A queston for Rick B

[Arctic Traveller]

Lately, I've had a lot of problems with MSD systems aboard small cruise vessels.* Years ago my first experience was with Orca systems and they proved to need a lot of maintenance.* Lately I've been maintaining a system that uses an electrolizing high voltage book cell, and it seems to need even more maintenance, (taking the cell apart once a week to clean) not to mention using 500 to 1000lbs of salt a week.* The salt is needed due to the grey water being plumbed into the black water tank, reducing the salt content needed for the book cell.* What in your experience is the most reliable system with a capacity of about 50 to 100 people?* I'd sure like to find a system that uses bleach rather than salt, and one that efectively back flushes itself elimating the regular disassembly.*** Arctic Traveller

 

[El Sea]

Boy, just mention you dumped bleach in the water and the USCG will have a field day with you.

Have you looked in to the compose type heads?

 

[RickB]

Arctic: A PM is on the way

 

[Arctic Traveller]

El Sea wrote:
Boy, just mention you dumped bleach in the water and the USCG will have a field day with you.

*

*Actually, disinfecting black water with bleach is a Coast Guard approved method, and is in use in several systems.* Those that place electrodes in the waste water actually dis-associtate sodium hypocloride (I think thats what is, but I'm not a chemist) from the sea water. It's a substance similar to chlorine.* Other units use bleach injection directly into the waste.** I'm guessing that the amount is so little as to not be a concern..........Arctic Traveller

 

[Phil Fill]

We have a Microphor sanitation system which is sort of like a septic tank *the last process is passing through a chlorine chamber before going over board.* In the marina we use the holding tank and get pump every week to keep the marina happy.

 

[Edelweiss]

Phil fill

Wow glad to hear I'm not the only one sporting a septic system. *I have an original Microphor system too and love it. * *All my boating friends turn their noses up at it and say I should just have a storage tank and pump out.*Once I got it working right I have had very little trouble with it and no smell. *I love to laugh at them as they drag the honeydew pump- out cart up and down the dock.*

What I found here was that most of the Coast Guard folk and USCGA inspectors know little to nothing about the Micophor systems, since they were built before they were born, *and I always have to show them to USCG approval tag and the ceritification letter to convince them it's still legal. *(The updated approval letters are available online from the Microphor website.)

FYI: Also I get my clorine tablets from a swimming pool supplier now.

Larry B

 

[waterhawk]

Edelweiss wrote:
Phil fill

Wow glad to hear I'm not the only one sporting a septic system. *I have an original Microphor system too and love it. * *All my boating friends turn their noses up at it and say I should just have a storage tank and pump out.*Once I got it working right I have had very little trouble with it and no smell. *I love to laugh at them as they drag the honeydew pump- out cart up and down the dock.*

What I found here was that most of the Coast Guard folk and USCGA inspectors know little to nothing about the Micophor systems, since they were built before they were born, *and I always have to show them to USCG approval tag and the ceritification letter to convince them it's still legal. *(The updated approval letters are available online from the Microphor website.)

FYI: Also I get my clorine tablets from a swimming pool supplier now.

Larry B

*Sounds interesting... and am interested in details..

I don't understand when you say septic and chlorine in same sentence.* A proper septic system has bacteria that breaks down sewage (VERY EFFICIENTLY I might add) but when you add chlorine to the mix,, you might as well be pumping raw sewage...

Which is why many people are wondering why they have to get their dirt septic sytems pumped out every few years,* because of the darn chlorinated municipal supplied (cholorine/fluoride(editorial) laced water...

Have to respect our little friends' jobs* (the good bacteria)

-- Edited by waterhawk on Monday 25th of July 2011 10:28:57 PM


-- Edited by waterhawk on Monday 25th of July 2011 10:31:02 PM

 

[Edelweiss]

Most buried home septic systems are anaerobic (without oxygen) systems; Anaerobic microbe strains digest and settle out the solids in a tank and then drain the effluent into the soil to be filtered by mother nature.*
Marine septic or treatment systems are aerobic (with oxygen) and support the growth of organisms (bacteria) present in the human body to digest the waste.*
Solid organic waste is converted to liquid and carbon dioxide gas.* The gas is vented out of the boat and the liquid passes slowly through a fiber medium in the tank.* The remaining treated liquid passes through a pipe out the bottom of the tank into the chlorinator chamber which contains chlorine tablets.* The chlorinated liquid then passes into a small pump tank and is eventually pumped over the side. *Surprisingly a very simple and trouble free system that mostly works by gravity. *The only moving parts are the pump and switch in the pump over tank.
The home system will tolerate normal levels of clorine in water and from household cleaning chemicals. *But in the marine system, not so much. *It is very sensitive to clorine and many cleaning chemicals would kill the bacteria in the tank. *


-- Edited by Edelweiss on Tuesday 26th of July 2011 08:00:56 PM

 

[Phil Fill]

Our Microphor is all gravity as our engine room is about 6 ft tall. I flush the microphor with fresh water, fill the chlorine chamber and we start using it.* Nothing to added or electrical power.*They are*used more on commmercial boats than*pleasure.* *http://microphor.com/html/sanitation-marine.html
*
In the marina we do use the holding tank and get pumped out.* There has been a couple of time the holding tank was full, so switch to the Microphor for a couple of days.* *


-- Edited by Phil Fill on Tuesday 26th of July 2011 10:05:39 AM

 

[Edelweiss]

That's great Phil, I wish mine was above the waterline so I could get rid of the pump, as the chlorine attacks the plastic pump and float switch, eventually eating through the seals every 4 or 5 years. *I have thought about lifting the main tank up 12 inches, so I could free flow the effluent too. *Some day, we'll see!! *

I'm in and out of the marina enough that we can empty the pump tank fairly regularly and we're close to the marina's office and heads, so no problem with using our heads at the dock and overfilling the tank.

You mentioned flushing the tank with fresh water? *I have never done that, *is that something they recommend? *

*In 1977, I was told by the boat dealer that my tank was full of Redwood bark strips which acts as a filter medium. *Looking through the inspection hatch, I can see there is some sort of stranded fiber in the tank alright, but I'm not so sure it came from a Redwood tree and I'm not about to pull some out to exam it closely. LOL

*