about 2 days before we need a pump out. OH can't smell a thing and I only get the odd faint whiff.

 

We "think" the contents of our tank had solidified prior to us buying the boat; she hadn't been used for almost a year before we bought her, but had been used the year prior. When we first moved on we were needing a pump out every couple of weeks, happily we are up to 31 - 33 days between pump out now.

 

Ours is fitted with a macerator and has worked fine except for the time "him at the back" forgot and flushed some paper towel (kitchen roll), he removed the loo from the floor, cleaned out the macerator and all has worked well since.

[Boat&Bikes]

As mentioned above do many here dose their ma cerator with white vinegar? If so how much and how often?

[bottle]

Another user of Odourloss , yes we have had the odd whiff usually after a hot spell and the tank is getting near full, just add some more and it goes.

 

Our venting is not big enough but it all works well.

 

 

Edit: fat fingers

Edited November 3, 2014 by bottle

[NBDensie]

We dont use anything and have no major problems with smells - at least we dont now since I replaced a non gas-tight carbon filter housing. We also pour in a cup full of white vinegar and flush shortly before every pumpout. This cleans the bowl and the exit pipe reducing flowback.

[Señor Chris]

Don't forget to make sure there is always water in the bowl to create a water trap like the U bend on a domestic toilet. Before flushing, a good idea is to add sufficient water to enable you to open and close the trap, allowing the solids through before the water level reaches the bottom of the bowl, thus maintaining the water trap and preventing smells inside the boat. On some toilets, lifting the flush lever feeds water into the bowl without operating the trap.

[George94]

Is there a reason to use white vinegar rather than brown?