Head Setup?

[1970Columbia34]

Will this work?

[TrueBlue]

Nice schematic, seems to work OK. My forward Lavac head setup has a Hendersen direct discharge pump and separate Whale emergency bilge pump - located further aft. The Y-valve therefore, joins the manual pumpout hose with tank & deck pumpout hoses.

There is another Y-valve accessible from the head, which diverts discharge from another Hendersen pump to either the tank, or directly overboard. This setup of course, requires two through-hull valves.

I actually did something similar as your setup when installing a new shower sump box. I connected a Y-valve between the Whale manual bilge pump discharge hose and shower sump discharge hoses.

[Cruisingdad]

Why use the manual? Why not drop in another T-Hull with a macerator pump? If you go into a NDZ, will you be able to lock off the T-Hull without compromising the safety of the boat? Is that your only manual pump for the bilge? I know most of the boats I have seen have a independent T-Hull for overboard discharge with a macerator pump which can be locked down.

Just my thoughts.

- CD

[sailingdog]

The only precaution I would give you is to make sure that the Y-valve leg that leads from the holding tank to the Whale gusher pump is pointed down towards the holding tank, not towards the Gusher pump as you have in the drawing, and that it is mounted slightly higher than the PVC Y. That way, the sewage will drain from the valve back into the holding tank, rather than sitting in the valve and hose and causing a stench.

[hellosailor]

Aside from the fact that there's no head in that diagram?

The "Y" valve set for the bilge emergency pumpout might be a problem since you are forcing everything to go "up and down" the Y during normal use, and that's more prone to clogging than a straight pipe run. If you rotate the "Y" 90d ccw from the way it is shown, the Gusher can suck either source through a straighter passage. Or, eliminate the second "Y" and just decide that in a real emergency, you're going to cut the hose and use it as a bilge suction line. (Or maybe install a straight fitting to open up. The purpose, again, is to have a smoother run for less chance of a clog, and one less valve that can fail.)

[poopdeckpappy]

I gotta question, shouldn't the Y above the tank also be a valve

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by poopdeckpappy

I gotta question, shouldn't the Y above the tank also be a valve

There's no need for it to be. If you're using the deck-level pumpout fitting, the Y-valve should be closed... so there will effectively be only the hose running down to the tank... and if you're using the Whale Gusher pump to pump overboard, the deck fitting should be closed tightly...again leaving effectively only the hose going from the tank to the Whale Gusher as the only option. Adding a valve there just complicates the setup.