Jump to content

Cost of pump out toilet installation


tommyleyland

Featured Posts

Hi,

I'm looking at a boat to buy which I love, but the toilet is a cassette toilet. Does anyone know how easy/expensive it is to get the whole system installed professionally?

The biggest hurdle is finding the space for the tank. Normally on a narrowboat there is no spare space, so if you want to fit a tank it has to be at the expense of something else. With a "dump through" pump out system that tank has to be under the toilet so typically, such a boat would have the tank extending from the bathroom to under the bed, but that presumes the bedroom is adjacent to the bathroom. If the tank is to be remote, that means you need a vacuum flush system etc, which to my mind adds to much complication and you will be forever worrying about it getting blocked and/or getting your hands dirty when it does!

 

If the tank is not centralised laterally on the boat, according to whether it is full or empty, the boat will list significantly.

 

I would recommend either getting a boat with pump out already fitted, or getting used to the idea of taking your poo for walkies to the elsan point every couple of days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The biggest hurdle is finding the space for the tank. Normally on a narrowboat there is no spare space, so if you want to fit a tank it has to be at the expense of something else. With a "dump through" pump out system that tank has to be under the toilet so typically, such a boat would have the tank extending from the bathroom to under the bed, but that presumes the bedroom is adjacent to the bathroom. If the tank is to be remote, that means you need a vacuum flush system etc, which to my mind adds to much complication and you will be forever worrying about it getting blocked and/or getting your hands dirty when it does!

 

If the tank is not centralised laterally on the boat, according to whether it is full or empty, the boat will list significantly.

 

I would recommend either getting a boat with pump out already fitted, or getting used to the idea of taking your poo for walkies to the elsan point every couple of days.

 

So it wouldn't really be an option?

The bedroom is next to the toilet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not easy to say. Biggest unknown is finding space for the tank. This might be easy or might be really complicated.

Quite often the tank goes half in the bathroom, and then extends into the next room either under a bed or a dinette.

A pumpout needs a nice big tank.A pumpout with a small tank is even worse than a cassette system.

If you plan to liveaboard then a "dump through" is the best type of pumpout, but gives less options as to where the tank can go.

 

.............Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

I'm looking at a boat to buy which I love, but the toilet is a cassette toilet. Does anyone know how easy/expensive it is to get the whole system installed professionally?

 

We have just sold our NB, it was originally fitted with a pump-out but was changed to cassette ( a much, much better system) and the new owner is planning on putting it back to a PO. They have priced up the components and they come to just over £1000, then you have to add fitting, changing the wardrobes, bed & so on, and that was with a boat that was originally built 'around' a PO tank / system

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So it wouldn't really be an option?

The bedroom is next to the toilet.

Anything is an option, it just depends on whether it is worth the hassle and expense. IMO it's probably not, but then I haven't seen the boat nor know how desperate you are to have that specific boat with PO!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dont forget that part of the "cost" is mopping up when a pipe bursts

 

Or when you cannot empty it because the local pump-out machine is frozen up.

 

 

Has anyone has it done before? A rough idea the cost including including installation would be handy, obviously that's if it can be fitted.

 

Everyone I know (apart from the ones who have bought our boat) have gone 'the other way'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.............. especially as we'll be continuously moving.

 

Not in the winter you wont.

 

Although C&RT do very little maintenance these days they do have a Winter stoppage programme - you will need to be very careful to ensure that you don't get trapped between two locks with no services in between.

 

When the canal freezes you will be going nowhere - a cassette can be taken out and taken along the towpath on a trolley and emptied, with a pump-out you are totally snookered. With a pump-out you need to invest in a porta-potty as well for those times that your tank is full, the pump-out machine is broken, the canal is frozen or just someone has put down something that has blocked our system.

 

You will probably spend more time getting close and personal to your 'waste' with a PO than a cassette. (at least if our friends and neighbours are anything to go by)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a family of 4 on board. We've had casettes from day one...going on 4yrs now.

 

1. We've never smelt it.

2. We have 3 casettes, and we store 2 in the bow.

3. We swop them over every 3 days.

4. After a week, we find an elsan point, or like we do now, pop them into the car, and drive them to our marina, empty them and carry on. (No need to actually move the boat...just to empty the toilet......which can be a real pain.

 

others will tell you otherwise.

 

I met a girl who had a PO. The nozzle came off in the middle of emptying, and sprayed ****** all over the bedroom wall.

I met a lady in Skipton....who said......"I have a leak in my PO piping."

I met a guy in Leeds...he had to travel down 5 locks from his mooring, to empty his PO and 5 locks back up again.

Have a friend with a PO...he has had to clear his macerator 3 times...and yesterday his electrics had a fault, and his macerator wont work either till his elecs are fixed. A casette doesn't rely on elecs.

 

 

no thanks.

Edited by DeanS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Live with the current setup for a while and see how you get on. if capacity is your worry you can always get a spare cassette. Besides i hear some tanks can become a bit wiffy when nearly full. Not nice. Ask the forum why some crews are opting to remove tanks.


We have a family of 4 on board. We've had casettes from day one...going on 4yrs now.

 

1. We've never smelt it.

2. We have 3 casettes, and we store 2 in the bow.

3. We swop them over every 3 days.

4. After a week, we find an elsan point, or like we do now, pop them into the car, and drive them to our marina, empty them and carry on. (No need to actually move the boat...just to empty the toilet......which can be a real pain.

 

others will tell you otherwise.

 

I met a girl who had a PO. The nozzle came off in the middle of emptying, and sprayed ****** all over the bedroom wall.

I met a lady in Skipton....who said......"I have a leak in my PO piping."

I met a guy in Leeds...he had to travel down 5 locks from his mooring, to empty his PO and 5 locks back up again.

Have a friend with a PO...he has had to clear his macerator 3 times...and yesterday his electrics had a fault, and his macerator wont work either till his elecs are fixed. A casette doesn't rely on elecs.

 

 

no thanks.

There ya go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

. ..........I suspect many boaters who are against PO loos have never had one. We live in the modern world !

 

Ian.

 

We have a pump-out on our new boat - "spawn of the devil".

 

Fortunately having two bathrooms / toilets allows us to remove one and simply block off the pipes & install a cassette.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a family of 4 on board. We've had casettes from day one...going on 4yrs now.

 

1. We've never smelt it.

2. We have 3 casettes, and we store 2 in the bow.

3. We swop them over every 3 days.

4. After a week, we find an elsan point, or like we do now, pop them into the car, and drive them to our marina, empty them and carry on. (No need to actually move the boat...just to empty the toilet......which can be a real pain.

 

others will tell you otherwise.

 

I met a girl who had a PO. The nozzle came off in the middle of emptying, and sprayed ****** all over the bedroom wall.

I met a lady in Skipton....who said......"I have a leak in my PO piping."

I met a guy in Leeds...he had to travel down 5 locks from his mooring, to empty his PO and 5 locks back up again.

Have a friend with a PO...he has had to clear his macerator 3 times...and yesterday his electrics had a fault, and his macerator wont work either till his elecs are fixed. A casette doesn't rely on elecs.

 

 

no thanks.

 

That's macerator though, dump through pumpouts have no wiring/electrics and hardly any pipes (just an emptying fitting which is always above the "fluid line" except during emptying - and then its under vacuum, not pressure - and a breather/vent pipe which is also above the fluid line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had dump through pump out and now a macerator pump out with tank under the bed. I prefer the macerator, no smells and no problems of any kind so far. If I do have a problem, I have a cash reserve just to have a professional fix. We use El cheapo loo paper (as recommended) and empty to a pump out pipe that goes to the roof. Simplicity and ease of access were built into the solution, but this was done as part of a full bathroom refurbishment. On its own I guess about £1200 inc of parts and labour.

Edited by NB Lola
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Not in the winter you wont.

 

Although C&RT do very little maintenance these days they do have a Winter stoppage programme - you will need to be very careful to ensure that you don't get trapped between two locks with no services in between.

 

When the canal freezes you will be going nowhere - a cassette can be taken out and taken along the towpath on a trolley and emptied, with a pump-out you are totally snookered. With a pump-out you need to invest in a porta-potty as well for those times that your tank is full, the pump-out machine is broken, the canal is frozen or just someone has put down something that has blocked our system.

 

You will probably spend more time getting close and personal to your 'waste' with a PO than a cassette. (at least if our friends and neighbours are anything to go by)

 

Tommy - PO's aren't all the doom and gloom as described above.

 

We cc and have had no problems finding working facilities or contacting a Pump Out boat, Warren on the GU.

 

Yes we were froze in on two occasions last winter, once for 3 days and once for 2 days and yes it was a mild winter. Added to this a total of about 5 -7 days (not all at once) where we didn't feel safe in moving due to high winds.

 

We've yet to find ourselves in need of bringing the porta pottie out of it's box which is stored in the engine bay.

 

It took us some monitoring, but we now know that our tank lasts us between 30 - 40 days, depending if we have overnight company or not.

 

No need to walk down muddy wet tow paths with full poo containers to empty contents of cassettes at what I hear pretty grimy (in some cases) emptying points

 

But really both systems work, it boils down to which you prefer really. We spend about £150 a year in Pump Outs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a layout similar to what you describe.

 

Tank under the bed and a macerator toilet in the bathroom. We had a cassette on our last boat, and personally the novelty of taking the tank for a walk and emptying often with a free splash-back from the elsan point wore off rapidly.

 

We are happy with the pump out - others aren't that's freedom of choice in action...

 

With regard to components and rough estimate of prices..

 

Toilet (macerator type to pump waste into the tank) £500-£600

Tank £100-£150

Hoses required : toilet - tank, tank - pumpout fitting, tank ventilation. £100 ish for good quality hose

 

Apart from those bits all that is required is a 12V supply to toilet and a cold water supply as well.

 

Pump out costs are normally £14-£16 depending on where you go.

 

We have a fairly large tank which is about the same size as a single bed by about 2 foot deep, and as it's under the bed we don't notice any boat listing when its full as it's practically on the centreline of the boat.

Edited by Silebyman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course a well-maintained non-pumpout system can function better than a poorly maintained PO system, particularly if used by indisciplined users who put things down it that the God of pump outs never intended.

After 4 years of lugging heavy suitcases of poo come rain or shine to emptying places which were occasionally disgusting, I now have a beautiful flushing toilet that is just shear luxury. I keep the old invention-of-the-devil at home in case of emergency.

I would strongly recommend that you try out cassette loos, drop POs, and flush POs and decide from practical experience which suits you best.

The argument I find hardest to understand is that of saving money. Given the enormous costs of running a boat, paying for a pumpout is drop in ... the ocean.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.