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New shower room, waste tank in engine bay?


Will Brown

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Hi all,

My partner and I have bought a tiny 30ft cruiser stern narrowboat which we are now living on (we quite like small spaces).

We currently have a toilet room near the stern next to the engine bay which I have an idea to turn into a wet room and install a shower. The floor of the wet room is lower than the cut water level which means a waste tank will be needed for grey water from the shower. I'm thinking of installing a grey water waste tank like those used with caravans in the engine bay (there's plenty of room) which could then be emptied using a standard 12v submersible pump. 

Any advice or suggestions on this idea? Might there be a BSC issue I should be aware of in terms of draining into a tank in my engine bay?

Thanks for any help,

Will

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Why bother with a waste tank, why not just pump the water over the side above the waterline? The base of your wet room will be a sump, put a submersible pump in it and connect to a skin fitting.

try a search on here for wet room, Plenty of threads covering this

 

Edited by Bewildered
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Exactly as they say above. I had a pump in a case with a flow switch (in fact two) and the amount of gunk they collected was hard to imagine. Soap, gel, hair and the like always leave a residue and that ends up in a tank or sump - Yuk!!

I can understand the idea of a wet room - works well in a house whet the floor and walls (should be) solid, but in a small boat of any description you have to be very careful to avoid any flexing which would  lead to leaks under the floor, eventual rot and smells and corrosion. not good. 

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12 hours ago, Will Brown said:

The floor of the wet room is lower than the cut water level which means a waste tank will be needed for grey water from the shower.

All narrowboat shower trays are below the waterline and you'd struggle to find one emptying into a waste tank aboard. Your black water from the head can't go over the side, but the warm soapy stuff from your shower and sink can.

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51 minutes ago, Will Brown said:

Thanks very much for the advice. Indeed a whale gulper with flow switch seems a much more elegant solution, I simply didn't know they existed! There are a few cost effective kits around I see. Now to plan this semi flexible wet room!

Cheers

Forget the flow switch, that’s just something else to go wrong. Switch it on when you need it and off when you’ve finished. It won’t mind running dry for short periods. 

  • Greenie 2
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1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

All narrowboat shower trays are below the waterline and you'd struggle to find one emptying into a waste tank aboard. Your black water from the head can't go over the side, but the warm soapy stuff from your shower and sink can.

Helps to keep the fishys clean, innit?

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2 hours ago, WotEver said:

Forget the flow switch, that’s just something else to go wrong. Switch it on when you need it and off when you’ve finished. It won’t mind running dry for short periods. 

 

2 hours ago, Murflynn said:

WOT WOTEVER SED !!  :cheers:

+ another!

Make sure the strainer is readily accessible. The previous (from-new) owners of our boat recommended cleaning the crud out every 30th shower and that's about right for our usage. 

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