do you need a macerator pump?

[saurav16]

Question is do you need a macerator pump plumbed between the toilet and the holding tank? Also I have a standard Jabsco manual head. It hasn't been used yet. I was wondering if you are cruising is it sufficient to do number two and not get clogged? Sorry for the grossness of the question just want to know if the head should be upgraded. Thanks.

[TrueBlue]

The macerator pump is typically plumbed in the hose leading FROM the holding tank to an overboard discharge through-hull. The marine toilet's manual/electric pump does a sufficient enough job of breaking up solids between the head and tank.

Another option in lieu of a macerator, is to use a Whale manual pump for overboard discharge (of course, when beyond the 3 mile limit). This eliminates another piece of electric dependant machinery - bound to inevitably break down when you need it most.

[erps]

From my experience, you don't need a macerator pump. The pump that pumps your tank overboard is often a macerator pump, but sometimes a diaphram pump.

We had a $100 jabsco head on our previous boat. It worked great the three years we had it. I had a spare pump assembly on board in case it did break down to make the repair more convenient. I'm from the "if it's not broke, don't fix it school", so I would give your head a try before making any decisions about replacing it.

Also, on our current boat, we experience a clog that I could not clear. When I started taking stuff a part, I found the discharge hoses were shrunk down to the diameter of a dime from deposites on the inside of the hose. The previous owner had been a liveaboard and for all I know the hoses may have been twenty years old. So if you do have a clog, it may be something other than the head.

[chucklesR]

I'm plumbed with a gravity drain from my holding tank, in theory there is no need to pump if beyond the 3 mile limit just open the valve.
If I was to add a macerator and freshwater pump I think I'd rather go with a macerator between the head and the tank so it pre-grinds.
Would it not be better to hold a slurry than a stew (less chance of something clogging if the first thing it hits is a grinder).

[saurav16]

Ok i sail on the Hudson so well in land so I guess no macreator needed. Do you have to add any additives in the holding tank to help break down wastes?

[TrueBlue]

Nope, not necessary - since your head's flush mechanism breaks up things adequately. You're probably recalling porti-potties, which require a formaldehyde/deodorant solution to break down solids.

[Boasun]

You can always add chlorine to destroy the E Coli Bacteria in the waste tank.
It is doing in them nasty little buggers is what they want.

[capttb]

How do you get beyond the three mile limit to dump a holding tank on a river ?

[TrueBlue]

capt.,
No one suggested he sail down the Hudson to the ocean - what was implied though, is that a macerator typically is used in conjuction with a through-hull discharge.

Obviously, direct discharge it is not an option with inland sailors.

[RAGTIMEDON]

You don't. It is illegal to discharge your holding tank in any inland waters within the U S. Rivers are inland waters. I know, you don't have to tell me that hundreds of boaters do it. but that doesn't make it right. I swim in the river! The only place that I know of where that law is enforced is in the Great Lakes, but it is still the law, and there are still thousands of people in this country who swim in open waters, both lakes and rivers.