I would like to know if every boat sold in america the head will discharge to the holding tank with no option of a Y valve to discharge on open sea during navigation. In my 2005 41 hunter i cannot find my Y valve and on the diagrams will not show any.
HEAD DISCHARGE
- Thread starter Valerio
- Start date
My '02 Catalina has a y-valve and large thru-hull & valve for direct overboard discharge but it's my understanding this is an uncommon option in the states. The PO ordered the boat new from factory equipped this way and I've heard it referred to as an "international" option. This was when the factory was in California.
Our 1991 P42 came standard with an overboard macerator discharge pump connected by a hose to a through hull valve below the waterline. The hose from the macerator to the holding tank connects to a wye fitting (not a wye valve). That fitting allows me to empty the holding tank either by using the macerator pump or the deck pump out fitting. Very simple and effective. Seldom use the macerator pump in US waters, but up north in British Columbia where there are no pump out stations, one does not have a choice. However, when I do it will always be in open flowing deep water, never in a bay, cove, inlet, or similar confined waterway.
That depends on whether the boat was delivered into inland water--all of which are NDZs-- or coastal waters...and even which coastal waters and what the dealer and/or purchaser specified. Your 2005 Hunter is 13 years old...unlikely that the original sanitation plumbing is still in place.. A PO may or may not have removed any overboard ischarge capability. It's not that hard to replace..And worth doing IF you plan to sail out of Galveston Bay and into the Gulf and points beyond. Maybe not if you're just a coasta cruiser.
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I spend 4 days in a row outside in open water and i think it will be better if i can discharge direcly to sea.
In that case, I'd opt for an electric diaphragm pump instead of a macerator pump...diaphragm pumps can run dry without harm, need next to -0- maintenance, and rarely if ever need a repair. The SeaLand T-series pump on one of my own boats was 11 years old when I sold the boat and still working perfectly.
There is no Y valve. In the forward cabin there is a thru hull next to the sink thru hull in the floor. Open this go to the nav station, turn on the macerator cicuit then actuate the spring loaded macerator switch and hold it till the tank is empty. Make sure you are not in a NDZ when you are doing this. Y valves are so you can discharge directly from the head, in the 41 all waste goes to the holding tank and the tank can be emptied by Pumpout from the deck or discharge via the macerator as I described. I have a 2006 41 AC
That's not the only use for a y-valve. To be able to flush the toilet to the tank or directly overboard, a y-valve would have to be installed in the TOILET discharge line--the line from the toilet TO the tank (and if you're spending days at a time in open water outside the "3 mile limit" where it's legal to flush directly overboard, having the ability to do instead of sending everything to the tank makes a lot of sense). But we're only talking about how to have a choice of pumping out the tank or dumping it at sea...and to do that there has to be either a y-valve or a tee or wye fitting in the TANK discharge line--one side going to the deck pumpout fitting, the other side going to the macerator pump and thru-hull. I recommend a y-valve, and that it be fairly close to the tank...because, unlike a tee or wye, a y-valve provides a way to shut off the flow from the tank to service the macerator. It's 100% certain that at the very least you'll have to replace the impeller in it sooner or later...and no one ever discovers that the macerator isn't working when a tank is empty!
On the 41, there are two tank emptying ports. One goes to the deck and the other to the macerator located in the bottom of the forward berth closet which then goes to a thru hull in the forward berth. The system works well and I keep a handle lock on the thru hull until the moment I use it.
Hi, everyone. I think Valerio was referring to a toilet discharge Y valve to permit direct discharge into the sea. That can be confusing since the other is the option of pumping the holding tank overboard or removing the contents at a pump-out facility via deck fitting. Given his location, I believe he is asking about direct toilet overboard discharge, bypassing the holding tank. He likely does not have the direct discharge plumbing in place.
Hola a todos. Creo que Valerio se refería a una válvula Y de descarga del inodoro para permitir la descarga directa al mar. Eso puede ser confuso ya que el otro es la opción de bombear el tanque de retención por la borda o quitar el contenido en una instalación de bombeo a través de la conexión de la plataforma. Dada su ubicación, creo que está preguntando por la descarga directa del inodoro por la borda, evitando el tanque de retención. Es probable que no tenga la tubería de descarga directa en su lugar.
Hola a todos. Creo que Valerio se refería a una válvula Y de descarga del inodoro para permitir la descarga directa al mar. Eso puede ser confuso ya que el otro es la opción de bombear el tanque de retención por la borda o quitar el contenido en una instalación de bombeo a través de la conexión de la plataforma. Dada su ubicación, creo que está preguntando por la descarga directa del inodoro por la borda, evitando el tanque de retención. Es probable que no tenga la tubería de descarga directa en su lugar.
After reading his post again, I'm 99% certain you're right, Rick. Others who introduced macerator pumps into the discussion pulled us off course into dumping a tank at sea.
It's a fairly simple matter to install a y-valve in the toilet discharge line. A vented loop is needed too, if one isn't already installed in that line. Best place for that is immediately after the toilet. It needs to be at least 6-8" above waterline at max heel--not just when the boat's rest--which on most sailboats puts it 2-3' above the bowl. Photo shows the typical location of inlet and discharge vented loops.