The UGLY TRUTH about Marine Toilets NO ONE talks about ⛵️ Ep35 - Sailboat Restoration Project
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 พ.ค. 2023
- LAHAKAI SAILING // ⛵️ S1 Ep35 // Discover the hidden truth about boats as we embark on a mission to uncover a solution to a pervasive problem. In our boat restoration project's plumbing phase, we tackle the challenges surrounding marine toilets head-on. Join us as we introduce a surprising technology, developed in the 1970s but is strangely underutilized, that promises to solve the main marine toilet issue. We dive deep into the intricacies of plumbing, meticulously planning the installation of appliances and fittings, ensuring optimal performance on our boat. Don't miss this enlightening episode as we confront the dirty truth about boat plumbing and strive to implement a game-changing solution.
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Hey, nice work on the video. Really well done.
I'm a marine plumber from New Zealand who specialises in repairing these electro scan units. They are great, but make sure you do the 6 monthly acid wash the manual calls for, or calcium will build up on the electrode and it won't work. If you leave it too long, the acid wash won't work and you'll need to replace the electrode which costs around $1000.
Also, don't install the control box (black box) anywhere near dampness (like a cupboard in the shower) install it high and dry or it will fault and they are around $2000 to replace.
Highly recommend taking the time to wire the a relay that activates your toilet flush when pressing the electro scan button so you and your guests don't need to press multiple buttons to make things work. Its reasonably easy to achieve.
Hey! Great tips! Thanks so much! We will definitely want to do that single button flush that you talk about. Do you know of any recommended videos or links talking about how we can do that?
Fantastic rundown on your sewage system , one of the best vlogs you have put together , I lived on a farm with no town sewage connection we used to have what we call a long drop ( a big hole in the ground with an outhouse built over it ) when we finally got a toilet installed in the house we had the choice of a septic system or an eco friendly system that uses electricity and biodegradable chemicals that cleaned the sewage effluent enough for the water to be used on the garden and lawns, the 400 litre tank only had to be cleaned once every 5 years , all the best from Tasmania Australia 🇦🇺 ❤❤
I was a kilometer behind a cruise ship in the Bahamas three miles off shore and had to alter course drastically because they were dumping raw sewage into their wake and it was the grossest, nastiest thing I've ever seen/smelt. So yeah, treatment is the way to go.
🤢🤢 Oh my. thats terrible!
Impressive graphics and explanations of the plumbing system. Excellent work. I'm sure many others will use this video as they seek to do what you're doing. Great work!
i admit i have watched a few boat building and restoration channels over the years. Lahakai is definitly among my favorites for the explanations and diagrams.
Agreed quality graphics!
Very well done addressing a socially uncomfortable topic with class and respect. Great video.
I have a Saniloo treatment system(chlorine system). We don't live on our boat, so loo gets limited use. Seems to work well. We do use boat most weekends.
I think you will find your flexable hose will emit sewage smell over time. We had similar hose. Took a while to figure out it was the hose and not a leak.
Changed to odour proof hose, shazam smell gone,
We also have all plastic thru hole fittings, been some ten years, no problems. We are a glass boat.
Lahakai will be in the water in no time. Thanks for sharing your progress....and good luck staying within budget.
Thanks so much!! We can't wait to show you when she's finally in the water! Cheers!!
Love your videos, keep them coming, I look forward to them every week, take care you two. 😊😊😊😊🇬🇧👍🏻
Great video, thanks for explaining it all in a visual manner
I'm really enjoying your videos. A different take on how refit your boat. Thank for sharing. Love your content. Keep the videos coming. 😎👍
It might be advisable to install a check valve on water lines into the seawater or a backflow preventer. This ensures any potential backflow problem will prevent water from coming into the boat from the opposite direction than intended.
Once you get in the water be sure to treat the hoses with vinegar or Sew Clean$$$$$$$ often!
Such a lovely indoctrination on the Marine toilet. Marvelous episode, thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks so much! Who knew all these little details would take so much time and consideration. But we're slowly moving forward! Cheers!!
Really love your videos and learn a lot from your build. I also have a steel boat I bought as a project. Your channel is one of the better ones I follow. Thank you, Cheers Grahame
Thanks so much Grahame! That means a lot to us and we're glad to have you along for the journey!
Damn. That graphics layout was great! As someone who has practically zero knowledge on boat stuff thid was awesome. I genuinely wondered how that all worked so ty for doing that!
That's awesome!! We are so glad to hear this was helpful!! Cheers!!
got hooked on your videos and makeing my way through them. great job on the graphics and diagrams.
I have used a similar but much larger device for a 3,000t frigate. Same principle; different size. They work great provided no foreign objects get flushed. We used to have real problems with detergents/cleaners and "women's products" however getting the females on board to dismantle and clean the system gets the point across very quickly.
A good point to note for when we have guests, we'll keep that in mind. Cleaning that thing must have been a memorable learning experience 😅
Let's see steel boat and brass fittings, don't ever trust your life to plating. Proper marine bronze, with proper anodes, or don't get too far from rescue. Serious as a heart attack. I have worked in some very corrosive environments, salt water being the least.
Get a grip, get bronze fittings, brass will turn red, by that time it's weak and porous, can you say glub glub, as you sink??
I felt I had to be very hard on you, as dieing is rather permanent.
Very good discussion!
I would think about putting a brace on those threw hull pipes, just small triangles hull to pipe. No one swims in the bay at Saint Martin, no current so no water exchange. I did not know about the poop sanitizers, the 1929 build steel hull I worked on just had a float on the holding tank. The Captain would allocate me a gallon of bleach for pump repair days. Yes the glamor of a sailing yacht.
Very interesting good luck
Wow, I just found your channel and I’m really impressed by how much great information you put into one short video and you make amazing animations, which is awesome because I’m at a forth grade level!
Nice one ..just about to put one in my bardge..the waste will go into a tank than pump it out ..keep the water clean ..grest vid x
The food grade hosecyou have used is gas permeable, so it lets the smell out. Sanitation hose is designated as such for a reason.
I like your videos a lot.
Looks like a really good system, if complex. Glad to see you're being environmentally responsible.
I'd be wary about using "food-grade" plastic hoses. Higher-end marine sanitation hoses, on the other hand, are designed to avoid permeation, that is, smells eventually transferring through the plastic.
Sounds all complicated tad expensive..but i like ur video.
I love my composting toilet
I had one of those sewage treatment units on my 53ft trawler. Every flush of the toilet drew a huge amount of power from our batteries, we also had to put half a cup of salt down the toilet with each flush.The water in mariners is frequently not as salty as ocean water.
This product claims that at some point it reduced its power consumption to 1.2 amp hours per cycle so perhaps you had a unit prior to this upgrade? The salt water is definitely necessary. Interesting that you had to add the salt manually in certain places. We saw another unit that actually mixes the salt and then removes it in the case you are in fresh water. We will definitely do some testing when we move forward to see if this is still an issue in certain costal areas. Cheers!
Slick graphics 👍
Thank ya kindly!
on my steel sailboat I got composting toilet. Best investment. No pluming at all. I will never ever want to deal with septic tanks...
Love the fact you aren’t taking the easy (cheaper) option of just dumping in the ocean
The reason Electro/sans aren't popular is because they have an Aroma you can't get rid of. Hope you plan on mounting it and the holding tank in the stern.
Thanks for the heads up! It will be in the stern. We'll look into creating an area a little more air tight in this case. Cheers!
unfortunately, even an Electroscan toilet cannot discharge within 3 miles of shore in the US
Please do NOT use brass fittings below the waterline, sooner or later you will lose your boat because of their failure.
Why not use a composting toilet instead?
The head needs to be mounted facing forward or aft not looking at starboard or port.
Brass (bronze?) Fittings. Big difference?
Merlon?
Re: Sanitation unit. Why is it rated by boat length? I'm think 100ft fishing boat with 3 people on it vs: a 42 ft boat with 8 people living on it. Shouldn't the sanitation device be rated by the number of people expected to be using it? Our boat has a holding tank but there are no cleanouts anywhere close. So we have to dump in the ocean and have to go the right distance off shore to do that. Speaking of the sanitation unit, how much current does it draw? The cables look quite large. Maybe that is why not many people have them but now with more lithium batteries and better solar panels they will become more popular. No one whats to "Pan pan" cause they can't start their engine after flushing.
We're not experts on this but assuming it's because of the law. This is made in the USA and they categorize these devices by Types (1,2,3). And that covers what kind of boat you have and what kind of unit is required. There is probably length and commercial vs recreational in there.
This little guy says that each cycle uses only 1.2 amp hours of power.
@@lahakai That makes sense, regulators like boat length for lots of things.
Use a compost toilet👍 I do like the options you showed.
Glad you liked it! How do you like your compost toilet? Do you live aboard or just cruise?
In my opinion, the best option for a cruising boat. I have a simple composting system in my shop and it is odor and trouble free.
I go replace my old style flushing toilet..which needs almost fitness exercise when having sticky poo ;-) and can break and has true holes I dont like and want..with a "old inmobile people's" system of bags inside the toilet or poo-chair (my old aunt used it)..often now with absorbing layer..that collects the pee and poo..close it and put it in a airtight container like in daycare centres. I tried with normal waste bags and it worked fine (and could dump it in doggy-shit wast bins around the harbour). But more perfect now looking for a biodegrading compostibale bag..so you can even burry it on land to give all nutrion back to nature ;-) I life on my boat and can use sanitation in the harbour here and still no big journeys to make, but I think it will work then too. Yes, basic but simple..no electricity needed not much that can break down. Thanks for your nice video's and building process and all the useful info in followers remarks..Greetings from the Netherlands, skipper Ron
Brass is made up of copper and zinc, where bronze is made up of copper and tin. The zinc (same as your anodes) over time will leach out of brass and fail. I had a factory installed (by error) brass fitting on my sea water bronze sea strainer it failed after a few years. I installed a few electrosans back in the 70s. If I remember correctly they used a lot of power and needed a period of time between flushes for the chemical (bleach?) to to process the effluent.
The site where we bought the MSD's says that the only change they made since creating it was reducing the amount of power that was required. They discovered that not that much was necessary to be effective. So could be a significant power reduction since you've installed them. It uses electricity to convert the salt water to hypochlorous acid then back again. Not sure about the time between flushes. It says it uses each flush to move the waste through the processes.
Found it now, they it has reduced the power consumption by up to 36% from the original system
😃😃😃
😄⛵️
I had forgotten about electro-San it’s been around a while as you said. It’s going to be a while before we know the verdict. How is the power usage?
Hopefully non of the ‘Brass’ fitting will be in constant salt water contact or did you mean they are bronze? ( there is a difference and to add to the confusion the most common bronze used for underwater work is called ‘red brass’. Go figure!)
Cheers warren
They claim that each cycle uses only 1.2 amp hours of power. This has been reduced over the years.
We had our doubts about the pipe connections as well, so we spoke directly with the engineers at the company and bypassed the sales people. They confirmed everything is brass with copper plating and that it is compatable and durable. We did look it up and found a few articles like this one: blog.brennaninc.com/mixing-brass-and-stainless-steel-fittings?hs_amp=true
The key is the quality of the stainless steel and also the copper acts as a protective barrier. If price wasn't an obstacle there's lots of alternate options that we would go for. Maybe in our next build 😅😅
There were bronze options as well but that was a higher price point
I've just been replacing some brass fittings in my cockpit drains. They had probably been in there for about 20 years. They had all the strength of a potato crisp/chip and just crumbled. Consider using PVC fittings between dissimilar metals, to insulate.
@@timjackson3954 20 years is not to shappy
Put Teflon tape around every connection. It makes it more leakproof, and the metals are not next to each other.
Greetings,
Jeff
Gosh what an eye opening video. Thankyou for opening my eyes to this option. We have just had a nightmare with our blacktank on our boat, here's the video - th-cam.com/video/AJgTR45qfOs/w-d-xo.html - and now I am thinking about your treatment plant and how to integrate it into our system. Do you have an update video? Love your graphics. I look forward to jumping into more of your content!
Glad you found our video helpful! Your video was so real about the challenges of blackwater tanks, thanks for sharing. We are still in the middle of our build so we haven't tested the Electroscan just yet. But the second we splash we will be writing full reviews of our experience. We'll keep you posted. Cheers!
So it is basically a chlorinator? How does the price and power usage stack up?
This little device uses an electrical field to convert the salt water to hypochlorous acid to disinfect the stuff and then back again. The price was not free but for boat equipment we thought was good considering it would eliminate the need to pump out. So that would pay itself back in time in our minds. As far as power, each cycle uses only 1.2 amp hours of power. We'll let you know how it runs once we can install it!
@@lahakai So yeah.. similar to a chlorinator by the sounds of it. Look forward to seeing how it works!
🔥 on The poop deck
Interesting, but i still poop off the side lol
1
Well it seems to me that if you are online you are not “off grid” either
Living off-the-grid means you're not physically hooked up to public utilities. With tech like Starlink, online and off-grid is possible.
Just one awesome idea, the only thing I would do is flush with fresh water, yes you would need a bigger water maker, but you would limit the multitude of problems associated with salt water. It is not something that would be easy on a lot of sailing vessels. I do applaud you for the steps you are taking to make "Lahakai" more ocean friendly.
Composting toilet
@@amunderdog Still have the composting medium, both fresh and used to store get rid of, not for me.
This device actually requires saltwater to function. It uses some sort of electromagnetic field to convert the saltwater to hypochlorous acid to disinfect the waste then back again. If you are in fresh water they have a different unit that can add the salt to the water so you can use it. We will let you know how it goes once we install it! So far its promising! Cheers!!
@@lahakai That makes even simpler, I didn't think the industry had that much forethought. Have a great week..
How strange... why aren't PVC pipes an option?
There are a lot of twists and turns on a boat so flexible pipes work best. Cheers!
just swim behind the boat and feed the fish!
We tried that when we sailed her down south… easier in imagination than execution. 😂🙃⛵️
Brass wears out and gets brittle over time. You will need to keep one eye on it and replace them from time to time. Just saying.
Just hang over the side of the boat lol
😂😂😂
never own a boat if minor items or repairs you do aren't what should be done to save money. You will never catchup once she goes in the water
I think the tubing is too complex. And at long term it tend to create smells on the boat. I recomend to put wc to maceraror to small holding tank high and from holding tank the tube out avoif Y and rubinets.
Years of sailing and boat ownership and i've never seen a small boat with a sewage treatment system ? A simple holding tank system always worked well , there's a reason it's the industry standard on a small boat .
Install a Cinderella toilet, all problems gone…
Watching varius streams from the continuing sailing people, this seldom comes up.
Of cause they probably all have waste holding tanks, but are not mentioning where and when they get rid of the waste.
I suppose there are not many harbours in the Pacifics having waste disposal facilities?
Your solution seems fine, but it looks as a lot of power is needed when processing?
You might need another tank after the processing, so it can driven by land power, unless the procesed waste can be led out in harbour area?
There are probably facilities all over that despose waste but here in Brazil it would be less than you would hope as most people dump right in the water. But even with a facility, you'd have to always come back and pay to dump which would prevent you from being fully off grid. We also consulted the company and they recommended holding the waste then later process it to directly release it. Perhaps because it's more manageable pre-treated in the holding tank (assuming it might have some sediment qualities after macerating). They also claim that each cycle uses only 1.2 amp hours of power. Cheers!
Why couldn't you get a composting head?
This is a good question and we considered this. The problem is, where do you dump the waste of the composting head? You'd need to throw it on land or in the trash. Otherwise you are throwing it in the water and that's equal to flushing in to the ocean, only now you are also throwing whatever materials you use to composte as well.
When you use technology, and I do. It means pollution. Solar panels, wind farms. Etc, ETC. You are not doing anything wrong. We all need to accept that anything humans do has environmental cost. If you really want to reduce your "carbon" footprint don't do it
Those welds under the keel 😮 are some of the worst I’ve ever seen 😢
Remember to tie a ground to the anodes for every thruhull.
You skipped over what the difference is between a human pooping in ocean compared to sea animals. Do you know? This whole discussion seems silly. Do you really think its that much compared to the millions of sea creatures?
What human beings consume is completely different from what marine life consume and in the end defecate. Not to mention the medicines and modified foods that we ingest on a regular basis. This can create imbalances in the marine environment that is not just harmful to animals but also swimmers and beach goers. Resulting in bacterias or algae forming that can have a direct impact on the surrounding environment and life forms.
ok. Let's be honest here. 2 people in a boat is NOT going to effect the environment. A cruise ship with 5,000 people in a localized area, say like a bay, might have an effect. Not trying to be adversarial just trying to be real. I do like your channel!
Certainly one little boat wouldn’t make a difference. But if all people with boats thought the same way then that could compound the problem. We don’t think we on our own can save the planet or anything, but if there’s an inexpensive option for us to do it right, we are up for trying it out! Thanks for following along!
Terrible idea , the boat will start smelling in few months . All plastic items will not contain the smell , In such a small boat this system or any other system never works and should be basic .
This is nasty and gross. Forget sailing and the pollution that goes with it!
So you guys are going to feel guilty for ever for pooing. So sad. Many ways I like you. But you ignore the logic. To be a sailor IS polluting. And that is OK
Our goals in this project is to use the technology that is out there today to build our boat the way we would like to live, low impact and off grid. It doesn't require much extra effort or emotion. There is tons of modern technology that can improve the sailing experience.
i dont like holes under the waterline of my boat 😉 but very good explained 😋
We don't like them either but found that we had to change our plans in project because we are going fully electric. The pump required to pull this off would consume a lot of energy. Maybe on a bigger boat with a larger battery bank, it would be possible. Cheers!