Waste holding tank

Thanos

Hi folks,

just wonder what the rough cost of retro-fitting a shannon river cruiser would be?

Also how hard is it to get a tank in, I am assuming it depends on the engine and how much room there is around it, also the room around it to maneuver the tank into position.

Any and all advice welcome.

fergal.b

About €100 for a PVC tank and €100 for a macerator pump then your pipe and fittings. You can get different shaped tanks to fit most spaces or you could get a stainless steel made to fit but it will cost a bit more. Can you post a photo of where you plan to put it and tell us what make of boat it is.




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Thanos

I actually have no idea where i would put it as i do not have the boat, I am looking to buy one at the moment and two or three I have looked at do not have holding tanks so I was just wondering what the cost might be to do this sort of work.

While I will do most bits myself (electrics, painting woodwork etc) plumbing is one thing I like done by someone who know what they are doing, nothing worse then a leak especially if it is a waste leak.

sogood

As it happens, I'm on the brink of doing something similar. I'm reinstating the waste system on my boat, as part of a general refurb. Both the macerator pump and flush pump were seized up, and despite overhauling them both and getting them running, (noisily and intermittently) I'm not happy with them and so will be replacing them. I'm also replacing all the hoses/waste and water pipes, as the old ones didn't look to healthy.

My set up is electric, so that's the way I'm going, but a manual flush toilet will save you some money. The hoses and different sized waste tanks are easily available and you might look at Marine parts direct website, where you'll get an idea of sizes and costs.

Plumbing is basically "jubilee clips" so no big skills needed.

I've included a sketch of the set up as it is on my boat, bearing in mind, I have the option to discharge at sea, via the "Y" valve, which is the purpose of same.
Waste can go to the tank, to be emptied at a later date, or it can be discharged directly to sea.

As fergal suggested, a macerator pump is around €100. Waste pipe hoses (38mm/ 1 1/2") around €12 per meter.

sogood

I also meant to mention the fact that it's worthwhile placing your holding tank as near as possible to the actual toilet, especially if it's manual. I think an electric flush might have a bit more power, plus you can run the flush pump long enough to ensure that everything has cleared away.

So, the less distance you have between the toilet and the holding tank, the better, as you will be pushing solid waste at that stage. The macerator, on the other hand, pumps and reduces everything to a much more free flowing slurry.

I don't know what other variations may exist on setting up the toilet plumbing as I'm only speaking from my own limited experience, but keep us posted.

fergal.b

One of the Lidl chemical toilets would do you for the time being if you did buy a cruiser also there are a few project ex-hire boats for sale on DD they should all have tanks.




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Thanos

Thanks for all the info and tips guys, I appreciate it.