porta pottie

[BOAT]

Yeah, the sea land and dometics all leak. I had one of those marine style ones a long time ago - it's the same one that MacGregor was supplying with the boat new that I told them they could keep - I did not want it. I had several of those in the past and they all leak eventually. The reason they are supplied on boats is because they are LOW to the ground! If you sit on a really good full size Thetford like the Curve on the M boat your head will hit the top of the cabin! So they give you that low one that leaks!

I use the older style Thetford large size PP because it comes in two tank capacity's. It's large version has more capacity than the Curve but it's a bit higher but the secret is that that older version PP can also use the smaller tank - the smaller tank makes the PP about 2 inches lower but still has the capacity of the Curve. The don't advertise the older styles anymore and they are hard to order unless you know the exact catalog numbers. I have had so many small van motor homes over the years that I have purchased a LOT of porta potties and I have dumped them at least a hundred times by now. The best way is to have as large a tank as possible and dump it when it's only half full. It's easy to dump when it's not full.

[Obelix]

We have the Airhead and are extremely pleased with it but friends of us have the C-Head and like that as well.
The admiral says: "The Airhead Is the best mod we did on the boat".

Obelix

[cptron]

"The Airhead Is the best mod we did on the boat".

That's what my admiral said only we have the C-Head.

[vizwhiz]

There is also the option of the Laveo Dry Flush Toilet that you can buy from Home Depot for about $500. Do a search at HD website for those words and you should find the toilet itself, the cartridges, and a mounting kit that you may or may not need. Each cartridge is about $20, and you get about 16 or 17 flushes. There are some discussions about it on FB and another website, and I'm sure on non-Mac sites (but I don't go to those!)
That is probably what we'll get when we give up on our PP.
What we think we like about it is that if we reserve it for #2, that many flushes will last us quite a few weekending trips. There's no messing with soil or sawdust or anything. And it can be dumped in the dumpster along with trash when finished. And the cartridges are available at HD, so are supposed to be easy to find everywhere.
Not selling or anything, just trying to be informative.

[BOAT]

There is also the option of the Laveo Dry Flush Toilet that you can buy from Home Depot for about $500. Do a search at HD website for those words and you should find the toilet itself, the cartridges, and a mounting kit that you may or may not need. Each cartridge is about $20, and you get about 16 or 17 flushes. There are some discussions about it on FB and another website, and I'm sure on non-Mac sites (but I don't go to those!)
That is probably what we'll get when we give up on our PP.
What we think we like about it is that if we reserve it for #2, that many flushes will last us quite a few weekending trips. There's no messing with soil or sawdust or anything. And it can be dumped in the dumpster along with trash when finished. And the cartridges are available at HD, so are supposed to be easy to find everywhere.
Not selling or anything, just trying to be informative.

Yup, great post vizwhiz - you get the pizza a beer commendation for most useful post this month.

Guys, look at that dry flush potty - I just looked at it as viswhiz recommended and he is right, the potty is genius. NO SMELL! And easier to empty than a com-poster. And WAY better than a standard PP.

I am switching to the dry flush in my camper van because of you vizwhiz - that's the best place to test it out. If it works good for me on the road then I will figure out how to fit it into 'boat' too. (The problem with 'boat' is that being an M boat there is very little head room in the head - in fact I would be re naming the the HEAD the NECK if I get that toilet into 'boat' because my head won't fit anymore).

I may be able to modify the floor in the NOT-HEAD in 'boat' so the dry flush will fit.

[Highlander]

There is also the option of the Laveo Dry Flush Toilet that you can buy from Home Depot for about $500. Do a search at HD website for those words and you should find the toilet itself, the cartridges, and a mounting kit that you may or may not need. Each cartridge is about $20, and you get about 16 or 17 flushes. There are some discussions about it on FB and another website, and I'm sure on non-Mac sites (but I don't go to those!)
That is probably what we'll get when we give up on our PP.
What we think we like about it is that if we reserve it for #2, that many flushes will last us quite a few weekending trips. There's no messing with soil or sawdust or anything. And it can be dumped in the dumpster along with trash when finished. And the cartridges are available at HD, so are supposed to be easy to find everywhere.
Not selling or anything, just trying to be informative.

Yup, great post vizwhiz - you get the pizza a beer commendation for most useful post this month.

Guys, look at that dry flush potty - I just looked at it as viswhiz recommended and he is right, the potty is genius. NO SMELL! And easier to empty than a com-poster. And WAY better than a standard PP.

I am switching to the dry flush in my camper van because of you vizwhiz - that's the best place to test it out. If it works good for me on the road then I will figure out how to fit it into 'boat' too. (The problem with 'boat' is that being an M boat there is very little head room in the head - in fact I would be re naming the the HEAD the NECK if I get that toilet into 'boat' because my head won't fit anymore).

I may be able to modify the floor in the NOT-HEAD in 'boat' so the dry flush will fit.

Other option is to remove the window & replace it with a black sheet of that high density plastic , actually wally mart has these large black plastic cutting boards that might due the trick , then cut
the center of it out to fit the largest opening hatch u can fit into it , I thought of doing that mod before I went with the dorade boxes instead due cost , the hatches I was lookin @ were approx $400, each or more, some have put the small 10"x10" black plastic hatches into the front black windows but they cost approx $200. each

My two home made dorade boxes & vents cost me a total of $75. for both
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 9e2a10.jpg

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 8efb5d.jpg

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... da5e21.jpg

J

[Highlander]

Here,s the mod I was talking about
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/in ... ?view=1983

If I was going to do this mod I would completely remove the window & mod as I said with the biggest opening hatch i could buy or price out a custom made opening hatch to completely replace the window

I really like this mod but @ a cost of more than $400, for two hatches I,ll pass , if I ever see them on sale for half price I might jump in or get a deal on a good used set

J
PS don,t know if ur big head would go through these small hatches

[innervations]

+1 for ditching the ports potty. Worst device ever invented. Has ruined more outings on our boat than anything else including flat batteries, running aground and being collided by another boat. At least in all these events me and the boat did not end up covered in 3 day old urine

We have C-head and all our toilet woes are gone! Agree - best mod ever.

[BOAT]

i DON'T KNOW WHAT A C HEAD IS.

[March]

BOAT wrote:
i DON'T KNOW WHAT A C HEAD IS.

One step past B Head, but still not as advanced as a D Head--which hasn't been produced yet

[BOAT]

Oh, okay thanks, I must still be on the A head.

[innervations]

Just one brand of composting toilet http://www.c-head.com

[BOAT]

Just one brand of composting toilet http://www.c-head.com

Oh, composting - that's really great too. The thing I am not too cool with is the pee pee part - you must pee in a milk jug with the composting ones. And also I talked to the manufacturer of that toilet and he said the sawdust stuff is not a good fit for me because I often have bouts of IBS (diarrhea) so you see it's not just out of my mouth all the time like Highlander says.

So for me I need a potty that can handle pee pee and poo poo at the same time mixed together and also runny poo poo and stuff - why do you guys always start such disgusting posts anyway??

Also, I'm not much of a tree hugger - I really don't care about my carbon foot print and all that and with the C head you are still throwing a plastic bag full of poop into the landfill anyways - it's no better than the dry toilet as far as tree hugging is concerned.

If you are truly are a tree hugger you would need to be like a man (animal) that lived 8000 years ago and dispose of your poop and pee accordingly. Back then man just pooped on the ground like the animals. (They still do it that way in some parts of San Francisco) So if you want to be truuly natural and ecological and tree huggable you should poop and pee in the ocean. (Hey, isn't that what a regular marine toilet does?)

Funny how the most natural toilet (the marine toilet) that just dumps your poop and pee in the ocean is now the most "ecologically bad" one. Gee, i guess the fish are bad too? Do they use composter toilets?

[Russ]

Funny how the most natural toilet (the marine toilet) that just dumps your poop and pee in the ocean is now the most "ecologically bad" one. Gee, i guess the fish are bad too? Do they use composter toilets?

Probably not so much an issue of pooping in the ocean, but when thousands of boats poop in the bay, it can get strong. NYC sewer system is a mixed system, both rain water and septic. Use to be when a big heavy downpour overwhelmed the system, they had no choice but to dump raw sewage into the harbor. Wasn't a pretty sight to see the stuff people flush down their loos in the harbor. A floating health class.

We've had the Dometic PP for years without issue. No batteries, works fine. Dumping is not fun, but not a big deal. Very simple and works. Did get the 5gal version for long weekend. I simply can't imagine the thought of my doody sitting in the boat for weeks "composting". Yea, I know, I know, but it's the idea of it.
And of course, in these isles of sun and fun, we never flush for number one.


--Russ

[BOAT]

And that is really my only concern about the dry toilet Russ, like you said - what if I go out for a weekend and when I come back there is poop in the dry toilet? The replacement cassette costs 20 buck so I am surly not going to throw away an entire 20 dollar cassette with only one or two poops in it. So doe the poops sit there in the dry toilet for the next two months if I don't use the boat for two months?

With the PP I just empty it out and clean it up and put it back in the boat so it can sit for weeks or months no issues.

I'm still researching the dry toilet, so far it looks like a great replacement for the PP in my camper van, but the jury is still out on the boat. The C toilet has all the same drawbacks of the dry toilet but the C toilet has a whole lot of other issues the dry toilet does not have. In that case for me the C toilet is not really a better option than the dry toilet.

Based on what you said russ about the bays and harbors it seems that be best marine toilet would just have a holding tank that you dump when you get out of the harbor. (Isn't that what we all do with our porta potties anyways??) The whole thing is sort of silly to me. I have been using PP and bags and digging holes in the ground for years because I started camping as a small child and I have been boondocking all my life. But out in the ocean??? Seems to me like all you need is right there under the boat!! Why can't the poo poo just go in the water?? Isn't that where all poo poo goes eventually anyways??

I am NOT an environmentalist so I may be ignorant on these things.