Head Conversion to Fresh Water - Vision 46

[SofiaB]

Has anyone converted their head from sea to fresh water?  I have an electric Ocean Technologies / MatroMarine 12V toilet on my Vision 46.  Bavaria USA said the conversion was simple, piping fresh water in from the sink.  My marina is saying it is much more difficult.  I would like any advise from someone who has converted from sea to fresh water.  Thanks!  Stuart

[Craig]

My question would be  WHY?. The amount of water cycled through the heads daily would be much more than using the shower.

All boats using salt water will get a H2S smell if using salt water but this should be temporary. If you flush the heads before people come on board the gas should be removed fairly quickly.

It probably makes more sense to replace the pump toilet with an electric toilet as the electric toilet will usually remove more waste more efficiently. I've found that the electric toilets where you can pump in water using one switch and pump out using another, rather than one switch that purports to do both at the one time, is much better. 

Craig
" Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast
Australia

[sy_Anniina]

No first hand knowledge about your specific toilet model, but a generic note:

Most toilet systems are designed for seawater flushing, thus there is no design specification to prevent slight contamination / bacteria backflow to flushing inlet. At least in manual toilets, the same pump cylinder walls operate on both flush and waste side of the piston, while the piston has only single o-ring as a seal inbetween.

So I would suggest to study carefully toilet manufacturer installation instructions and/or specifications.

BR,

Tommi
s/y Anniina

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Most toilet systems are designed for seawater flushing, thus there is no design specification to prevent slight contamination / bacteria backflow to flushing inlet. At least in manual toilets, the same pump cylinder walls operate on both flush and waste side of the piston, while the piston has only single o-ring as a seal inbetween.
Tommi
s/y Anniina

An excellent reason for kicking this idea into touch.
Also the extravagant use of fresh water would seem criminal to most boaties.......................Bill

[Symphony]

You need to take a supply from one of your water tanks, not from the sink, although a convenient access point may well be in the cold water feed to the sink. Fresh water flush is common in motor boats because they usually have bigger tanks than sailing boats.

Suggest you contact the maker of the toilet for guidance as to what is required to convert to fresh water flush.

[Lyra]

Like Craig I also ask WHY but for a different reason.

We also use fresh water when in the marina since there is no lack of water in this situation - it definitely keeps the heads without any smell or contamination, even in cases that the boat is not used for several weeks. It also reduces calcium deposits in the holding tank. However when flushing we simply use the sink faucet, which has the sower hose extension (no need to switch positions of the lever as only discharge is used).
On long cruises we switch to seawater.
Once in a while, on day sails, I switch to seawater just to make sure the system is working.

One more tip I got many years ago and use from time to time - drop a tablet or two of denture cleaner when leaving the boat

[Kibo]

Hi Stuart

Not sure why changing to fresh tank water be any different than using Lake water.

I sail on the Great Lakes in a mate's race boat and we use lake water for flushing without any problems. We use some of the RV toilet treatment and it keeps any holding tank smells down OK. Suggest trying that first.

We sail in salt water in our boat and use occasional toilet cleaners to avoid smells. Need to ensure long flushing to clear out all the inlet and outlet pipes so there is no backflow or stagnation. Works OK for us during our 4 months liveaboard.

All the best for a great summer (when it gets here) !!

[Baddox]

We had smelly heads on our new-to-us boat. I would never connect the fresh water system to the foul water pipes, it's asking for trouble with cross contamination.
 
Fitting a Jabsco strainer inline with the sea water intake was a simple job and dropping a loo-block into it from the local supermarket has stopped any malodour forming.

[Kibo]

Hi Baddox

How long does the loo block last ? Sounds like a good idea

[SofiaB]

Thanks all for the advise. West Lake Erie has terrible algae blooms and creates terrible odors. We use the shower head now and no more odor. Making fresh water flush an option with sea water would be perfect with an electric switchover or mechanical switchover. Until I find a good solution we will continue with the shower solution. Again, thanks.

[Salty]

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.
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One more tip I got many years ago and use from time to time - drop a tablet or two of denture cleaner when leaving the boat

Well at a young 74 I’ve not yet succumbed to the need for false teeth, but I sure as hell am not going to keep them in there when I do 🤪🤪

[Lyra]

With the advance of teeth implants, I guess removable false teeth will phase out as well as related products.
The alternative, which I also used, is a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, but the tablets occupy less space and smell better (mint)

[SofiaB]

Since I started this topic thought I’d post an update on switching to fresh water. Actually switched out the toilet for a Thetford Marine, fresh water. Added a sea pump so I can switch back and forth. So far so good!  Toggle switch to go from fresh to sea. New toilet is full size and is more like a home toilet.

[SofiaB]

Pics if interested.

[IslandAlchemy]

Before you leave the boat, close the seacocks and put some vinegar down the toilet.

No smell any more.

[SofiaB]

Tried vinegar every day but the smell did not go away. Gutted just about everything including hoses and toilet. New Tecma ultra odor blocking waste line. When we head North we will flip the switch for Huron Lake water but here in west Lake Erie forget it. Love the ability to toggle a switch.

[stevem]

Whafever you do Don't connect a freshwater supply to the toilet there is a great risk of contamination . I have a Vision 42 with an electric toilet. The design of the installation  is wrong.the wastext pipe to the holding tank is too long,  consequently there tends to be contaminated  water left in the waste pipe or if you flush excessive  amount of water to flush the holding tank gets full too quickly. I use about an eggcup full of cheap household bleach down the loo exert day or two. Leave for only a minute  and flush that helps to keep down smells. But the best solution is to convert to a Jabasco manual toilet.