MacGregorSailors.com

I have been looking into upgrading the "facilities" in order to get the family out on extended stays, with the admiral onboard. In my searching, I came across the Sealand Marine Traveler Head (711-M28) http://www.dometicsanitation.com/Intern ... M28-toilet which has a China bowl, uses no power and hooks in to your existing pressure water system.

It's got a 9-gallon capacity and can be found for about $400 US, plus shipping. It seems like a pretty good fit for my - I think I simply have to remove the shelf where the existing head resides and stick the Marine Traveler in place and hook up the water. I think the 20" by 20" footprint would fit. I'd still have to connect the pumpout and vent fittings (but I should do that even if I just keep the porta potti).

I've seen a posting from a owner that put one in a number of years back, but wonder if anyone else had, or had considered it and gone another route. Here are some of my concerns:
- My current fresh water tank is only 7.5 gallons, should I put in a bigger one to accommodate the additional water usage?
- Is 9-gallons truly sufficient for 4 to 5 days (with careful use)? Then again, I could always connect a 2nd holding tank via macerator pump if capacity is an issue.
- Is it a bad idea to connect a single water source to sinks and toilet?
- Is this worth the $ for what is essentially a glorified potti?

I've looked at the composting heads, but don't want to got that route due to the dealing with liquids part.
I also looked at a Jabsco manual flush, but the fellow at the local store seemed to think they need a through-hull for the intake water and may use more water per use.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Have you checked out "Dry Flush" toilets? We have one and are quite impressed with it...well, as much as someone can be impressed with a toilet!

This is probably not what you want to hear but water supply, macerator, holding tank etc is a lot of work and things to go wrong. I installed a Composting toilet 2 months ago and could not be happier. Can I ask what your concern is with the liquids? We just got back today from a few days out and I just emptied the gallon jug that we filled under one of our olive trees. If anyone ever asks what is in the jug I am carrying I will say apple juice

Tempus wrote:Have you checked out "Dry Flush" toilets? We have one and are quite impressed with it...well, as much as someone can be impressed with a toilet!

Yes, we've looked into that. It does solve some of the issues and would be quite handy, but I think I prefer not lugging around the waste, however nicely wrapped. I also do have some reservations about sending the waste to landfill and not a sewage treatment facility.

Innervations wrote:This is probably not what you want to hear but water supply, macerator, holding tank etc is a lot of work and things to go wrong. I installed a Composting toilet 2 months ago and could not be happier. Can I ask what your concern is with the liquids?

I agree that simple is better. The Marine Traveller setup appears to be as simple as a flush system can be as it has few moving parts, no macerator (unless you install one), taps into an existing pressure water system, no electrical hook up, etc.

I love the idea of the composting toilet. But just don't want to deal with the liquids. I don't want to send them overboard, which I would. I don't want to cart them around (or forget to do it), cart the jug back, etc. I want (or think I want) something that's close to a home toilet, simple to operate, little maintenance and involves little or no manual handling.

taime1 wrote:
But just don't want to deal with the liquids. I don't want to send them overboard, which I would.

Why not? In the big scheme of things, a gallon of urine dumped overboard is a drop in an ocean, literally. It's not poisonous, or hazardous, or polluting.

I just received a natures head composting toilet but I still have to install it. I figured thats the way to go after a lot of research. You can legally dump the urine anywhere and the other composting part is suppose to last 2 people for approx 2 months using it everyday and then when you do dump it its mostly dirt anyway so thats the way I went. Either way you are going to have to deal with something sometime (Is that a song?...lol)

Hy tony
with the natures head you nead a fan all time working? Correct?

everyone is different with differing needs/desires- and dealing with poop can be a tough one
i had the std porta pottie- and after dealing with my step mother inlaw's poop on a few trips we did, i had had enough, so i replumbed the boat.
a 16 gallon fresh water tank, a 7 gallon salt water tank, and a 5 gal black water tank.
the two clean water tanks have deck fills- so i can fill the salt water any time.
the black water has a mascerator and a pump out about a foot above the waterline.- with a proper sea cock on it- i dont like any holes below the waterline!!-i only pump out underway, and the bvow spray keeps everything nice and clean.
where we live, we dont have sani pump outs, so are allowed to empty overboard-
personally- and i know this is a contentious issue, i see no difference between mascerating and pumping overboard, when thats exactly what our sewer plants do anyway- they all have an outfall pipe- and in fact i bet the outfalls have a lot more chemicals etc in them, anyway....my system works very well and we just love having a proper flush system on board- we used a jabsco manual flush.
i will be running a salt water manual faucet from the salt water tank- hence the the slightly larger size- so i have the salt water option in the sink, or for cooking, if i need to.
its super easy to refill from the deck with a small pail on a light rope,

but everybody is different, and the regs are different everywhere

cheers wayne

kurz wrote:Hy tony
with the natures head you nead a fan all time working? Correct?

We have the Airhead, which is very similar to the Natures Head. Not sure about the Natures Head, but the Airhead comes with a very low draw vent fan. It didn't come with an on/off switch, so I wired one in. I installed the fan over my Nicrovent solar exhaust fan, which is installed in the head window. When the solar fan is running, I leave the head vent fan off. I can turn it on when I want or need to.

I didn't install a fan with my C-head because the manufacturer said try it without first and see if it is needed. There is no smell at all so I am going without a fan.

innervations wrote:I didn't install a fan with my C-head because the manufacturer said try it without first and see if it is needed. There is no smell at all so I am going without a fan.

+1
We also have the C-head without fan and only smell we get is a dirt smell whenever we add another charge of peat moss. My admiral frowned when I told her the price, but let me go ahead and spend the boat bucks. Now she says she doesn't know how we lived without it.

March wrote:

taime1 wrote:
But just don't want to deal with the liquids. I don't want to send them overboard, which I would.

Why not? In the big scheme of things, a gallon of urine dumped overboard is a drop in an ocean, literally. It's not poisonous, or hazardous, or polluting.

That's true. Though I'm never in the ocean, the same principle applies to inshore lakes and rivers. I think the impact of boaters dumping urine into the watersystems is relatively bening, but still, I think I prefer to take back whatever I took with me when I sail. It's also the water I swim in, my kids swim in and I think I should try to avoid swimming in my or other's fluids.

Tony E wrote:You can legally dump the urine anywhere

I think this may not be the case. I'm no expert in anyway, but I think that as soon as you place human waste in any sort of container, it becomes illegal to dump over the side. You can "direct deposit" legally (if not for indecent exposure) but as soon as a receptacle is involved, no matter what type of waster, it becomes illegal. Now, has anyone ever been charged with dumping a jug or cup of pee overboard, doubtful. I think these regs are US-based and they may be different in Canada, either way, I'm not sure and ultimately, it doesn't much matter, I'm just looking for a solution to my #1 and #2 problems.

Wayne nicol wrote:everyone is different with differing needs/desires- and dealing with poop can be a tough one

That's for sure. I had to deal with a frozen septic pipe connecting my house to a black water tank. It cost me $500 to have a company come in and thaw it the first time. The second time I figured I'd save the $450 and rent a steam line for $50 and do it myself. It worked well enough, but I don't need to elaborate on how delightful the odor of steamed human waste from a frozen state really is.

I'm still thinking about what system is simplest and best fit for me - appreciate the comments.

That's correct in the US part of the Great Lakes. Pee in a bottle and dump it over the side - illegal. Stand in the cockpit and pee over the side in full view of God and everybody - ok. Go figure.

taime1 wrote: I think this may not be the case. I'm no expert in anyway, but I think that as soon as you place human waste in any sort of container, it becomes illegal to dump over the side. You can "direct deposit" legally (if not for indecent exposure) but as soon as a receptacle is involved, no matter what type of waster, it becomes illegal. Now, has anyone ever been charged with dumping a jug or cup of pee overboard, doubtful. I think these regs are US-based and they may be different in Canada, either way, I'm not sure and ultimately, it doesn't much matter, I'm just looking for a solution to my #1 and #2 problems.

OK So if all this P is so bad for the Lakes & Oceans , I guess we need to kill Off all the Fish & Mammals that r swimming in them & P,ing & Sh-tting all over the place in their own environment or teach them @ birth to come ashore & dump on us !! , then we r gonna have to kill off all the birds , animals on land that r dumping on us too just to even thing,s up , which means we r now gonna have to go back to cannibalism "Mmmm yes fresh meat" to survive . Because we r also gonna have to burn all living plants , trees & vegetation so as they also do not pollute our predestine & precious World !!
Which leaves us to wonder & ponder on what all our Wonderful Smart Scientist & Engineers done too F__k this up with their Fantastic Ideal,s with Chemicals & other Plans, Processes & Law,s , when before all these Smart Ass,s came along "Mother Nature " had it all Figured out & taken care of ?

Just Saying Crying Out Loud !!

J

I thought that was you I saw out there all alone with a speargun.

Highlander wrote:OK So if all this P is so bad for the Lakes & Oceans , I guess we need to kill Off all the Fish & Mammals that r swimming in them & P,ing & Sh-tting all over the place in their own environment or teach them @ birth to come ashore & dump on us !! , then we r gonna have to kill off all the birds , animals on land that r dumping on us too just to even thing,s up , which means we r now gonna have to go back to cannibalism "Mmmm yes fresh meat" to survive . Because we r also gonna have to burn all living plants , trees & vegetation so as they also do not pollute our predestine & precious World !!
Which leaves us to wonder & ponder on what all our Wonderful Smart Scientist & Engineers done too F__k this up with their Fantastic Ideal,s with Chemicals & other Plans, Processes & Law,s , when before all these Smart Ass,s came along "Mother Nature " had it all Figured out & taken care of ?

Just Saying Crying Out Loud !!

J