radical idea - macerator disconnect

[sdaly66]

Wondering if anyone has done this, and if they can provide advice...

Since all of my sailing is on the Chesapeake, I absolutely can not pump waste overboard.  So in the interest of "KISS", I'm thinknig of taking the macerator out of the system.  By that, I mean disconnect it, leave it in place for future reconnect should the need arise.  What I don't know, is what type of fitting I need to seal the discharge outlet.  It looks like 1 1/2" hose to a fitting, but is there a male or female thread that I can either cap or plug once the hose is disconnected?

Along the same lines, I would probably cap or plug the thru-hull above the seacock, and am wondering what is the appropriate fitting to use for that purpose as well.

Is this a monumentally bad idea?  All the work will be readily reversible.

[Ted Pounds]

I did this as we have the same issue on the Great Lakes.  I replaced the macerator pump with a was hdown pump that outlets in the anchor locker.  (Much of the info is in another thread; do a search.)  I used a male plug to seal off the tank outlet.  I forget the size, but if you buy a bunch of different sizes you'll be prepared.  The downside to doing this is that no matter how well you pump the tank there will still be some residue that  spill out when you disconnect the hose.     Be ready with lots of rags and bleach.

[sdaly66]

Thanks Ted,

Got my males and females ready just in case.  Did you do anything to secure the seacock (other than closing it)?

[tonywright]

I need to do this on my MK II also.

What I would really like to do is put in a bigger holding tank, since we anchor out, and can only pump out when we get back to home base. Seems the current tank gives us only 3 days 2 nights capacity. I am guessing it is a lot less than the claimed 18 gals. It was probably made smaller when they put in the macerator and relocated the battery switches into the compartment.

So has anyone put in a bigger holding tank on a MK II?  Looking for ideas.

Tony

[Ted Pounds]

Since I used the seacock for the washdown intake I didn't have to secure it.  If you're going to leave it hooked up to the macerator pump you're probably OK.  Otherwise a plug (threaded or clamped on) would be a good idea.

[sdaly66]

I actually like the washdown pump idea.  The thruhull and wiring are already there, and I was thinking of that project anyway - cheers!

[Jim Price]

I disconnected the wiring from the macerator motor - easy to see they go nowhere.  Pluged the output line from the macerator (input from tank still connected so ues secure plug).  I use the secock for the input to my Mermaid heat/air sytem.  I ran the line from seacock to bilge where I placed the sea strainer and then on to mermaid system water pump.  Makes cleaning the strainer real easy plus any stainer leaks are in bilge if problem occurs.

[Ted Pounds]

Check out the following thread for more info on a washdown system: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=1116.msg5473;topicseen#msg5473

[John Langford]

Picking up on Tony's point, there is a lot of space wasted in the holding tank locker and it would be easy to redesign it to enlarge the tank considerably. But it would be an expensive project. We only seem to get two nights on the hook before the tank is full (spare me the obvious comments please:)).

I have been looking at the "time between pumpouts" problem from another angle and wondering if there are manual toilets which perform the key functions effectively using measurably less water than the basic Jabsco. The Raritan PH-11 is apparently no better from a water usage perspective. I have been warned against trying an electric toilet in an environment where showers take place. On an earlier boat we installed a Groco K-H which had a Whale type pump in the base and did the job incredibly efficiently. Unfortunately, these wonderful machines are now more than $1000.

Any other ideas on this topic?

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I just don't think I'd cap IT off - if for no other reason than EMERGERCY and resale reasons.

What is soo dishearting is that the fedreal gov. paid 75% of the cost of all of the pump out station installation costs - that I know about on the Chesapeake and it's tributaries.  Now we "boat owners" are repaying for each pump out dearly!!  I've never seen a fine for someone that whizzes on the side of the road!   
A thought.   

[foursailing]

Reminds me of when I  sold my old Pearson 30.  The head was connected to a Y valve which lead to a small holding tank / bag or a thru hull discharge.  This was of course flagged during the survey. 

The buyer told me he would be lock this off and would never think of discharging overboard.  He then continued to tell me on his old boat he handled sanitation by jumping over board and doing his business in the water (much better for the environment).

[Kyle Ewing]

A Coast Guard acquaintance told me something interesting about marine sanitation.  For environmental purposes there's no problem peeing over the side of the boat.  As soon as you pee in a bucket then dump it, however, its illegal discharge.