Push-Button Flush?
Some folks like push-button toilet operation.
You can arrange this with a Blakes Lavac
simply by installing an electric-powered bilge
pump. (Blakes Lavac makes an electric
version of their standard hand pump.) In case
of electrical failure, there should be a man-
ual pump installed in series, just ahead of the
electric pump. This way you can pump out
regardless. So far, I’ve talked all my clients out
of electrifying their Blakes Lavac heads. After
all, the whole point is being simple and direct.
Why further complicate things? It takes no ef-
fort and very little time to pull a few strokes
on a hand diaphragm pump.
Head Installation Plumbing
Odor and Hose
After the toilet itself, you have to consider
the hose and the tanks to ensure a com-
pletely trouble-free system. The two brands
of hose that seem to have given my office the
least trouble are SeaLand’s OdorSafe Hose
(Figure 21-4) and Trident’s smooth-wall PVC
sanitation hose warranted for 3 years (the
longest warranty I’m aware of on marine san-
itation hose). Don’t scrimp on hose. To avoid
odor, use the best; neveruse any corrugated
hose in any part of the system. The corruga-
tions reduce flow rate and catch things.
Don’t use car radiator hose either. Though
good and tough, it doesn’t seal in odors well
enough.
You can check if the hose on a boat is a
source of odor by soaking a rag in hot water
and wrapping it (while wet) around the hose.
(This works best at a low point, where effluent
can collect.) When the rag has cooled, pull it
off and sniff it. If you smell sewage, odor is
coming through the hose.The T and Y Pitfall
Avoid Ys or Ts in your sewage-line runs.
Every such junction is a place for gunk to
catch and clog. Y and T valves are even worse
than plain Y or T connectors. These can all be
avoided by installing the system as shown in
Figure 21-5. If you have to have a holding
tank (and we almost all do), then run the
hose direct from the head to the holding tank.
From the holding tank you’ll have a pumpout
hose leading to the pumpout fitting on deck,
and a separate outlet hose from the tank lead-
ing to a macerator pump and from there
through a seacock overboard. You also need
a tank vent as well, of course. There are no
valves and no Y or T connections anywhere
in this setup except for the sea-suction sea-
cock and the outlet seacock.
Of course, if you’re using an off-the-shelf
holding tank, it may not have the threeChapter 21:My Favorite Head
Figure 21-4. OdorSafe hose (Courtesy
SeaLand)Figure 21-5. Ideal
head plumbing