I have question about how a LectraSan unit works. I've reviewed their documentation on-line and I'm a bit confused. If you use a manual toilet like a Raritan CPII how does the L/S get activated? Also how long does waste have to be treated before it can be pumped overboard. How many flushes can the unit hold before it starts to discharge (i.e. with three kids use the head in a row what happens?). Most important, what does the stuff that gets discharged look like? I know it's legally treated but if noticable solids are discharged neighbors in nearby slips or moorings aren't going to be happy. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Answers to your questions...
"If you use a manual toilet like a Raritan CPII how does the L/S get activated?" One of two ways: you can either push the button to start the L/S before you start to flush...or you can order the L/S with an optional sensor that recognizes "incoming" and automatically starts the L/S after 4 or 5 pumps of the toilet. "How long does waste have to be treated before it can be pumped overboard?" It's all automatic. There is no pump in the L/S, nor do YOU do anything to send the treated waste overboard....it discharges a flush at a time by overflowing (if you look at the plumbing schematic in the installation instructions, you'll see that the inlet is below the middle of the unit and the discharge fitting is on the top). The treatment cycle is 2.5 min...then the system shuts down...that's not when it discharges. It discharges when the toilet is flushed again, which should not exceed more than about one gal. The flush goes into the first chamber, displacing an equal amount that's been treated at least once...pushing it into the second chamber (where it's treated again)...which pushes that amount overboard. "How many flushes can the unit hold before it starts to discharge (i.e. with three kids use the head in a row what happens?)?" The L/S is not a "batch" processing device, it's a flow-through device that has NO holding capacity in the sense you mean. Each of the two chambers has a 1.5 gal capacity--which is why each flush should not exceed 1 gal--each incoming flush into the first chamber sends an equal amount overboard from the second chamber. It must run after every flush, and each treatment cycle is 2.5 minutes long...which means that if 3 people in a row will use the toilet, each has to wait those 2.5 minutes till the system shuts down first. If all 5 of you have to wee-wee at the same time first thing in the morning, it may be necessary for a couple of you to flush without running the L/S, using only the the dry mode (to prevent sending too much into it)...run the L/S...then two more go, doing the same thing. 'Cuz about 3 back-to-back treatment cycles in a row is all the motors can take before starting to overheat. Btw...this sounds like a LOT more of PITA to deal with than it really is, especially once you actually understand how it works. "Most important, what does the stuff that gets discharged look like?" Like skim milk that's had about a teaspoon of instant coffee added to it, then cut at least 50-50 with water...which becomes even more diluted as it goes into the water. In fact, if the discharge thru-hull is at least a foot below the waterline, no one who didn't happen to be diving under your boat when the toilet is flushed would even notice it. "I know it's legally treated but if noticable solids are discharged neighbors in nearby slips or moorings aren't going to be happy." If there were, it wouldn't be legally treated...'cuz the law requires that Type I MSDs macerate to NO visible solids--completely liquid.
"If you use a manual toilet like a Raritan CPII how does the L/S get activated?" One of two ways: you can either push the button to start the L/S before you start to flush...or you can order the L/S with an optional sensor that recognizes "incoming" and automatically starts the L/S after 4 or 5 pumps of the toilet. "How long does waste have to be treated before it can be pumped overboard?" It's all automatic. There is no pump in the L/S, nor do YOU do anything to send the treated waste overboard....it discharges a flush at a time by overflowing (if you look at the plumbing schematic in the installation instructions, you'll see that the inlet is below the middle of the unit and the discharge fitting is on the top). The treatment cycle is 2.5 min...then the system shuts down...that's not when it discharges. It discharges when the toilet is flushed again, which should not exceed more than about one gal. The flush goes into the first chamber, displacing an equal amount that's been treated at least once...pushing it into the second chamber (where it's treated again)...which pushes that amount overboard. "How many flushes can the unit hold before it starts to discharge (i.e. with three kids use the head in a row what happens?)?" The L/S is not a "batch" processing device, it's a flow-through device that has NO holding capacity in the sense you mean. Each of the two chambers has a 1.5 gal capacity--which is why each flush should not exceed 1 gal--each incoming flush into the first chamber sends an equal amount overboard from the second chamber. It must run after every flush, and each treatment cycle is 2.5 minutes long...which means that if 3 people in a row will use the toilet, each has to wait those 2.5 minutes till the system shuts down first. If all 5 of you have to wee-wee at the same time first thing in the morning, it may be necessary for a couple of you to flush without running the L/S, using only the the dry mode (to prevent sending too much into it)...run the L/S...then two more go, doing the same thing. 'Cuz about 3 back-to-back treatment cycles in a row is all the motors can take before starting to overheat. Btw...this sounds like a LOT more of PITA to deal with than it really is, especially once you actually understand how it works. "Most important, what does the stuff that gets discharged look like?" Like skim milk that's had about a teaspoon of instant coffee added to it, then cut at least 50-50 with water...which becomes even more diluted as it goes into the water. In fact, if the discharge thru-hull is at least a foot below the waterline, no one who didn't happen to be diving under your boat when the toilet is flushed would even notice it. "I know it's legally treated but if noticable solids are discharged neighbors in nearby slips or moorings aren't going to be happy." If there were, it wouldn't be legally treated...'cuz the law requires that Type I MSDs macerate to NO visible solids--completely liquid.
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