Is there any way to plumb a head directly to the boat's fresh water supply (before the water pressure pump)without risking contamination of the fresh water supply?
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Well...
There probably is but it sounds cumbersome, as well as dangerous. Peggie had a much better idea Friday that I implented Saturday, simply connecting the head sink drain to the commode seawater intake. Leave an inch of water in the sink and it will be pumped into the commode. Easy and efficient, eh? That's why they call her the Headmistress.
There probably is but it sounds cumbersome, as well as dangerous. Peggie had a much better idea Friday that I implented Saturday, simply connecting the head sink drain to the commode seawater intake. Leave an inch of water in the sink and it will be pumped into the commode. Easy and efficient, eh? That's why they call her the Headmistress.
Cannot be done
No toilet--manual or electric designed to flush using "raw" (sea, lake, river etc) water should ever be connected to the onboard fresh water system--ahead of the pump OR after it...it cannot be done without risk of e-coli contamination of the potable water supply. Every toilet mfr specifically warns against doing so in their installation instructions. Whether you flush with sea water or fresh makes no difference when it comes to holding tank odor...waste already has so much bacteria in it that whether there's a little more in the flush water is immaterial. Eliminating odor from sea water left to sit and stagnate in the head intake is the only benefit from using fresh water...and there are a couple of simple inexpensive ways to do that: 1. Tee the head intake into the head sink drain. Flush using sea water...then, when leaving the boat, after you've closed all the seacocks, fill the sink with clean fresh water...flush the toilet. Because the seacock is closed, the toilet will pull the water out of the sink, rinsing all the sea water out of the whole system (just pouring water down the toilet only rinses out the head discharge line...it doesn't ever get into the intake). 2. Install a separate flush water tank. The easiest way to do that: stuff an unvented bladded into any convenient location. Connect the head intake to the bladder, the fill line into the head sink drain using a simple garden hose y-connector. When you need to refill the bladder, open the y to the bladder, run water in the sink. A lot of people just close the intake thru-hull permanently and use the shower head or a cup to add flush water to the bowl. That's not the best way, because bowl contents only go through the bottom 1/4-1/3 of the pump, leaving all the rubber parts in the upper 2/3 of the pump to dry out, become brittle and fail in about half the time it should take if they stayed wet.
No toilet--manual or electric designed to flush using "raw" (sea, lake, river etc) water should ever be connected to the onboard fresh water system--ahead of the pump OR after it...it cannot be done without risk of e-coli contamination of the potable water supply. Every toilet mfr specifically warns against doing so in their installation instructions. Whether you flush with sea water or fresh makes no difference when it comes to holding tank odor...waste already has so much bacteria in it that whether there's a little more in the flush water is immaterial. Eliminating odor from sea water left to sit and stagnate in the head intake is the only benefit from using fresh water...and there are a couple of simple inexpensive ways to do that: 1. Tee the head intake into the head sink drain. Flush using sea water...then, when leaving the boat, after you've closed all the seacocks, fill the sink with clean fresh water...flush the toilet. Because the seacock is closed, the toilet will pull the water out of the sink, rinsing all the sea water out of the whole system (just pouring water down the toilet only rinses out the head discharge line...it doesn't ever get into the intake). 2. Install a separate flush water tank. The easiest way to do that: stuff an unvented bladded into any convenient location. Connect the head intake to the bladder, the fill line into the head sink drain using a simple garden hose y-connector. When you need to refill the bladder, open the y to the bladder, run water in the sink. A lot of people just close the intake thru-hull permanently and use the shower head or a cup to add flush water to the bowl. That's not the best way, because bowl contents only go through the bottom 1/4-1/3 of the pump, leaving all the rubber parts in the upper 2/3 of the pump to dry out, become brittle and fail in about half the time it should take if they stayed wet.
I have a friend
that had a fresh water tank added on his Catalina 387. The dealer placed a tank in the aft compartment and connected it to the head intake. They installed a new deck Water inlet for the tank. The fresh water tank is the same size as the holding tank. He was told to refill the water tank everytime he pumps out the holding tank.
that had a fresh water tank added on his Catalina 387. The dealer placed a tank in the aft compartment and connected it to the head intake. They installed a new deck Water inlet for the tank. The fresh water tank is the same size as the holding tank. He was told to refill the water tank everytime he pumps out the holding tank.
That works, but requires a lot more plumbing
'Cuz he had to vent the tank and install another deckfill.
'Cuz he had to vent the tank and install another deckfill.
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