Head/portable toilet question

GRSPARTY

Recruit
Joined
May 30, 2016
Messages
5
I have a Dometic 974MSD 2.6 gal portable toilet. My boat also has a waste holding tank. So why is my portable toilet filling up so fast? Shouldn't the waste be going down into the waste/holding tank? Confused....thanks
 

KD4UPL

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
654
Is the portable toilet plumbed to the tank? That would be unusual think. Normally a portable has it's own small tank. If the boat has a tank then the toilet is typically attached and has a hose to the tank.
 

GRSPARTY

Recruit
Joined
May 30, 2016
Messages
5
I'm not sure. It's a 09 sea Ray Sundancer 250. I'm a newbie. So you think when we get a pump out it just empties the small portable tank? 2.6 gal. If that's the case I better upgrade to a bigger portable.
 

JoLin

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
You'll need to investigate and do some tracing. The 2 pipes (hoses?) coming out of the portable are likely the waste/pumpout hose and the vent hose. Pumpout hose would be over 1" in diameter, the vent hose about half that. Is that what you have?

The 'waste' tank that you see in the boat might be a 'grey water' holding tank plumbed to the sink in the galley and/or head. Those are becoming common as states increasingly limit what can be dumped overboard. You should have a second tank that holds fresh water to feed the faucet(s).

Based on my experience, it's unusual for a modern 24-25' express cruiser to have a full marine head with waste tank. They're more likely to have either a portable toilet with removable holding tank, or a similar unit plumbed so that you need to use a pumpout station to empty it (called an MSD). I think you have the latter. My '99 Chris Craft 240 was plumbed as I think yours is and I hated it with a passion. A lousy 2.6 gallon waste capacity and I needed to go to a pumpout station to empty it. Whoever thought up that scenario shoulda been shot.

My .02
 

JoLin

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
5,146
So, did you figure out what tanks you have, and what they're there for?
 
Top