Noobe Head Questions

[Windy50]

New to us 2020 Freedom 235. Boat has Dometic Sanipotti (Permanent Toilet).
Sorry for the dirty subject but we have a family so toilet will be important for us.

• I notice the vacuum pipe is acutely chamfered such that it is almost flush to the bottom of the waste tank, presumably to ensure maximum extraction of liquids, but how effective is this arrangement at extracting solids? Is the deodorant designed to break down solids so that they can be pumped more easily.
• Say someone has a pee that one time during the day. Is this reason enough to perform a pump out?
• What are the benefits of the porcelain manual/electric flush toilets over the Sanipotti?
• Am I right that there is a proper black tank with the porcelain options? If so, would my boat have been installed with one?
• Would there be any reason to consider upgrading to a better toilet and would my boat have been made so this could be possible?

Thanks for any advice or hints using this head.

 

[DennisG01]

That's not a "permanent" head. It's a porta-potty with the pump-out option (MSD). Porta-potty's are pretty much fool proof - before you think about changing styles, see how you use the potty. If it's not used much, it doesn't really pay to make the switch. It's quite involved to do this.

You can check the specs/options on GW's site to see if a different style was an option. Do you have room for a holding tank somewhere? Where could it be put?

A few days of use will be just fine in between pump-outs. Even a week or two. If you don't have access to easy pump-outs, consider switching back (or converting) to a regular porta-potty.

 

[glacierbaze]

Do you have a macerator, and a through hull under that starboard vee berth? If so, you can pump out off shore, depending on the limit for your area. Here it is 3 miles.
If you don’t have those things, you are limited to dockside pumpout only.

 

[Windy50]

That's not a "permanent" head. It's a porta-potty with the pump-out option (MSD). Porta-potty's are pretty much fool proof - before you think about changing styles, see how you use the potty. If it's not used much, it doesn't really pay to make the switch. It's quite involved to do this.

You can check the specs/options on GW's site to see if a different style was an option. Do you have room for a holding tank somewhere? Where could it be put?

A few days of use will be just fine in between pump-outs. Even a week or two. If you don't have access to easy pump-outs, consider switching back (or converting) to a regular porta-potty.

Thanks and yes, you are correct about the toilet model The 235 comes with an option for a marine head w/electric or manual flush, 10-gallon (38 l) holding tank w/macerator, overboard discharge & deck pump out. I have seen the wiring for a macerator but do not know if they install the holding tank regardless of the toilet option they install. Deck pump out is not an issue for me where I boat.

 

[Fishtales]

To switch isn’t trivial so I’d take Dennis’s advice and see how you use it. If people do their business before getting onboard you’ll use it a lot less.

 

[DennisG01]

Pour some water into the deck pump-out fitting. If it goes right into the bottom of the head... there's your answer about whether or not the head is plumbed to a separate holding tank. I'd be surprised if you do have a separate holding tank.

If you ACTUALLY have a macerator, then you would have a seacock with thru-hull somewhere in the bilge.

 

[seasick]

The Sanipotti has a self contained waster tank, it's capacity depends on the model number as does the user operation process. All of the Sanipotti models have a waste tank that fills whatever is in the bowl when the 'flush' operation is performed. The waste tanks has a option to connect to a pump out hose and fitting. There is no macerator pump. It basically a portable MSD with an option to pump out the tank.

 

[Fishtales]

That unit is self-contained as stated. To put a marine head in, your talking a lot of plumbing (water, waste, thru hole, running lines (not trivial), some wiring and mechanical.
If going to do all that, make sure you really need it as it is either going to cost you or a lot of your personal time with a fair amount of challenges (getting to areas to install and do what you need to do).
I'd live with what you have or look into a composting toilet of some type.

 

[nuclear]

Make sure everyone (especially kids) go before leaving the dock/house. If all they have to do is pee when you are out then have them go for a swim or over the side. Although my boat has a similar setup, we have not used it yet and are now going on our third summer with the boat. Unless you are out for 8+ hours this should work just fine, less to worry about, and no odors to deal with. My dock has a pumpout that is very easy to use/access but why bother if I don't have to?

Of course this changes if you have guests and what your relationship is with them.

 

[glacierbaze]

The Sanipotti has a self contained waster tank, it's capacity depends on the model number as does the user operation process. All of the Sanipotti models have a waste tank that fills whatever is in the bowl when the 'flush' operation is performed. The waste tanks has a option to connect to a pump out hose and fitting. There is no macerator pump. It basically a portable MSD with an option to pump out the tank.

Some of them, including mine, do have a macerator and a seacock under the starboard vee berth.It is a pretty simple installation, and gives you an overboard discharge option.

 

[seasick]

The Sanipotti model (s) do not have any pumps or macerators. It basically a non powered gravity fed tank with a pump out tube and fitting ( and a vent fitting.)

 

[DennisG01]

The Sanipotti model (s) do not have any pumps or macerators. It basically a non powered gravity fed tank with a pump out tube and fitting ( and a vent fitting.)

You're correct that they, themselves, do not have a macerator or pump. However, a macerator COULD be plumbed into the 1-1/2" hose to evacuate the holding tank. It can be done with or without a Y-valve to a deck fitting. Heck, a "quick and dirty" way to add more "storage" would be to plumb a macerator inline and then have the macerator dump into a top-fitting plastic tank somewhere else in the boat. But that new tank would need it's own pump-out and pressure relief valve.

 

[seasick]

That's a lot of work to end up with a semi-permanent portable MSD Dometic has announced a new self contained MSD ( it isn't available yet and I have no idea what it will cost). The up side is that the holding tank and all necessary plumbing parts are built in. You need to run a pressurized water feed,(salt or fresh water), a vent run to the outside hull, and a pump out fitting and hose to the unit. In the OP case, I am not sure if the unit will fit but it is an interesting idea for retrofits.
You can see some info here:

Dometic M65-700 Bonus Pack

Dometic M65-700 Bonus Pack - All-in-one marine toilet (white, plastic seat) bonus pack with holding tank treatment and toilet tissue

www.dometic.com

 

[Fishtales]

Get the bucket. People will learn fast to go before boating.

 

[B-Shell]

I would also think about who’s going to use it. Most likely the ladies in the kids. Just make sure you give them instructions on how to properly flush so as not to fill up the holding capacity. Should be fine for day trips. I’ve had four heads on my last three boats and found they were rarely used for anything other than what I just described above. And that’s with little kids like under 10