Hi Everyone and Hi Peggy. Peggy, thank you for your advise on plumbing shared on this forum! I am just in the process of installing a new holding tank and new hoses. Wow, what a pain in the.... to remove the old stuff. I would not wish that to the worst enemy... QUestion: I think that the shower drains to the bilge in my boat (1992 Hunter 30T)but I am not sure about that. I am not planning to be taking frequent showers on the boat but since I am doing all that plumbing, why not? So, what would be the best, smell proof, way of draining ths shower and where does it drain? ANy suggestions from anyone will be very appreciated! PS.I do not have room to install a separate draining box for the shower with it's own pump and float switch.
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Sump or bilge are the only choices.
Routing the shower drain to the waste holding tank is a no-no. There has to be a space for a sump and pump on a 30' boat...others here who have the same boat can tell you where. And when you install it, also re-route your icebox drain to it.
Routing the shower drain to the waste holding tank is a no-no. There has to be a space for a sump and pump on a 30' boat...others here who have the same boat can tell you where. And when you install it, also re-route your icebox drain to it.
Here is what I did...
I needed to install a macerator to pumpout offshore. I also had the shower drain to the bilge problem. So here is how I solved both. I partitioned the bilge just before the mast to make the forward part a small sump for the shower. I put a Y valve on the input to the macerator. One side goes to the holding tank top (I used a UNISEAL) leaving the existing pumpout line to the deck alone. The other side of the Y goes to the shower sump, this is the normal position. So the macerator is doing triple duty: 1- Pump out the shower sump. 2- Pumpout the holding tank offshore. 3- Its an emergency bilge pump as the partition only goes up 3/4 so in an emergency the bilge will overflow into the sump and I put a float switch in the sump for the macerator. It also solves the gumped up macerator problem because each time we have a shower the macerator gets a rinse in relatively clean water.
I needed to install a macerator to pumpout offshore. I also had the shower drain to the bilge problem. So here is how I solved both. I partitioned the bilge just before the mast to make the forward part a small sump for the shower. I put a Y valve on the input to the macerator. One side goes to the holding tank top (I used a UNISEAL) leaving the existing pumpout line to the deck alone. The other side of the Y goes to the shower sump, this is the normal position. So the macerator is doing triple duty: 1- Pump out the shower sump. 2- Pumpout the holding tank offshore. 3- Its an emergency bilge pump as the partition only goes up 3/4 so in an emergency the bilge will overflow into the sump and I put a float switch in the sump for the macerator. It also solves the gumped up macerator problem because each time we have a shower the macerator gets a rinse in relatively clean water.
hmmmm
I wonder if I should do something like that. I don't like how hunter designed the shower pump on my boat (1996 H376). It has a pump in the sump that sucks water up from the bottom. That alone is a problem because it leaves about an inch of water on the bottom. Next, the pump is a funny pump where it runs a prop to push the water through a cone and out the top. When you run the pump, it pumps all but the bottom inch and when you turn it off, the water that didn't make it through the pump floats back into the sump. Drives me nuts. If they were going to put a pump there, you would think they would design it to where it can get 99 or 100% of the water out, not 70%.
I wonder if I should do something like that. I don't like how hunter designed the shower pump on my boat (1996 H376). It has a pump in the sump that sucks water up from the bottom. That alone is a problem because it leaves about an inch of water on the bottom. Next, the pump is a funny pump where it runs a prop to push the water through a cone and out the top. When you run the pump, it pumps all but the bottom inch and when you turn it off, the water that didn't make it through the pump floats back into the sump. Drives me nuts. If they were going to put a pump there, you would think they would design it to where it can get 99 or 100% of the water out, not 70%.
Don't change a thing, Franklin...
Your sump pump works like a bilge pump...which is the way it's supposed to. If it pulled ALL the water out, the impeller would fry from running dry. To keep the sump clean (Gday...you listenin'?), put 2-3 oz of Raritan C.P. down the shower drain once a week when it can stand at least overnight. C.P. is a bio-enzymatic cleaner that's marketed only as a toilet bowl cleaner, but it's also the best sump and drain cleaner on the planet...'cuz not only does it destroy odor on contact, but the enzymes "eat" hair, soap scum etc that can clog up a sump pump (or your macerator pump, Gday...and btw, that's a very clever solution!). At least every few weeks, run enough clean water through it to flush out the sump and rinse out the pump and its discharge line.
Your sump pump works like a bilge pump...which is the way it's supposed to. If it pulled ALL the water out, the impeller would fry from running dry. To keep the sump clean (Gday...you listenin'?), put 2-3 oz of Raritan C.P. down the shower drain once a week when it can stand at least overnight. C.P. is a bio-enzymatic cleaner that's marketed only as a toilet bowl cleaner, but it's also the best sump and drain cleaner on the planet...'cuz not only does it destroy odor on contact, but the enzymes "eat" hair, soap scum etc that can clog up a sump pump (or your macerator pump, Gday...and btw, that's a very clever solution!). At least every few weeks, run enough clean water through it to flush out the sump and rinse out the pump and its discharge line.
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