Lectra/San Marine

[John Van Stone]

Peggy:Thank you for you response to my inquiry. The West Marine catalog states that the Lectra/San Marine treatment system "can be configured to treat 2 toilets" Is this no correct? Also what are the current no discharge zones? If the list is long can you tell me how to find it.How hard is it to install the system?Thank you

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

Lectra/San can be connected to 2 heads...

However, the Lectra/San must be within 6' of any toilet that's connected to it, so that would rule out connecting a forward head and an aft head on a 45' boat to the same unit. (This, btw, is explained in the specs, which are on the Raritan website...I included the URL in my previous reply).As for a list of "no discharge" zones, none exists...it changes faster than any list could be printed. Some, however, are well-known--for instance, the entire state of RI...ALL non-navigable inland lakes... Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, most (if not all) of Buzzards Bay. The Chesapeake Bay is NOT "no discharge"...nor is Long Island Sound or any of the ICW--although there are "no discharge" harbors and marinas on all of the above. There's a move afoot to make Barnegat Bay in NJ "no discharge"...and Key West...and the whole state of Maine. Although it's almost certain to happen in Key West, it's a toss-up whether it will happen in any of the others...a move to make all of MA "no discharge" was abandoned, even after the governer was quoted as saying "it's a slam dunk." I noted that you're in MO...check with the state agency responsible for enforcing the marine sanitation and other laws to find out what, if any, parts of the waters you sail on are "no discharge."

 

[Don Deese]

I don't think that the 6' is a *requirement*

I know that the LectraSan specs say 6' max length from the head to the LectraSan. I don't believe that is an absolute requirement, but is simply a "desirable" feature. When I installed the LectraSan on Carpe Diem (my Kalik 33), I worried about the distance from the head (and also the "requirement" that the LectraSan be below the head). The distance in my installation is over 10' and the LectraSan is above the head. For this last point, the "requirement" is specified so waste doesn't flow back into the head. I installed a vent loop that was significantly above the LectraSan, so from the LectraSan's view, it is "below" the head. The issue of the distance between the LectraSan and the head is simply one of transporting your waste from the head to the LectraSan. The longer the hose length, the more you must pump to make sure that everything is treated. Also, you must make sure that you don't pump more waste into the LectraSan than it can handle (it has a per-use capacity of 1.5 gallons).Since I had longer than the 6' specification, I simply measured the number of pumps of the head to yield a flow of slightly over a gallon of waste (actually using clean water for this step <g>). Our routine is to use the head and pump the specified number of times to flush a gallon. We then run the LectraSan. There will be some waste remaining in the hose after the flush cycle (with my 10' length). However, after each sailing weekend, I close the intake seacock and cycle through a "flush with CLEAN water, run LectraSan" process three times. This ensures that the hose is cleaned of waste and that the LectraSan has processed and discharged all waste. The result of the above is the there is absolutely NO smell in the head. What a relief! After this experience, I also use the "close the intake seacock and flush with clean water" approach for TNT and that has eliminated the head smell on that boat. Nice!Hope this helps.Regards,*******************Don Deese, Carpe Diem (Kalik-33) and TNT (C-25/TM)Chesapeake Bay (Carpe Diem) and Potomac River (TNT)Voice: (703) 922-7027 Fax: (703) 922-7305http://www.cpexpert.com

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

You are correct, Don, but...

I'd stay within the 6' spec if the boat has Jabsco electric macerating toilets. They use a LOT of flush water...and the extended time needed to move the bowl contents much further than 6' will move so much flush water through the system that it will overflow the Lectra/San. It is designed to discharge by overflowing, but it also has to keep the waste long enough to go through 2-3 cycles in order to completely treat it...sending it overboard too soon means discharging sewage that doesn't meet legal overboard standards. In fact, pumping a manual toilet long enough to put a gallon into it each time may mean that you're sending incompletely treated waste overboard too. I'd cut back to 3/4 gal.