Lia Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Hi! I have a question which is aimed at permanent liveaboards. I've just moved onto a boat, and worried at how expensive pumping out could become. How often do you have to pump out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Depends how big your tank is (obviously) We have a 75 litre tank - we need to pump out every 3-4 days with 2 of us. Friends have a 600 litre tank - they reckon to get about 3-4 weeks (2 of them) How often will you use the toilet at work / friends / pub ? Buy a porta-potty to give you a couple of days extra for when your tank is full and no pump-out available, or the canal is frozen and you cannot move to the pump-out station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Not live aboard but 2 of us can easily do 3 weeks between pump out. I do carry a porta-potty and have had to use it twice in 14 years. Trouble is we don't know how big your tank is, what sort of toilet, vac flush, macerator or drop through, they all use different amounts of water so does how you use them. Are you at home all day or at work and only onboard overnight." If its yellow let it mellow" will probably increase the time between pump outs by 25% as a lot of the tank is flush water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil. Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Need to know how big your tank is and also type of toilet as some use more water than others. But as a guide for you we have a macerator and a 300 litre tank which lasts 2 of us 15 days although we could stretch this by a couple of days with selective flushing if needed. On that basis 2 pump outs a month at a ballpark figure of 15 pounds a time. If your toilet is a vacu flush or dump through it will last longer as not so much water used in the flush cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Before I started the fit out and had the pumpout toilet in mine lasted around 6-8 weeks, around a 400 litre tank - 1 person. You can get a toilet that has both a cassette and option for a remote tank, this way you'll have best (and worst) of both worlds. I'll see if I can find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightwatch Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 We haven't got an enormous tank, but we liveaboard and reckon every two weeks. Last pump out was a tenner. We have paid £18. £2 for a rinse. We won't be going back there again. Bloomin cheek. CRT pump out cards are about £16. Which is expensive. However, good to have a card in reserve. We also carry a porta loo for 'those times'. Nice to get back onto a toilet sized toilet after using a porta loo. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top cat Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 We go on average 55 -60 person days between pump out but never let the tank get absolutely full. Our tank gives us 5 days notice of being full by making sloshing noises as we move about in the boat. Then when it goes quiet again we need to do something. Our toilet is a macerator type and the flush is timed so the water pressure has an effect on how long we go between pump outs. When the water accumulator looses pressure the tank fills more slowly. Likewise when I replaced the water pump with a slightly lower pressure pump. Top Cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boat&Bikes Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 3 to 4 weeks for two of us. Macerator loo. not sure of tank size. It also gives a slosh noise warning and has a nearly full warning light. Ours also has an adjuster for water level, when we first had boat the bowl was half full prior to use. Having turned it down I estimate a good half litre less used each flush. Tecma loo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loafer Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 About every 4 weeks with 2 of us, or anytime we like because we have our own pump and 2X25 litre containers. We can behave like porta potties or pumpout, at will. We spent about £50 last year on pumping out, largely due to laziness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmr Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 A small pumpout tank combines the worse features of pumpouts and cassettes. We try to use ours carefully and with two people can just about go 6 weeks. I usually pump out every 4 weeks which leaves a good safety margin; a full tank is no fun. I also find the tank can get a bit whiffy as its gets fuller so a 4 week pumpout is about right. If you need to pump out more often than maybe every two weeks then a cassette starts to look attractive. ...............Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markinaboat Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 (edited) We've got a macerator and a 300 Litre tank. Both working and it lasts 30-35 days. I work in old money so measure your tank (L x W x H) in inches. Divide the result by 1728 inches which will give you cubic feet. 1 cubic foot = 6.228 gallons. Edited May 11, 2016 by Markinaboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Hi! I have a question which is aimed at permanent liveaboards. I've just moved onto a boat, and worried at how expensive pumping out could become. How often do you have to pump out? One of the biggest factors (apart from how often you go) is the type of toilet, dump thru can use less water, whilst remote tanks can use more. We've got a macerator and a 300 Litre tank. Both working and it lasts 30-35 days. I work in old money so measure your tank (L x W x H) in inches. Divide the result by 1728 inches which will give you cubic feet. 1 cubic foot = 6.228 gallons. Metric is alot easier to work out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStringPudding Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Hi! I have a question which is aimed at permanent liveaboards. I've just moved onto a boat, and worried at how expensive pumping out could become. How often do you have to pump out? Currently once every three months. Big tank and not a dump through. When I worked full time it could easily last 6 months or longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettie Boo Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 two of us - Very large tank and we get between 7 - 8 weeks when we first moved on we were getting 14 days and we'd need a pump out, only to discover that the boat had been used for a total of about 17 -20 days a couple of years before we had bought it, the tank had never been emptied so everything in it had solidified and as time went on and it broke down we were getting longer and longer between pump outs, hence 2 & 1/2 years of continuous use we are up to 7 - 8 weeks. We also carry a porta potie "just in case" but have not yet had to dig it out of the engine bay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 (edited) About every 4 weeks with 2 of us, or anytime we like because we have our own pump and 2X25 litre containers. We can behave like porta potties or pumpout, at will. We spent about £50 last year on pumping out, largely due to laziness. Aaaargh! That is the worst of all possible worlds. Self pump out with all the smelly pipe to store. Then pump out into smelly tanks. Then empty the tanks into the Elsan disposal. Mais chacun a son gout, I suppose. Depends how big your tank is (obviously) We have a 75 litre tank - we need to pump out every 3-4 days with 2 of us. Friends have a 600 litre tank - they reckon to get about 3-4 weeks (2 of them) How often will you use the toilet at work / friends / pub ? Buy a porta-potty to give you a couple of days extra for when your tank is full and no pump-out available, or the canal is frozen and you cannot move to the pump-out station. Blimey! We are two too. We empty our portapotti every three or four days. I should go easy on the flush if I were you, Alan. Nick Edited May 12, 2016 by Theo Faulty French spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loafer Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Aaaargh! That is the worst of all possible worlds. Self pump out with all the smelly pipe to store. Then pump out into smelly tanks. Then empty the tanks into the Elsan disposal. Mai chacun a son gout, I suppose. Well I dunno how you do it Theo, but it is the BEST of both worlds when you need it. None of it smells, and it's all stored out of the way under the counter! Even Mrs Loafer doesn't mind getting involved with it. It only needs to be rinsed out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 A useful strategy might include a pump out just before obvious freezing weather so that you don't get frozen in with a full tank, and cruising and taking advantage of cheaper pump-outs not necessarily when the tank is completely full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staarek Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 (edited) 900 Lt tank, 2.5 - 3 months between pump outs. (2 of us) Edited May 12, 2016 by Staarek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lia Posted May 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 So CART places are more expensive? I saw a pump-out advertised for 14, but presumed that was more of the exception? Our toilet is dump-through, not sure how big the tank is, would have to look through the documents again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStringPudding Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 900 Lt tank, 2.5 - 3 months between pump outs. (2 of us) Yup. Sounds about the same as my tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 2 of us . 3 weeks and a few days , 4 weeks if we want to go a bit too near the top of the tank . Tank size 340 ltrs. Mansfield vacuflush. Bunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0atman Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Small tank 27 mandays last boat 90 mandays with own P/O kit I can extend this with 2 jerry cans to 37 mandays but forward planning means tank is usually near empty to half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 2 of us . 3 weeks and a few days , 4 weeks if we want to go a bit too near the top of the tank . Tank size 340 ltrs. Mansfield vacuflush. Bunny Ah! Bunnies are coprophagus so they don't need much storage for poos. N Small tank 27 mandays last boat 90 mandays with own P/O kit I can extend this with 2 jerry cans to 37 mandays but forward planning means tank is usually near empty to half. I hear that mandays use less capacity than womandays. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New to this Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Ok newish to this so going to ask, do you have to pay to empty a portable toilet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Ok newish to this so going to ask, do you have to pay to empty a portable toilet Normally no. I think (in the last 5 years or so) we have had to pay twice. - just at 'private elsan points) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now