Composting toilet

[ngleadow]

Hi all;

We had an Airhead composting toilet installed in our R25 "Blue Socks", then went for a 10 day cruise in the Gulf Islands..just returned today. It has made quite a difference. We had the boat yard remove all the stuff associated with the old toilet. No macerator, no black water tank, no pump-outs, no smell, no pumping, no valves....OK you get the picture. We ran the vent hose back to the transom, had the original holding tank vent enlarged with a clam shell over it to keep out the rain. The fan is mounted on the inside of the transom, and we cannot hear it unless we place our ear against the transom. (something I did frequently to make sure it was working).

It was simple to use, and there was absolutely no smell..even when the trap door was open and ready for a donation. We bought an extra "pee" bucket so that there was always one ready to use.

Thanks to others who have led the way on this.. thanks JerryE on Alto for the detailed information.

Cheers

Norm on "Blue Socks"

 

[knotflying]

Knew you would love it! Since our boat was new we converted the holding tank to potable water so now we have 70 gallons.
Mike Rizzo

 

[Nellie Too]

The Airhead inventor was at the Bremerton Rendezvous on Thursday, we hope some of you had the opportunity to talk with him. The local representative is Ron Ibsen, who also representes Prism which you all got a sample of. I will be at our boat tomorrow and get Ron's phone number and put it on the web for those who are interested.
All the best and hope all had a great time.
Bob

 

[baz]

Knew you would love it! Since our boat was new we converted the holding tank to potable water so now we have 70 gallons.
Mike Rizzo

How on earth did you clean out that holding tank prior to using it for potable water use ? That extra 30 gals does indeed provide an enormous added benefit for using/employing the AirHead toilet. How did you plumb this extra 30 gals to mate up with the stock 30 gal fresh water tank ?

 

[captain's cat]

Barry, I'd venture to guess that "since his boat was new", the holding tank was new, never used therefore didn't need cleaning!

Charlie

 

[Levitation]

Never, ever attempt to clean and use a holding tank for potable water...
Replace the used and contaminated tank with a new tank and new plumbing if you wish to add more drinking water...
You could also put in two 15 gallon tanks, one for potable water and one for diesel...
A third option is to just remove the tank and use the space for storage of bulky items...
Or leave it empty and enjoy the performance gain from the boat being lighter and better balanced...

 

[knotflying]

Yes, since the tank was never used as a holding tank I use it for potable water. I just had a line run to a diverter valve before the pump where both tanks tie in. I use the holding tank water first since it has no guage. Then I just switch over to the regular water tank.

 

[walldog]

If the holding tank were removed completely, you would have a lot better access to stern thruster motor and transducer should you ever have to work on either.

 

[ngleadow]

Hi
Walldog is right about access to the stern. Right now I have this cavernous space with clear view of the thruster etc. The holding tank was completely removed and discarded. I am looking at the space and wondering about whether or not I'll fill it. It's tempting.

Norm on Blue Socks

 

[sidecarist]

I find the advantages of the airhead interesting... Would be interested in photos of how it was installed in the Ranger. I am thinking about an R27 so I would be most interested in seeing an installation in an R25 or R27. The height may be an issue for me. How was the step in the floor liner of the head dealt with? The thought has occurred to me that if I order a new boat I'll just ask that they not install the standard head and plumbing...

Thanks in advance!

Bob

 

[wefings]

You might take a glance at this .
We have done a few and have had nothing but happy customers . We do a little different install than the transom exhaust .
Marc

 

[mspaugy]

Marc, what size Ranger is that installed in? Is the factory doing these as well now? Now all I need on one of these boats is a way to hook up a gray water drain in an RV park.

 

[wefings]

That was an R 27 .Gray water management can be as simple as hoses inserted into the through hulls and tee'd together flowing by gravity to the waste water "point of entry" at the RV park.
The factory prefers not to do the install at this time but a dealer and/or skilled boat shop can do it .
Marc

 

[mspaugy]

Does or has Wefings done that? What kind of fittings do you use?

 

[knotflying]

Yes, a picture or an explination of the setup would be nice to see.

 

[wefings]

We have done a few Airheads , and suggested the gray water solution ,but we have not done it .We would be happy to figure it out for our customers. A few customers have tackled that themselves . I would start with the factory fittings and see about fitting them with clear plastic hoses from the outside . there are three sources of gray water on an R 27 . 2 sinks and a shower sump.All the through hulls are located on the stbd side in the row 5 of chrome fittings.
Marc