Water System / toilet questions

K

Kmackey

New Member
Feb 6, 2017
21
Georgia
Boat Info
SunDancer 270
Engines
454 merc bravo3
I just got a 96' 270 DA and have never had toilet system like this. I have the system with a macerator, do you have to have fresh water aboard to use or I have read they can pull water from the lake? Thanks in advance


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You'll need fresh water in your tank to flush. And you'll want to check the laws where you boat. In many areas it's not legal to use your macerator to discharge waste.

And welcome!
 
Stee6043 said:
You'll need fresh water in your tank to flush. And you'll want to check the laws where you boat. In many areas it's not legal to use your macerator to discharge waste.

And welcome!
Click to expand...

I know it will go in to a black water tank, but was not sure of the flush water came from. Thank you again, taking her for the first time tomorrow


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Unless there was a major change between 95 and 96 the flushing water is drawn in from the outside.
To be clear, my head has a pump handle that draws water through the sea cock and sends it to the black tank. From the black tank I can either use a pump out station or switch the 'Y' valve and use the macerator for overboard discharge. The only electrical part is the macerator.
 
wrvond said:
Unless there was a major change between 95 and 96 the flushing water is drawn in from the outside.
To be clear, my head has a pump handle that draws water through the sea cock and sends it to the black tank. From the black tank I can either use a pump out station or switch the 'Y' valve and use the macerator for overboard discharge. The only electrical part is the macerator.
Click to expand...

No kidding? Wow...I've never heard of such a thing. I guess I should not have assumed this wasn't the case having never owned this boat. But I'm moderately surprised this system existed this way.

I'd never flush my toilet in my marina if this were the case on my boat. The water is anything but clear and clean. No way would I be pumping that crap into my boat!
 
Every boat I've had with a manual pump toilet drew water from the lake. Only my vacuflush now uses fresh water (and I wish it used raw water at times)
 
Stee6043 said:
No kidding? Wow...I've never heard of such a thing. I guess I should not have assumed this wasn't the case having never owned this boat. But I'm moderately surprised this system existed this way.

I'd never flush my toilet in my marina if this were the case on my boat. The water is anything but clear and clean. No way would I be pumping that crap into my boat!
Click to expand...

The fresh water tank is only 24 gallons. It wouldn't take long to "flush" that away!
It's important to know which head system is on the boat. The porta-potty system is self contained and doesn't have a water supply, though it can have a pump out fitting. The VacuFlush system, OTOH, does use fresh water from the potable water tank. The manual flush and electric flush heads both use sea water to flush. All of these, other than the portapotty will have a black water holding tank with pump out fitting and may have the optional macerator.
 
I'm not sure that Vacuflush was standard on all Searays. If you have a pump handle toilet it's likely drawing from the water under the boat.
 
Have an update on the toilet / water system, she does pull water from the lake to flush toilet, tested it today


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Kmackey said:
Have an update on the toilet / water system, she does pull water from the lake to flush toilet, tested it today


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Click to expand...

Your black tank is only 24 gallons. You do not want to overfill it, either!
If you look inside the starboard "water locker" you'll see a 2 inch diameter cylinder with a hose connected at each end. This is your black tank vent filter. If you overfill the tank this filter will get filled and you will smell it right away.
 
Kmackey said:
Have an update on the toilet / water system, she does pull water from the lake to flush toilet, tested it today


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Click to expand...
Hello, I know this thread is a few years old, but I've been eagerly reading it. I just bought a 1997 270 Sundancer, and the head operates very differently from the Crown Heads in my Chris Craft. I'm trying to figure out how this system is supposed to work. It has the head with the foot switch that you pull up to put water in, push down to flush. There's an obvious vacuum being created, so I'll assume that this is the Vacu-Flush Head System. There's a panel with a key on the wall that says "WASTE CONTROL SYSTEM." If I turn the KEY on, a light on the panel comes on and it says "POWER." I am hoping that the water for flushing comes from the lake, as with only 20+ gallons of fresh water, it seems like a waste to flush it down the toilet. How can I determine where the toilet water is coming from? If the macerator key is turned on, will it display an indication of the tank level, like my manual shows? I had the tank pumped out, but the "EMPTY" light didn't turn on. Thanks for any continued information on how this system is supposed to work.
IMG_4707.JPG
 
Vacuflush heads use water from your fresh water tank onboard. I had both manual systems and Vacuflush and I'll take the Vacuflush any day. It uses very little water per flush, just be sure everyone knows if it didn't go thru you it doesn't go in the toilet. If you're on a lake be sure to close and remove the seacock handle for overboard discharge.
 
Stee6043 said:
No kidding? Wow...I've never heard of such a thing. I guess I should not have assumed this wasn't the case having never owned this boat. But I'm moderately surprised this system existed this way.

I'd never flush my toilet in my marina if this were the case on my boat. The water is anything but clear and clean. No way would I be pumping that crap into my boat!
Click to expand...
Cruisers Yacht did this a lot, used raw sea water for the head. I was looking at 320 Express last year and everyone I looked at had this configuration.

You will want to flush it with fresh water before you leave the boat for an extended period. Don't leave the raw water in the toilet or hoses.
 
Using lake water will cause things to stink even worse. As noted, the Vac system is excellent. You won't run out of water - it uses only a tiny bit per flush.

Do you have a macerator?
 
I have a 2001 310 and the head system trips off at random intervals (the switch in the dc panel shuts off). This just started, and I have four grandkids that need the head! Any help on where to start looking would be appreciated, thanks.
 
Say if you have to take a trip from NJ to Florida and had Vacuflush. Would you have to visit a marina en route in order to pump out the waste, and fill up the fresh water tank?
 
RutgersAl said:
Say if you have to take a trip from NJ to Florida and had Vacuflush. Would you have to visit a marina en route in order to pump out the waste, and fill up the fresh water tank?
Click to expand...
3 miles offshore you can dump the tank
 
RutgersAl said:
Say if you have to take a trip from NJ to Florida and had Vacuflush. Would you have to visit a marina en route in order to pump out the waste, and fill up the fresh water tank?
Click to expand...
Correct. But the Vacuflush uses such little water that it's highly unlikely you'd fill the tank before you got to a pump-out. You'll need gas a couple times before you'd need a pump-out.

FYI, not all systems incorporate a macerator.
 
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