Holding Tank or Porta Potti

[winkali]

G'day folks I am looking at installing a holding tank but as with most people on small boats I am fighting the space issue. I was curious what people on small boats are doing whether they are using a holding tank when required or the good old porta potti. Appreciate any feedback.
George :D :D

[AdriftAtSea]

Winkall-

Raritan makes a very small holding tank that fits around the base of most marine head units.  If space is an issue and you have a head that the tank will work with, it is probably your best solution.  They make two models, a permanently installed one that has a pumpout  and vent line fittings and a portable, which probably has a cap and handle.

Here's a photo of it.



Dan

[Captain Smollett]

Alternatively, Thefford makes a 'porta potty' that can be pumped out (or carried and emptied).  The 'holding tank' on this unit, the 735 MSD, is about the same size or bigger than that Raritan.  We have a 735 MSD for the small boat, where space is an issue - we store in one location and use in another.

If you don't have a head installed yet, this will be cheaper, since it's head/tank combined.  I got mine like-new on Ebay for $75.

Here's a link to a new one for $142: Thetford 735 MSD

[Lynx]

I agree, go with both if you can.

Please note that a 5 gal tank with proper marine head will last about 3 days for one person.

A full portapotty will get heavy as well. I have done both.

[CharlieJ]

We have just a Porta-Potti. A Thetford 555 I think. Could be wrong on the numbers, but it has a 5 gallon tank. Didn't want a bigger one because it's too much to tote full.

Laura and I normally get about 6 to 7 days use with ours if we are careful. The large problem is that many marinas have rules against dumping them in the toilets, and no provision to do so otherwise. In our travels from here to Florida and back we've only seen TWO places that had regular provisions for dumping holding tanks, which seems a bit ridiculous, but there it is.

The two places were Houma city marina in Louisiana which had dump stations designed FOR porta pottis, and Pirates Cove in Florida , which had a portable toilet set aside just for that purpose. They may have done away with that since the hurricanes.

So sadly, in most places, you have to wait til after the office closes, then walk the unit up and dump it quietly. Our own marina allows the use of the toilets, provided you clean it up afterwards. I have my own dump station here at the house that we use when we are cruising close to home.

Of course, on passage it's no problem- offshore you can just dump overboard. Or use a bucket in the first place.

Oh and an after thought. Be aware that many marina pump out stations won't pump a standard porta potti- they just don't work with them. So the tank would have to be plumbed as a standard holding tank to function correctly.

[Captain Smollett]

Oh and an after thought. Be aware that many marina pump out stations won't pump a standard porta potti- they just don't work with them. So the tank would have to be plumbed as a standard holding tank to function correctly.

Charlie,

Do you know if that applies to the Thetfords with the pump-out fitting attached?  I mean, is a tech issue or one of policy?

The Thetford we have includes bolt-down brackets as well as the pump-out fitting to make more like a true "mounted" holding tank.  From top to bottom, it an 'approved' MSD, but I confess that I usually just carry it and dump it.

The only place I even asked about a pumpout was Charleston City Marina, and they would not pump out since we were anchored (their refusual was not because it was portapotty style MSD).  So, I dumped at the BP station - AFTER getting permission from the clerk.

[CharlieJ]

Probably not to the ones fitted for pump out. What I refer to is the ones you disconnect and carry. The hoses usually don't fit well and the pump out just doesn't work. Plus you run the risk of damaging the tank.

One reasonable idea I've seen is obtaining a second tank to fit the portapotti. Then if you get caught with a full one and can't dump, you can switch to the empty, wrap the full one in several plastic bags and stow it. I'd hate to have to do that for more than a few days, but it is an idea. Although aboard Tehani I don't know where we'd put either the second one or a full one if needed. ???

Of course many places on the coast it wouldn't be a great problem to just sail out past the three mile limit as needed.

[Tim]

This is why I am planning on going to the disposable bag system
http://www.thepett.com/
It is getting harder and harder to deal with a conventional Porta Potty and I no longer have a plumbed head in the Ariel. Canadian waters in the great lakes apparently are restricting the use of even porta potties.  This may extend to my typical cruising area along the west coast. Once bagged the waste is supposedly safe for landfills.

[Gus]

About using a well varnished, cedar bucked half full of water when need to go? Or am I way too old school here?

[Lynx]

A newer school is a 1/2 filled plastic bucket that fits into the head. A little easier to sit on.

[winkali]

Thanks everyone for the input. In my part of the world (Queensland Aus) we have to use a macerator so I have an electric toilet. I will probably go down the porta potti road when I am sailing in no discharge areas and try and fit a holding tank at a later date. Another job put off to a later date.
Thanks everyone and happy sailing.
George ::) ::)

[Toucantook]

I used to use porta pottis on Toucan.  She now has an Airhead composting head.  No tanks, no pumpout, no chemistry and legal everywhere.  Takes barely the space of one of the larger porta pottis.  Hard to fault.

[Lynx]

What has been the longest that you have been on the boat using the Airhead?

Outside temps?

Power needed?

Humidity?