Have You Built or Installed a Marine Head?

[Luna Sea]

I'm guessing in that confined space you will just have room for a basic head. (nothing fancy under it)<br /><br />You'll need to add like a 1 1/2' ball valve to draw seawater in. Save your freshwater.<br /><br />You'll need to add a 6 or 12 gallon holding tank.<br /><br />And add a waste pumpout fitting to the side of the boat. Looks just like a fuel fill. <br /><br />That's the basic setup.<br /><br />Older systems will have a macerator pump that empties the tank overboard, but I think they're illegal now. Maybe not though...<br /><br />Check your state's regs.<br /><br />You may want to get one of those holding tanks that treats the smelly stuff. Look in any marine catalog. Good luck

 

[ThomWV]

Have You Built or Installed a Marine Head?

Have any of you all installed a marine head in a boat that did not previously have one? I am sort of in the planning stage of putting one in our boat. We have a porta potti that is stored in the cabin and while it has seen relatively little use (we follow the old rule that ladies go inside and, with prudence and such decorum as possible under the circumstance, guys go over the side) over the years I was just getting to where a built in unit looked like a good idea. I saw a very interesting picture of one in a magazine (Go Boating, October 2004, p.51) in an article about the WellCraft 252 Coastal.<br /><br />In the pictured arrangement the V-berth has been cut out and a head installed below its height. A hinged lid comes down to cover the cutout box into which the head is mounted and the lid has a chushion on its top to match and become a part of the V-berth when it is down. A very neat way to make use of space and at the same time give a much more stable platform for the head than the porta potti that we have now. So I thought I might try to build in a similar unit in our boat this winter.<br /><br />The thing is I don't know anything at all about marine heads and the plumbing end of it all. I don't know what sized tank would be appropriate, what size lines, what part has to be higher or lower than what other part, should I go ahead and spend the additional money for an electric unit (the money is not really a problem but I would like to keep costs under control), what about water intakes, can it operate off my current fresh water tank, how much water does it use? Can you rig up an overboard drain (we operate far off shore much of the time) to expell waste where leagal and appropriate or do you just use a holding tank? What about pump out, how does that work? Where do you do it or get it done? How bad a job is it (remember, you are telling this to the Official Dumper of the Porta Potti)?<br /><br />I really don't know anything at all about this and could use any and all advice and hints.<br /><br />Thom

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Have You Built or Installed a Marine Head?

Thom - Overall, I think you will be happy with an installed head. I went thought all the research a little over a year ago. Just off the hop of my head ( ) here are some thoughts in no order:<br /><br />Sea water is cheap but fresh water is cleaner. Some scientist crawled into a holding tank with his sniff-o-meter and was able to determine most of the offensive odors were the result of tiny sea creatures that were sucked into the system via the flushing water thru hull and died in the holding tank. Flushing with fresh water will avoid those odors.<br /><br />Anaerobic bacteria growing in the waste will cause most of the remaining odor. A small air pump plumbed to blow into the stuff in the holding tank will promote the growth of non-odorous aerobic bacteria and suppress the stinky anaerobic bacteria. Both are active in a holding tank, obviously one is preferred. Raritan makes an over priced holding tank with the macerator pump and air pump integrated inside the holding tank. Don’t know if I want to service that macerator.<br /><br />You will need thru hulls for (a) 3/4 inch flushing water inlet and (b) 1 inch discharge outlet. You don’t need the inlet thru hull if flushing with fresh water. Head to holding tank to macerator pump is usually plumbed with 1-1/2 inch tubing.<br /><br />Buy the highest priced, best sanitation tubing money can buy. The higher the quality, the more effective the tubing will be at keep odor confined.<br /><br />You will need a pump out deck plate. Do not get the common type with a chain inside the tube to retain the cap. If you do you will need to remove the chain. Pump out needs to make a vacuum seal in that tube, the chain is in the way.<br /><br />You will need a macerator pump. I know you are not a fan of Jabsco pumps but I just happen to have a NIB Jabsco 18590-0000 12v macerator sitting on my desk. Was going to convert to 12v, decided to stay with 24v throughout the boat. Costs $140 ($70-$90 on Ebay) I paid $35...let me know.<br /><br />Compact heads are nice and the couple inches saved can make a big difference. Both Wilcox ($1200) and Groco ($550) have the highest quality heads commonly available. Both have solid brass bases, excellent pumps. Jabsco ($150) is the most common, plastic base, replaceable for about $70. Used Groco go for $100-$150 on Ebay.<br /><br />Electric is nice but for occasional use I can’t see the additional pump (maintenance), wiring, fuse, way bigger cost, etc. You may be able to configure an electric head to pump directly to sea, bypassing the holding tank altogether because the head has a built in macerator. You still need a separate macerator pump to empty the holding tank. Electric head=2 pumps.<br /><br />It’s possible to use a diaphragm pump to empty the holding tank if you have a macerator in an electric head. Wouldn’t try it with a manual head, tho it can be done, too.<br /><br />You need a 3/4 inch vented loop and a 1 inch vented loop if the head is ever below the waterline, consider when your boat rolls with the swells. The vented loops are anti-siphons so your head doesn’t such in the ocean and sink your boat. If the head is installed above the water line the 1 inch vented loop is a good idea (holding discharge should be below the surface) but considered optional. I’d put it in.<br /><br />5 or 6 gal holding tank will get you thru a weekend. 3 miles off shore you can pump it out and refill as often as needed. Look at Raritan’s wrap-around 5-gal tank. May fit your space better. Jabsco’s 6-gal is a standard size, rectangular tank. Both are way over priced.<br /><br />Holding tank should be a minimum of 3/8 inch thick, polyethylene to contain odor. The thicker the better. I think I remember a few months ago some clown was promoting his custom made, one piece polyethylene tanks on iboats. May be worth considering as his pricing was very reasonable and you can order a thick walled tank to your size specs.<br /><br />If you opt for a tank monitoring system take a look at what MSC is offering. Field effect sensors mount on the outside of the holding tank. I’m told a new improved model should be available by year’s end. Just bought one of their bilge pump switches…nice!<br /><br />You need a locking y-valve (uscg required). It must remain pad locked so the head will only discharge into the holding tank if you are within 3 miles. Outside 3 miles you can discharge into the wide-open sea.<br /><br />If I find my notes or web links on this subject I will post back here.<br /><br />Edit: the ceramic bowl of a Jabsco manual head will not bounce on concrete. I have tested it.