holding tank on the hc33, outlets the same as inlet?

[jonneely]

I am re piping in my original holding tank and once I got all the boards up I was expecting three connections: fill, vent and outlet to empty tank. I have found only one 1 1\4" fitting and a vent fitting. It had been capped off because the PO installed a vacuflush. We like the vacuflush but its 25 gallon holding tank takes up our sail locker under our bed. Back to the holding tank. The 90 degree elbow and barb fitting where nearly dissolved so I took the liberty in lossening it then finding out that it must have been glasses in place because the barb fitting did not have enough clearance to make it by the tanks top flange for the inspection plate. Out came the grinder and off came the fitting. Is this normal on other hc33s? Any one want to chime in, that would be great! Plus I'm looking to see what heads everyone is using. Band and model then tell me how you like it!

Cheers,

Jon

[imiloa]

I haven't looked at ours but I believe what you describe is the typical setup. This older thread might be helpful:

Cheers,

Rowan

[scleary]

Jon,

I had two vacuflush systems on my 48t. One that came with it, and one that I added after the fact. You must have an integrated vacuum generator and holding tank. They do offer a vacuum generator only option, that would integrate with your existing holding tank (these are the style I had on my boat). The vacuum generator would take up a small fraction of the space the holding tank you describe does. You may want to stick with the vacuflush, and just eliminate the holding tank for a vacuum generator and use your existing holding tank.

In my experience vacuflush are by far the best marine toilet option if you are living aboard (lived aboard for 10yrs) or cruising. No levers to swap to the correct position, no worry about creating a siphon when heeled over. I used to have to coach any guests about how to flush the manual jabsco head I had on my first boat. It got to the point where I would just say "close the lid, and I'll flush it for you".

Fresh water flush is a huge asset if you are stationary (especially if you are in a harbor like I was in Boston where the water wreaks after a while sitting in the bowl). I would have to check, but I believe the spec is 1 pint per flush. The reduction in water means fewer pump-outs when you are pumping into the tank. You could opt for salt water flush as well, but for the small amount of water used I appreciated the lack of stink coming from the bowl. A third option is a valve to select salt water or fresh water flush (so if you were making a long passage you could opt for salt water flush...and if you are in harbor and have access to fresh water you can opt for fresh).

To address your original question, on my prior and current HC, there is a Y valve to direct the toilet either to the holding tank or overboard. A single port on the holding tank leads to a Y connector (not valve) which splits off to the Y valve in one direction and to the pump out deck fitting in the other. In my case(s), there is also a macerator which can be used to evacuate the holding tank. It ties into the overboard via another Y connector off the line leading to the deck fitting for the pump-out (as best I can recall from my couch .

The 43T I just bought has the manual head, I will be swapping it out for a vacuflush system at some point for sure.

Also, in terms of reliability, in 10yrs I never had an issue with either unit (one forward, one aft). As you can imagine, living aboard it got 100x more use than a typical marine head might.

[jonneely]

Thanks for the reply! The vacuflush while convenient is not our cup of tea. We have yet to have an issue with ours but I want to get back to an old trusty pumper. I ended up taking the lid of our holding tank after I filled it up with water to check for leaks. Has a couple pinhole leaks in the stainless lid. It came off easy and should be an easy fix. I ordered a Raritan PHC after having only good experiences with them. For the cost $280 i think its a good fit. Im going to have a welder fix the two pin holes then reseal the lid back on. The holding tank was very clean and holds exactly 20 gallons. Not bad! My thought on the salt water flush is that Im not going to pipe it to salt water nor fresh. We will dry flush it because we generally only pee in our head at dock. When we need to go #2 Im going to keep a flush cup in the area that we can use to wash it down. Thats my thought at least, we can see how annoying that gets after a few weeks then I might be plumbing salt to it. Or maybe explore the T on the sink drain in the head.

[scleary]

Hey Jon,

While you have it apart, check out this stuff http://www.amesresearch.com/bluemax.htm

I'm planning to use it to seal my water and holding tanks to prevent any future leaks.

Good luck!

Steve