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I'd like to hear from folks who've stumbled on some good head deodorants. We've been using West Marine products, and I wonder if there's anything better.
John says, however, that the problem is in the tubing--that little critters get up in there and die when away from salt water--and that -that- is really the problem with smelly heads, not necessarily emanations from the holding tank. Still....
This is definitely one of the more talked-about subjects when it comes to boating, so I thought I'd share what we do on Proper Motion.
After several false starts (ahem!), John found the right combination of marine toilet and holding tank. This has served us well for several years. He put in a rigid tank (8-gallon capacity) and located it just behind the head. He also installed a LeVac toilet, and it's great. Has never gotten stopped up (knock on teak). The best part, though, is it uses only 8 oz. of water to flush; this means the holding tank doesn't become prematurely full with seawater. The downside is that the LeVac is expensive; we paid about $300 from BoatUS in about 1990.
To flush, you close the lid (gentlemen, please note!) and cover the airhole in the tubing to complete the vacuum. A couple of pumps brings in requisite the seawater. Uncover the hole, and a couple of pumps voids the bowl. Here's a picture of fellow Nor'Sea owner, Allen Brinkman, demonstrating how to "close the circuit" at the top of the tubing.
The holding tank system aboard Chinook has been a long-standing source of frustration. One time, I cleaned out the holding tank and mistakenly connected the pump-out hose to the top of the tank. For the next year, I could not figure out why our tank always seemed full! After leaking Y-valves, stinking hoses, odoriferous plastic holding tanks and assorted other problems, I decided to put together the ultimate holding tank system.
I chose the Chernobyl system in West Marine's Advisor (so many valves, you might get a melt down). Since our interior gets so hot during the summer in North Carolina, I decided to have a SS tank fabricated. It completely filled the locker just aft of the head. I am not sure how many gallons it is, but it takes three hundred pumps on the head to fill it up. This was the biggest expense ($300). To do all the plumbing, I used No-odor Super Head Hose (20 feet @ $7/ft) and two Whale Y-Valves at $70 apiece. I have tried two different cheaper varieties, and they both leaked.
So far the system has been in for a year, and everything is working great. Eventually, we want to install a LeVac head. I would be happy to answer any questions.
So I put in through-hulls but I didn't feel very good about it either legally or morally. Then, for various reasons, the boat was out of the water for 10 years and during that time I had what I thought was a brilliant plan - - SWITCH THE TANKS! A thirty-gallon holding tank would be a better "live-aboard" size and a smaller fuel tank, conforming somewhat to the shape of the hull, could take the place of that blue lunch box-sized head tank and its pedestal on the port side of the engine room.
So last year I got everything fabricated, re-arranged, back together, and in the water (we live in Massachussetts). And everything worked great. And worked great again this year, too. The new tank has a clear plastic tube that runs along the side of the tank from the top to the bottomm functioning as a fuel gage during the season and a siphon during storage. And since the tank slides into position and bolts to the bulkhead and engine bed, it can easily be removed for cleaning or replacement without removing the engine. Also, the tank holds 9 gal.- - which is about 50 hours of motoring. All my problems solved. No worries. Right?
Now I read that getting salt water on the aluminum tank under the engine is a disaster - - particularly for boats of my vintage. And here I've been pumping salt water -into- the tank for two years. At least I don't have fuel worries.
But I don't want the contents of that tank leaking out since it is now a holding tank. I suppose I could encapsulate the tank as Dean Wixom suggested. If I do that, will I have osmotic blisters inside the keel? Does anyone have any sage advice here? You know, the keel holding tank idea (made of plastic) should have been an option from the start.
