How Many Flushes Does It Take...?

[rondds]

i replaced my faulty holding tank indicator light last season and installed a snake river model that's a bit more tell-all. we've (my 10 yo, my wife and myself) now spent two weekends on the boat and i'm only up to 1/4 tank. so of course i'm wondering if the thing is working correctly so i tried to figure out how much liquid goes down with each vacuuflush. here's what i came up with.

i emptied a 1/2 liter water bottle into the DRY bowl. the water level that created looked about the same as the level that we will typically flush (yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down). my holding tank has a 20 gallon capacity. yes i know, small. but this was confirmed by searay AND by measuring the volume of the tank in cubic inches and converting it to gallons (LxWxH=4600cu in=20gallons). i have not (nor do i intend to) keep a running total on the flushes.

anyway, 20 gallons = 75.71 liters, which means it'd take 150 such flushes to fill the tank. assuming that SOME of the flushes contain MORE than a 1/2 liter, i figure a flush total greater than 100 would be entering the danger zone. so if the 1/4 tank reading given by the snake river gauge is correct, i've got 25-40 flushes sloshing around in there.

anyone else wacky or gross enough to think about/calculate this??

 

[Dave S]

It must be raining in your area today too..................a bit bored are we? :smt043

 

[rondds]

raining yes! but i know someone whose holding tank overflowed and spilled into the bilge, which is an absolute HORROR SHOW! so, it has been on my mind since replacing the gauge.

 

[Larry&Leisa]

It must be raining in your area today too..................a bit bored are we? :smt043

I chuckled... :smt001

but interesting..maybe you can rig up a flush counter on the handle.... :smt017 :grin:

 

[Turtlesboat]

How do you count all of the flushes? It's hard enough keeping track of just my flushes much less everyone else's flushes. :lol:

 

[Dave S]

My face is starting to turn flush now. :lol:

 

[280 SeaRay]

Why not just pump at the end of each trip? Per the vacuflush (Dometic sanitation) site the default water use (assuming you do not lift up on the pedal) is .5 liter per flush.... I think you nailed the water use :smt001

 

[Nehalennia II]

Why not just pump at the end of each trip? Per the vacuflush (Dometic sanitation) site the default water use (assuming you do not lift up on the pedal) is .5 liter per flush.... I think you nailed the water use :smt001

Uh yeah...I agree..It's seems like a good practice/habit to get into. With our little Port-o-potti with pump out option we flush out every(ok almost every) trip. Yeah we've missed a couple times but it's certainly not the norm. Granted we're a smaller boat and try to not use the head as much as possible, but as we we're eyeing a 260 today we thought of all sorts of new or amended rules which will be implemented......the head is one of them :smt038

 

[estebanj]

Try this link also for future reference:

http://www.sealandtechnology.com/vfhted.asp

Esteban

 

[Presentation]

If you take a bright flashlight and hold it on the tank can you verify the level shi….um, waste in the tank?

This would allow you to validate your indicator light.

BTW, with our last boat, the 240DA with portapotti with pump-out we tried to use as little as possible. Our hope and intention is to use the head in the 280DA w/28gallon waste tank as normal, flushing the marine toilet paper.

 

[280 SeaRay]

I personally pump out (pump dry, fill 10 seconds past 3/4 on indicator, pump dry, fill 10 seconds past 3/4 on indicator, pump dry then flush 2 flushes with a squirt of dish soap in each, flush the holding tank treatment, flush once more to rinse the line) after each trip with the boat. I simply like to store the boat clean regardless of the amount of time between trips. This way if I break my leg on Wednesday and can't get to the boat for 8-12 weeks... I will not have to worry about what type of things are spawning in the holding tank while the boat sits in 100+ degree weather :lol: . I am not sure what type of evaporation happens from the tank... but would hate for the sewage to begin to solidify in any way... and then become a bigger mess... as discussed earlier there is not a ton of water in each flush. Plus pumping is quick and easy.... and gives me an excuse to buy myself a "well done" ice cream once finished.

Side Note. I carry a box of disposable medical exam gloves on the boat at all times.... and put them on before touching any of the pump out equipment. This way you can guarantee your hands drive away from the pump out dock as clean as they arrived. I trust myself to not soil my hands or the pump out nozzle or hose... but several observations have told me that some other folks do not take the same care.

Doug I am not trying to post in poor taste..... but we use the heck out of our 280 vacuflush only flushing waste and SeaLand toilet paper. I am a big guy and (forgive me for being so blunt) I have thrown my best at the vacuflush with no issues. It is realy nice to have a rock solid toilet onboard.

Additionally the holding tank in my 280 seems to be light enough in color that you can see through the level from the engine compartment.... the level indicator is prety darn close.