Permanent / Porta Poties

[Mike Scholz]

I am considering eliminating the old marine head and holding tank with a Sanipottie 965 MSD and plumbing it to be pumped out thru the deck and vented thru the deck. Havent charged the old system since buying the boat and have been using the dock facilities. I dont plan on useing the Sanipottie 100% of the time but would like the convience of having it avail for weekend adventures away from the dock.Are there any disadvantages to this simple type of system?

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

First questions, then answers

The are advantages and disadvantages to self-contained systems...so...Why do you want to do this...what do you expect to gain? What size (approx gals) is the existing tank? Is it metal or a bladder, or plastic? How far from the toilet is it, and where in the boat?

 

[Mike Scholz]

Questions

The tank is hanging by yellow truckers twine foward under the v berth and looks like aprox 18 gal size and plastic. It is aprox 4 feet away from the current manual head. Everything from the tank to the hoses to the head is old and smells. There is no seacock thru the hull only a vent under the toerail and a pumpout on the deck. I would expect to gain more foward storage, less smell in the v berth and an inexpensive alternative to replacing everything, and still not have to drag the porta tank to the dock to dump.

 

[Peggie Hall/HeadMistress]

Other than gaining storage, no gain

The smell can be eliminated by replacing the hoses, which for that distance will cost less than buying the 965 MSD portapotty.You'll lose about 1/3 of the holding capacity...a 5-6 portapotty holds about as many flushes as a 10-12 gallon tank connected to a manual marine toilet. You can't dump the tank overboard, but won't be able to dump the portapotty overboard either...you'll just have to pump out more often. Depending on the make/model/age of the toilet, a rebuild kit may be all you need to get it back into good working order again. If you remove it, you'll have plug the intake thru-hull and secure a length of hose to it that's high enough above the waterline to protect the boat if the plug fails.So it's very close to a trade off as far as cost is concerned...worse case, $100 more to replace the toilet. The only real issue is whether the storage space you'll gain is worth the holding capacity you'll lose.