Newbie Marine toilet questions

[gpicciotto]

Sorry for the what are most likely dumb questions. New to using the marine toilet mostly we have used our r23 as a fishing boat and not using the head…but now the wife and I want to do some cruising.

Do I have to have the seasick open to use the toilet? Or can I just fill with freshwater from the sink? (Heard that will minimize smell)

When pumping out does seacock need to be open?


Also don’t plan on using macerator and I assume this picture confirms it is in the off position

Finally anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance to everyone for your help!

 

[Gin]

I’ll try my hand at a response.

To use the head, you do NOT need to have the seacock open in the line that pumps overboard via the macerator. I don’t know where you are located and your cruising grounds. But in the US, you not only need the seacock to be closed, it should be closed in some kind of secure fashion — not easily opened. In my neck of the woods, most use a stout zip tie to secure it so that the zip must be cut off to open the valve.

The seacock also does not need to be open to pump out. Offhand, I would think it is better to have it closed to create good suction for a good pump out. But I’m not really sure on that. Mine has always been closed when I have pumped out. I suspect there are Canadians who could speak to how well it works to pump out with the valve open (since pumping out off-board is permissible in most Canadian waters if at least 3 miles off the coast).

Hope that helps!

 

[scross]

Sorry for the what are most likely dumb questions. New to using the marine toilet mostly we have used our r23 as a fishing boat and not using the head…but now the wife and I want to do some cruising.

Do I have to have the seasick open to use the toilet? Or can I just fill with freshwater from the sink? (Heard that will minimize smell)

When pumping out does seacock need to be open?


Also don’t plan on using macerator and I assume this picture confirms it is in the off position

Finally anything else I need to know? Thanks in advance to everyone for your help!
View attachment 23441

Let me take a stab at your questions.
First, there is a water line coming into the toilet to assist with flushing. It brings water in from the bottom of the boat. There is a seacock at the hull on that water line that you can shut off and instead use fresh water from the sink faucet to assist in flushing. That’s the intake side.
When you flush there’s a hose that takes the “stuff” to a small holding tank. This tank is called the black water tank. In the R-23 I believe the black water tank is 11 gallons or about enough capacity for a single person for 5-7 days but your mileage may vary. Cut that time in half for two people on board.
There are two paths to drain the black water tank. One uses an electric macerator and pumps the “stuff” over the side. This is legal only under certain conditions but generally when you are miles from any shore. Read your local regulations on sewage discharge to be sure you understand the discharge rules in your area.
The other path from the black water tank is a pump out fitting on the gunwale of your boat. The cap is usually labeled Waste. You can use a marina pumpout station to pump out using this method.
So how do you control which method of getting rid of the black water fluids? There is a “Y” valve located either near the black water tank or near the macerator that you switch back and forth between the over the side sewage discharge position and the marina pumpout position.
Your owners manual should cover all this including the location of the “Y” valve.
Most electric toilets have a small built in macerator at the bottom to grind up “stuff” before it moves from toilet through an hose into black water tank. This is not the same as the big macerator that is used when doing sewage discharge over the side of the boat.
Hope I have answered some of your questions.

 

[mlanger]

…
First, there is a water line coming into the toilet to assist with flushing. It brings water in from the bottom of the boat. There is a seacock at the hull on that water line that you can shut off and instead use fresh water from the sink faucet to assist in flushing. That’s the intake side.
…

I am very curious about this because I’m about to tow my R 29 from Chicago to the Seattle area. I’d like to sleep on the boat along the way. And I am of that age where middle of the night toilet visits are often required. I’m not very happy about the possibility of having to climb down a ladder and go into a truckstop in the middle of the night.

So you’re saying here that all I need to do is find and shut off the seacock that feeds the toilet in order to be able to flush the toilet with water from the sink or shower? If this is the case, do you or anyone else reading this have an idea where that seacock might be? Frankly, I’m not even sure which pump is used to bring water into the boat for this purpose. I suspect it might be the same one that is used for my deck wash. Can anyone confirm this or provide some guidance?

 

[scross]

I am very curious about this because I’m about to tow my R 29 from Chicago to the Seattle area. I’d like to sleep on the boat along the way. And I am of that age where middle of the night toilet visits are often required. I’m not very happy about the possibility of having to climb down a ladder and go into a truckstop in the middle of the night.

So you’re saying here that all I need to do is find and shut off the seacock that feeds the toilet in order to be able to flush the toilet with water from the sink or shower? If this is the case, do you or anyone else reading this have an idea where that seacock might be? Frankly, I’m not even sure which pump is used to bring water into the boat for this purpose. I suspect it might be the same one that is used for my deck wash. Can anyone confirm this or provide some guidance?

Can’t tell you exactly where the toilet seacock would be on your R-29. On our C-28 with the D4-260 there are three seacocks. The main one is on the port side adjacent to the transmission. It’s for engine cooling and leads to a large metal strainer. There is a second seacock directly opposite to the engine coolant seacock on the starboard side. It also leads to a metal strainer.
The third seacock is for the toilet. It’s mid-engine on the starboard side. There is no strainer, just a gray antibackflow valve. The hose from that seacock heard directly forward to the toilet.
When we sleep on Our Journey on its trailer, which we do 6-8 nights a year, we have the seacock to the toilet closed and use fresh water from the sink faucet in the head to add water to the toilet to aid in flushing when needed.
BTW, we close all three seacocks before putting on the trailer.

 

[OlygirlNav]

I am very curious about this because I’m about to tow my R 29 from Chicago to the Seattle area. I’d like to sleep on the boat along the way. And I am of that age where middle of the night toilet visits are often required. I’m not very happy about the possibility of having to climb down a ladder and go into a truckstop in the middle of the night.

So you’re saying here that all I need to do is find and shut off the seacock that feeds the toilet in order to be able to flush the toilet with water from the sink or shower? If this is the case, do you or anyone else reading this have an idea where that seacock might be? Frankly, I’m not even sure which pump is used to bring water into the boat for this purpose. I suspect it might be the same one that is used for my deck wash. Can anyone confirm this or provide some guidance?

R29 saltwater seacock is starboard side in engine compartment. It is aft of the strainer. The macreactor valve is located under the forward berth on starboard side close to the drawer.

 

[mlanger]

Can’t tell you exactly where the toilet seacock would be on your R-29. On our C-28 with the D4-260 there are three seacocks. The main one is on the port side adjacent to the transmission. It’s for engine cooling and leads to a large metal strainer. There is a second seacock directly opposite to the engine coolant seacock on the starboard side. It also leads to a metal strainer.
The third seacock is for the toilet. It’s mid-engine on the starboard side. There is no strainer, just a gray antibackflow valve. The hose from that seacock heard directly forward to the toilet.
When we sleep on Our Journey on its trailer, which we do 6-8 nights a year, we have the seacock to the toilet closed and use fresh water from the sink faucet in the head to add water to the toilet to aid in flushing when needed.
BTW, we close all three seacocks before putting on the trailer.

Thanks very much for all this! I was worried about possibly burning out the toilet water pump by flushing it with the source blocked off. In reading between the lines here, I’m assuming that this is not an issue.

Thanks also for the reminder to close all my seacocks when I get it on the trailer.

 

[mlanger]

R29 saltwater seacock is starboard side in engine compartment. It is aft of the strainer. The macreactor valve is located under the forward berth on starboard side close to the drawer.

Thanks for this. I’ll hunt for it next time I’ve got the engine lid up.

 

[scross]

Thanks very much for all this! I was worried about possibly burning out the toilet water pump by flushing it with the source blocked off. In reading between the lines here, I’m assuming that this is not an issue.

Thanks also for the reminder to close all my seacocks when I get it on the trailer.

You are right to be concerned about damage to the pump from having the input source blocked off with the seacock closed. We only spend one night at a time on our boat on the trailer so flushing once or even twice at night hasn’t been a concern.
Since you are doing multiple nights in a row on the trailer it’s a different situation. So, I called the manufacturer of our Dometic toilet and asked them. They recommended leaving the SEACOCK to the toilet OPEN and let the pump run dry over the alternative of closing the intake line’s seacock. They stressed that the important thing is to ALWAYS have liquid in the bowl when flushing.
The pump is self priming so once you are back in the water it should be fine.

 

[gpicciotto]

You are right to be concerned about damage to the pump from having the input source blocked off with the seacock closed. We only spend one night at a time on our boat on the trailer so flushing once or even twice at night hasn’t been a concern.
Since you are doing multiple nights in a row on the trailer it’s a different situation. So, I called the manufacturer of our Dometic toilet and asked them. They recommended leaving the SEACOCK to the toilet OPEN and let the pump run dry over the alternative of closing the intake line’s seacock. They stressed that the important thing is to ALWAYS have liquid in the bowl when flushing.
The pump is self priming so once you are back in the water it should be fine.

Thank you for the reply! Very helpful.

 

[mlanger]

You are right to be concerned about damage to the pump from having the input source blocked off with the seacock closed. We only spend one night at a time on our boat on the trailer so flushing once or even twice at night hasn’t been a concern.
Since you are doing multiple nights in a row on the trailer it’s a different situation. So, I called the manufacturer of our Dometic toilet and asked them. They recommended leaving the SEACOCK to the toilet OPEN and let the pump run dry over the alternative of closing the intake line’s seacock. They stressed that the important thing is to ALWAYS have liquid in the bowl when flushing.
The pump is self priming so once you are back in the water it should be fine.

Thanks for this. Mine is a Tecma. I’ll check with them.

 

[Dcsqatar]

One other thing to consider. We routinely use fresh water from sink or shower to flush our Tecma, and use the “two button push” to evacuate the toilet without introducing water (i.e., saltwater). I then add a cup of freshwater so that the bowl is not dry. We also have a R29 (2020) and lived on it for a year, so if you have any questions I might be able to help.

 

[mlanger]

One other thing to consider. We routinely use fresh water from sink or shower to flush our Tecma, and use the “two button push” to evacuate the toilet without introducing water (i.e., saltwater). I then add a cup of freshwater so that the bowl is not dry. We also have a R29 (2020) and lived on it for a year, so if you have any questions I might be able to help.

I just saw this (too late for my trip). I spent five nights on the boat with it on the trailer. I left the seacock open and flushed using the showerhead to provide freshwater. Although the pump was pumping air, it survived. But I will reread the manual and check out the two button push. I did not even think of that as an option. Thank you.