When duty calls

[Jane]

Seriously considering adding an electric toilet with macerator etc. Really not interested in composting or other alternatives. But prices for the electric toilet/macerator range from about $600 to $1000 and it’s hard to tell what makes the more expensive versions worth the money. Any thoughts, experiences?

[Catigale]

Jane - whats is your expected venues of sailing - how long will you be out, how many souls will be on board, and will you have access to pump out?

Inland, you aren't allowed to pump out #2 in most every place and even if its allowed its rude to do it into a lake of course.

Offshore, you generally have to be 3 miles offshore to pump out #2, #1 is okay closer in.

[Wayne nicol]

i am in the process of installing a Jabsco manual twist n' loc toilet, with macerator.
with a 7 gal salt water flush tank and a 5 gal black water holding tank.
the bigger salt water tank is because it will also supply the galley. and its what fitted in the available space.
the salt water fill is on the deck, and the black water thru hull is ABOVE the water line.
i am real nervous about having holes below the waterline!!

[Russ]

I would be curious why you are looking for electric toilet with a holding tank.

I wasn't keen on the portapotty for the Mac, but have learned it is a reasonable solution for our size boats.

--Russ

[Three Gypsies]

We have a jumbo size porta-potty . Large flush water tank and a 5 gallon holding tank . It has served us well . It did a great job the 8 months we lived aboard .

[mastreb]

I would be curious why you are looking for electric toilet with a holding tank.

I wasn't keen on the portapotty for the Mac, but have learned it is a reasonable solution for our size boats.

--Russ

Concur. Portapotties kind of suck to deal with, but then so does every other kind of marine head, and these break in less complicated ways. Dealing with the repair of sewage systems is just not ever going to be something I do. With a family of five aboard for up to two weeks, it's served us just fine.

[kmclemore]

I would be curious why you are looking for electric toilet with a holding tank.

I wasn't keen on the portapotty for the Mac, but have learned it is a reasonable solution for our size boats.

--Russ

Concur. Portapotties kind of suck to deal with, but then so does every other kind of marine head, and these break in less complicated ways. Dealing with the repair of sewage systems is just not ever going to be something I do. With a family of five aboard for up to two weeks, it's served us just fine.

Agree. I prefer the porta-potty to any other more permanent solution since it can be completely cleaned to remove any smells. However, a porta-potty is not legal in some areas anymore - see other discussions on the board for more on that.

[March]

I started with a porta-potty but switched to a compost toilet last year. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to test it fully: five days on the lake, with only two people aboard. I was unpleasantly surprised that it wasn't as odorless as i expected it to be. In retrospect, there were two major errors that will be soon corrected:

1) the compost mixture (based on coconut husks) was probably too "dry". I didn't fill the tank all the way to the top, which made it hard for some of the poop to get buried underneath.
2) the micro-fan i Installed (a computer fan connected to its independent 9v battery) must have been too small.

I will install a 2000 Nicro-vent on top of the head. Hopefully, that will suck out all the odors.

[Y.B.Normal]

I'm very happy with my Nature's Head composting head, but you do have to make sure the composting material (I use Peat moss) has enough moisture. I've had no problems with any odors. I looked at the alternatives and didn't like them (holding tank, larger Port-A-Potti with pump-out, etc.). I keep my boat in an area without a lot of marinas and finding pump out stations is a real pain, plus I didn't want the hassle of finding pump out stations when I was in the North Channel (Lake Huron). The Nature's Head is legal in the US and Canada, in fact, I believe, both Coast Guards use them on some of their boats in the Great Lakes. I know for a fact the USCG does.

K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple, Sir

Dale

[March]

Y.B. Normal wrote
K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple, Sir

You mean, Keep it Simple, S***er? Got it.

[Jane]

Appreciate the remarks about non-electric alternatives and other inquiries. Still, I really would like any info somebody might have about my question, …prices for the electric toilet/macerator range from about $600 to $1000 and it’s hard to tell what makes the more expensive versions worth the money. Any thoughts, experiences?

[March]

Sorry, Jane. Everybody is trying to be as helpful as possible and they address what they know best: their personal experience with their personal marine toilets.

From the sparse responses to your specific questions, one would surmise that not many people have electric toilets with macerators, and even less have installed a two toilets, one cheaper and one more expensive, in order to be able to compare and expound on the difference thereof.

[Herschel]

I have a 1998 26X. The PO, who happened to sail on Lake St. Clair, installed an electric Newport Macerating toilet with a 13-gal holding tank. The pump-out fitting is on the deck level above the head on the STBD side. He put a through hull fitting/valve under the dinette area for flush water inlet. The pedal has two positions: UP for pumping in flush water and DOWN for flushing into the holding tank. There is no Y-valve due to anticipated use on the Great Lakes. I have used the boat, which I purchased in 2003, five years old, for eleven years now. During that time, I have found the toilet to very functional and desirable. I operate almost exclusively on inner lakes and rivers in Florida. I found keeping the inlet water valve a little leaky at high speeds, so I just shut it down and used the head sink water (I have two 9-gal fresh water tanks on board) to provide flushing water. I generally cautioned quests (especially little ones) not to use too much TP at a time (even special marine/RV TP). It would stop up if too much TP got put in. I set up a waste "basket" inside the sink door for non marine/RV designed "paper" products. Everything worked like a charm for about 10 years then the flush connection on the pedal failed. I since found out the company had gone out of business, and my marina tech was a little too intimidate at the idea of exploring the problem, so I am with a No. 1 use only toilet at this point. For reasons that are a little vague, putting the pedal in the UP "intake" position will allow liquid effluent to pass into the holding tank. I plan to dig into a permanent solution the next time I take the boat out of the water for an extended period of time. All in all, I like the idea of an electric toilet. It works for me in the area where I operate. Is this TMI?

[Jane]

Herschel, greatly appreciate the feedback. Hope you post more info when you're able to work on fixing the problem you described. Does your set-up have some sort of tank level monitor or how do you determine when it's time to pump out? These electric systems seem pricey but with features I'm looking for. Just can't figure out what the difference is between a $600 macerating toilet and one almost twice that much -J.

[Catigale]

You can put in a portapottie plus macerator for about 200 USD plus plumbing. This gives you the ability to both store and pump out

You can use this legally on the Great Lakes if you have a provision to lock out the pump out positively.