Porta Potti vs Fresh Water System

[muskyfins]

So trying to decide whether it's worth it to use the fresh water system on the boat. We don't have a real need for the pressurized system at all, except the admiral requires a working head. Some of the new porta systems are really nice. Electric flush on some. Take home, pour out whatever. The reason for the debate in my mind is that we're weekend warriors and I can't see the admiral using the head 2-3 times per weekend and having that sit in the holding tank all week just to do it again next week. That stuff in the heat can't be good. Nor do I see it worth while to pump out every single weekend. What's your opinion? What do you do?

 

[airshot]

Porta-Potty all the way.....our stays are short term mabey overnite at best, and the portable unit is just that..no fuss no muss. Can even empty at the public restroom.
All the hassle of a built in system is only good for long multinight stays. Very few of our friends use the built in system, most use the portable

 

[Ned L]

Hmm, don't quite understand the connection you are making between the head and the potable water system. The head should draw its own water in through a thru hull fitting for flushing, and not from the potable water tank.

 

[Blind Date]

The vacuflush on my Sundancer uses water from the fresh water supply. For my situation much better than another hole in the hull below the waterline.

Back to the original question.

Chemicals man!!! Just use them. I pumped my head once last season, I think it cost $5. It never stinks. Put a carbon filter on the vent line if you get an odor. No way would I take out my vacuflush so I could carry around a porta-potty at the end of every weekend. That's just going backwards.

 

[Ned L]

Thank you, I didn't know they were doing that now. That's a way to go through the potable water quickly.

 

[wrench 3]

The main advantage of a remote holding tank is the lack of odor in the head, I've never ran into a porta-poty that didn't give off a chemical smell. Whereas a fresh water flush with a remote holding tank doesn't give off any more odor than a house flush toilet.

 

[doyall]

A good read on the topic: http://www.marine-surveyor.com/newsletters/9910.html

 

[muskyfins]

That article makes me lean more heavily toward port potty.

I should have given a few more details. We're on inland waters and basically go from bar to bar or restaurant or folks' houses. There are a few times we spend at the local sandbar on the hook for a few hours, but never overnight. The longest time at sea would be Independence day waiting for fireworks and afterwards the chain is no wake until midnight so it's slow going.I don't see it getting used more than 2-3 times per weekend and only liquids. Doesn't seem to make sense to go through all the plumbing and make sure everything is working and then chemicals and pump outs, etc.

Thanks for the input. Keep it coming.:happy:

 

[Grandad]

Just a note that you should be careful when traveling that you don't run afoul of regulations in other jurisdictions. In Ontario, portable toilets are illegal. Toilets and storage tanks must be permanently secured with suitable pumpout plumbing required. - Grandad
See: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900343_e.htm
3. The owner and the operator of every pleasure boat in which a toilet is installed shall ensure that, while the boat is on water, (a) the boat is equipped with storage equipment; and
(b) such toilet and storage equipment are installed so as to be non-portable. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 343, s. 3.
4. The owner of a pleasure boat in which a toilet or toilets and storage equipment are installed shall ensure that each toilet and the storage equipment are installed so that,
(a) the toilet and equipment are connected in such a manner that the equipment receives all toilet waste from the toilet;
(b) equipment designed for the storage of human excrement is provided with a deck fitting and such connecting piping as is necessary for the removal of toilet waste by shore-based pumping equipment;
(c) no means of removal of toilet waste is provided other than the means mentioned in clause (b);

 

[Scott Danforth]

my cuddy has a traditional porta potty. with 2 over nighters per year and about a dozen trips with the admiral's friends, it gets cleaned twice a year. its a Dometic unit that is available in either the unclip it and pour the contents out, or plumb it to a deck fitting. since the boat was originally sold with a removable unit, that is what I went with. pull the fresh water tank, lift the black water tank, take to the toilet, uncork and pour. then rinse.

the key is make sure you have the right amount of chemicals. however my thought is that your boat would have had a pressurized system and plumbed head. whats wrong with using it.

 

[muskyfins]

my cuddy has a traditional porta potty. with 2 over nighters per year and about a dozen trips with the admiral's friends, it gets cleaned twice a year. its a Dometic unit that is available in either the unclip it and pour the contents out, or plumb it to a deck fitting. since the boat was originally sold with a removable unit, that is what I went with. pull the fresh water tank, lift the black water tank, take to the toilet, uncork and pour. then rinse.

the key is make sure you have the right amount of chemicals. however my thought is that your boat would have had a pressurized system and plumbed head. whats wrong with using it.

My boat is plumbed with a fresh water system. No installed toilet. The story i got from the previous owner goes something like this: The original owner of the baot didn't want the head to be used so he removed toilet. Second owner never bothered to replace toilet. Therefore no toilet in head. This leaves me the option of which way to go.

I'm thinking strongly of going with the type you have. It seems much easier to deal with. To use my on board system, I'd want to go over all the plumbing and check for integrity, check the sea ****; probably upgrade a few things, etc, with no real upside. We're down here on the Fox Chain. Around here most captains generally don't allow boys to use the head. That's basically my rule as well, so I'm just down to women. I can't see it being used much differently than yours, and it seems like it works well for you.

 

[ssobol]

I have a porta-potti. We use the boat for 2-3 nights at a time. I have never had to dump the toilet in the middle of a trip. You can get more environmentally favorable additives for the tank. We have never noticed any smells.

Maybe you can get around the Ontario rules by attaching the porta-potti to the boat. The rules say that toilet must be "non-portable" while the boat is on the water. A porta-potti can also be modified to allow you to pump it out fairly easily if you are a little handy. Some are made to work both ways.

I'm not sure what the Ontario authorities are trying to accomplish other than cater to the pump-out owners' lobby. Nothing prevents you from taking a w**z over the side or using a bucket and dumping it. In either case using a porta-potti and dumping it in a restroom toilet is a better result.

 

[muskyfins]

All good info. I'm not in Canada, so doesn't apply to me. Just can't seem to find a reason to mess with the pump out system.

 

[Blind Date]

"Just can't seem to find a reason to mess with the pump out system."

Seems like more messing around with a port-potty than a pump-out system. The 23' cuddy I had before my Sundancer had a porta-potty w/pumpout so you could never talk me into going back to that. But to each their own. Your boat will be more desirable on the used market with a real head IMO.

 

[Scott Danforth]

"Just can't seem to find a reason to mess with the pump out system."

Seems like more messing around with a port-potty than a pump-out system. The 23' cuddy I had before my Sundancer had a porta-potty w/pumpout so you could never talk me into going back to that. But to each their own. Your boat will be more desirable on the used market with a real head IMO.

yep......

 

[muskyfins]

I can always reconnect toilet at resale time. Everything is there. And I have a brand new marine toilet in the box in my garage.

 

[smokeonthewater]

having had both systems there is no way in L I would go out and buy a pos portapotty instead of simply installing the marine head I already owned.... the ONLY reason to have to deal with carrying a tank of poop and pouring it into a toilet somewhere is because you don't have a better option.....

You DO have a better option

 

[wrench 3]

I don't know if it's because I'm a cheap SOB or just too darn independent, but I picked up a hand operated sludge pump for $35.00, added $15.00 worth of hardware and $10.00 worth of hose. Now I can do my own pump outs into sealed five gallon pails and empty them into the septic system at the house. The only time I have to pay for a pump out (which are $20.00 around here) is when we have the grand kids on board for a week.

 

[Scott Danforth]

pump outs are free with purchase of gas at a bunch of marinas around here.

 

[muskyfins]

Good stuff in this thread.

Some of the marinas here offer a pump out with every so many gallons of fuel, but I only burn about 10 gals a week, so it's like every 3-4 weeks. Was a little concerned about letting it sit for that time. If I go with porta potty, we're talking about the nice high end ones, not the old bucket style. But I understand the point about carrying a bucket of poop.

Dammit-back in the middle. Tough to sit here and contemplate such an unimportant issue but it's all I can do for about 2 more weeks......that and waste time looking at what stereo to install-but should probably be its own thread.